Running Thing
The Running Thing is from Brian Lumley's Ship of Dreams (fiction).
Description
he thing turned to them, its head swiveling, its many legs scurrying to swing its body around.... The mat of glossy hair on its segmented back rose up in an angry ruff... bright eyes glinting and great jaws partly open... and they glimpsed its curving needle teeth as the jaws opened wider yet.
— Brian Lumley, Ship of Dreams (fiction)
The Running Thing is a unique entity that roams throughout the Underworld but especially hunts the massive Bholes in the Vale of Pnath, constantly scurrying back and forth across the Vale at a blinding speed in an endless search for something known only to it. The Running Thing resembles a large, creeping insect, covered with a glowing moss that can be seen over a great distance, alarming the Bholes it feeds upon, and sometimes tricking unwary travelers through the Vale who might mistake the light for the torchlight of an approaching rescue party. The Running Thing is not entirely unfriendly to investigators: it is gifted with a simple, independent, dog-like intellect and is fond of the sound of human singing, which can lull the beast into obeying simple commands.
Associated Mythos Elements
- setting: Dreamlands
- setting: Underworld, Vale of Pnath
- setting: Lumley Mythos
References
- fiction: Brian Lumley's Ship of Dreams (fiction)
- sourcebook: H.P. Lovecraft's Dreamlands
