Board Thread:Oblivion/@comment-25531876-20150630013020/@comment-178.168.50.2-20170206082744

We'll just have to go with either the Daedra or the Sload options for the in-universe explanation, since otherwise it's obviously a reference to Lovecraft's writings.

To answer to your "not the Sload" argument - sure, the Sload may hate humans, but it doesn't mean they can't mess with them, can it? The Sload are beast-folk, like the Khajiit and the Argonians, but they're most likely descended from frogs. It's possible then that there may be a breed of Sload that are not dependent on\ of water to survive, since there are frogs living in caves and forests, away from waterbeds. Alternatively, there may be an underground river, which might explain why they live deep in those caves.

As to the Daedra, well, no argument there. It's possible.