#the rangers apprentice has taken over my life it’s a problem someone help me

[findingcrow]

Why have I not seen LITERALLY ANYONE talk about how in Erak’s Ransom, when Will saves the group, Horace yells “Will!!” And holds up his tied hands AND WILL SHOOTS IT AND FREES HIM??? LIKE THAT WAS SO COOL WHY DO WE NEVER TALK ABOUT THAT????? The fact that, number one, Horace knew Will was skilled enough to do it, number two, Horace TRUSTED Will not to shoot his hand, number three, Will understood what Horace wanted him to do, and finally, the fact that WILL WAS ABLE TO DO IT IN THE FIRST PLACE?? Now obviously rangers are very trained and blah blah blah but THATS STILL BADASS????

[forgedroyalseal]

Small and Annoying (and adorable)

When Will read the letter he had received from Halt, he tried not to panic. He was moderately successful. The letter was vague, which Will hoped was merely Halt being Halt and not because of some terrible circumstance that was preventing him from going into to further detail. What the “terrible circumstance” could be, Will wasn’t sure. Something absolutely dreadful though. Perhaps Halt was ill, too weak to write more. Or maybe he was being held captive and wasn’t allowed the time to explain. Will ran his hand through his hair as he reread the letter, trying to reassure himself that he was getting ahead of himself.

Will,

I need your help. I have a problem that only you can solve. Come as soon as possible.

Halt

Rereading the brief letter did not help. Will folded the letter and slipped it into his pocket as he stood from his kitchen table, the rest of his mail unopened and abandon in a pile. He grabbed his cloak, which was hanging on a hook by the door and turned to Ebony, who had lifted her head up from the floor to watch Will, waiting to see if he needed her.

“Stay here and be a good girl, I’m going to check on Halt.” He said to her. She seemed happy with this decision, her head thudding against the floor as she lowered it and her paws stretching out towards the small fire Will had lit earlier in afternoon. Normally she was eager to accompany Will wherever he went, even softly whining to herself if he told her she wasn’t allowed to go. Today, however, was a cold, wet October day, and she was quite content with letting Will make this particular trip without her.

Tug on the other hand didn’t seem effected by the miserable weather. Or perhaps he just knew that when he and Will returned home, he would be able to guilt Will into giving him an extra apple. Whatever the case was, Tug carried Will quickly to castle Redmont, only slowing down to avoid crashing into the few towns people that were milling about the town square. Will dismounted Tug and lead him over to the shelter of the stables. He loosed the saddle but didn’t fully untack Tug. He wasn’t sure what Halt needed him for and wanted to be ready for anything. He gave Tug an apple from a basket outside of the stall. Will looked around and caught the eye of a boy holding a rake and staring at him wide eyed.

“Please leave the saddle on him and make sure he has water.”

The boy bobbed his head up and down, still a little star stuck. Must be new, Will thought. He can’t help but notice the amount of people who stare at him when he is in town, trying (and failing) to be discreet as they point him out to their friends. But this is still where he grew up. It’s where he ran around as a little boy, it’s where he was trained as an apprentice, it’s his home. So, while he was honored and respected, people didn’t tend to get this shocked by the sight of him.

“Thank you.” Will said, giving him a half smile. Then he turned and started to make his way to Halt’s apartment. He had taken more time than he meant to in the stables, but Will had been trained to make sure that he always took care of Tug. And if this wasn’t a life threatening emergency, which Will still wasn’t completely convinced it wasn’t, then Halt would be irritated if he had learned that Will had neglected Tug due to his paranoia.

When Will arrived in front of Halt and Pauline’s door, he had a list of horrible possibilities running through his mind. After taking a breath to steady himself, Will knocked firmly. Lady Pauline opened it, a warm smile spreading across her face.

“Will, what a pleasant surprise, please come in.”

Will furrowed his eyebrows, “Surprise? Halt asked me to come. Did he not mention it to you?”

Pauline opened her mouth to reply, but before she could say anything, Halt stepped into the room and said, “No I did not.”

Will and Pauline both turned to look at him. Seeing that Halt was unharmed and didn’t seem to be in any distress, the tension in Will’s shoulders left and he relaxed.

“What do you need from me Halt?” Will asked, the worry that had been occupying his mind being replaced with curiosity.

