Crawler

Crawler
Anomaly 4357371-A: Carrion Caves Creature

-Referred to with She/They, Unclear
-Anomaly was initial discovered by a field research team in the Scarred Wasteland, who were investigating a series of disappearances linked to the wasteland's cave systems. Now, usually mere disappearances wouldn't be enough for us to send in dragons to investigate. The nature of the cave systems under the region makes them prone to accidents and the perfect place to disappear, and this has long since been accepted as part of the unique landscape. As any dragon should know, the Scarred Wasteland is built on the back of the rotting corpse of a long dead, ancient creature who has been partially preserved for thousands of years due to the strong virulent magic of the surrounding clay mountains and iron rich deserts that encircle the creature. And what is commonly accepted as the 'cave system' in the Wastelands are occasional openings leading into the main cavities of the creature - their dangerous nature coming from the fact they frequently scab over during magical surges, often leaving explorers stranded or forced to find another way out. What caught our teams interest were stories of creatures living within the caves, reported as being the ones supposedly responsible for the disappearances, said to have adapted to lure dragons off the beaten path deeper into the caves. A small team was dispatched into a newly opened cave to investigate these claims for themselves. While in there, the research staff reported back strange sightings and claimed to hear voices calling for help that led into dead-ends. Frequently trying to lead them away from the fresh caves they camped near for safety's sake. Nothing has been caught yet and teams are still dispatched in the region for further investigation, but as of this time, bountiful evidence has been collected to suggest there are indeed creatures living within the walls of the Wasteland with an unknown ulterior motive.
-The first of the creatures the research team has observed has been affectionately nicknamed "Crawler". This is in part due to the fact that every time it has been sighted, it has primarily been travelling by climbing across the top of the tunnels, holding itself very closely to the walls in almost a 'crawl' stance. It appears to be an elongated dragon-like creature covered in sickly green cysts lacking fully developed wings with a bony vulture like head on a long feathered neck, resembling a very crude imitation of an Aberration. They appear to be exceptionally shy, as all attempts to directly approach the creature or contact them have thus far been met only with evasion. Only ever approaching the site or our cameras on their own terms, sometimes sitting in front of the cameras for several minutes at a time. Currently, 'Crawler' hasn't behaved maliciously towards our research team. On occasion, the staff has reported that sightings of Crawler have been quickly followed up by small visual hallucinations - often of another team member venturing deeper into the caves or of strange moving shadows that try to encourage further exploration into the system. Out of scientific curiosity, we have let one of our team follow these hallucinations deeper into the system. But as they were only lost in the caves (later retrieved thanks to a tracker), and not out-right attacked, this behaviour has been interpreted as "mischievous" instead of malicious. Matching the previously stated tendancy of the anomaly to show-off on our video feeds, as well as a newly emerging tendancy to steal supplies left unattended.
-Seemingly Partnered with 4357371-B.

Mangled Zeeba Carcass

Meat

This unlucky Zeeba is feeding a family of four tonight.

29

3

Display Plumes

Organics

A scarlet trail in the sky intimidates and impresses, if you're into that sort of thing.

20

Containment Procedure
-Threat Level: Tentative
Anomaly is considered a potential threat and only allowed interaction under specific conditions/situations with cleared staff. Visitors are only allowed to interact in special circumstances.

-Site-████ is to be closely guarded by the members of Field Research Team ███ at all times. In the event of an expedition, at least two (2) Clearance Level 2 Guards or one (1) Guard and one (1) Researcher should remain at the campsite for safety purposes, as well as monitoring the ever changing cave mouths.
-Camera systems are to be monitored at all teams by Field Research Team ███. Any damage to equipment should be reported to ██████ immediately, and the equipment recovered as soon as possible.
-Missing supplies should be reported to ██████ immediately, especially where it concerns investigative equipment.
-Any sightings of anomaly should likewise be reported to ██████ as your team leader. It is strongly advised that team members are wary of their surroundings at all times, and head back to the main campsite following a sighting of anomaly.
-In the event of a containment breach, trespassing entities are to be terminated and the team are to attempt to contain the anomaly with all available to them for transport back to SAR.

Relations
-Partner: