DM Xanatos Gambit NPCs (Topical)
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Motley Grey, Criminal Mastermind
Physical Description: Motley Grey is a middle-aged woman that is typically well-dressed in the latest clerk, guild, and office wear. She is frequently seen in buttoned up chemises, slacks, or suspenders, or perhaps a blazer or jacket, each of which complement her complexion. A closer inspection of her dark hair reveals its shade is fading, the occasional grey root or tress can be seen. Her most distinguishing feature is her voice, which is emotive and jovial, and carried with an implacable accent, and a mocking undertone that more often than not serves to diminish, belittle, and undermine whoever it is with whom she speaks.
Public Knowledge:
Act I: Motley Grey is a criminal mastermind who once worked for the Smiling Monkey Guild, an organization dedicated to the study and commercialization of peculiar creatures and planar anomalies. When the leadership of that guild changed, she was fired, allegedly for violating protocols and inter-guild espionage and almost certainly for betraying that organization, as she so often betrays whoever it is she works with or for. Cosmopolitan gossipers correctly claim she also attempted to orchestrate the deaths of the "Golden Geese," a party of adventurers or misadventurers (depending on who is asked) led by the cunning and bold Defender Captain and Royal Princess Reyhenna Jorino, during an altercation in the foreign land of Selgaunt. Before her time with the Smiling Monkey, she worked as a clerk for the City Hall of Peltarch, a position to which she returned following her dismissal from that guild, achieved no doubt through lies and fraud. She then took position as the new Herald and head of the bureaucracy there, until she was removed from office by the Princess Elizabeth Fisher on grounds and accusation of treason, for which she was guilty.
Act II: Since her removal from her post as Peltarch's Herald, Motley Grey spent several months missing in action, before she finally was rumored to have returned to Moonreach Keep. She was spotted fraternizing with the Cleimant Council. In the Nars, her reputation deteriorated significantly. Namely, to that of a traitor not only to Peltarch, but to each of her prior and likely current employers, loyal to none but herself, and not even her fellows at Moonreach Keep, all according to rumors allegedly spread by the Golden Geese, most of all Elizabeth Fisher, who history has proven right. These rumors apparently reached Moonreach Keep, and the Cleimant Council. Motley has since silently and suddenly vanished from the Keep under unexplained circumstances, no doubt to make further moves against the Golden Geese and Peltarch. The Cleimant Council has neither confirmed nor denied her involvement with their plans; since, her deteriorated reputation from the Western Nars has followed her to the Province of Moonreach, with many now decrying her as a traitor to the Cleimants & Keep.
Act III: Those within the orbit of the ever-influential Golden Geese hear whispered talk and rumor that the aforementioned group somehow temporarily located the illusive Motley Grey, despite that she is known to wear rings, amulets, cloaks and cast scrolls of potent non-detection magic, as any criminal mastermind would. Where she was located and precisely how remains unclear. Allegedly, she was accompanied by unknown protege Knight in Silver, former fourth star Cerulean Knight, an ex-Zhentarim soldier, as well as a divine scout of the Gulderhorn Host, each among other exiles and deserters from the various factions involved in Geroldine's War. These are her co-conspirators and criminal affiliates. It is whispered that she sensed the detection, and moreover wielded some manner of archaic device or artefact capable of disrupting whatever method it was that the Golden Geese used to locate her. A dangerous device she likely plots to use against the city. She has gone undetected since, not having returned to her supposed final employers at Moonreach Keep (thus proving the allegations against her, according to some). Her plans and intentions remain as ever opaque and unknown, though one thing is clear: she intends to engage in illicit criminal activity, and has vied to ruin and destroy all that is well with Peltarch and the Golden Geese.
Thematic Music:
Act I: Under the gun.
Act II: Bingo bongo.
Act III: Countermeasure.
Act ▓: Mastermind.
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Adan Whisperwick
Physical Description: A middle-aged human man bedecked in crimson and mahogany silks carries himself with all the comportment of a high-level noble: indifferent, aloof, and better than you. It is clear. At least, that he thinks so. Evident in both the calculations of his eyes and the faint drawl of his tone. Visible upon his person are his various belongings. They include numerous wands, scrolls, tomes, an enchanted satchel, and that is all without mention of the palpable air of magical barriers that surround him.
Public Knowledge: Unscrupulous and proud, Adan Whisperwick is the quintessential independent mage. Lord of a hidden tower veiled in a presumed pocket plane, collector of artifacts, tomes, and scrolls, and wielder of potent and rare magic. He is utterly unconcerned by his status as the enemy of various groups, affiliates, and organizations. So much so that he is rumored to have more than once explicitly dared his adversaries to try find and kill him. He has as many enemies as he does allies. That is in all walks of life, from other mages, warlords, and other noble interests, to hobgoblins, trolls, ogres and anyone else who might serve his immediate agenda, whatever that may be from time to time.
