Zahast the Vilespawn was a black dragon that made his home deep in the swamps of the Nightspell Marches. He once commanded an army of beasts, and delighted in leading attacks against the settlements near the Marches. Combating Zahast's forces was one of the major concerns of the Arterax and the Warriors Guild.
Description
Zahast was a black dragon. He had a slim figure and thin, orange eyes. His jet-black body was covered in a strange, oozing film, and he had a variety of putrid green retractable fins across his body. His face somewhat resembled a skull, and he had massive greenish-black wings. He was gargantuan in size.
Zahast was an embodiment of hatred. He loved to torture and destroy humanoids, and reveled in obliterating civilizations that dared to colonize near his swamps. He was manipulative and treacherous, but not terribly cunning.
Skills and Abilities
As an ancient dragon, Zahast had lived a long life, and gained many skills. He had many abilities, including but not limited to:
- Flight
- Transformation
- Acid generation
- Acid manipulation
- Acid breath
- Extreme physical power
- Ability to control minions
History
For hundreds of years, Zahast had taken up residence in the swamps of the Nightspell Marches. He would bide his time, waiting for civilizations to grow near his swamp. Once they had managed to build themselves up somewhat, he would rise and destroy them, taking their gold as a testament to his power and longevity.
Zahast had been angered by the presence of Haradumeir in his swamp. Unable to break into the crystal encasing her, he flew into a rage and began assaulting humanity instead, prematurely beginning his purge of the civilizations of the Moors. Zahast began working with necromancers to directly assault cities behind their defences, but following an attack on a party hosting many of the leaders of Madrioc, his attacks resulted in the unification of the resolve of the Circle of Merchants. The Circle began tirelessly working to mount an attack on the dragon, led by the leader of the Warriors Guild, Sanguinity. The wizard Renbedar Uleshan, with help from artificers, wizards, and sorcerers of the city (including the sorcerer Journey), devised a powerful magical weapon to use against the dragon he dubbed a "Mindspear". Under the cover of a full frontal attack led by Sanguinity and the united forces of the Mercenaries Guild, Warriors Guild, and Madrioc Commission, small strike forces (the Peas, the Lucent Hand, and Vetraxu among them) set out to establish beacons that would stabilize the magic using the power of ley line energy deposits within the swamps. The second spear successfully met its mark, tearing Zahast down out of the sky.
The Peas moved to directly confront the dragon in its weakened state. Teaming up with Karcius, Valx, Vacklash, and Giz, the party fought the dragon in its lair head-on. Zahast, though weakened by the Mindspear, still put up heavy resistance, cutting through the group with searing acid and powerful attacks. Particularly incensed by Wander, Zahast began to focus the tiefling exclusively, swimming through his pools of acid to grab him and tear him to shreds. Zahast's attacks downed much of the party and eventually claimed Wander's life, as well as Karcius'. Wander was quickly revived, however, and despite a gaping hole in his stomach, the tiefling managed to eke out a joke and casted Hideous Laughter, forcing the dragon to go prone and heave out a deeply unsettling chuckle. With this opportunity, the group began to rally. While the dragon was distracted by an arrow to the eye and a sword in the leg, Leadbelly Fargus leapt into the air and sunk his axe deep into the skull of the dragon, ending its terror for good.
Zahast left behind a legacy of suffering and centuries of his vile influence on the Nightspell Marches, which had twisted it into a nightmarish realm of evil. In addition, he had a massive hoard of gold, the last reminder of his power and greed.
Soon after his defeat, his lair caved in on itself, no longer maintained by the dragon's will. With the promise of gold and dragon materials, the Circle of Merchants began an excavation to retrieve Zahast's corpse and hoard.