Delsaur B. Lizzard

Note: Details about Jessica Dundragon's backstory are pending, but the way it ties into Delsaur's story is pretty much certain.

EARLY YEARS

Delsaur grew up in the big city of Waterdeep, and is thus most at-home among modern urban comforts. When he was young, he was fascinated by word puzzles and ciphers, and enjoyed the sort of slight-of-hand magic tricks performed by street entertainers. As he grew up, and became more aware of the corruption among high-ranking city officials, he began to wonder, and worry, if something as innocent and simple as magic tricks could fool the eyes in this way, what could be accomplished by those with even more power and resources? It was the start of his research into his theories about a level of government even higher than the King, a Secret Society of wealthy and powerful wizards whose lineage goes back generations, and whose control over the modern society runs deep. He hadn't been able to prove who they are, but he found evidence of their influence almost anywhere he goes, if he looks hard enough.

Many of his studies were conducted in Waterdeep, using the resources gathered by the local University. It was here that he met a minotaur named Grant, whose research happened to overlap somewhat with Delsaur's. Though, Grant's field of study was more focused on paranormal investigation, following leads about people who claim to have been abducted by otherworldly beings from beyond the stars. Delsaur and Grant became close friends and would often conduct field research together, although Delsaur was not nearly as suited to being out in nature. He was never good with animals and had few survival skills, easily getting lost in the most mild of terrain. Still, he felt confidence with Grant. Even when Grant moved away to Phandalin to set up his own research lab, he and Delsaur kept in regular correspondence, sharing notes, theories, encouragement, and the occasional flirtatious letter.

DELSAUR'S FIRST BIG BREAK

Delsaur's first major accomplishment was his research into the goings-on at a small village that was, supposedly, protected by a thousands-year-old Golden Dragon. As per tradition, the villagers would bring gifts of treasure and livestock to the elders, who would then deliver the goods to the secret location where the Dragon lived. In exchange for the nourishment and for keeping her lair safe, the Dragon would protect the village from raiders, natural disasters, and other troubles. But, no one had ever seen the dragon, so Delsaur was immediately suspicious of the elders who were asking the citizens to bring them their hard-earned gold and livestock.

After spending some time spreading his ideas around town, a number of villagers began to agree with him that this tradition was awfully suspicious. Even when confronted about it, the elders refused to tell them the location of the Dragon's lair. Delsaur, however, believed he discovered the location on his own, using maps he pilfered from the mayor's office. He examined the spot closely, but found no evidence of a dragon, or any large creature or treasure hoard, for that matter! Rather than being discouraged in his quest, he found this to be all the evidence he needed that the elders were lying to the people. And, soon enough, the villagers decided to abandon their leaders and cease giving up their food and wealth.

Delsaur left the village feeling accomplished, and with renewed energy to continue his research into disproving dragons and saving cities all over the land from the corruption of their leaders.

[Unbeknownst to Delsaur, there really WAS a dragon in that village. She was old and reclusive, and without her regular offerings, she lacked the strength to protect her village successfully.]

He spent many of his adult years at the library, writing tomes upon tomes of his findings and theories, until one night, a fire destroyed everything. There were no witnesses, but the damage was consistent with reports of fire-breathing dragon attacks. Delsaur, however, believed it was something else. He believed that the "Wizard Elite" were onto him, trying to stop his research, to warn him not to pursue them any further. To Delsaur, this arson was confirmation that his theories were correct, and he wasn't going to simply stand by and let the Elite push the blame onto some mysterious "dragon" while they go about committing crimes against the common man.

[In truth, the Gold Dragon used the last of her strength to burn down his library, not to kill him, but to scare him off. Despite her efforts, though, the villagers didn't come around with gifts as much as they used to--as many still didn't believe. So she had to take on a smaller form that could survive more easily on fewer resources, and was better at hiding among humanoids. She requested the assistance of a much older, more powerful dragon, who offered to transform her in exchange for her whole hoard. The transformation left her with a new human body, and very few memories of her dragon life. She departed for Phandalin on a journey of self-discovery, under her new name: Jessica Dundragon.]