He was once a member of the Caldera Manor. That was before he turned on the Manor at an opportune moment, during the recent falling meteorite in the Province of Moonreach. He is now or at least once was the rumored possessor of the coalesced aether. He has made enemies of the Cambion Sorcerer Kzagoth, the Locus Operandi, more recently the Golden Geese, and was explicitly banished from Moonreach Keep. At the same time, he has allied himself with the Renegade Peltarch Defenders under the command of the former Lieutenant Rixx, as well as with Olivia Gor and her former Cleimant bannermen.
Thematic Music:
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Astrologer Farian
Physical Description: He is draped in whites, blues, and blacks, a set of cloth that enables him to move about quietly and without restriction, all the while he carries various particular tools: an astrolabe, glass telescope, star charts, talis cards, along with pieces of an orrery, among other oddities. When onlookers catch glimpse past his hood, they see the face of a faintly bearded and relatively young man, and when listeners hear him speak, they hear a cold and taciturn cadence that seems less interested in those nearby than the materials he examines or something far away that he contemplates.
Public Knowledge: Little is known of the Astrologer Farian's motives and intentions. He arrived in Narfell one year after the first sighting of the new, bright, and burning orange star that hovers above the North. Shortly after that, he made his way to Moonreach Keep, the location in the region best suited for observation of the star and, indeed, the whole night sky. There, he offered his services to Lord Caleb and his Cleimant Council. In return for permitting him to study in the region, as well as chambers within the Keep, the Astrologer Farian is to teach any aspiring students of the science and art of astrology.
He is a mage, more specifically a diviner, and to many in Narfell the premiere practitioner of so-called "astrological arcane," a form of thaumaturgy that casts magical spells from verbal and somatic components drawn from reading fate in constellations, coupled with material components of shooting star matter - dust, rocks, and the like from meteorites which fell from the sky upon Faerun. Showers of such matter were known to have struck the Province of Moonreach on many occasions in the past, which has led at least some observers to comment about his motive and arrival. While he is tolerated by May Celine and her Order of the Hidden Moon, members of that clergy have remarked critically about his clandestine and secretive lack of disclosure and transparency, both in his science of magic as well as his relationship with the sacred blue moonstone.
Thematic Music:
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Caleb "Fisher" / Georgeson
Physical Description: Bright brown eyes peer vividly past a mop of brown hair, when it isn't quaffed into the style befitting of a lord. He is an unsmiling and shy boy, who is just as likely to stare at a speaker as he is to simply look down or away. He is most frequently seen wearing midnight blues, his cloak clasped with the symbol of a fish within the curve of a crescent moon, known as the symbol of the Cleimant Council.
Public Knowledge: He is ruler of Moonreach Keep, face of the Cleimant Council, and purported self-styled King of the United North, but Caleb Fisher is known to the public first and foremost as the illegitimate and bastard blood brother to Peltarch's King Thalaman Fisher and as the hostile pretender to his brother's throne and crown. He is borne of a common mother, the clerk Maudeline, who enjoyed a secret affair with the late King George Fisher of Peltarch and who was secreted away to be raised and live in the eastern township of Willowhaven, by the now exiled former Peltarchian Kingsguard Firnen Kaapo.
During the razing of Willowhaven, he escaped with his mother, her guard Firnen Kaapo, various others from that village fled to the City of High Hold. Not long after that, they were joined by various nobles from that city, and had to flee yet again after it was revealed that the city's Lord Eric Destal had succumb to darker influences and paranoia and ordered the arrests and imprisonment of various citizens of Blackbridge and High Hold. They fled to the City of Peltarch, where it is rumored that the King Thalaman and his court rejected his brother, rebuked the group as a whole, and denied their entry into the city.
It was shortly after this, that Caleb & his companions met May Celine, Priestess and leader of the Selunite Church of the Hidden Moon. It is said that they encountered her late in the night, upon a moonlit road, well away from Peltarch on their way back to the eastern townships to search for other suitable locations of shelter for Caleb's now sizeable following. After that, the Cleimant Council would shortly form, expel the bandit lord Lorvare from Moonreach Keep, and claim seat and throne in that crumbling fortress, presumably as a temporary base of operations before pushing for Caleb's claim for that of Peltarch.
