Messenger Snake

A 2-foot snake with metallic jade scales and feathered, pale green parrot wings, it speaks in a soft hiss, has 60-foot infravision, and never loses its bearings.

It was bred to carry mail, not fight, but its bite does 1d6 points of damage and carries a mild venom; failing a save vs. poison means paralysis for 1d4 hours, starting 2d12 rounds later. Its scales change color to match its background, leaving a 50% chance that casual observers miss it, and its flight is 75% silent. Against a gray, overcast sky it is nearly invisible from below.

A secretive cabal of wizards dislikes using birds, and magic is not always dependable or free, so its members bred these snakes. None live wild; all are raised under tight watch. The method used to create them from ordinary snakes is lost, and the cabal pays well for leads.

The snake carries up to two pounds in its coils, usually a scroll, which stays visible because its camouflage does not cover cargo. It can also memorize a 100-word spoken message and recite it only to the right person. At will it can detect lie, and it always asks for a name or code word learned with the message before handing anything over. A unique find the path power, 100-mile radius, works only for finding its recipient. It flies 200 miles daily, resting an hour per 100 miles. Half of those met (50%) carry a small bundle; roll 1d10 on the accompanying table.

These snakes appear wherever the cabal works, including a ruined fortress-city and the cabal's strongholds, and several trading cities and nations now use them too. Others shoot them down, and in the northern moors they are eaten as a delicacy. They eat plants, insects and small rodents, lay 2d4 eggs once a year, and live about forty years. Eggs sell for up to 1,000 gp and hatchlings for 2,500 gp. Rumor says the wizards want the breeding secret because the snakes are getting smarter, making their own language and refusing duty, yet no snake has ever spoken unprompted to confirm it.