The assistant's eyes widen in equal parts fear and confusion when Chan begins his search, showing him to an entire collection of hundreds of books detailing animals, monsters and creatures within the Empire. However once his search is limited to Basilisks, one of the Assistants refers him to a specific excerpt from "Pexal Drass' Monster Repository", a collection of books that they have been considering expanding on for some time.
“A reptilian omnivore that will often eat plantlife in between its more nutritious but harder to find, meat diet. The Basilisk has an appetite for various types of prey, be it bird, reptile, man or beast. The Basilisk prefers to petrify any of its faster moving, living prey before consumption, due to it's low metabolism rate. The usual dull colouration and slow movement of a Basilisk causes few victims to even know of the its presence nor intent until it is too late. A Basilisk will rarely chase its prey when it is hungry, preferring instead to await another, easier target should one manage to resist its gaze. Regardless of external terrain, the Basilisk prefers caves, burrows and various other underground habitats to both conserve its energy and aid in trapping victims.”