Thematic Music:
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Thalaman Fisher
Physical Description: Once tall, muscular, and handsome, with all the rugged charm of a born and bred northman, King Thalaman Fisher is now lame, withered and thin, a man with a frail body nearly unrecognizable when compared to his former fit form. When he manages to keep them open, his blue eyes have become milky and pale, squinting as though unable to peer too far for too long. When he manages to speak, his voice is a wheeze and barely above a whisper, if even that. His frail appearance and manner seems to tarnish even the royal gold that adorns his robes and tunic.
Public Knowledge: Second to wear the Crown of Peltarch, and current King of that city, Thalaman Fisher is known as an irresponsible, unaccountable, and dithering ruler, who relies too heavily upon his council and advisors to do the actual work of government while he spends his evenings in lush parties with a goblet of wine in his hand and in the company of different women.
Under King Thalaman, the royal family of Fisher has seen better days.
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Thalaman was initially beloved as the son of the admired and now dead King George Fisher, his father and the one to whom he is constantly compared. But his attempts to match his father's reputation for generosity have been construed as reckless spending that has more than once emptied Peltarch's treasury, leaving the city heavily in debt to various banks and allegedly foreign interests.
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He less frequently but still compared to his brother Kasimir Fisher, and cousin Elizabeth Fisher, the former of which has apparently dabbled in dark magic, and the latter accused of occult rituals, each, apparently, during and under King Thalaman's rule, which has contributed to his reputation as a King who does not account for the actions of his family.
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His mother was one of King George's concubines, the barbarian Aino, who has publicly stated she wants little to do with Thalaman or indeed the City of Peltarch now that her lover is dead. There are rumors in court that Aino denounced the King after claiming he did not inspire any love in her and that her true interest was with his father.
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The Dowager Queen Martha Fisher, wife to the dead King George Fisher, is rumored to express quiet and cold disdain for the irresponsible King. It is unclear whether that is due to the King's lack of ethic and skill as a ruler, or the fact that he is living proof of her husband's infidelity.
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He is the blood brother to Caleb Fisher, a bastard who has laid claim to his throne with the support of exiled nobles who have formed a self-styled "Cleimant Council." It has been confirmed that Thalaman hid like a coward when a blue drake that was once in the service of that Council flew above the city during a harsh thunderstorm.
Thematic Music:
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Elias Houl
Physical Description: Gray haired, bearded, tall and with a severe expression, Elias Houl commands a presence that is undermined by his unwelcoming eyes. Their pale blue seems almost gray, and their expression wrought with time and thought. Frequently found in either vivid blues or muted grays, in either case with silver highlights or trims, he carries tomes, scrolls, wands, and a Rosario pendant of a foggy moon, or crescent with two clouds, which is the symbol of the Clergy of the Hidden Moon.
Public Knowledge: High Priest of Selune, Overseer of the Hidden Moon Clergy of Moonreach Keep, and second hand to May Celine, Elias Houl was a revered and respected preacher and diviner.
His loyalty to the Keep and to May Celine were once beyond question, though it was even then whispered that he privately disagreed with the High Priestess May Celine on two counts. First, with her adherence to the Cleimant Council's policy of open doors to all exiles, criminals, and ne'er-do-wells. Whispers claim that whereas May Celine championed reform, redemption, and repentance as cardinal Selunite virtues, Elias Houl harbored deep doubts about the merit of such attempts, and the potential dangers they might pose to the sacrosanct grounds of the Keep.
Second, those of religious background have heard further whispers that he also disagreed with May Celine's deep ties with the Church of Lathander, particularly those from Norwick. Such religious individuals have further heard mention that this was due to her involvement in an alliance between the Selunite and Lathanderite churches allegedly called the "Twilight Conclave."
More recently, Elias Houl has fallen from favour in the public eyes of Moonreach Keep. He is the prime suspect behind a series of abductions, as well as the blackening of moonstone deposits at the foundations of and well beneath the Keep. Following a recent attack of shadows and undead crawling forth from the dungeons below the Keep, he has vanished, presumably to escape the growing pressures of the Cleimant Council and investigations of their hired adventuring group the Locus Operandi.
Thematic Music:
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May Celine
Physical Description: Tall, austere, and elegant, May Celine would be beautiful were it not for the hard expression she frequently carries. She wears darker colors, in contrast with her bright white and silver hair and gray eyes. More recently, she wears the symbol of a half-crescent moon surrounding a fish. That is the symbol of Moonreach Keep and of the Cleimant Council.
