Gavrus Mendelheim's page

Gavrus narrowed his eyes when she mentioned informants in the Guard, but then it had been years since he'd been part of them. Perhaps things had degraded to that point.

"I'm in," Gavrus said simply, standing and grasping his greatclub. "We hit him tonight, before he can move. We'll put his devious ways to an end, Zellara."

Gavrus looks at the assembled party and slow realisation dawns on him.

"I know of all of you," he states matter-of-factly. "You two have been wronged by Lamm, so the streets say." He nods at Glimoril and Eleazar.

"I guess he's done that to you too, given you stated that you used to be a Lamb," he continues, nodding at Timerus. "Perhaps this offer is legitimate. Perhaps we can finally rid the world of that speck of s#$%."

Gavrus lets silence fill the room for a minute before continuing. "I imagine that if I've heard of you, then you might have heard of me. Let me clear up any rumours you've heard. I used to be a sergeant of the guard, well-to-do with a loving family and promising career. Then I went after Lamm. I even managed to shut down a couple of his operations, including a shiver factory, before he kidnapped my daughter and killed her. I couldn't prove it was him, of course, but I knew in my bones that it was. I spent a couple of weeks chasing him, came damned close too, but then my wife hanged herself, unable as she was to come to terms with the grief. After that, I lost my drive. I sold our townhouse and moved into that hovel of a tavern I live in now, where I piss my life away. Until now. If what this Zellara woman says is true, then I'm going to send Lamm to the Boneyard with his skull bashed in. I'll wring his scrawny neck with my bare hands and watch as his eyes pop out. Fifteen years he's taken from me, so I'll take his life."

Gavrus sits, snorting in derision at the paintings on the wall. He'd never been one for Harrowings. Reading the note, he leans under the table and pulls up the bread and drink, tearing off some of the bread to chew while he sized up the others in the room.

Gavrus agrees with Timerus and Eleazar and heads into the house.

Gavrus looked at the newcomer balefully, but the card in his hand allayed his suspicions somewhat.

"Well, either this offer is true or Lamm has grossly overestimated his ability to kill us all," Gavrus said, "I'm Gavrus Mendelheim and Lamm killed my daughter and might as well have knotted the rope that took my wife's life as well. If this offer is true, I'll wring Lamm's scrawny neck with my bare hands."

"It seems Lamm has more enemies than he counts on," Gavrus rumbles, showing his own card. Gavrus lowers his greatclub.

"You seem to know who lives here. What can you tell us?" he asks Timerus.

Gavrus turns at the shout and gives the cleric a hard stare before raising his greatclub to point at him.

"I don't know who this Zellara is, little man, but I suggest that you leave us to our business. We're doing people like you a favour," Gavrus rumbles.

Gavrus paused for a moment, the wind taken out of his sails. "You got a card too? Show it to me." Gavrus couldn't help but feel a little bit of elation at the news he wasn't the only one to receive a card as it meant that there was an increased chance this offer was real.

Gavrus shortly spotted another person there, a female elf, who also appeared to be either staking the place out or watching for people to arrive. Gavrus couldn't let it be the latter. He shouldered his way off the wall against which he had been leaning and darted towards the elf, his hand gripping the greatclub as he swung it to point at her face.

"Did Lamm send you, eh?" Gavrus barked, his eyes narrowing at her, "Tell me where he is and I'll let you walk away." Gavrus could feel the rage bubbling inside him, desperate to get out.

Gavrus selects a spot by a shady tree and settles in to watch and see if there is anyone suspicious was hanging around.

Stealth: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (1) - 1 = 0
Perception: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 = 18

Stealthy like a fox! :P

Gavrus fixes Jodreth with a piercing stare.

"I thought about that, and I'm going to go anyway. Closest I've been in years and even if he doesn't turn up I could find someone who knows where he is now," Gavrus clenches the card tightly after finishing his cider. "If I don't come back, toss out what's left in the room and you can have it back."

With that, Gavrus strode back upstairs and pulled out his weapon and armour and gave them a good going over. Once he had done so to his liking, he crawled back into the bed and fell asleep once more.

In the interests of expediency, Gavrus will rise early the next morning and spent most of the day limbering up and practicing with his greatclub. Then, about an hour before sundown, he will head down to Lancet Street and take up a shaded corner and watch the house.

"Jodreth," Gavrus rumbled, "Need a word." Gavrus sat at the end of the bar and placed his card on the counter top. When Jodreth finally came over, Gavrus nodded at the card.

"Any idea about this? Anyone you know that uses harrow cards to communicate? Message on the back is interesting," Gavrus indicated to a free waitress that he'd take a mug of ale.

"I might finally have him," he whispered urgently to Jodreth, a manic glint in his eye, "After all these years, I might finally get to put the rat bastard in the grave."

Gavrus' world dropped away until he was aware of only the blood pounding in his ears and the card he held in his hand. Emotion boiled up from behind his breast and he gripped the card tightly between thumb and forefinger.

