Tamarack

Character Sheets:

Tamarack 1
Tamarack 2
Tamarack 3
Tamarack 4
Tamarack 5
Tamarack 6
Tamarack 7
Tamarack 8
Tamarack 9
Tamarack 10
Tamarack 11
Tamarack 12
Tamarack 13
Tamarack 14
Tamarack 15
Tamarack 16
Tamarack 17
Tamarack 18
Tamarack 19
Tamarack 20


Posts:

(most recent listed first)

"Hatchet Burial, Phase 1"
"Advice in Unlikely Places"
"Chargurt Gets the Snot Kicked Out of Him"
"Clearing the Air"
"Evolution" (Adventure 7)
"Prankster" (Adventure 7)
"Good Morning" (Adventure 7)
"The Weight of Vengeance" (Adventure 7)
"Lost" (Adventure 7)
"Corruption" (Adventure 5)
"Home" (Adventure 4)
"Familiar" (Adventure 2)
"Hidden Talents" (Adventure 1)
"Small Ones" (Pre-Adventure 1)


HISTORY:

For decades the dwarves of the mine city of Duronil had enjoyed peace and prosperity under King Korvin Brassguard and his queen, the gentle Masha. The couple, eager as their subjects to see a baby Brassguard added to the family, spent many frustrating years trying to produce an heir.

To their people, the Brassguards appeared to be contentedly taking their time, but in truth, Masha suffered through a frustrating and painful series of miscarriages before finally bearing a child to full term. The newest Brassguard, stout as the stronghold itself and too stubborn not to be born, came out with a fiery shock of red hair and screaming so hard her chubby cheeks flushed to match it. Korvin and Masha, seeing their future in this little flame of life, named her Dorydd—“red queen”.

After so many failed pregnancies, the proud monarchs raised their daughter in adoration and luxury, knowing they might be making a mistake in spoiling her, but too thrilled with their beautiful child to hold anything back.

Dorydd romped like a wild pony through the stone halls, relishing her fame and growing carelessly accustomed to the positive attentions of those around her. However, as she grew, the king and queen realized how much they would have to teach their little beast if she was going to become queen. They assigned her tutors and trainers, each one hand picked for his or her tough-minded determination, knowing that it would take plenty of strong will to keep Dorydd in one place and hold her interest.

The princess’s education indeed proved a challenge, but despite her constant squirming, daydreaming, speaking out, and general lack of respect for her tutors, Dorydd slowly absorbed, if unconsciously, a plethora of history, politics, philosophy, theology, and etiquette. She showed far more willingness in her physical training, thrilled to swing around axes and hammers to the extent of her trainers’ stamina.

The storm of adolescence hit Dorydd hard, and as her rebelliousness reached its peak, Korvin and Masha could no longer contain their daughter inside the Brassguard homestead. Shunning ladylike attire, manners, and language, she spread her brazen, loudmouthed, and often deliberately offensive personality across the city. As a consequence, Duronil’s enchantment with its king and queen’s only child quickly faded.

The teenaged brat, still assuming the world to be in love with her, dismissed her critics as jealous or stupid, and latched on to anyone the least bit intrigued by her irreverence. Dragging half-willing fans into private places, Dorydd discovered new types of fun, and new reasons to be vain.

Duronil was abuzz with talk of the princess’s many scandals, both public and private. Rumours flew, and though some showed distaste for such gossip, most soon realized that the vast majority of these whispered tales were much more than just rumours, and knowing the character of their future queen was everyone’s business.

The Brassguards, meanwhile, grew disappointed with the way their princess was turning out, particularly her shameless promiscuity. Even more disturbing to their traditional sensibilities was the fact that Dorydd seemed to respect no boundaries of social standing, moral character, age, or even gender in her companionships, and many a violated maidservant fled from the Brassguard stronghold in shame.

