Long ago Bicwiden was a hatchling Mithril Dragon, one of the first such creatures to be born. This dragonling was a great prankster. One day he stole Imotnoi's book of ritual magic. When the god came looking for his book the dragonling flew off and hid in the mortal world, thinking he would get into great trouble if he was caught. Once there the dragon was tricked by the hag Dugh into giving her the book. When Imotnoi caught the dragonling he turned him into the mule Bicwiden and sent Bicwiden to Erth, telling him that he would not be able to return or take back his dragon form until he recovers the book.
Bicwiden travels the world, sometimes trying to find ways to get Imotnoi's book back, but often simply traveling, exploring, and sometimes assisting those he deems worthy. He has long since made peace with Imotnoi and is now a great, though little noticed, advocate of Imotnoi's interests in the world. He befriended Ofer Genga many years ago out of loneliness when the old man was but a boy. They have traveled widely since then, as dragon magic has extended Ofer Genga's life beyond the span of most mortals. Even so the old man has little real power and only the ordinary wisdom of a mortal with many years of experience.
Ofer Genga is moderately garrulous. He will happily talk to anyone he meets who is not offensive and looks like they might have something useful to trade or an interesting story. Bicwiden will simply stand by, acting like a stubborn mule. Anyone attempting to take advantage of, harm, or rob Ofer Genga will discover to their great chagrin that the pair can easily take care of themselves.
While Ofer Genga simply plies his walking stick and perhaps uses a few minor charms Bicwiden's hide proves to be amazingly resistant to attacks, his teeth preternaturally sharp, and his hooves both unerring and powerful. Often he will simply manage to step on an evil-doer's foot or cloak at an opportune moment, bite through a belt, etc. If necessary he can unleash various magical powers and even his draconic breath weapon. At such times anyone looking into Bicwiden's eyes would see the eyes of a dragon, ancient, wise, powerful, immortal, and blazing with anger!
Ordinarily Ofer Genga will simply trade with those he meets. If Bicwiden desires a certain deal to happen (for instance he may wish to convey a specific item to a PC) he will certainly make sure the old man offers a suitable deal. Perhaps the mule might balk and cause the item to fall from a pack, etc. One way or another Bicwiden's will is done.
He always has between 2-10 potions, 2-5 scrolls, and 1-3 other items, rarely anything worth more than 1,000 gp in value, or more than 10 lbs in weight. He carries his gear and goods on mule-back. His companion is the ever-stubborn and hat-eating Bicwiden the Mule. How these two manage to wander the sometimes-dangerous roads between villages, nobody is quite certain, but he shows up in Fallcrest at least twice a year.
Intelligence Level 3: Ofer Genga - "the old man" (known by a whole lot of variant names according to whoever speaks of him), is a slightly cracked old man who wanders between Fallcrest and other towns in the Midrealms, buying and selling small trinkets, magic items, potions, scrolls and such. Where he acquires most of his goods is uncertain, but he does sometimes buy from adventurers.
Intelligence Level 6: There is more than meets the eye to Ofer Genga. In fact he is considerably more powerful than he appears. The mule Bicwiden is also endowed with considerable power of some sort. While not overtly dangerous these two should not be triffled with.
Intelligence Level 12 Bicwiden is the more powerful of the pair, and is definitely not an ordinary mule at all. He has been known to breath fire and perform other very extraordinary actions when seriously threatened. It is known that a powerful Orcish shaman once attempted to capture him and as a result was killed outright.
Intelligence Level 17: Bicwiden is actually the outward form of a powerful draconic exarch of the god Imotnoi. He is at least powerful enough to defeat any currently known human heroes, though he has been known to ally with and assist those who serve interests compatible with Imotnoi. Copyright © 2022 Tod G. Harter. All rights reserved. No unauthorized distribution without the express written permission of the copyright holder. This document was prepared using Hairball version 0.5.1 on 2022-02-26 License