Burning Ember Inn Character Sketch 7: Krathus, His Flame Endless

Krathus was still a very young dragon when his father unexpectedly encountered a pointy sharp sword while hunting one evening. Krathus was left with a rather large hoard of gold and gems and no idea what to do with it all. He had a feeling that as an adolescent barely over the age of forty, he really should have some adventures before settling into a somnolent life in a cave somewhere.

After a few false starts, he discovered a love for venture capitalism—the riskier the venture and the more fabulous the prize, the better. He rapidly deployed his hoard across a wide range of projects. There was the expedition to the lost city of Frabii, which yielded little treasure but some fabulous tales of escaping giant scorpions and mummies. There was financing the armor of Sir Luther Strongarm, who overcame his humble circumstances and felled five opponents in the tourney of Greenglen. There was the conspiracy to dethrone the Veiled Emperor and replace him with his more biddable nephew. There was the time Krathus hired a mercenary army to storm the very gates of the underworld to rescue a maiden slain before her time. Most of it was unprofitable, but great fun—especially when Krathus himself took part in the action.

Krathus can just barely squeeze through the front door of the Burning Ember Inn by folding his wings in tightly, turning sideways, and exhaling as he sidles through the doorway. Lester, the barman, tolerates his presence with some annoyance; Krathus usually takes the chance to pitch yet another harebrained scheme to Lester, who is too busy trying to pay the Inn's bills to worry about risky investments. But at least Krathus is a good tipper, even if he sometimes chars the furniture when he gets tipsy.

Krathus has heard that older dragons sometimes learn the magic to transform themselves into more humanoid forms. He can't wait; being able to pass for a human or elf will make it much easier for him to do business and meet people. In particular, it will be much easier for him to sneak into places he's not supposed to be, like the treasure house of the Duke of Abkaroth...

He sometimes wonders if he should try meeting other dragons. Krathus is not keen on the idea, viewing most dragons as boring and hidebound. On the other hand, a young dragon's thoughts turn to mating, and at some point he needs to find a female who would put up with his reckless ways!