Klauth: Dragon of the North
Klauth is one of the largest and most fearsome red dragons ever known to Faerûn. Huge but graceful, he’s as supple as a cat and covered in old, wicked-looking scars where scales have been torn away and never grown back. His facial expression has won him the nickname “Old Snarl.” He brutally attacks other dragons, seeking to slay any wyrm that might rival him in power, in a fighting style marked by sudden attacks and just as sudden disappearances.
Klauth spends his waking time scrying Faerûn with spells, and he probably knows more about the deeds and whereabouts of surface-world creatures in the Sword Coast North than any other being alive today. The expertise thus gained is as formidable a weapon as the jets of fire and beams of magic that spurt forth from Klauth’s wings as he swoops down on foes—the discharges of wands he’s learned how to control with his wing-claws. His knowledge also gives him something to bargain with when dealing with foes he’d rather not challenge.
Klauth hunts for and devours all dragon eggs and hatchlings— except for red dragon eggs, which he uses in a secret magical process to increase his size, health, and vigor. Old Snarl has mastered the art of tricking dragons out of their lairs so he can slip in and snatch away unguarded offspring, eggs, and magic. His appearance sends other dragons fleeing for cover as fast and as frantically as they can get away.
Old Snarl obeys strange whims that lead him to perform acts of kindness for creatures he doesn’t think can harm him. He’s also been known to scatter armies, land atop an orc horde and roll around (crushing thousands), and swoop without warning to topple wizards’ towers with their owners inside. As his reputation grows ever darker, he may soon become the subject of the first Great Hunt in more than eighty years, wherein archmages band together to hunt down and destroy a common menace.
Word is spreading of his lair: Klauthen Vale, a narrow, winding valley in the mountains west of Mirabar filled with dragon food (sheep, goats, and rothé seized from all over the North). Klauth likes to lie on a ledge high on one of the valley walls, from where he can strike at intruders descending from above. Those walls hold numerous caves, two of them large enough for Klauth to shelter in. He keeps his legendary hoard in a tunnel network beneath one cavern, which can be entered only by lifting a huge slab of stone—a task restricted to creatures as large and as strong as dragons. If word ever spreads of Klauth’s death, Klauthen Vale may see a rush of adventurers hungry for gold and mages eager for magic.
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