At a library, it seems someone was researching the creatures that dwell beneath the city, a copy of the book Beasts of the Undercity left open on one of the tables. The exposed pages read:


Wall Flower

The Wall Flower is a subterranean burrowing creature. It is able to move through even the hardest rock with the help of the acids that are secreted through glands beneath its skin, and the drill like movement of its body as it digs through the earth.

It is a limbless creature, its skin an oily black with a variety of coloured bio-luminescent spots dotting its hide all down its body. Its average length is about 4 meters, though there have been rare recordings of some reaching twice this size. The head of the creature is split into five segments, which fold open like a flower, three bio-luminescent tongues protruding from the center like the stamen of a flower.

Usually, the only part of this creature that can be seen above ground is its head. It burrows through a wall, or up through the ground, and then it sets up its trap. It spreads open its segmented jaws, looking much like a flower, for which it is named. Its tongues produce a sweet scent which is attractive to many of the smaller creatures that dwell in the Undercity. Once something has touched the fleshy inside of its maw, the jaws snap closed, and the creature spirals back into the hole where the rest of its mass resides.

The wall flower's habitat ranges through the whole of the undercity, but they are especially present in areas that are warmed by geothermal activity such as lava pools, and steam vents. This can be attributed to the reason we do not see these earth-boring creatures in the Midcity, as it would be much too cold in most places above for the creature to survive.

Wall Flowers feed on anything that touches their sensitive mandibles. Because they have no real sense of smell, they rely on taste to determine whether or not something is edible. They are such ravenous eaters, though, that they often do not have time to make this decision before the item is eaten. Because of this, many wall flowers that have been hunted have been discovered to have pieces of debris and metal lodged inside of their bodies.

Wall flowers are hermaphroditic, and can reproduce with any other member of the species. After mating, the animal incubates its eggs inside of its own body, and lays up to five eggs a day before they would hatch. Wall Flowers do not care for their young, and it is up to them to thrive on their own after they are born. Due to their size though, juvenile wall flowers are completely capable of surviving on their own from the moment of birth, being only a third the size of an adult. Wall Flowers reach maturity and are fully grown within a year of their birth.

Wall Flowers are frequently hunted for their meat, as well as many of the fluids in their bodies that are used in the production of some perfumes. It is especially hunted during their mating seasons, when their eggs are incubating inside of their bodies. These eggs are seen as a delicacy by some, and are often sold for high prices to those who seek its odd flavour. Due to the acidic secretions that cover the creature's body, though, specialized equipment is often needed to capture the beast, as most traditional equipment would be corroded, making hunting this animal one of the more expensive ventures.

Words of Warning

The Wall Flower is an indiscriminate killer, and will take anything that touches it into the ground with it. There have been several cases of it snatching up the limbs of people and ripping them down into the ground without a moments warning. If you are traveling in the undercity, please use caution and do not approach anything that resembles a flower. Remember, no matter how good it smells, a flower in the Undercity spells danger!