Halt glanced at his wife, “Perhaps it would be better to discuss this in the study.”

“Why, is it about a mission? I didn’t hear anything from Crowley.” Will said.

“No, this isn’t Ranger business.” Halt trailed off.

“Oh good lord! Halt, is this about the dog?” Pauline exclaimed.

Will perked up, “Dog? What dog? Is there a dog?” He started looking around, as if he expected to suddenly see a dog on the floor that hadn’t been there a second ago.

“Now look what you’ve done Pauline, he’s all worked up.” Halt sighed.

“I can’t believe that you made him come over in such a rush for this.” Pauline said, an exasperated look on her face.

“I didn’t make him do anything. He just respects me so much that he felt the need to hurry.”

Will stopped his search for the dog that Pauline mentioned to say, “You told me to come as soon as possible. I thought you were dying.”

“Well now you are just being dramatic.” Halt grumbled.

“So what is it then that you need my help with?” Will asked.

“I have a... situation that I need your advice on.”

“And there is a dog involved?” Will prodded, hoping the answer was yes.

“The dog is the situation. There’s this stray that won’t leave me alone. I need you to tell me how to get rid of it. You’re good with dogs.”

Will tried not to laugh. Apparently he’s not very successful because Halt says, “It’s not funny. I can’t walk outside without it following me. Every time I think I’m in the clear, it shows up behind me. The thing is a better tracker than half the ranger’s I know.” Halt’s face was dead serious, which made the whole thing even funnier to Will.

“I don’t really see the issue Halt. The dog likes you. You should be happy.”

“It’s a nuisance. I’ll prove it to you.” Halt walks out the door and Will follows him. They make it barely three steps outside before they hear a small yip. Will and Halt both turn around to see a small, black and tan terrier behind them, shaking slightly in the cold but happily wagging it’s little tail none the less.

Halt gestures to the dog, “Now you see what I’m talking about! It a little terror.”

Will crouches down and lets the shaggy dog sniff his hand. Immediately the dog rolls down on to it’s back and Will starts rubbing it’s belly.

“Oh I see it Halt. He’s clearly a monster. How have you managed to survive all this?” Will says sarcastically. Halt only rolls his eyes in response.

Will looks up at Halt, “Seriously though, why is this dog such a problem for you?”

“It’s small and annoying, two things you have in common with it.”

Will just stares up at Halt, his head now tilted slightly to the side. The dog sits up and Halt has a sudden realization. Will and the dog have the exact same expression on their faces. Heads both tilted to the right, big brown eyes looking up at him. Halt sighed, he’d never be able to not see the similarities now.

“You know Halt,” Will said as he stood, “if the dog wants to be with you so much, maybe you should just take him home with you. After all, you are pretty good with orphans.” Will had a soft smile on his face and it occurs to Halt that he never should have let Will see the dog because there was no way he would let Halt do anything other than bring it back to the apartment.

“Absolutely not. I’ve done my time with raising small, excitable things. At least you and Gilan were somewhat house trained.”

Will bends down and scoops the dog into his arms. “Maybe you’re right Halt. You are getting on in years. You probably don’t have the energy to care for him. After all, you are practically retired and a dog would just interrupt all of those midday naps.”

Halt narrowed his eyes. It was a trap. Halt knew it was a trap. He shouldn’t let himself be manipulated by his former apprentice. “I have plenty of energy. I could raise twenty dogs if I wanted too.” So much for not being manipulated.

Will grinned widely and Halt knew that he had lost. “Well then, this one little dog won’t be any problem, will it?”

Halt sighed and closed his eyes. Realistically he knew that if he truly didn’t want the dog, Will couldn’t force him to keep it. But there was a small (or not so small) part of him that missed having someone to take care of. Pauline was wonderful, but she didn’t need anyone to take care of her. This little scrap of a dog reminded Halt so much of Will when they first met, too small and too alone to be able to be left behind.

“Only if Pauline says it’s okay.”

(Pauline, of course, said yes. She knew that there was no way Will would let Halt come home without the dog. She even set up a basket with a couple old blankets next to Halt’s favorite chair as soon as they had left.)

[thelastranger]

The Trial

This is the companion piece to “The Catalyst”, which takes places in my Place Swap au. It takes pace during Icebound Land.