Public Knowledge: A High Priestess of Selune, who was rumored to arrive in the north approximately five years ago, some time shortly after the sudden presence of a new, bright, blazing, orange star in the night sky. She is currently leader of the newly established "Lunar Knights," an elite group of Selunite priests and paladins in service to Caleb Fisher, bastard brother to King Thalaman Fisher and alleged rival heir to Peltarch's throne. She is skeptical and critical of the Golden Geese Guild, particularly of George Longcloak, though the precise reasons for her hostility are as of yet unclear. She is also known to be on allied terms with the Church of Lathander, particularly those from Norwick. Highly religious individuals, with great experience as paladins or priests, and with deep knowledge of religious lore, have heard mention that she is involved in an alliance between the Selunite and Lathanderite churches allegedly called the "Twilight Conclave."
Thematic Music:
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Zhent. 2.E. Comm. Col Geroldine
Physical Description: A middle-aged man whose charisma comes from the calm certainty in his eyes, tenor, and aura, rather than his looks, personality, or choice of words. He has a clean-shaven face, black hair cut short, and is otherwise average in appearance. That is with the exception of his military uniform, out of which he is rarely seen. He carries a long-sword with an onyx hilt, sheathed in a scaled scabbard at his hip.
Public Knowledge: His reputation, uniform, and military honors make it plain and obvious: he is a decorated Commander of the Zhentarim, charged with the many expeditionary forces of the Second Eastern Division. The forces previously amidst campaigns of subjugation in Nyth, Lethyr, and Impiltur, he has now redirected his troops to Narfell after the discovery of stolen Zhentarim property -- namely a liberated dragon -- under the control of a former Zhentarim prisoner in the region. He has demanded the return of the dragon, as well as the former prisoner, in exchange for permitting Narfell's continued freedom from subjugation.
He has held prior roles as Major, under the previous Commander, and then again as Commander, in the Fourth Western Division. His initial successes in the West were curbed when Aalangama Gulderhorn, with the support of the Church of Siamorphe, dispatched Order of the Silver Chalice, led by Temperance of Gulderhorn to defend against and repel the Zhentarim invasions. Geroldine's forces were defeated and forced to retreat in the five encounters that ensued -- victories that Dalesmen attribute to the might of Siamorphe over Bane in their region.
During the fifth and final military confrontation with the Order of the Silver Chalice, and in particular a melee encounter between him and their leader Temperance, one witness reported seeing two huge glowing apparitions floating above and around Temperance's person -- namely, that of a silver chalice and golden sun. After the decisive defeat, the Zhentarim's higher authorities ordered Col Geroldine withdraw from the campaign entirely. For his part, narrowly escaping death, Col Geroldine has not been seen at the front of a battlefield since, preferring instead to oversee his campaigns through spies, scrying, and with a broad strategic view.
Two years following the above confrontation, Col Geroldine has launched an invasion of the Narfell region.
Thematic Music:
Personal theme - Vae victis.
For the Invasion of Narfell - Hell march.
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Villalgarviladral
Physical Description: Besides the thunder and lightning that heralds her aggressive presence, this female blue dragon's most notable features include her feline-like eyes and demeanor. A sharp jutting horn protrudes from her snout, followed by spikes that drag along the back of her head and neck, all the way to her swiping flat tail. She has a long, sleek body, covered in gleaming and durable cobalt coloured scales. The exception to that is her right side, which is missing scales in an area that is approximately one meter by one meter. The scales appear to have been forcibly removed. In their place now stands several man-made plates of enchanted armor, coloured similarly to her scales, and kept protectively fastened to her body by potent magic.
Public Knowledge: Villalgarviladral is under the command of Bennek Sepret, who by all accounts appears to have pledged himself and his dragon to the service of the Cleimant Council. Villalgarviladral is known to roost amidst the cliffs of Moonreach Keep.
Following a diplomatic rendezvous held at the Reach between the Cleimants and Golden Geese of Peltarch, Villalgarviladral and her thunderstorms plagued the marching army of Defender Soldiers. This army, led by General Gom, was marching towards Moonreach Keep, but was deterred without casualty following a retreat from the dragon's thunderstorms and lightning breath. Following that, Villalgarviladral flew to and circled above Peltarch, her thunderstorm's rainfall crashing down harshly upon the city. Lightning streaked across the sky in all directions but downward, before the dragon flew back, presumably to Moonreach Keep. During this storm, citizens of Peltarch fled to their homes, Defenders scrambled to wheel siege weaponry upon the walls to fire at it, and -- it is said -- King Thalaman Fisher hid in his chambers. Again, there were no reported casualties.
Rumor has it that, after the display, Moonreach Keep once again sent a letter reiterating its terms of the Crown's surrender.
