It seems this is due to the summoning portal. It sees that there's a level 2 creature, and level 2 creatures increase by 16. That's the result. :)
Well, it seems it needs to be fixed.
And it doesn't increase, but rather there are 16 harpies in the castle... apparently, that's why it places whatever it has, 16 lizards, there... (I'm playing this right now, so I'll check it a bit later).