King Halt strood through the doors to his throne room broodingly. He was not looking forward to this meeting, though, to be fair, he didn’t forward to most of his meetings. This meeting in particular was an agonizing one for Halt and for everyone involved. Last night, Duncan, one of his oldest friends, was seen publicly insulting the crown and was arrested in a tavern. Halt could forgive Duncan in an instant for the words spoken, words were nothing without actions and Halt knew that Duncan was nothing but loyal to the crown, but it seemed  like this loyalty was surpassed by love for Cassie, his apprentice. The dilemma was that Duncan had insulted him in a public place with several witnesses. The law demanded a heavy consequence, one Halt was not sure he could order in this stressful time. 

As Halt sat frowning on his oak leaf throne, Queen Pauline came in and laid a comforting hand on his shoulder as she sat down on her throne. It was a trying time for them both and they understood Duncan’s pain as their son, Will, was stuck in Skandia alongside Cassie. Halt relaxed slightly under Pauline’s touch, smiling faintly at her. Pauline was the grounding force for Halt and without her, Halt would have lost control of the throne ages ago. Halt was prone to rash action and keeping to himself, but with Pauline helping him, he was a good and just king. Pauline maneuvered through the court at ease, gathering information and helping form strong policies to help the citizens of Araluen. 

Pauline smiled back, but there were tight lines around her face that Halt was sure were mirrored in his own face. Everyone was stressed and tired, what with the war breaking and the prince missing. Duncan had put them in an impossible place. 

Lord Crowley came in and gave the couple a sympathetic look. The redhead was Halt’s oldest and closest companion as well as the royal Chamberlain. Crowley was also a close friend of Duncan’s and understood exactly what position Halt and Pauline were in. He did not want to have this meeting any more than they did. However, duty called despite the strain it puts on the heart. 

Crowley cleared his throat, not wanting to interrupt the tender moment between Halt and Pauline. “It’s time.”

In a different universe, Crowley would still be doing paperwork and dealing with rule-breaking rangers, but here he was just the Chamberlain who had a duty to do. 

Halt and Pauline broke away from each other’s eyes and Halt reluctantly, gruffly said “Let’s get this done with.”

Duncan had saved Halt’s life at least three times and the kingdom of Araluen twice over the past two decades and more importantly, been there for Halt when his mother died and he became king. Crowley locked eyes with Halt, nodded, and banged the large ebony staff on the ground thrice. The heavy doors of the throne room swung open and the trial began. 

Crowley had only invited the necessary amount of people needed to be present at the meeting to minimize the shame everyone felt and they all filed in somberly as though this was a funeral, which it very well could be if Halt chose to order it so. Baron Arald was in front of the line and Anthony slipped in behind him, his ranger cloak swishing slightly. Several other noblemen filled in the middle and at the end of the procession were four watchmen surrounding a well built man in ranger green and gray. His blonde hair was mussed up and surrounded his bruised face, compliments of the watchmen from last night. Halt grimaced at the sight of Duncan’s puffy face and despite the situation, blurted out “Is your face alright?” 

Halt immediately winced at his gaff and so did several people in the audience. Pauline, as always, kept a straight face. Duncan looked his concerned friend in the eye and briefly could not hide the deep sadness he felt. He knew he was causing unimaginable pain to Halt and Pauline, but this was the only course of action that would allow him to bring back Cassie and Will, despite what the crown thought. This moment passed and Halt now only saw resolve and fire in Duncan’s green eyes. 

Duncan looked away and responded flatly. “It’s been better,” Almost as an afterthought, he wryly added, “Your Majesty.”

Crowley acted like someone had insulted his sizable nose. “Pay the king the proper respect!” he snapped. This caused whispers to break out amongst the audience, though Baron Arald and Anthony were noticeably silent, and the watchmen started to surround Duncan again. Halt got up off of his throne and yelled into the commotion. “Shut up!” This caused the whispering to stop and for the watchmen to back away from Duncan, the remorse and shame written clearly on their faces. No one wanted this trial to happen. As Halt sat back down with his arms crossed, scowling, Crowley gave a small cough and Pauline nudged Halt hard. He didn’t budge and so Pauline took it upon herself to take charge of the proceedings since someone had to obey royal procedure. 

