Vorvorak

Those trespassing on abandoned canals might come face-to-face with a vorvorak, a large creature that resembles a dragon or crocodile. These territorial beasts keep hoards that they disguise with magical illusions, using their natural talent for spellcasting. Often mistaken for dragons, vorvoraks are commonly referred to as canal dragons or mud dragons. However, they aren't truly related to dragons but rather evolved from local crocodiles and exposure to innate magic in the region of Taldor.

Vorvoraks are solitary creatures, preferring to hunt in the early morning or early evening. In general, vorvoraks make their lairs in areas with some submersion. Such places let them hide their hordes and use their brown, mossy bodies as a natural form of stealth. Due to their evolution and magical contamination, vorvoraks have limited innate magical abilities, allowing them to control the water around them and infuse it with their own poisonous bile.

All vorvoraks share a common trait: hoarding treasure. Many fill their lairs with coins, gems, and anything shiny they take from their victims, with some older hoards containing relics of the surrounding imperial nations. The condition of the items is of no importance to the vorvoraks; a hoard is just as likely to contain junk as items of true value.

A fully grown vorvorak is around 24 feet long and weighs approximately 3,000 pounds, with muddy brown scales, a serpentine neck, and hard fins on their back that resemble wings.