Lugg

Lugg was a speaking wombat, similar to an awakened animal, best friend of Byrt, and a companion of Artus Cimber in the mid–14 century DR.

"You've got to 'elp 'im. The bloody Batiri took Byrt. I tell you 'e's no good on 'is own, not without me to look out for 'im."

- Lugg

Description
Lugg was a wombat, a small animal that resembled a pygmy bear or a "pig-bear," according to the Batiri. Wombats walked on all four stout legs and had a chubby body covered in fur. Both Byrt and Lugg were about half the size of an adult human male. Lugg's face had round ears, a flat nose, and bristling whiskers.

Out of the two, Lugg was the bigger one. His fur was brown and he had noticeably sad eyes.

Personality
Lugg was the complete opposite of his best friend, Byrt. He was grumpy, introverted, and slow to open up to others. Even though Lugg was annoyed by Byrt's constant chatter, which the bigger wombat learned to channel out, Lugg was a loyal friend, ready to charge into danger for his mate.

History
Both Lugg and Byrt hailed from a tiny island off the coast of Orlil, Lantan. Their home was a small and peaceful community of fifty wombats and an occasional odd platypus.

Lugg made a living by being a decent second-story man, while Byrt was a a "jack-of-all-trades." Sometime in 1361 DR, the captain of a pirate vessel called the Rampage came across the eloquent wombat duo on the beach of their home island while burying the loot from one of their illicit deeds. The scoundrel had never seen talking animals and decided to capture the wombats. The captain hoped to sell the duo to Waterdeep's zoo at the end of the ship's voyage. In some ways, the wombats had high hopes to see a big city and maybe have a career in show business. However, their hopes were shattered on the Rampage's next stop somewhere in Refugee Bay of Chult. There, the pirates decided to strand the wombats, unable and unwilling to listen to Byrt's unending theatrical soliloquy any longer.

Lugg and Byrt spent the next two years in the jungles of Chult, trying to avoid the hungry Batiri goblins until they ran across Artus Cimber in 1362 DR. The wombats accidentally burrowed into the lair of the Batiri "god" Grumog at the same time as the tribe tossed Artus, the explorer from Suzail, to be sacrificed to the monstrosity. Sticking close to each other, the wombats and the adventurer, with Tymora's grace, killed the giant centipede-lizard tentacled creature. Seeing no other way out, Byrt and Lugg dug them out of the "god's" lair and into a sprawling cave system underneath Chult. Eventually, the cavern led the trio to a shimmering yellow magical field. Both wombats became mentally lost and confused while Artus pushed through the magic, dragging the animals past the ensorcelled wall of light. Without knowing it, they'd breached the walls of Mezro, the hidden Tabaxi city, by passing under its magical walls.

Welcomed to Mezro by Dhalmass Rayburton, one of the city's barae, Artus and the wombats found a brief shelter from the dangers of the Chultan jungles. The safety was short-lived as a war with the Batiri was swelling outside the city's walls, goaded by Kaverin Ebonhand and his desire for the secrets of immortality hidden within the Temple of Ubtao. Byrt and Lugg accompanied Dhalmass Rayburton to Ras T'fima's hut outside the city walls. They never reached the destination and were ambushed by goblins. Byrt and Sir Rayburton were captured while Lugg fled to the city, pierced by a goblin arrow. The bigger wombat managed to reach the Temple of Ubtao while bleeding out to inform the barae of what happened to Lord Rayburton. Thankfully, he reached the clerics in time and his life was saved by Ubtao's healing. After recovering, Lugg asked Artus to rescue his friend but they both feared the worst. Later, Lugg accompanied Artus Cimber to Ras Nsi's lair, surrounded by the exiled bara's undead army and logging operation in the heart of the jungles. During that trip, Lugg saved Artus' life by pulling him out of a sinkhole pit.

Once the assault on Mezro commenced, Lugg was tired of waiting for Artus to fulfill his promise and headed out to rescue his mate alone. Lugg found Byrt's cage that was snatched by an opportunistic Batiri and stashed away with other food supplies to consume later. After the goblin army's defeat, Queen M'bobo nearly escaped the battlefield and was getting ready to retreat with several of her warriors, Byrt's cage, and other food supplies. However, Lugg stood alone against trained goblin warriors ready to defend Byrt with his life, until Artus Cimber arrived as he promised to rescue the captured critter.

In the weeks that followed, Lugg and Byrt were nearly inseparable from Artus Cimber during the reconstruction of the city. Eventually, Artus was convinced that the wombats' skills were more helpful in taking care of the city's kids, a task that Lugg found more dangerous and jarring than standing against the Batiri even though he liked the Tabaxi kids. Subsequently, the wombats accompanied Artus and his new wife Alisanda Rayburton to Cormyr, where the wombats got to experience the hustle of a big city and safety from goblins for the first time in years.

By the late 15 century DR, both Byrt and Lugg had died of old age. Artus Cimber had their names tattooed on his fingers above the knuckles as a tribute to his dear friends.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * Tomb of Annihilation
 * Novels
 * The Ring of Winter
 * The Ring of Winter