“Lord Crowley, please proceed by reading the charges” she ordered gracefully. Crowley gave her a look of gratitude and tried to shake of the uncomfortable look on his face. 

“Ahem. Ranger Duncan, a sworn member of the king’s royal forces and carrier of the silver oakleaf, was heard last night insulting the king’s rule, his person, and his birthright,” From the throne, Halt and Pauline could see Anthony shy his head away, like he was trying to conceal a wince and they could hear Arald sigh heavily. Crowley looked at Halt and continued on, directly addressing Halt. 

“In accordance to Araluen law, such words are in direct opposition of the oath of loyalty Duncan swore, which constitutes as treason.” Crowley looked slightly pained as did almost everyone in the room. The law was crystal clear when it came to treason of this magnitude. There were only two options for Halt to choose. And he wanted to choose neither one. 

Duncan let out a chuckle, low and mirthless. "You could add a couple charges of public intoxication if it makes this any easier for you, Crowley. I never was an easy drunk." Crowley flushed red in response and before anyone could say another word, Halt erupted out of his chair. 

"Dang it, Duncan. I know what you're doing! I would've done the same thing if I was in your position, but we need you here," Pauline had never seen Halt this angry. Fire was dancing in his dark eyes and despite his short stature, Halt commanded the room. All eyes were on him. "Do you think we don't want Will and Cassie back? We're doing everything we can!" 

Duncan had enough sense to stay quiet at first, but once Halt had paused in his yelling, he started up scornfully. "You're not doing everything you can. You could be sending me for one! There’s a big difference between how Will would be treated and how Cassie would be treated. Your son is the prince and a valuable hostage after all." Anthony started to rise up out of his chair and the watchmen’s hands tensed around their weapons. It seemed like a fight between Halt and Duncan was imminent. 

"That's enough!" Queen Pauline's voice rang out through the din. It was up to her to stop the rift between two friends from growing wider. Halt glared at Duncan before settling down and Pauline took the floor. Duncan was never one to lose sight of the bigger picture and now it seemed he was willing to throw everything away for his apprentice, a feeling Pauline could understand. But duty called and the situation with Morgarath was getting more and more dangerous each day. Halt and Pauline, the kingdom, needed Duncan to stay, but he had forced their hand. 

“Ranger Duncan, do you deny these charges read to you?” Pauline offered no easy way out, not that Duncan would have taken it at this point. 

“No, your Majesty,” he said, averting his eyes. He could face his oldest and dearest friends, but he couldn’t face Pauline. “I said some pretty terrible things about your husband that I can’t take back.” 

And that was part of the problem, Duncan had said all these things in front of several public witnesses. There was no going back and the worst part was that Pauline knew Duncan was right. Will would be treated well after the Skandians found out his identity, but Cassie wouldn’t get that privilege. 

Crowley broke in. “The defendant has pleaded guilty to the charges against him and if he doesn’t have anything else to say, it is time for the sentencing.” This was a direct warning for Halt and for everyone else in the room. No one came to Duncan’s defense. It was time for Halt to sentence one of his best friends to one of two impossible consequences. His mother warned Halt that being a king was harder than anyone could ever imagine and he knew that this was the type of situation she was talking about. His heart was full of grief and anger, anger for Duncan and the helplessness he felt. 

As Halt refused to say anything for several minutes, Crowley reluctantly had to remind his friend of the policy. “There are two posssible punishments for high treason, banishment or death.” The already low mood in the throne room lowered considerably at that last word. It was a grim reminder of the real consequences of Duncan’s actions. Halt slumped lower in his throne, but Pauline straightened up. She needed everyone to hear these words again.

“Death or banishment, you said, Crowley? Those are indeed the only two options, right?” 

“Yes Queen Pauline, those are the only options in this case.” At this Pauline almost had a smile on her face and took Halt away from the throne by the arm, shielding him away from the rest of the room. They furiously whispered for a minute and then broke apart from each other, Halt giving off the air of utmost satisfaction as he walked back and stood in front of the throne. He turned to Duncan and Duncan was taken aback by the look in his eyes. It was a mixture of relief and sadness. 

