A shrievenzale is a quadrupedal green iguana-like beast, with a long tail, large eyes and a gaping mouth filled with sharp fangs. It growls, it roars and it is quite fearsome. Shrievenzales are apparently native to the planet Ribos, where they hunt for smaller animals in the tundra. They seem to like to live in warm, dry areas, as one colony makes its home in the catacombs of Ribos, where they return to sleep after hunting.
Ribos is a sparsely-populated, fairly primitive planet, but it does boast an impressive collection of crown jewels, and a shrievenzale is used to guard them. It is kept in a stone-walled room to the side, and at night the large stone gate is drawn up to allow the shrievenzale access to the room, so that it can maim and eat any thieves that might attempt to steal the jewels. The shrievenzale's lair is accessable by a covered hole at the top, through which fresh meat is dropped for the creature to eat. It is awoken by a horn that the guards carry with them. The hole also provides a route for jewel thieves to enter, as long as they plan ahead of time and feed the shrievenzale a piece of drugged meat, which it will happily devour.
