Dune Runner

A 6ft long insect like predator that hunts in the desert.

Anatomy

Resembling a tailless scorpion, runners have eight legs and 2 large claws. The thick chitinous plates that cover their bodies are proof against spears and arrows, and easily turn aside the claws of lesser creatures. A wide head seems mostly made up a wide jaw. As if the claws and powerful jaw weren't enough, the creature can spit poison at it's victims.

Intelligent Hunter

Dune Runners are unusually intelligence, and while not capable of speech or higher thinking they possess a degree of cunning and problem solving that is beyond most animals. It is beleived that this is linked to the fact that Dune Runners seem to share a collective memory as well as the ability to communicate telepathically. Once one works out how to solve a problem, every other Dune Runner appears to know the same solution. Some have theorised that there is a central intelligence directing the Dune Runners but this has large been dismissed as there is little sign of them working towards any great purpose.

Runners prefer waiting to ambush their prey and will burrow down into the sand to wait for a suitable meal to arrive. They usually do this near bodies of water or areas where other creatures may be seeking shelter. If the prey manages to avoid the ambush a runner can live up to it's name while chasing the prey, though it takes a few moments for it get it's legs sorted out and up to speed. The runners' eight legs help them distribute their weight on the sand, making it far easier for them to traverse the shifting dunes than creatures with other 2 or 4 legs.

Hunters can remain patiently buried in the sand for days at a time while waiting for prey, making them very hard to detect for those passing through a runners territory.

Location

Originally hailing from the continent of Beraca, these large predators spread to deserts around thr world after foolish collectors arranged for some to be taken to their private zoos. Once one runner had learned how to escape the rest followed that example and it wasn't long before the ecosystems of several deserts were completely rearranged by the arrival of these hunters.

Social Structure

Runners are mostly solitary, with each claiming their own territory. There have been no recorded fights between runners over territory and it is generally thought that they agree such matters through their telepathic link. A runner will only enter another runners territory for three reasons:

• It is breeding season.
• One runner is moving to another territory and not staying in the one it is passing through.
• A threat appears that is more than a single runner can handle.

Reproduction

Runners lay eggs in victims that have been paralysed by their poison. The eggs hatch into worms that eat their way through the host's flesh. The worms generally don't kill the host, though the host may lose weight and sicken. Once they have consumed enough the worms create a protective shell and metamorphise into their adult form. When they break out of their protective cover they devour the remainder of the host before starting to attack any of their siblings in a fight to be the last one standing. If there is sufficient potential food around then the runners may ignore each other and attack the prey instead.

Lifespan

20 years

Average Length

6ft

Habitat

Deserts, mostly in the contintent of Beraca.

Dangerous Rescue

Sometimes those rescued from a runner attack are infested with the runner's eggs. This can prove to be disasterous if they are taken back to a settlement as newly hatched runners can devour a village in short order.