“Duncan,” Halt began. “Former King’s Ranger to the Redmont Fief. I, as the rightful and legitimate ruler of the realm of Araluen, hereby banish you from all my lands and holdings.” From the side, Anthony let out a sigh of relief. He didn’t think Halt would kill Duncan, but high treason was a dangerous charge. No one knew how this trial would turn out. Halt continued om, looking straight at Duncan and the pain is his eyes. Duncan loved Araluen like it was his second home and Halt knew Duncan was hurting deep inside.

“You are forbidden to step onto the Araluen kingdom under the punishment of death for one year.” 

The throne room exploded into commotion. Pauline was smiling widely at Halt, while Crowley looked pleased at this development. There was no way he was going to protest. Halt’s decision broke several hundred years of tradition, but Crowley didn’t care. Baron Arald had stood up in joy and Anthony just sat beside him with a smug look on his face. Duncan, however, was the most startled by the decision. He stood there looking startled, like he’d never considered that this trial might play out the way it had. 

Pauline took her place next to Halt. “The law, not tradition, speaks for the throne. Duncan, you have forty eight hours to leave Araluen land. The king and queen have spoken.” At that, she and Halt exited the throne room, glancing back once at Duncan’s face. It had softened from shock to understanding and he gave a crooked smile to the couple as they left. 

Crowley had to bang his staff on the ground several times before the room was silent again. He smirked at Duncan before starting to speak. 

“These matters are closed. Watch, please escort him out.” The Watch started to pull Duncan back out of the oak doors and as Crowley strood by him, Duncan could hear him mutter “You aren’t getting away from us that easily, you big lug.” Duncan looked up and smiled back for the first time that day. Baron Arald and Anthony weren’t allowed to talk to Duncan, but Duncan knew he would be getting an earful from them before his banishment started. Anthony, by law, was required to walk Duncan to the border and watch him leave. 

Feelings started to overwhelm Duncan as he was dragged out, but with the support from his friends, everything would work out.

[dreadlock-detective]

All of my 5th ed D&D characters together, by order of appearance: Adi the Paladin (Crimson Crow Campaign), Beatrice the Monk/Cleric, Cirilisa the Wizard, Dindelion the Sorceress, Elenor the Ranger/Wizard, and Adi the Cleric (Curse of Strahd Campaign) (yes that’s A B C D E, and then A again)

My characters tend to have rather large issues that would, if they were left on their own without their respective groups/getting caught up in the campaign, ensure they’d never actually succeed in their goals. As such I’ve really enjoyed distilling each of them down to a single word, an essence of what lays behind their entire psyches. And they’re all bad. Yes, even “Justice”, due to the circumstances~ Ramble about each of them after the cut~

Adi the Paladin (of the Crimson Crows) is a bit of a special case, the only one whose impediment to their success isn’t strictly speaking herself. The child of nobles who collected ancient artifacts, it is said one day they lost themselves to madness. Adi was taken in by her aunt and uncle who raised her the best she could, but as she grew they found she too was prone to bouts of madness and hysteria. One day, when the man they had hired to exercise whatever demons lay upon her mind was found upon the floor, the girl bloodying his face with her fists, she was deemed incurable and quietly shipped away to join a peace-keeping force of ex-criminals and other undesirables known as the Crimson Crows.

She always thought of herself as a hero - a warrior of good and bringer of justice. The problem lays in that she was, originally, a warlock/barbarian of a Great Old One (Nyarlathotep), which warped how she saw the world to fit how she saw herself. For example, if she killed someone, it’s because that person deserved to be killed - if not for the reasons she was attacking them, then for something else. A self proclaimed Hero of the People who’s powers came from something far more likely to destroy the world, manipulating her towards its goals.

She had a rather happy ending, though - some of the other PC’s betrayed her trust and managed to sever her connection to Nyarlathotep, afterward she became a Paladin and through the power of friendship (with a colony of Mind Flayers - its a weird story) she managed to become the hero she always thought she was, ending a war with minimal bloodshed and bringing down an ancient evil.

Beatrice the Monk/Cleric of Death The young Bea, in a desperate attempt to save her clan from a powerful and deceptive mage, ended up selling her soul to a litch, turning her into a pseudo-undead herself. As it turns out, her clan who hunted the undead as abominations and mislead by the mage didn’t take kindly to that story, and she joined the Crimson Crows instead of facing their wrath. Faced with the knowledge that she had become the thing she had sworn to destroy to save those that now cast her out, she lost hope that she could ever reclaim her soul and, even among her new family of misfits, feared they would abandon her as well.