Thematic Music:
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The Cleimant Council
Physical Description: An alliance backing a new heir to the north, the membership of which is mixed but not fully known. They sit at Moonreach Keep, a place shrouded by fog and manned by soldiers and mages. Their membership and soldiery have replaced the noble, guild, and other banners of those who have joined its fold with a new banner: a dark blue, emblazoned with the pale white of a crescent moon and the rendition of a fish.
The majority of their soldiers wear cloaks, fly flags, and wear cloth sporting this symbol. Some of their soldiers, however, wear grays and blacks, or dark greens.
Public Knowledge:
The Cleimant Council has sent numerous letters to the noble houses, guilds, and powers of Peltarch and High Hold. From these letters, it made itself known.
The council's face is Caleb Fisher, the bastard son of Peltarch's former King George Fisher. The boy's mother, a clerk allegedly named Maude, was spirited away from the city and has hitherto hidden away in the eastern township of Willowhaven.
The council has put forward Caleb Fisher as replacement for his brother, the former King George's firstborn Thalaman Fisher. It is the council's belief that Caleb Fisher will unite the North, including both Peltarch and High Hold. Their position has been made all the more public in their latest letter, sent to the Crown, members of the Golden Geese Guild, noble families and guilds of Peltarch.
Old families, some identified and others unknown, likewise comprise the council's membership. Members of the High Holder families of house Gor, Stockley, and Brokenblade have publicly sworn fealty. Additionally, well-known warriors and mages have likewise either declared or acted in alliance to the Cleimant Council. These include:
- Olivia Gor, granddaughter to High Hold's original military official.
- Jecken Stockley, brother to Lord Eric Destral's current advisor Ekvark Stockley, in High Hold.
- Ava Brokenblade, a wizardess of High Hold, and member of House Brokenblade, a wealthy mining family.
- Firnen Kaapo, a former Kingsguard of Peltarch, and military official from Waterdeep before that, a renowned swordsman and tactician.
- May Celine, a Selunite priestess from Silverymoon, and leader of the Lunar Knights in direct service to Caleb Fisher.
Previous membership included Bennek Sepret, a Thayvian sorcerer, cousin to the current Peltarchian Princess Consort Aoth Sepret, and apparently the council's most recent member. Bennek Sepret has recently cut ties with the council, and instead joined his cousin in Peltarch.
More generally, the full extent of their support is not currently known. There are various rumors that certain houses of Peltarch's nobility, guilds, and current or former civil service - including Snydders, Ashald, Hardin, as well as the Black Sails, and others - have secretly sworn fealty to the Cleimant Council and have begun making moves to implement its current and near-term agenda, namely to remove and replace King Thalaman from the Peltarchian throne. Some suggest it is the leadership of the foregoing noble houses and guilds that have allied with the Cleimants. Others whisper that it is certain critical members of the same, if not the exact leaders.
Whether these rumors are true remains to be seen.
Thematic Music:
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Bennek Sepret
Physical Description: His peculiar, almost feline eyes are his most distinctive quality. Long lashes, faint shadows, and thin liner only emphasize their allure. Otherwise, he has the presence and aura of a natural mage, and his bald head, accent, and disposition mark him as a Thayvian. He wears light chain or leathers, typically accompanied by black and green cloth, along with certain other muted colors, except for the color red. He carries a black long-sword. Faded tattoos line the side and top of his head. His voice is a low baritone, and his manner of speech is calm and pointed, the syllables of his words almost surgical in their clarity.
Public Knowledge: In the Narfell region, little is known about Bennek Sepret other than his obvious relation with the druid and Peltach's Princess Consort Aoth Sepret.
He attended the wedding between Aoth Sepret and Elizabeth Fisher, a union which he is known to oppose. Rumors abound that following the wedding, he offered Elizabeth Fisher six figures of gold to annul the marriage. Low-born and noble alike have witnessed his dealings with the Golden Geese adventuring party, where he has reiterated his demand that Aoth Sepret return with him abroad in the name of her house, instead of remaining wedded and in the Narfellan region. Witnesses have reported the Golden Geese expressing their opinion that he is desperate to highly unlikely to dissolve the foregoing union.
He reportedly has affiliates in Oscura and in High Hold. Who those are is not as of yet clear to the public. He is also accompanied by a regiment of over fifty if not nearly one hundred soldiers, and five to ten mages, which he has split and stationed in the two foregoing cities. Their colors match his.
In addition to the foregoing, and by far not the least, is Bennek's apparently loyal blue dragon companion, Villalgarviladral. The reasons why the dragon is loyal to Bennek is not known to the public.
