Themberchaud

Themberchaud, titled the Wyrmsmith of Gracklstugh, was an adult red dragon allied with the duergar of Gracklstugh in the Northdark of the Underdark in the 14th and 15th centuries DR,427563 though he later relocated to the Hanging City of Dolblunde. His other titles were the Father of Flame, the Everburning, and the Foundry's Heart.

“Gartokkar, you didn't say l was having surfacers for dinner today.”

— Themberchaud, on receiving visitors1

Activities

As the Wyrmsmith, Themberchaud used his fire breath to heat the city's great forges and temper the famous steel blades manufactured by the gray dwarves of Gracklstugh. He went about the city on a regular basis.3 In turn, they paid him regularly, adding to his treasure hoard.

Relations

He was attended to by the Keepers of the Flame, a monastic order of psionic duergar priests.42 They obeyed his every whim, or at least those that fell within the terms of the pact between the dragon and House Steelshadow.4 This included defending his hoard while he was away working at the forges. They kept him happy, rich, and fat on the city's more disobedient slaves23 and guarded the entrance to his lair from a nearby guardhouse, though few would dare trespass in the dragon's lair.1 He simply ate those who entered without the Keepers' permission.10

Personality

Much like many red dragons, Themberchaud was prideful and vain, and his ego was so big that he considered it impossible that someone would not agree with his orders. When someone did, he simply burned them and carried on as normal. Although well pampered by the Keepers, he was growing discontent with his lot.1

Description

Massive even for a dragon, Themberchaud was visibly overweight. He had scales as red as lava and bright yellow eyes.1 His head alone was estimated to be some 20 feet (6.1 meters).9note 1 By the late 1490s DR, he was barely able to walk; he was unable to fly, only hop and flap his wings helplessly like a chicken; and he often only belched flammable gas when he could not produce flame.811 He spoke in a booming voice.12

Lair

Themberchaud dwelled in a side cavern leading off from the southern wall of the main cavern of Gracklstugh, out of sight to visitors. He sat atop his treasure hoard there.41 While he didn't allow visitors to come within 60 feet (18 meters) of him, let alone his treasure, and incinerated those who did, his hoard was estimated to hold almost 70,000 gp in platinum, gold, silver, and copper coins, six fire opals valued at 1,000 gp each, ten peridots worth 500 gp each, and thirty garnets of 100 gp each, as well as magic items like oil of sharpness in a gourd, a potion of flying, a potion of longevity, and a potion of supreme healing, though these were well buried under coins.1

History

Themberchaud was hatched within his chamber in Gracklstugh, and was a descendant of past Wyrmsmiths. From a young age, he was put to work lighting the city's forges as they had done before him. Eventually, he grew too big to ever leave the city.10

At some point, Themberchaud acquired a red dragon egg as part of his treasure hoard—it was unclear whether it was his offspring or a prize of conquest. However, the Gray Ghosts thieves' guild under Zunkhasp Saltbaron stole the egg and in a rage the Keepers declared war on the Gray Ghosts, opening hostilities between them and causing strife in the city by 1373 DR.7

“And now I am far too large to ever leave. Even if I tore the entire place down around me, I could not claw my way to the surface from here. Instead, I remain buried in a prison of my parents' making, far beneath a sky I've never seen.”

— Themberchaud's lament

By the late 1400s DR, Themberchaud had grown stronger, restless, discontent with the limited gold and food supply, and more resistant to the Keepers' control, and had started getting ideas of dominating the whole city for himself. Themberchaud had been aware for some years that the Keepers were hiding things from him, yet elected to watch and wait before confronting them. While he paid closer attention to the city's affairs, he had begun trying to recruit personal agents outside the Keepers and looked out for capable mercenaries he could recruit as his agents.31 He was unaware that, as had happened to past Wyrmsmiths, the Keepers planned to kill him before he became too powerful and replace him with a weak and pliable hatchling. But the Gray Ghosts once again stole a red dragon egg,note 2 this one intended to hatch a new Wyrmsmith, and the Keepers became distracted by their renewed war on the thieves.310 In response, the Keepers refocused their security around the dragon's lair and explored other options. They hired talented mercenaries within the city, but Themberchaud too would try to recruit them as his agents, while leader of the Keepers Gartokkar Xundorn would then interrogate them as to the dragon's intentions.110 They may even have found and recovered the red dragon egg, but whom they would return it to remains in question. If Themberchaud obtained the egg, he would destroy it to maintain his position.1310note 3

Around 1490 DR, an adventurer and member of the Order of the Burning Dawn came to Gracklstugh whilst seeking the fabled Moontear, a relic of Sehanine Moonbow. But there they found a mind flayer had taken advantage of Deepking Horgar Steelshadow V's madness and dominated the city, and had even invaded Themberchaud's mind. This hero defeated the illithid and freed both king and dragon, Themberchaud rewarded them with the great gift of deciding not to eat them.12

Despite being thought trapped in Gracklstugh,10 by the late 1490s DR,note 4 Themberchaud had somehow escaped his captivity, for he appeared in the faraway ruins of the gnome city of Dolblunde; Xenk supposed he "must have found a new den." In any case, he suddenly burst in on Xenk Yendar, Edgin Darvis, Holga Kilgore, Simon Aumar, and Doric as they battled Dralas and his band of undead Thayan assassins.8911note 5 Saying nothing, Themberchaud took care of the undead assassins by simply gobbling them up as he slid down a bone heap on his belly, but then turned his attention to the living prey, chasing them through around the ruins and its bridges and breathing fire, at least when he had some flame available. At one point, unable to fly up, he pushed a bridge down, causing Edgin to slide down toward his maw—stopped only when Xenk heroically leaped overhead and thrust his sword into Themberchaud's head, though with no serious harm done. Recovering, Themberchaud chased them into a narrow cave, but could not get his head through. The damage caused seawater to leak in. In the end, though, Edgin made a plan that actually worked, organizing his team to have Holga attack and anger the dragon to get him to produce more gas, then having them duck below water as Simon produced a flame from his fingertip to ignite it. The explosion opened a water channel that freed the adventures, and gave Themberchaud a much-needed bath for his troubles.