Messenger Lizards

"Oh ya damned little rascal!"
Connerad Quickhand sucked on his finger where the lizard had bit him. Small amounts of blood coming forth. Shaking the pain away he glared at the culprit. A small black and brown speckled lizard that now hung upside down from the overhang in the large chamber that was it's habitat. Tens of other lizards all running around at incredible speeds. Connerad could swear his assailant was smiling and laughing at him.
"Ya do this every time, Rumblefeet, ya little stinker. Ya know how it ere ends."
Steeling his gaze Connerad began the chase anew.  Five minutes later, with the use of a sweet berry and the clever throw of a slightly sticky rag, Rumblefeet contentedly ate away the treat and rested in the old dwarf's open hand. Making his way back to the front of his shop, The Quick Bastards, he smiled warmly at his waiting customers.
"Thanks for the wait. Little suckers are hard to get a hold of. Particularly this one." he said holding up his hand. Rumblefeet the messenger lizard happily wiggling on his back. Scratching his itch in the dwarf's large thick hand.
"Now," began Connerad. Launching into a well practiced sale. "Ya said ya be needin' to get a message from 'ere, Dor Garom, all the way over to Dor Buldor as quickly as possible. That be 'bout a two hundred mile journey by the quickest road above the mountain. Take ye 'bout eight days or so. Eight more if ye be wantin' a reply so nearly two ten days. That's a long time." Connerad held his tongue for a moment before continuing.
"But ye can't be doing it anyways as them damned Calderians are still knockin' outside. So perhaps under the mountain through the tunnels? Ye could send it with a caravan through the tunnels but with all the twists and turns it'd take 'em the full two tendays, probably more, and would cost ya a few pretty pieces to do so. Ya could hire a priest or a wizard to send a message for ya but most of them are always busy with the war effort anyway and they tend to charge enough to put you out on the street." Connerad smiled warmly and knowingly.
"So ye have come to me. Little Rumblefeet 'ere can get there and back in a tenday; if he's taking his time." The old dwarf cast a fake disapproving look at the lizard, who was now in a small cage on the counter, and a wink at his customers.
"Simply put, I can get a message over there for five silver. Write the message on a slip over there and drop somethin' into the cage that belonged to the recipient."
After a few moments the message was secured onto the lizard and after taking a few more moments to familiarize himself with the provided strip of cloth Rumblefeet was clamoring at the door. With a hearty laugh Connerad opened the cage and the lizard exploded out the door. Rushing off at impossible speeds through the city.
The old dwarf turned to look at his customers with a smile, "The quick bastard'll be back in no time. My cousin in Dor Buldor'll see to it."

Basic Information

Anatomy

A lithe and sleek frame of smooth scales colored dark to resemble the world around them. Resembling a large gecko with a shortened tail with an overall length of about one foot. A narrow yet flexible head with two large eyes gives the creature a near 360 degree view. Long dexterous limbs and toes with grip covered pads allow the creature to cling to nearly any surface.
Combined the structure of the lizard allows it to move very quickly and to outrun any predators.

Ecology and Habitats

These lizards naturally can be found in the upper underdark in small colonies of perhaps 10 - 15. When a pack becomes too big they will split and begin the cycles anew. They roam from place to place eating and staying ahead of any potential predators. Though voracious eaters they may be they rarely stay at any given food source long enough to deplete it. They come, eat as much as they need, and move on. Frequently leaving behind scraps or enough for the ecology to rebound.
The main predator of the messenger lizards are actually spiders. As the lizards are capable of outrunning most other creatures, spiders hold a distinct advantage with their sticky webs. When a messenger lizard becomes entangles in a web it slows them just enough for the spider to come along and catch them.

Dietary Needs and Habits

The Messenger Lizards eat all manner of bugs, beetles, roots, mushrooms, and if working together other small living creatures. As they burn a lot of energy running they require a high calorie diet. They tend to roam from location to location eating anything that they can.
A common tactic when pack hunting larger prey is to take turns continually running just out of their prey's reach thus tiring it out until exhausted. After which they more aggressively begin taking small bites out of the creature until it collapses.

Biological Cycle

These lizards lay eggs that tend to hatch within a few days. Newborn lizards are then quickly brought up to speed on the dynamics of their pack and begin pulling their own weight. Eggs that take too long to hatch or newborns that cannot keep up are left behind.
These lizards continually molt their skin every few tendays as they grow. It is extremely rare to find the corpse of a messenger lizard in the wild that has died of 'old age'. As they age they gradually begin to slow down as their size works against them. Eventually some predator is just faster enough and makes a meal of them.

Additional Information

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Extraordinarily keen sight, smell, and hearing allows the lizard to detect and evade predators in the dark tunnels underground. Not fully understood but the creature uses some form of innate magic to magically divine the location of it's target and takes the quickest and shortest route possible.