Sadly, she never got an end to her story - she got switched out for Adi when the campaign Adi was originally in was abruptly abandoned. Later on her and her wizard friend (another PC who had left the game) who both were hunting that evil mage found themselves mind-controlled into helping him resurrect an ancient draco-litch. She was saved by Adi & co, but now was worse off than ever, having played a pivotal role in bringing back a terrible undead horror, no matter how unwillingly. If we ever play another campaign in that world, I’d love to give her a proper story.

Cirilisa the Wizard Oh precious Ciri, the littlest Drow~ When a rival house murdered her entire family she became a young murder hobo in the underdark, growing up sickly and frail. Eventually she attempted to get her revenge but only managed to steal and sell some artifact from the family, along with getting a massive scar across her midsection from a blast from the family’s matriarch. Somehow escaping to the surface, her unconscious body was found by scouts of the Crimson Crows, who brought her back to relative health and gave her a new home, where she eventually set herself on becoming a moderately accomplished wizard. Her loss in childhood had deadened her already drow heart, but living among the surface world she saw so many people with so many emotions. She didn’t understand them, but she secretly coveted what they had.

I had planned that she would start to fall in love with the first PC that went out of their way to protect or help her from a serious problem - a plan that was designed to end poorly. The three candidates were a loner dwarf who didn’t want anything to do with anyone else, a were-bear orc who was 100% gay, and a minotaur who was already in a committed relationship. But even though the feelings wouldn’t be returned, she would FEEL things and grow as a character... well...

I didn’t expect that character (the orc) to protect her from drow assassins who nearly managed to kill her... and then THE NEXT NIGHT sacrifice his soul to a revenant of a man he had killed to protect the party. Before Ciri even had a chance to start acknowledging or understanding what she was feeling the object of her affections was dead and buried along the roadside. Instead of love, she grew bitter and angry, desperate to find a way to save the orc’s soul, all without really knowing why. She died before she could - her heart ripped from her chest by a wraith of vampiric spirits in a climatic boss battle. But that group’s leader, a PC vampire named Walter, destroyed the wraith, took it’s title and powers as Blood Lord, and raised her as a vampire. She’s still a ball of piss and vinegar, but she’s in a way found herself in a new family, charging herself with constantly keeping the Blood Lord in check and making sure he never gets too full of himself.

Dindelion the Sorceress If you don’t know about Dindel you haven’t been following me long. A homeless vagabond who hides her natural born ability to heal others for fear it would be exploited, she’s internalized many negative things about herself and rarely trusts herself to make decisions that won’t end in disaster. Add in a mother that disappeared when she was young, a drunkard gambler of a father, and a city decades in decline full of poverty and abuse by those in power and she’s got more than a few trust issues for other folks as well. She also has absolutely no idea how a healthy relationship is supposed to work, and a head full of stories and romance that have absolutely not lined up with her experiences since the campaign started.

Her father, the only constant in her life and the other half of a fairly unhealthy co-dependent relationship, got taken away by essentially the mob for not paying debts and it’s up to her to find some way to pay it off. To her great luck, she ran in to the wandering soldier Vale who, apparently wanting to make up for past sins, agrees to take her along to join a new venture he heard about, leading to the campaign proper. She was actually specifically designed to have too many trust issues to actually get in a relationship with anyone, but between how Vale cares for her and how absolutely shitty she’s found the outside world to be, those issues have actually mutated into something new as their romance has grown. Its... not any healthier a mental state though. I’m excited to see where it goes!

Elenor the Ranger/Wizard Elena was once a promising apprentice wizard, learning the weave with 4 other students. Always feeling a step above the others and not content with how slowly their teacher was progressing them, she devised a plan to work with the others to impress their teacher - to show her they were ready for bigger things. They were going to summon a creature from the planes of hell! Specifically, a Lemure, a relatively harmless blob of a twisted soul. An impressive feat and without much risk from the creature being summoned. Definitely within the capability of someone as great as her.

As sharp chains lashed out from the summoning circle her left arm was torn away. A great beast emerged, tossing her across the room. As she looked up she saw her rival, a young man named Osvaldo, brandishing an axe, standing over her, and looking quite pleased with himself. And the axe came down.

