Pegion's page

Pegion caught himself just as he was about to fall out of the tree. He had fallen asleep near the top of one of the tallest trees near his home in the town of Heldren. It wasn't truly his home, though, and perhaps that's why he often came up here to gaze northward, towards the land of his birth. Irrisen was far north, and where his mind constantly wandered to. His eyes traced lay lines and the almost visible energies along the forested horizon. He'd felt an inexplicable tug to go north since he had left it, and the pull had been getting steadily stronger of late. But heaven knew why he felt the tug in the first place.

As a child, he had been a slave to cruel fey in the sparkling frozen city of Chillblight. He'd never known his parents, but remembered the kind sprite named Pikko that had cared for him. She had hidden him in the first world for a time, but then he was taken from her and sold at the Childthief Island slave market. The draw to Irrisen certainly wasn't because of his fond memories. Pikko had managed to secretly visit and comfort him, but he had to learn to steal from his masters just to survive. He was finally caught stealing and sold off to a winter witch to use as a human sacrifice in some horrible rite. Pikko and some druid allies of hers saved him from the witches curse. For the most part. He suspected the pull towards Irrisen was possibly a part of that dark, interupted ritual. Regardless of how it started, and even how foolish it sounded, Pegion was determined at some point to obey his urge to return, whether his adoptive family consented or not.

Defying them wasn't something he liked to contemplate. After escaping the witch, the druid had placed him with a new family of halflings, like himself, and appointed an old Wise Woman as an additional guardian. The woman and his family, the Fleetfoots, had welcomed and loved him, and for nearly 15 years he's been their son. Whenever Pegion summoned the courage broach the subject of him returning to Irrisen, none of them would hear of it, which he understood completely. He just couldn't submit, not anymore. There was no denying the relentless, indescribible tug any longer. When he arrived home today, he was resolved to inform them of his decision. Thankfully, he had the long trek back to rehearse his diplomactic speech.

Pegion dropped the last 8 feet to the ground, stood up, and stared into the face of the old Wise Woman, who had been apparently waiting for him. He wasn't ready! Pegion swallowed nervously.

She stared at him, humor and tenderness for him in her eyes, reminding him of the reason why he always submitted to her will in the end; she loved him. And that wasn't a thing to be cast aside or ignored.

She sighed a soft laugh and stepped over and removed a few twigs from Pegion's hair and clothes.

Hating himself, Pegion closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and summoned his courage to inform her of his leaving.

She spoke first. "There is an unnatural chill in the air."

Something strange lurked in her tone, causing Pegion to snap his eyes open and fix them on her face.

She looked as gentle and affectionate as ever, but there was something else visible in her expression, too. Something fierce, determined. "A very unnatural chill, indeed." She nodded at him as if he understood. "Have you felt its tug too? For you, there will be no shelter from its icy touch. You must leave."

"Leave?" Pegion said, confused.

"You had best go home and get a good night's sleep, if you can. I can smell it, and feel it in the air. There is a touch of winter on the horizon and it seems to be familiar with you, even if you have forgotten it."

"Forgotten?" He caught the question and tried to get his bearings. "I... I know. I need to leave. I must return to Irrisen."

"Perhaps more than just you shall leave, but yes, you must go. Go home. Rest. Kiss mister and missus Fleetfoot and tell them you love them... and come here to me too." She was small for a human, but enormous to halflings like himself. She squeezed the breath out of him in a crushing hug. He felt some tears fall from her face. "Tell me you love me too and give me a good bye hug."

Pegion squeezed her back, overtaken by sudden emotion. "I love you too. But how? Why have you--"

"Shh, shh," she said, regaining her steely expression. "We all knew this was going to happen, hoping it would not. But winter seems to be at the doorstep and it will not be put off any longer." She squeezed his shoulders, holding him at arms length. She blessed him, her voice almost harsh. "Courage, child."

He felt his knees start to weaken and forced himself to stay upright. He'd always suspected her blessings were more than words. Shaking off the dizziness, he stepped back, giving her a firm nod. And then he smiled, hoping she saw in that all he felt and didn't know how to say. Pegion turned, then, and left as quickly as he could for the Fleetfoots house.

It was time to leave.

Pegion is a 3'4" tall halfling who weighs 32 pounds. He's got brown hair, brown eyes and is 22 years old. He's often got a simple tunic and breeches on to afford him maximum agility while climbing trees or quietly observing visitors to Heldren. He's got a cold weather outfit hidden, ready to go with him when it's time to leave for Irrisen.

Pegion is a happy and grateful young man. He knows what it means to suffer and cherishes his freedom. Pegion is distractable by various mystic energies he can see, real or imagined, and sometimes can seem like a day dreamer. Pegion's emotions run deep and ecstatic joy and despondency are not uncommon for him. He has empathy for the abused and is quick to judge those whom he identifies as oppressors. He does respect his elders and is willing to abide by their judgements, to a point.

