"Kerron has found its lair, it is on the eastern slope of Mt. Carrainan. Well hidden from the eyes of its enemies, but not well enough for our Scout."

"Oina could smell the taint in the astral - tomorrow we shall slay the wicked beast."

"We entered the lair today - a mistake which shall not repeat itself. Although we have not encountered Eshaljin we lost twelve brave soldiers in a trap when the ground of the hallway collapsed, Kerron was the only one to survive - his left hand is broken, but with the help of our questor the wound should heal within the next few days.
"The lair is huge, more like a complete kaer than like a simple cave, we cannot confront it there, we have to force Eshaljin to leave its lair."

"We wait - the men are getting restless."

"Kerron has found another entrance at the back of Mt. Carrainan, although he is not sure wether this entrance is closer to Eshaljin's lair or not we shall leave our basecamp and approach it tomorrow."

"We have entered and there seemed to be no more traps present, I'll leave the journal with Kata, our healer, who will stay outside."

"I think they are doomed - I've waited for two weeks now no sign of Dalaiin's group, I shall leave now - I fear the beast is still alive."

Eshaljin's Attributes

DEX: 18	STR: 20	TOU: 20
PER: 23	WIL: 20	CHA: 23

Initiative: 20	Physical Defense: 24
# of Attacks: 3	Spell Defense: 26
Attack: 21	Social Defense: 26
Damage: Claws: 26*2 / Bite: 30	Armor: 22
# of Spells: 3	Mystic Armor: 24
Spellcasting: 25	Knockdown: 23
Effect: See below	Recovery Tests: 10
Death Rating: 260	Combat Move: 60
Wound Threshold: 28	Full Move: 110
Unc. Rating: 220

Karma Points: 30       Karma Step: 16

Powers: Armored Scales 22, Terror 23, Lair Sense 26, Forge Trap 25, Horror Mark 25,

Legend Points: 200,000
Equipment:None
Loot: Magical and threaded items (80% chance of being corrupt), gems, jewelry and coins worth about 250,000sp, all items are tainted and may cause adverse effects, nevertheless all items are worth legend points.

Commentary
      Eshaljin was once a western dragon, although this time has passed. Unlike Vestrivan (p. 96 CoB) he did nothing to attract the attention of the horror known as Eshaljin, to whom he now serves as a (powerful) vessel.
Eshaljin is small even for a normal dragon, being only about 50 feet in length with his tail adding another 70 feet in length. Although it once possessed wings like any western dragon, those have withered and fallen from his body long ago.
At the same time the color of his scales changed from a bright blue to a sick yellow-orange and his body grew slimmer and slimmer.
No matter how much he eats the only thing which gives him sustenance now is pain. Pain from namegivers who stumble in his lair and fall prey to the innumerable traps it has constructed. Eshaljin is not interested in direct confrontation since this provides him with little "food", although he has been know to attack the nearby village of Igardon with his terror power. He left the village and all occupants alive, but constructed numerous traps on the fields and roads toward Igardon.
The traps cannot be sprung by approaching the village, but will only activate once a villager or visitor tries to leave Igardon.
The villagers (who are marked) know this, since many have tried and have failed, their bones still fill the fields of Igardon and mark the villages boundaries. A few visitors have also entered and are now forced to stay within the confines of their open prison, but most visitors try to leave and are slain by Eshaljin's traps.
Eshaljin ensures that there is always enough food by allowing the villagers to plant their fields without springing a trap.

Adventure Hook:
      If the PC's travel overland they may enter Igardon without knowing, but if they travel along the main road they will probably pass other villages, whose inhabitants will tell them not to enter or even approach Igardon.
If they travel across they wilderness they may however enter unknowingly.
Another possibility might be a message from one of the villagers (via Bone Circle, etc.) or an adventuring log which describes that great treasures await the one to end Igardon's misery. (Which is true - over the decades many adepts have entered and died there leaving their treasures in Igardon)
Bright adventurers should notice that entering the village forces them to trick the horror into approaching the city again, (which Eshaljin rarely does) how they come up with a conclusion for this problem should be left up to their creativity.
(Damaging the village or attacking its inhabitants should do the job 'though)