Yyrkoon


Yyrkoon had been watching the farm for a few days, stalking from the shadows of the mango trees, bidding his time. The young girl looked like the best option for a thrall; she was lightfooted and seemed healthy. But the older man's thoughts were much more interesting, and his mind had already drifted; nobody would care too much if he were to wander away and get lost in the jungle. So Yyrkoon waited until the old man was alone with the two famelic owsen that had survived the feral tone; one of them was not going to make it long; hordes of flies festered on the animal's wound and swirled around the man's head.

Yyrkoon sent a simple magic mental order that quickly broke the man's will, and soon he was walking towards the mango grove. Yyrkoon slithered down his hiding place in the shape of a tiny viper and got into the man's shoulders. "Friend," he hissed in the old man's ears, "take me to the village."

****

Just like that, for the past year, Yyrkoon had been living in the shape of a snake. After the old man collapsed and died, he had befriended at least three different "snake charmers." The last one, a lowly human ranger, Yyrkoon, pretended to be his large Viper animal companion. That's how he learned about the Ashen Mist and the expedition to Augury. And, more importantly, how he had come to understand that the righteous scale-less were not the only ones trying to make sense of the tone.

Onboard the Ashen Mist, he had met these misfits. The Anthropomorphic crocodile was a pleasant surprise. A great conversationist of high intelligence and vast knowledge, Yyrkoon had become fond of him. He mistrusted the bear and the dragon but understood their strategic value.

Thanks to a couple of "friendly" halflings, he had learned much about the expedition. He still mistrusted the captain. But he had kept his word, and there had been no trouble during the sea travel. Now, as the ship finally came to a stop and it docked, Yyrkoon observed from a vantage position the overenthusiastic wolf riders disembark. He had to be careful though, last time at port, an impertinent seagull had tried to attack him.