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Turculon the Worm
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Male
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After the War of Wrath ended the First Age, many of Morgoth's servants escaped to roam free in the world. Of these creatures the most feared (besides Sauron himself and the Balrog) were the Dragons. The Dragons that escaped the wrath of the Valar journeyed along the Iron Mountains eastward to the Withered Heath, where they took up residence, and there they ate, slept, terrorized Dwarves and carried out their bizarre mating rituals.
From one of these matings came a special Dragon, one of the few and lesser ones born after Morgoth's defeat. Turculon (Q. Powerful Golden-red [one]") was his name and he was stunted, being only half the size he should have been upon hatching and never growing to a respectable size. Dragons were never known for their charity and new Dragons always have to fight for a place among the others on the Heath. Of course Turculon realized after a couple of defeats at the hands (and breath) of other Dragons that his place was not in the Ered Mithrin. So he decided to head south through the Misty Mountains, knowing that the Dúnedain and Elves were to the west. He walked because his wings never completely developed and were not capable of supporting him in flight for more than a mile. He made a few stops along the way and had problems with other Dragons, Giants, and the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm. Finally, he found a home in a set of caves near the southern end of the mountain chain, just above the tree-line on the southern side of a craggy mountain. Here he had no competition and did quite well for many 0ears, living off Horn-sheep and the long-haired cattle that inhabited the area. He found that being a smaller Dragon had its advantages, for he did not exhaust the food supply of the area. Years passed and Turculon noticed a mountain pass not far from his lair. This gap was occasionally used by men and Dwarves. Once on this road, he met a party of Dwarves on an expedition looking for Helvorn Wood. Knowing that Dwarves were skilled workers, he decided to spare their lives in return for enlarging and bettering the structures of his lair. As an alternative to death, the Dwarves agreed. When they had finished he had a better home with traps to protect him should anyone try stealing his treasure (what little he had). Then he killed them anyway. The whole experience gave him the splendid idea of using others to do things for him. Soon Turculon had enlisted the aid of some Trolls as servants and began trapping Men, Dwarves, and Elves when he could find them. Some he got to do his bidding, some he just killed and ate, and others he ransomed for gold. The ransoming was always carried out via his servants so that it would seem as though the person had been abducted by Trolls. By obtaining the help of those he captured, as well as the help of his Trolls, he was able to slowly change his cave complex into one large snare designed to trap intelligent beings.
Over the years the flow of traffic in his area of the mountains began to diminish. Although no one knew why at the time, the reason was that people going to that area did not come back. Turculon decided that he would have to increase the flow of traffic to the area if he was to maintain his hobby. His answer to this dilemma was to use some of his remaining captives. The ones that could be bought or hypnotized were sent down into the cities and towns to spread rumors. The rumor to be spread was this: "There is a Dragon living in the mountains that has great riches but is so lazy and stupid that he won't wake up long enough to protect them and probably won't know that they are gone." Along with these subversives, he sent a few items of worth so they could prove their stories. These stories, of course, were not believed by everyone, but one or two adventurous young souls from each town would make the trek into the mountains, and never be heard from again. The rumor-starters would say, "Well, he is probably as rich as a king and living away south in Gondor." Turculon paid his spies well and kept them in regular circulation in the towns, not only to keep the rumors alive but also to gain knowledge of what was happening in the world that might interest him. They returned to him regularly and gave reports.
Notes[]
Original form in MERP: Turukulon → Turculon
"Turukulon" could mean "Wood-golden-one" in early Quenya but the intended meaning was probably "Powerful Gold One", which could be rendered as Turcôlon/Turculuinon/Turculon in Sindarin, the elven language in which he would most likely have had a name ― though Turukulon also could be from an unknown mannish tongue, maybe Dunael.
References[]
- MERP #3600: Dunland and the Southern Misty Mountains