She would come to in a crypt standing near a coffin bearing the family crest of Osvaldo. Her body stiff and her mind cloudy, she slowly realized she had not survived that night at all - she was now a reanimated corpse, but had somehow regained her sense of self. She also found the nearby townspeople did not care enough to distinguish between mindless undead and herself. Eventually she found the place she had once studied - destroyed, some time ago it seems, by that night’s events. Lost and adrift, the life she once knew was over, even her memories were fragmented, but she would forever remember the names of the four who had done this. Osvaldo had convinced them to change the ritual - to summon that creature, and to use it to kill her. She was certain of it. And that hatred kept her going as years of nothingness passed her by. One day she was hired by a tunnel elf, a professed seeker of knowledge, as a guide through the wilderness and though she could not stand him they soon encountered others, mostly strange folk - a tabaxi, a triton, and a snake-like dragonborn in particular - and she stuck around to entertain herself.

Little did she know they were about to be pulled into saving the world from consumption by a forgotten and terrible deity. She thinks their chances aren’t even worth mentioning, but still she cannot allow existence to end before she has wrought what vengeance she can on those that wronged her, and so she will fight with everything she has to keep the world going.

Adi the Cleric of Nyarlathotep As Adi of the Crimson Crows discovered as she worked with the mind flayers, she was not the only Adi. Not even close. Hers was a soul connected to a power outside of time and space and finds itself drawn into worlds over and over, each incarnation as much the same as they are different. Perhaps the Crawling Chaos did not want to repeat what had happened before, maybe it was just twisted curiosity, but this iteration of the girl was born through his direct influence, raised in a town he had visited and driven mad. She was his disciple, and she would spread his teachings across the land.

Through a series of misunderstandings she has found herself in the land of Ravenloft, under the watchful eyes of the vampire Strahd, and in this land she came upon a terrible, bewitched house. A house with paintings of the owners and of a woman bearing a striking resemblance to her. A house where the ghostly children said their littlest sister was named Adi. The child had died in infancy, sacrificed in some dark ritual by its father.

And down in the depths of that place Adi found it was the truth. And there, along the alter, sat a book bound in human skin that called to her. A book of rituals devoted to her god, the Faceless Father. And there, upon the alter, she left the corpse of one of those who had traveled with her, who had brought her there.

She isn’t certain why the Faceless Father has guided her to this land, but she will carry out his will or die trying, though all things considered, perhaps the world would be better off with her in the ground, the cult’s voice silenced

[anthonyreadsthecards]

So I got my last commision from @silentcartoon a few days ago (doesn’t he look cool?) and I wanted to gush about him like I did my other two.

So this is Safayr El-Hashem my bisexual Rogue in our current Pathfinder game. 

So like with Soren gotta give y’all a bit of backstory about the world. Safayr’s dad, Asad, is from the country south of Olfinn, Ethad, which is lots of sand and desert. Asad was working as a carpenter’s apprentice, was betrothed to a woman who was a friend of his family, and he really didn’t have much want or need to leave his home until he met Alma. Alma was a Katta Bard (Katta people are descended from Drow Elves. They are humanoid but all of them dark skin and red eyes. They don’t get a lot of good press and a lot of people hate them and blame them everything). Alma wandered into town one day and Asad heard her sing, dance, and tell stories about all the places she had seen and he feel head over heels in love. His family wasn’t too happy about this since he broke of a previously planned engagement, he was marrying a strange foreigner that he barely knew, and he wanted to leave and travel to Olfinn.   Several years later they would reconcile but Asad’s leaving wasn’t pretty.

He and Alma moved to Morgantown, a port city, and he opened up his own shop as a carpenter and she continued to sing and tell stories at a few inns and taverns. A lot of people were apprehensive of the couple but Asad and Alma made quick friends of the city and it became their home. When Alma was pregnant with Safayr, her first child, Nyssa, was already four, something strange and wonderful happened. Asad had taken Nyssa to the market and Alma went for a walk, as she often did, in the forest to get some fresh air. While on her walk she went into labor and cried out for help. But help arrived in the form of a tiny yellow bird. It chirped soothingly and when Alma prayed out loud for her husband to find her the bird took off. Several minutes later Asad came into view with the yellow bird guiding him to his wife and he was able to carry to healer’s hut so her baby could be delivered. Safayr’s name is derived from the word “tiny yellow bird” in Ethadian. Alma would have another daughter named Tala three years after Safayr. 