Thematic Music:
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Mercenary Harlow
Physical Description: A man in his mid-twenties, with a fair face beset by stubble as well as a disheveled mop of curly black hair. His most distinguishing feature is the clever gleam in his eye. He is otherwise muscular and carries himself as well as his blade with alacrity, and wears an assortment of chain and leather. He used to wear black and gray armor, draped in a red cloak, with an in iron pendant in the shape of a hand dangling from a leather string around his neck. He has since dropped those colours and pendant.
Public Knowledge: Harlow used to work for a mercenary outfit from Amn called the "Iron Hand." This named enterprise has been allegedly involved in the slave trade, having used prominent shipping guilds as a front. The former leader of the Iron Hand was an arena master operating in the Amnish City of Athkatla. However, that arena master is now dead, killed at the hands of a Narfellan adventuring company called the Golden Geese.
Leadership of the Iron Hand at that point was replaced and assumed by a mysterious and unknown individual. The new leadership apparently made major changes to the Iron Hand's operations, notably ending the alleged slavery and focusing entirely on the recovery and trade of powerful artefacts. The most notable targets of this artefact hunt are the ingredients to the all-coveted Ambrosia. This then new and unknown leader preferred to work through delegation. Harlow was considered to be one such delegate, until it was revealed that Harlow himself was the actual new leader, and was duping the rest of the mercenary outfit's lieutenants -- who considered him incompetent -- to assist him in acquiring the Ambrosia ingredients.
Harlow is a self-proclaimed cunning tactician and strategist. Whether this is or isn't true is up for debate. Of note, during a stand-off against a band of Narfellan adventurers at the Witch and Seer Inn, Harlow apparently set up a hasty ambush which was immediately critiqued by the adventurers. Harlow ordered his outfit's ballistas be set up on a peculiar hill which meant he and his band stood between its line of fire and the adventuring party - rendering the ballista useless. This blunder led to his losing the battle, and having to escape.
There are numerous other examples of the Golden Geese in particular foiling his attempts at acquiring the Ambrosia ingredients, or uncovering and putting a stop to his plans. Among those are several criminal attempts at theft, robbery, and abduction, including, among other exploits:
- besieging the Witch and Seer, as mentioned above, with the misplaced siege weaponry;
- waylaying a caravan and holding its occupants hostage under threat, unless the Golden Geese gave up their ingredients;
- masquerading as a noble in Athkatla, infiltrating a guild party (where he met his trusted friend & ally Gabe Delamonte), and brawling against the enforcers and guards so that the latter could escape with the Ambrosian ingredient;
- abducting a bard, and issuing a ransom for the Ambrosian ingredients;
- holding himself out as a waiter at the Witch and Seer Mermaid in Peltarch, to pick-pocket an Ambrosian ingredient from Aaron Bravickus; and, among others,
- defrauding the Iron Hand Mercenaries, by pretending to be their unknown and unnamed leader, and using them as his own personal expeditionary force to target, ambush, and oppose the Golden Geese, in numerous attempted robberies.
The encounters have led to an enmity between him and the Golden Geese.
Harlow is otherwise apparently skilled at mixology. He is the creator and only known reliable source of the "Gigantina" cocktail, one favored by the Golden Geese, and which he has used on several occasions to distract and divert them away from his ploys and attempts to steal their Ambrosian ingredients.
Thematic Music:
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Frontman / "MBH"
Physical Description: He isn't human, but appears as a headless man. Rather, he appears one whose head has been replaced by a floating mirror-ball or scrying orb. The orb has many facets, each of which tend to reflect the surroundings and light at different angles. He is typically seen surrounded by many other scrying orbs, such that the one atop his shoulders reflects the many images shown by the others. He wears a tuxedo, adorned with a red bowtie.
Public Knowledge: The tuxedo and red bowtie are actually the uniform of those who work for the Red Kermis, a planar carnival filled with entertainers, show-persons, and virtuosos. The Red Kermis runs a network of performances that are broadcast across the planes to scrying orbs of a discerning clientele. Mages who have the right scrying orbs, enchanted with the right divination magic, are able to receive the broadcasts.
Commonly referred to by the initials "MBH", or as the Red Kermis' "Frontman", here is the host of the Red Kermis' premiere talk show, interview, and news programme. He is also the coordinator of all shows to do with the Prime Material Realm. He is known to disdain religions, refers to Gods as "Powers," and claims that there is just as much power in the Red Kermis broadcast as there is in any God's sermons.
More recently, the Golden Geese have learned that he executed an agreement with Isolde Garibaldi, Raazi, and Vernadetta, which indebted the trio to him and to the Red Kermis. Ever since, magical eye lenses have been appearing in Peltarch and elsewhere, ready to broadcast the Golden Geese's adventures to an eager audience. The Golden Geese have proven to be a popular hit, at least for now. But will they be able to continuing meeting their viewing quota?
