Asp

Asp was a spirit naga assistant of the Zulkir of Alteration, Maligor in Amruthar in Thay circa 1362 DR.

"Wearing a chain mail vest that glinted in the torchlight, Asp moved among the gnolls, demanding their attention and best behavior. The naga, who had resumed her natural form, was forced to kill two of them to set an example before the assemblage came to order."

Description
Unlike other nagas, Asp had a human-like upper torso. Her master wondered if her unusual shape was due to her ability to shapeshift into human or demihuman form or merely a magical illusion. She was almost in length.

Asp's human skin was pale, clear, and delicate and she wore her sable hair close-clipped. Her eyes were blue and she had high cheekbones and red yarberry-colored lips. She wore a strand of expensive black pearls on her slender neck and kept her nails manicured, showing sophistication. Her voice was described to be feminine and sultry. She had a very distinct scent of rotting flesh that displeased her master.

Her lower torso was covered in crimson and charcoal scales resembling a colorful sand boa ridged with armored, triangular scales down her back and tail.

Personality
Asp showed a yearning for magical knowledge, especially when the spells satisfied her sadistic inclinations. She enjoyed watching her master torture and transmute animals into vile monstrosities, and she enjoyed making a show of strength via murder. The sadistic personality only reinforced her feeling of superiority over humans.

Abilities
Asp had magical abilities, both racial of her species, and learned arcane spells from her master. The naga was able to charm lesser males forcing them to do her bidding, and she often did so to command Maligor's armies.

Asp also possessed the ability to shapeshift to a human or demihuman bodies, the spirit naga herself disliked humanoid form, she thought it distasteful and she preferred to have the advantage of a tail.

History
Since 1359 DR the naga has been Maligor's companion and assistant. She started apprenticing the arcane art under him, gaining trust, and being rewarded with the Red Wizard's guard force leader and chief instructor of his army positions.

Asp was power-hungry and to feed her own ambition she "borrowed" Maligor's satchel of dried wyvern blood and attempted to replicate the create darkenbeast spell in secret. She failed, creating a miserable misshapen aberration, it was still under her control though, nevertheless, the naga dismissed the monster by ordering it to massacre the peasants, leading to its attack on the tent city outside Amruthar as well as the harper agents that were staying there overnight.

Asp has prepared the army of gnolls for the ensuing battle, little did she know that her labor was put into a decoy march. Maligor informed her of the change of plans, it angered the bloodthirsty snake-woman which made the red mage think that her usefulness was coming to an end and soon he will have to find a new naga. The true scheme for the power grab was to take over the Thayvian gold mines with Maligor's secret horde of darkenbeasts. Asp was to shapeshift into Willeth Lionson, the recently murdered tharchion of Thaymount, and helm the mines siphoning gold into Maligor's coffers.

The plan was a short-lived success. Soon after the Zulkir placed Asp in the position of the tharchion, flooded the mines with his flying monsters, and enthralled the miners, the harpers arrived leading the undead army of Szass Tam. The harper wizard Brenna Graycloak was able to disperse naga's illusion and the battle ensued. In the scuffle with Brenna, Asp was pushed off the mountain by the falling rocks. Presumably killing her, but Asp's body was never found to confirm her fate.

Appearances

 * Red Magic