An undead scaly mouth-breather...

Lair of the Guardian (#8/31, #342/365)

"This enormous room is more cave than chamber; some walls having been laid with clay bricks and carved, while others are bare dusty rock. There is an awful stench in the air, and scattered across the floor are the dismembered and dessicated remains of several apparent humanoids. The far wall is all clay brick, but in front of it is a mound of bones and scales and skin, at least that is what you think it is, before the whole thing starts to rise up into a worryingly familiar dragon-like form..."

Contents: This is a Kragon called Alazrak-Thuban (the "Azure Serpent"), once a mighty Blue Dragon and flying steed of Djaratian Lich-Kings and Mummy-Lords, but now a decaying undead hulk, guarding the tomb of its master. Alazrak, by sheer dint of will, retains something of its former intelligence and powers; it can, for example, still breathe lightning bolts at adversaries, although somewhat lower-powered than they were when it was truly alive.

Alazrak only speaks Dragon and Djaratian; it will attack all who cannot converse with it in those tongues. If spoken to however, Alazrak will demand treasure from those it perceives as weaker than it, but its evaluation skills are lacking, and any remotely valuable looking curio will probably buy safe passage from this chamber. If confronted with more powerful entities, Alazarak will plead ignorance of this chamber (such as the trap below, and the need for a Silver Key, although it does actually know these things, as well as the secret exit above), and allow Heroes to poke about, but will prefer to keep its limited treasure safe.

The far wall is a locked, trapped slab leading onwards, and requires the Silver Key to open, using a keyhole in the centre of the slab. Any other keys that are used, or attempts to pick the lock, triggers a bronze-axe pendulum blade trap, that will swing down and slice through anyone standing around the far wall (Test for Luck to avoid or lose 5 STAMINA damage less Armour).

If anyone actually bothers to look up, they will notice a very high, rocky ceiling to the chamber. Hidden up here is a large entrance, big enough for a Dragon, that leads to the Chasm of Doom (and from there, outside).

Stats:

Alazrak-Thuban, an undead Blue KRAGON, SKILL 14 STAMINA 28, 4 Attacks, Very Large Claws and Bite, Heavy Armour, Double Damage. For the first Attack Round, and every third Attack Round thereafter, the Kragon can breathe a lightning bolt at one target, who must Test their Luck to avoid; it does 4 STAMINA damage, which is doubled if the target wears metal armour (see also Return to the Pit, pp. 119-120).

Kragons do not normally collect treasure, however, Alazrak has slain several tomb-robbers and adventurers over the years, and some valuables can be found among their bones, namely 127GP in mixed coins, a slightly rusty but useable grappling hook, an large iron shield, a dusty bag with 4 Sapphires (worth 10GP each), a Throwing Dagger of Caarth-Slaying (carved from a Giant Sandworm tooth), and a Bronze Scorpion Brooch, charged with two more uses.