Ore-Eater Gecko
Also known as: Loot Lizard
Dwarven Name: Krahnzûl-Tharn ("Greed-Tongue")
Classification: Reptile (Subterranean Fauna)
The Ore-Eater Gecko is a fat-tailed, subterranean reptile found in ore-rich regions deep beneath Largitas. Its most notable feature is its incredibly meaty, nutrient-rich tail, which stores minerals and fat—making it a coveted delicacy among deep-dwelling peoples. Despite the richness of its tail, the rest of the gecko’s body is bony, pale, and thin-skinned, offering little meat and even less defense.
Basic Information
Anatomy
It resembles a greatly enlarged fat-tailed gecko with milky eyes, reflective scale-patches around the mouth, and a constantly twitching tongue adapted for sensing trace minerals in stone.
Size: ~1.5 meters long (tail accounts for ~65% of length)
Ecology and Habitats
Deep tunnels, abandoned mines, magma-adjacent chambers
Dietary Needs and Habits
Diet & Ore Digestion
The Loot Lizard survives by consuming high-value ores, which it processes through a unique digestive enzyme that breaks down metal-bearing rock. This results in:
- Glittering mineral deposits in its gizzard-like gut, ripe for harvesting
- Traces of refined metal embedded in its teeth and bones
- A distinct golden sheen on healthy individuals’ tails
They prefer soft gem-bearing veins, gold and silver deposits, and will ignore common stone unless desperate.
Behaviour
Temperament: Skittish but territorial when feeding
Additional Information
Uses, Products & Exploitation
Hunting & Use
Hunting an Ore-Eater Gecko is seen as high risk, high reward:
- Weak Points: Its thin hide tears easily, but it can wriggle into impossibly narrow crevices when startled.
- Trophies: Hunters seek the ore-rich stomach contents, which can include raw nuggets, gem fragments, and even partial magical materials.
- Meat: The tail is a delicacy, said to taste like fatty pork marbled with flinty spice. Commonly turned into:
- Ore-Tail Stew (slow-simmered with mossbarley and lava thistle)
- Loot Lizard Steaks (flash-seared with ash-spice)
- Miner’s Pies (chunky meat-paste baked in tunnelgrain pastry)
Some dwarves claim it’s best grilled over hot coals within a mining shaft, as the scent draws in more geckos.
Alchemical & Magical Interest
The gecko's mineral-laced entrails are extremely valuable to alchemists and tinkers:
- Used in refining low-grade ores
- Mixed into potions to improve durability or mineral resilience
- Studied for signs of magical contamination; some specimens have shown signs of absorbing enchanted metal, leading to unstable internal fusions
Cultural Significance
- Among dwarves, successfully hunting a Loot Lizard is a mark of greed well-earned, and “tailing a lizard” is a euphemism for going after risky but shiny ventures.
- Gnomes affectionately call them “nugget noodles” and have domesticated some to lead them to treasure-rich areas (usually accidentally).
- A common dwarven proverb:
“The stone feeds the beast, the beast feeds the brave.”
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