Safayr and his mother got along famously. She would tell him stories of childhood in Kattamor and her travels as a Bard. Originally this is what Safayr wanted to be do with his life. He practiced singing and dancing and things were great. However, shortly after he had turned ten years old, Alma disappeared. The three children woke up to a rainy morning to find their father sitting at the table, a drink in hand, and the front door wide open. No matter how much they pleaded and begged him, Asad wouldn’t say what had happened. All that he ever mentioned was that she had left them and nothing more. Safayr and his father began to fight more and more after this. He became a bit of a wild child after his mother’s disappearance and would get into all sorts of trouble. Until one day when he was about nineteen he decided to join the city guard. Asad had forbidden Safayr from becoming a Bard so Safayr decided to that if he couldn’t see the world he should probably help make it a safer place. The city guard had a corrupt captain who would extort the citizens of Morgantown and this led to Safayr leaving the guard. Now, depending on who’s telling the story, one of two things happened. Safayr got into a heated argument with the captain and punched him right in the face before walking out of the barracks, like a badass. Or Safayr tried to punch the captain and instead got beat up and thrown from the barracks, falling face first in the mud. No one knows which story is true (not even me). 

So Safayr decided he’d help in another way by becoming a vigilante. He would patrol the city and try to help those in need…problem was he wasn’t very good. Most times he would get his ass kicked but over the course of two and half years he became a pretty capable fighter. One night Safayr tried to save a young man from being mugged but the stranger quickly dealt with them before Safayr knocked out one guy. His name was Drake and Safayr would run into him a few more times before the two would start their whirlwind romance. Safayr would later find out Drake was an assassin from the legendary league, The Silver Scorpion and that Drake had come to set up a branch of the league in Morgantown. Safayr felt conflicted to say the least and things only got more complicated when Drake’s father, the head of the Silver Scorpion, tried to recruit Safayr into the league. Wern, Drake’s father, told Safayr how the league would only kill people who abused their power and took advantage of innocent people and that their main mission was to create a world where everyone was equal. Drake was against Safayr joining but he did anyway. To join the league you have to kill someone from their list and on the list was the corrupt captain of the city guard. Safayr had no qualms in ending this man’s life but what he didn’t know was that the captain was guarding an important noble who was trying to establish a new trade route through Morgantown. The noble was murdered the next morning by another assassin and a new representative took their place. Safayr confronted Wern about the senseless murder of nobleman to which Wern replied it was just business. Someone had wanted the noble dead because the new trade route would have wasted his family’s fortune so the league was contracted to take him out. Safayr realized that the league wasn’t all that they said they were (no, duh, right?) and wanted out. However the only ways out are being pardoned by the guildmaster or death and Wern wasn’t about to pardon anyone with Safayr’s potential. 

This led our hero to book it out of town and join a school for adventurers. He hoped to learn some better ways at fighting, evading, and detecting danger but also hoped that the school would help him find distance far away from the league. 

Some cool stuff about Safayr is that he has a pretty cool mace called Bloodthief which has the ability to siphon life energy from every creature he kills with it and store that energy up. If Safayr’s HP ever hits zero Bloodthief will give him that energy back and restore some of his health. He recently found out the mace belonged to Drow royalty and not everyone is able to wield the mace but for some reason he can. In an upcoming adventure we might find out why. He is partnered with Anya who is a forest/mountain Ranger. The two get along…mostly but they’re becoming better friends. He also has a tattoo on his left shoulder of The Wiggler (it’s a nearly uncatchable fish that he was able to grab during a fishing contest) that is partially enchanted. It gives a bit of Animal Handling. This is because Anya didn’t use her Wild Empathy to calm down a wolf and it proceeded to bite Safayr on the butt and the wound got infected. Thankfully they were able to find a healer to help out but now he doesn’t trust her when it comes to animals. He does however love her adopted dog, Bjarf, (named after a bandit they killed. Anya said the name was better suited for a dog). 

And that’s all I can think off at the moment for Safayr. If you ever get curious and want to know more about him, my other characters, or the game just send an ask my way. I love talking about this kind of stuff so please give me an excuse!