Dorydd was not blind to the larger picture of her life. She recognized that she would make a terrible queen, and that her parents were at the end of their wits. She was addicted to her luxurious lifestyle, loving being waited on and being able to get any object and almost any person she wanted, but as she reached the end of her adolescence, the feeling that she was trapped in Duronil and going nowhere overwhelmed her. Becoming a worthy and upstanding member of the royal family did not seem an attainable goal for her, nor did it seem a desirable one. She had a flock of cousins, any one of which she was sure would make a fine ruler should the rightful heir to the Brassguard throne be removed from the picture.

So, at last, she packed up some possessions and left the dark heat of the mining city for the fresh island air. Feeling a new person almost immediately, she cut off her long, red braids and took a new name, fully determined never to be recognized for who she was.

The newly named Tamarack wandered alone for some time in the mountain wilderness, forcing herself to become tough and self-sufficient. Eventually she entered the chaotic seaside city of Nilport. Calmed to some degree by her foray into adulthood, she showed less of her wild adolescent tendencies and looked to pragmatic goals, the foremost of these being employment.

Loitering for long hours at the docks, Tamarack fell in love with the salt smell, billowing sails, and bustling commerce of maritime life, and decided to hire herself out to a merchant ship, hoping to learn the sailing profession.

While the average female may find difficulty insinuating herself into the company of rough, lower-class sailors, Tamarack found herself oddly at home. The flippant attitudes and crude humour that characterized her adolescence still clung to her personality, and the ship environment and companionship of males suited her comfortably. She had little to worry about from those who saw a female crewmate as an opportunity; she showed only the rarest of interest in this brand of companionship from males, and those who didn’t like it quickly found out how fierce a fighter she was.

As she became a more able sailor, Tamarack grew in pride and carelessness, and after a while the fights she engaged in were scarcely ever a matter of self-defence. She was always ready for a brawl, and was a frequent instigator of scuffles among the crew. This tendency, coupled with a lingering disrespect for authority figures, caused her to be dismissed from several vessels.

Tamarack wandered the world in this manner, being hired at one port and left behind at another, until she was finally dumped off at the Auldelian coast after a bloody fight over a mere mug of grog. She soon found out that her last Captain had had her blacklisted in the local merchant fleets, and she would have a nigh impossible time finding employment with another vessel.

Instead she brought her fighting spirit and thirst for ale into the local taverns, and occasionally hired herself out as a mercenary when she was in need of gold. Gradually she found she had a small soft spot for the weak and oppressed, and on rare occasions took on jobs without the promise of gold. The first of these was for a woman named Kenna, the proprietress of a Landsbreak eatery she was fond of. Tamarack had long suspected Kenna's husband of being abusive, but it wasn't until she spied bruises on Kenna's young son Cody that she decided to take action. She confronted the woman in private, and Kenna agreed that something needed to be done, if for nothing else than the safety of her son. Tamarack promised Kenna she would never need to worry about her husband again.

Tamarack stalked the man for a few days and finally caught him coming out of a tavern near the docks, intoxicated. She crushed his skull with her warhammer and dumped the body into the bay without incident. Later she told Kenna she had had some strong words with him and convinced him to leave Landsbreak and never return. She knew Kenna suspected the truth, but Kenna was satisfied and they never had words on the subject again.

Although Tamarack found jobs like this satisfying, she never allowed the general public to suspect her of being 'nice'. She continued to get into frivolous fights and cheat at cards, getting herself booted out of taverns all over Landsbreak.

One evening Tamarack, after a little too much ale, unwisely picked a fight with several sailors from the crew she had last sailed with before being blacklisted. Vastly outnumbered, she had little hope of winning the scrap, but the intervention of an unexpected ally quickly turned the tide.

Tamarack was surprised and curious about the little gnome who had spontaneously decided to help her out. She was especially delighted by how willing her new 'puppy' was to follow after her, so she happily accepted her leadership status and together she and Taylar left Landsbreak to avoid trouble from the local law.

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