Thematic Music:
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Kasimir Fisher
Physical Description: Pale skin, dark hair, and green eyes comprise his most dominant features. He wears noble and regal clothing, with subdued and muted hues. When he is not occupying himself with the affairs of city hall or state, he carries with himself numerous magical tomes, wands, and scrolls, and has the overall countenance of a mage.
Public Knowledge: He is Prince of Peltarch, brother to King Thalaman Fisher, and son to former King George Fisher and the Lady Maurina. From a young age, he was trained in the arcane by then Master of Diplomacy, Louise du Lorraine, a former Oscuran noble. Kasimir was always quieter and more reserved than his boisterous and jovial brother Thalaman.
He was, until recently, seemingly content to allow his brother to enjoy the public spotlight (and criticisms) associated with being Peltarch's ruling monarch. In fact, seemingly at his brother's behest, Kasimir Fisher conducted most of the day to day operations of the Crown at City Hall.
Among Peltarch's elite, Kasimir Fisher has few friends and many enemies. It is said that he controlled the Far Scouts, some of whom appeared to be loyal to him. On the other hand, the Seafarer's Guild, Daedalus Guild, the Wavebreakers Guild, house Snydders, and several other nobles and interests have aligned against the Prince, citing allegations that the Prince has veered the Royal Council astray in his attempts to reach too far and too broadly into their affairs. Rumor has it that the relationship was so acrimonious between the Prince and the counselor representatives of these families that the Prince once attempted to disband and declare illegal the League of Guilds. The counselors in turn apparently petitioned the King to remove Kasimir Fisher from his role as the King's acting representative.
More recently, rumors have spread like wildfire that the Prince is the one who has hired the Dark Visage, a band of mercenary doppelgangers, to abduct, impersonate, and replace various individuals involved in Peltarch's ruling echelons. Indeed, the mercenary band have taken actions against each of the royal counselors that have opposed the Prince in the past. It is also the Prince who commissioned the deadly "black knife" weaponry, capable of inflicting permanent death, as a means to have his doppelganger allies permanently replace their targets. It has also been confirmed that the Prince, through his use of Far Scout intelligence officers, is behind the smear campaign targeting the Golden Geese.
The Prince is, finally, apparently, also behind the attack on his brother, King Thalaman Fisher, who remains inert and unconscious in a magically-induced coma, the purpose for which is for now unclear and a state in which the King remains to this day.
Following these revelations, and in particular an altercation between himself and General Gom, Kasimir Fisher has fled the city. After his confrontation with the Prince, General Gom was left defeated, and the Prince vanished from a teleportation spell, to a destination currently unknown.
Thematic Music:
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Temperance of Gulderhorn
Current status: Deceased.
Physical Description: Radiant and fearsome, scholars have claimed Temperance of Gulderhorn's presence is felt by the mere mention of her name. Her eyes are graced with gold, and her hair gleams silver. She typically wears military plate or regalia, draped with the fineries of the Siamorphan clergy. In combat, she is surrounded by a divine aura of vigor and courage. During a military confrontation with the Zhentarim, and in particular a melee encounter between her and a Zhentarim Commander, one witness reported seeing two huge glowing apparitions floating above and around her person -- namely, that of a silver chalice and golden sun.
Public Knowledge: Temperance of Gulderhorn is the High Priestess of Siamorphe, ordained by the clergy's Order of the Silver Chalice, and the diplomat and delegate of House Gulderhorn in Waterdeep, appointed directly by Lady Aalangama Gulderhorn. She is well traveled and has led holy campaigns against the Zhentarim in the Moonsea region, against Gargauthans in Tethyr, and against both along the Sword Coast, in addition to an uncounted number of other campaigns and battles over the course of several decades.
She frequents monarchies across Faerun to ensure orderly and grace-given government under the guidance of Siamorphe. It was during one such visit to Peltarch's monarchy, House Fisher, that she exposed Reyhenna Jorino's prior use of a powerful magical artefact, which assisted Jorino in making a fraudulent claim to the name and title of Princess Elizabeth Fisher. During the same visit, she exposed Peltarch's then-herald and former Siamorphan priest Isaac Thaddeus, who fell from grace, due to his alleged corruption and having put personal ties above his duties as a Siamorphan priest and advisor.
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Dread Doppelganger / "The Unreal"
Current Status: Deceased.