From then on, Delsaur continued his research even harder, this time keeping all his original notes close by and on his person at all times, but also sharing his knowledge with whoever will listen. He is determined to wake people up to the truth, and, someday, bring down the Wizard Elite so that the Kingdom can prosper without any secrets and schemes that hold its citizens back.There is no such thing as dragons, he believes, but rather, a conspiracy by the Wizard Elite to hide something much more nefarious.

RECENT YEARS

Delsaur arrived in Phandalin to continue his research, following a "lead" from an old friend: The day after the fire, Delsaur had received a letter via pseudodragon from Dr. Grant, a colleague in Phandalin, which included a diagram of a strange, complex machine that Delsaur had never seen before. The letter had little context, but that was all fine, as Delsaur would rather discuss such curiosities with Grant in person. He hurried to Phandalin to meet with Grant and ask for more information, but by the time he got there, he learned that his friend was now deceased, and all of his research gone, supposedly donated far away to Waterdeep University. Officially, the cause of death was "natural causes," but Delsaur was not so sure. Perhaps Grant was also targeted by the Elite after stealing these mechanical blueprints. Or, perhaps, it was yet another threat to Delsaur to stop his research. How nefarious of them to target those close to him! He set out to the graveyard to find the plot where Grant was buried, hoping to inspect his corpse for a true cause of death. However, upon digging up the grave, he found the casket empty. This lack of evidence confirmed it for him: the Wizard Elite must have murdered Grant to send a message, and destroyed the body to hide its clues!

Since then, Delsaur saught with new determination to find out who IS among the Wizard Elite, and, if he can, find out the truth about his friend's death, and find the ultimate proof he needs to show the world that "dragons" are just a grand conspiracy.

PREVIOUS CAMPAIGN: THE DRAGON OF ICESPIRE PEAK

Since arriving in Phandalin, Delsaur has teamed up with a number of adventurers who are investigating reports of an enormous White Dragon:

Bard Skaldson, the Human (actually, Fallen Aasimar) Bard, and their mastiff companion, Molossus
Jessica Dundragon, the Human (once a dragon) Fighter
Wurem Ives, the Half-Elf Artificer, and their mechanical companion, Warf
Yemcel, the mischievous Kenku Warlock

Of greatest curiosity to Delsaur is Wurem, for the mechanical companion accompanying them matches EXACTLY to the diagram sent to him by Dr. Grant. Furthermore, Wurem's unusual "steampunk" attire and claims of arriving here accidentally from another world got Delsaur thinking: were Grant's theories about extraterrestrials for real?

[Unbeknownst to Delsaur, Wurem and Warf were teleported to the Forgotten Realms in an accident with a machine on their homeworld of Eberron. When the portal they fell through opened up near Phandalin, they landed with a crash in some trees near where Grant was investigating reports of mysterious disappearances, hoping to find clues of alien abductions. The fall left Wurem unconscious and Warf damaged, and Grant, witnessing this, hurried back to town to get help. But, by the time he returned, Wurem had woken up and fled with a now-inert Warf. Unable to find the mysterious outsiders, Grant returned to his lab that night to make detailed notes on what he witnessed. Wanting to hear Delsaur's take on the machine, he sent the diagram in a letter affixed to Yastreb, his pseudodragon, and sent her away to Delsaur's library. That night, Grant supposedly passed away in his sleep, but in truth, his spirit was abducted by an extradimensional entity who will later become his Otherworldly Warlock Patron.]

Over the course of the adventure, Delsaur has learned his own version of his favorite magic tricks, using real arcane magic beyond simple illusions. Most notably, his trick of "pulling a rabbit out of a hat" allowed him to cast Find Familiar, summoning--though inadvertently--Grant's pseudodragon, Yastreb. Though not a true dragon, Yastreb's appearance and interaction with the party has had a certain effect on Jessica--reminding her of the dragon she once was, helping her to tap into her old powers.