Lamm. It was a singular thought accompanied by no other. It was a trap. It had to be a trap. For fifteen years, Gavrus had tried to pin that rat bastard down to a location and now a note appeared seemingly out of thin air? Did Lamm think Gavrus a fool? With a snarl, he tossed the card onto his bed and headed for the door.

He stopped as his hand gripped the handle. Even if it was a trap, Lamm might be there. At the very least, someone who knew him must be there. Gavrus knew he was getting old but perhaps anger and rage could carry him on? He had some armour and an enormous club hidden under his bed for just this occasion. He wasn't getting any younger and even if Lamm killed him... he'd have Amelia and Maria back.

Turning slowly, Gavrus stared at the card on his bed as it almost felt as though it was beckoning him forward. He let go of the handle and strode across the room in two strides, snatching the card up again and stared at it intently as though doing so would yield more information.

3 Lancet Street, he thought to himself, trying to think if he'd heard the address before. Knowledge (local): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17

Gavrus knew in that instant that he would go there tomorrow at sundown. This was the closest he had been to Lamm in years. It might even be true. Perhaps he would go there and someone would lay Lamm on a platter for him. Gavrus sat back down on his bed and stared at the card as his mind whisked him away into a reverie where he imagined all the ways he would hurt Lamm.

He sat like that for what seemed like hours but when he looked back at the window, it was still dark outside. Suddenly he realised that his mouth was dry and that he needed a drink. Pulling himself up from the bed, he opened the door to his room and headed downstairs to speak to Jodreth.

Gavrus is making no attempt to hide the card so it will be in full view if someone studies him for long enough.

Knowledge (local): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14

No problem, Fateweaver. It wouldn't work in every AP but in such a city-centric AP such as CotCT and CoT it works quite well.

Knowledge (local): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23

I figure Garvus has kept tabs on stories to do with Lamm through the years.

Knowledge (local): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21

Garvus stared sullenly into his mug of ale. It was weak, likely watered down to increase the barkeep's profits, but Gavrus didn't care. He hadn't worked in almost a month and it was only the money he'd given the barkeep fifteen years ago that kept him in drink and a dry bed at night.

"You need work," the barkeep said as he busied himself, attempting to clean the alcohol-soaked bar top, "You're stinking up the place and driving off the honest custom."

Gavrus grunted in reply. The barkeep knew him, knew much of what had happened to him and over the years they'd become some fashion of friends. He knew that once he died, the barkeep would probably breath a sigh of relief but for now, the barkeep was his most constant source of companionship although Gavrus could barely remember his name. Jodreth or something similar. His words were meant in half-jest although Garvus knew that he probably stunk to high heaven.

"I'll head up to my room," Gavrus replied flatly and drained what was left of his ale. He stood, slightly unsteady, and traipsed up the stairs to his small box of a room. It had one small window that let the cold in during the winter and a bed that was ridden with bed mites and woodworm. Despite this, it was home. With a beer-soaked sigh, Gavrus dropped himself into his bed and let oblivion claim him.

The dream was always the same. It started with Gavrus, his wife Amelia and their daughter Maria laughing in the back garden of their townhouse. After a few minutes, Maria disappeared and Gavrus ran out of the house looking for her. He found her, emaciated and lifeless, her cold, dead eyes staring at him in accusation.

"You left me, Gavrus, you went to chase down Lamm and let me die," her voice said in the same rasping quality his daughter had. Gavrus screamed.

Gavrus sat bolt upright in his bed, sweat streaming from every pore in his body. From the darkness, he guessed he'd been asleep for a few hours but he felt as though he'd just done the hardest days work in his life. With a shudder, he tried to forget what he had just seen.

Dot.

Cheers for the acceptance, Fateweaver. I'm looking forward to playing this character as it will be the darkest character I've played in a while.

I guess the first order of business for Gavrus is whether or not he knows any of the rest of the party from his time as a guard sergeant. He moved in upper middle class social circles and might have a passing chance at knowing anyone who had a run-in with the guard.

It is likely that his downfall will be reasonably known about, although it has been fifteen years since that event but I think that if anyone wants to make a check on what they'd know about Gavrus then the following would be suitable:

Kastarr Eunson here with my submission, Gravus Mendelheim. Once a guardsman in Korvosa, his life took a downward spiral.

I've toned back on the background a touch and kept the traits limited to the events surrounding the death of his daughter (I had originally planned for his wife to die to a shiver overdose, hence my question surrounding whether I could have two campaign traits in place of one and another).

I'm just awaiting an answer on the gold question in order to gear him up.

For future character development, it will go one of two ways depending on how things play out. Either he will continue to level in Urban Barbarian or he will become an amalgam of the man he used to be and the man he is now and take levels in Cavalier.

Background and personal connection updated.

Allow me to introduce the alias of Marlyben Silversong, known as Ben to his friends. I'll put up his background once I've completed it.