Physical Description: Those who have witnessed its true shape while it was in captivity remember that it was a humanoid, alien in appearance, with pale and hairless gray skin, a prolonged neck, and lanky limbs. Mutations were visible. Its fingers were sharp claws. Its shoulders and elbows contained protrusions of moving appendages, the tips of which glow a color that is difficult to discern or remember -- if the viewer remembers at all. Indeed, the foregoing description is to the best of the recollection of those who have documented their encounters. Most cannot remember its true shape, only the one which it assumes for a given encounter.
Public Knowledge: The doppelganger's name is unknown. It was code-named "The Unreal" during its containment by the Smiling Monkey guild, which collects, assesses, and traps dangerous planar anomalies. It was held captive there for years, until it was recently liberated by a hive of doppelgangers called "The Dark Visage," who have begun to operate in the City of Peltarch.
It is known to have powerful mind altering abilities, capable of changing the viewer's perception and erasing and altering memories in real time. That is in addition to the typical doppelganger ability to alter its shape to any humanoid.
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Dowager Queen Martha Fisher
Physical Description: There is nothing former about her majesty, for she carries herself with a stately countenance. The elderly woman's hair seems more silver than gray, depending on the light. She is of moderate height, though her warm and shining presence may make her seem taller to onlookers. She is dressed in regal robes that are both elegant and humble.
Public Knowledge: Dowager Queen Martha Fisher is the de-facto commander of a substantial fraction of Peltarch's military. That is due to the ongoing service sworn to her by Defender Captain Renius "Lorn" Hrresh. Hrresh, the longest serving and most popular Defender Captain by far among the soldiery, not only commands and controls Peltarch's navy, but also a land regiment and allegedly certain troops in other regiments who consider themselves loyal firstly to Hrresh than their own superior officers. Other regiments' soldiers frequently request to be transferred to Hrresh's command, due to his stellar reputation among the military.
The Queen is both beloved and despised by the citizenry of Peltarch.
On the one hand, many believe the Queen was unjustifiably cast aside when the late King George, first after the Second Coronation, learned that the Queen could not bear children. The King exiled the Queen away from the city, and instead sought out multiple concubines, fathering children with each (including then Prince and current King Thalaman Fisher). Her exile was shortly followed by the era of military upheaval, in which numerous Defender Captains skirted the official hierarchies to pledge themselves to different guilds and families in Peltarch. Hrresh, for his part, pledged himself to the Queen, for reasons upon which the public can only speculate.
On the other hand, many interpret her inability to bear children as a sign from the heavens that she is and always was unfit for rule, and that she never was a true royal. She is particularly reviled by those with fond memories of King George and his lineage. Critics claim she and Hrresh are both responsible for the fracturing of the military, and insist that the royalty depends on a strong lineage which she was and still remains fundamentally incapable of providing.
Still today, such criticisms remain ongoing, and it's said Defender General Gom cannot remove Hrresh or even publicly denounce him due to the fierce loyalty Hrresh's troops pay both him and thus also the Queen.
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Barton Cade
Physical Description: Hooded, cloaked, and armed with a feyduster knife, a panoply of magical equipment, as well as magical wands, scrolls, and potions, here is a man who has come prepared. His facial features are non-distinct, and his hair kept short beneath the slim hood. He has black eyebrows, green eyes, and isn't particularly handsome nor ugly. His voice is calm, collected, and almost melodic, despite the seriousness with which he speaks, and the violent situations in which he finds himself.
Public Knowledge: A doppelganger of the man was first seen by the Golden Geese adventuring party, during an altercation at the Temple Lighthouse, in the Docks District of Peltarch. This doppelganger was killed by the party. The presumed original and authentic version of the man was then seen by Aoth Sepret breaking and entering into, and attempting to steal sensitive information from, the Daedalus compound. Here, he attempted to chase down and subdue the Geese who witnessed his incursion, presumably to tailor their memories or worse. When Aoth sought assistance from Isolde Garibaldi and Reyhenna Jorino during a chase through the docks, she turned the tables, and he was forced to escape. The Golden Geese then saw him again in the underground laboratory beneath Richard Gale's home in the Residential District. Here he attempted to trap the party in an underground tunnel, but was again rebuked.
On each occasion, the man has opposed the party with trickery, physical violence, and magical items, although he is known to at least attempt to negotiate. He offered Aoth Sepret to subject herself to tailored memories instead of "the alternative." He also offered Ivette Aimery a chance to escape if she left him to his devices with the rest of the party in a vulnerable position. Both declined.
His allegiance is unknown. Nor is it clear whether and to what extent he is working with the doppelgangers that have taken up residence in Peltarch. The fact remains that he was attempting to steal personal information and accounts of Cobin Daedalus, a respected guild leader, potentially on behalf of or otherwise for the doppelgangers, when the Golden Geese stopped him. He has been at odds with them since.
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