Denizens of the Alik ' r Deserts Content . Just as Argonian hunters scouting the waters of Black Marsh speak of a monstrous sea - drake - - a giant fish with a reptilian snough and rough , scaly hide - - there are similar tales from the migrant trappers of the Alik ' r Desert . The duneripper shares many aspects of that aquatic monster but has adapted to live within the roasting sands of the western Alik ' r Desert . Ambush hunters like the duneripper are well suited to this arid , unforgiving landscape . The beast is immensely proportioned - - it can reac the length of three horses - - and it ' s armored tail is covered in chitinous scales . Unlike the sea - drake , the duneripper has learned the primal art of patience . With a digestion system that requires only a modicum of food to sustain the large beast , the duneripper burrows beneath the sand , sometimes lying motionless for days , waiting to strike it ' s victim . The first sign of a duneripper is the dorsal crest piercing the sand just before an attack , as the nearby sand churns like a whirlpool . The quarry is unaware until the very last moment that a sharp - toothed , salivating mouth is closing in on it . Should a bite not incapacitate it ' s prey , the duneripper will try to clamp down on it , roll onto it , constrict it , or burrow back into the sand to suffocate it . The duneripper will also sweep it ' s tail around to upend it ' s prey , and it exhibits short bursts of impressive speed . Beware the shifting sands , for they may be a relude to a swift and bloody death . There have been tales of these giant , crablike beasts since before the Redguards first explored the vast dunes of the Alik ' r Desert . With only the duneripper to fear , the giant scorpion has been left alone to grow to enourmous proportions . It ' s girth is comparable to a large bull , and it has two horrific front pincers , six smaller legs that end in sharp claws , and an immense and segmented prehensile tail , which would be a marvel to watch were it not the most feared natrual weapon of Hammerfell . After one of these monstrosities spot it ' s prey , it moves with great speed across the sand , leaving only the shallowest of imprints . It usually attacks with it ' s claws , catching it ' s meal before the tail lashes out , usually killing the poor victim quietly but unpleasantly : If the barbed stinger doesn ' t slay the victim outright , the deadly venom pumped into the open wound immobilizes it . The corpse or paralyzed victim is then slowly eaten and digested externally . To prevent this most heinous of deaths , it is recommended you attack from behind , concentrating on incapacitating the tail , as the hardened carapace is extremely difficult to breach . Native shamans of the Ash ' abah prize giant scorpion stingers , but they prefer to harvest these themselves , rather than pay for ones slain by others . Excitable children are subdued by talk of a Lamia visting them in the night . Many variations of the tale exist where a charmed traveler surrenders to a terrible and painful death at the talons and bite of a Lamia . This beast is a well - known underwater menace to the fishermen of Daggerfall . Recent Imperial research , and evidence from the local viziers in the Alik ' r Desert region of Hammerfell , as discovered aggressive and untamed desert kin with a similar skeletal structure and vicious attack pattern . the Lamia is an amalgam of snake and woman , although it is assumed they are hermaphroditic and lay eggs like a reptile ( which are then abandoned and the immature Lamiae are left to fend for themselves ) . the less enlightened see this creatures as a cursed people , but there is no evidence for this . Lamiae stand as a tall full - grown Breton male when fully reared up , and they use their long tails to steady themselves while on land . Their sharp poison fangs , ophidian heads , and scaled tails have led to an aversion of this chimera across Tamriel . They have a lust for gold , jewels , and trinkets , and are known to loot and wear such treasure from the corpses of those they ' ve slain . They understand language but have a rasping hiss rather than anything intelligible . However , they have developed an eerie , almost mesmerizing song that can entrance and entrap the credulous . They lack intelligence to craft or make art , they never venture far from their lair , and they live independently unless they need to congregate for safety or are under command of a more powerful Lamia or other entity . Their mastery of electrucal magic is innate , not learned . But their appetite is boracious ; they devour the flesh , meat , and bone of any living creature . Beware the song of the Lamia . It may be the last lullaby you ever hear . The dread mausoleums in the waters near Bergama hold more than their fair share of the dead . Grave robbers tell of a terrible spectre , a hooded shape of fear , tattered and floating in the cool , stale air . Unlike a ghost , this wraith is a spirit without memory , raised from the dead or summoned by necromancy . They float , silent and thoughtless . But once you cross the threshold they are guarding , the magic that binds them quickens them into inflicting a savage , uncompromising attack .