Despite everything, Delsaur firmly stuck to his beliefs about dragons not being real, until one night when the party was feasting together at a hunting lodge, telling stories over drinks. It was then that Delsaur told the party about his FIRST BIG BREAK, how he once saved a village from its corrupt leaders trying to fool people into thinking a dragon needed their food and gold. Hearing this story, Jessica realized that HE was the one who caused her to lose everything all those years ago. Although he was in disbelief at first, he could not argue the specifics when Jessica named the exact time and place that the events occurred. Suddenly, everything made sense. His worldview was flipped entirely, and he felt immense guilt over what he had done. He has decided to do whatever he can to make it up to her, but he isn't sure what exactly he CAN do.

But despite the pain of realizing his life's work of theories were wrong, this revelation has allowed him to see his research from a new perspective: not reading BETWEEN the lines anymore, but the truth of the facts themselves. All those years of studying dragons and dragon lore may, in fact, be helpful to them as they get closer and closer to facing the White Dragon who has been tormenting the region.

-

After the villainous White Dragon was slain, Delsaur spent a lot of time examining its body, taking detailed notes and observations. It was his first time seeing a real dragon up close, and even then, it was almost hard to believe that he could have descended from a creature of such incredible size, magic, and power. He wondered if it was too late to tap into that side of his ancestry. In any case, he had undeniable proof of dragons, and he vowed to spread this truth to anyone who denied it as he once did.

It was the next day that he noticed that the scales he had lost from an acid trap were beginning to grow back, but this time in gold. Was it possible that being close to the White Dragon, or to Jessica Dundragon, awakened the dragon within him? He intends to explore this further, hoping that it will perhaps give him answers about where he came from, and maybe even what happened to Grant. Maybe he could still become strong enough to fight the evil wizards who he is still sure are behind his friend's death (disappearance?). After all, the "dragons are a myth" conspiracy has been resolved, but the secret wizard society, surely, must be out there somewhere...

CURRENT CAMPAIGN: TOMB OF ANNIHILATION

NOTE: Details about Delsaur's exploits between Icespire Peak and Tomb of Annihilation are pending and subject to change, but this is my current idea for what he's been up to.

In the weeks following the defeat of the White Dragon, Delsaur has returned to his investigation of Grant's death or disappearance. His best lead so far was to follow up with the Waterdeep University, which was, supposedly, the sole inheritor of Grant's extraterrestrial research. He discovered that, while it did in fact reach the University safely, it was then quickly retrieved and removed from the premises. The strangest thing, though, was that, according to the University officials, the person who claimed the research was a Silver Dragonborn using Delsaur's name. As this had occurred around the time the party was at Icespire Peak, there was no way Delsaur could have somehow done so unawares. Hearing this news, Delsaur wonders which of the evil wizards have been using his identity, and for what nefarious purpose...

[Unbeknownst to Delsaur, Grant had been abducted by his Otherworldly Patron and had been in a space between the realms during the events of Icespire Peak. Grant has since been returned to the Material Plane under a strict contract with his Patron that forbids him from discussing his otherworldly findings. As such, his Patron wanted him to intercept and destroy all of his research before any of the professors in Waterdeep could get ahold of it. As Grant is now assumed dead in the Material Plane, he could not collect the files himself, so he used a Disguise Self spell using magic borrowed from his Patron, and took the form of Delsaur, knowing that the closeness of their relationship would be the most convincing persuasion to getting the research back. And, the plan worked. He has been unable to contact Delsaur since his return to life, and does not know where to find him (he first tried going to Delsaur's library, finding it had been burned down). As an important note, Grant has not seen Delsaur since prior to Icespire Peak, so he is not aware of Delsaur's current appearance. His disguise is based on how he saw him last, as well as his impression of his mannerisms. He is currently unaware of Delsaur's exploits but is hoping to find him at some point. As Grant is a Pact of the Chain Warlock, his Patron can decide to contact him through his familiar, but so far it has not done so. So, Delsaur for now can continue using Yastreb as his familiar.]