Here I'm going to be a little long winded. I took advantage of owning the campaign setting book for Irrisen and read up on the lore. I pieced together a history after quite a bit of reading and enjoyment.
- A Halfling family lives near the town of Riba in Irrisen
- Pegion is born and that night a fey Sprite named Pikko arrives and is welcomed by family
- Fey makes unusual request, cup of milk and a drop of the new baby's blood
- in return fey gives prophecy over baby "Northern Ice and Bright Cold Sun will smile to see the arrival of this young one"
- Lady Erzabet arrives the next morning demanding to know what happened, she has been searching all night for the source of unusual magic from the night before
- the halflings, terrified or Lady Erzabet's unpredicatble fits of rage, stammer about the birth of their son Pegion and the fey's visit, but are scared to speak of the prohectic message
- Lady Erzabet senses their lack of disclosure and sentences them both to die by exposure, chained naked to the the standing stones north of town
- the fey visitor is able to sneak to the baby's crib and snatch him away before Lady Erzabet turns her attention to him
- the baby is taken to the first world for a time and nurtured by Pikko, until the young boy is stolen and sold in Chillblight's Childtheif island's slave markets by some unknown villian
- Pegion's lack of size or strength makes him hard to sell for a good price and he's purchased cheaply to be a slave in a Chillblight manor, home to a despicable fey master
- after years of servitude and surviving only because of his wits and sleight of hand, and the occasional secret visitation from his fey guardian, Pegion is caught stealing and his master decides to kill him in a particularly cruel way
- Pegion is sold to a winter witch and taken to the southern border of Irrisen, where he's to be corrupted and sacrificed to be made into an animated doll in a sentinel hut
- his fey guardian is able to convince a group of druid rebels to aid in rescuing Pegion from the witch while she is beginning the process of corrupting his soul with dark magic
- the spell didn't affect him expcept to perhaps give him a supernatural urge to stand watch over the land of Irrisen, and Pegion deals with an odd compulsion to return there
- Pegion is taken care of by the druids and the fey for a time, but is eventually taken out of Irrisen to Taldor by a druid travelling to the Verduran forest
- the druid finds the tiny village of Heldren and asks the old wise woman of the town to care for him, she assumes guardianship and places him with a halfling family named the Fleetfoots
- Pegion is loved and raised by his new family, yet he often finds himself climing a tree or hiking a peak to gaze North towards Irrisen

Pegion has been stealing food and sneaking around undetected since his very early days as a slave in Chillblight. Mister Fleetfoot taught Pegion the use of the halfling rope-shot. Pegion has picked up a trick or two with the short bow, rapier and daggers by watching others. He's certain of his need to return to Irrisen and has been preparing to do so diligently.

The druids that helped rescue him from the winter witch made Pegion very sympathetic to the green faith, but oddly he's devout to Gozreh. Pikko is devoted to Gozreh as well and has told Pegion that his parent were as well. Pegion doesn't know much about the faith of Gozreh except a few hymns he hums to himself. Pegion believes that his time in the first world has enabled him to see the power of Gozreh here in the material plane in a unique way.

Pegion despises the way the wicked fey of Chillblight and the winter witches mistreated the land of Irrisen. He'd like to see them all driven out or killed and he'd like to see Irrisen free like himself. The near curse of the witch or perhaps the divine intervention of Gozreh almost compel him to return and purge Irrisen by any means necessary.

- Why is a dark skinned, dark haired halfling in Irrisen? Where was Pegion's family from? How did his family come to live in a place like Riba?
- Why did Pikko visit the halfling family the night of Pegion's birth?
- Was Pikko's prophecy over Pegion real?
- Who was Pegion's cruel fey master in Chillblight? Does he/she live?
- Does the witch that tried to coorupt Pegion into a sentinel hut still alive?
- Who is the druid that delivered Pegion to the old Wise Woman of Heldren?
- What motivates Pikko to care for Pegion? Could it be Gozreh? Could Gozreh be upset with Irrisen's eternal winter disrupting nature's balance?

Male halfling fighter (mobile fighter) 1
CG Small humanoid (halfling)
Deity Gozreh; Mythic Path Champion
Init +3; Senses Perception +6

==Defense==
AC 20, touch 15, flat-footed 16 (+4 armor, +3 Dex, +1 dodge, +1 shield, +1 size)
hp 12 (1d10+2)
Fort +5 (+5 circumstance bonus vs. cold weather), Ref +5, Will +5; +1 trait bonus vs. the spells, spell-like abilities, and supernatural abilities of evil arcane spellcasters., -2 vs. disease, illusions, poisons, and the spells, spell-like abilities and supernatural abilities of fey, +1 trait bonus vs. effects from fey

==Offense
Speed 30 ft.
Melee rapier +1 (1d4-1/18-20)

==Statistics==
Str 9, Dex 17, Con 12, Int 15, Wis 14, Cha 14
Base Atk +1; CMB -1; CMD 13
Feats Combat Stamina, Dodge, Mobility
Traits fey protection, freed slave (andoran), warded against witchery
Skills Climb +0, Handle Animal +6, Linguistics +3, Perception +6, Stealth +8, Survival +6 (+8 to avoid becoming lost when using this)
Languages Common, Elven, Gnome, Halfling, Sylvan
SQ dodge, fey magic, fey-taken, weapon finesse
Other Gear chain shirt, buckler, rapier, backpack, bedroll, belt pouch, cold weather outfit, compass[APG], fishhook (2), flint and steel, grappling hook, mug/tankard, sewing needle, signal whistle, silk rope (50 ft.), string or twine[APG], thread (50 ft.), trail rations (7), waterproof bag[UE], waterskin, whetstone, winter blanket, 10 gp

==Special Abilities==
Cold weather outfit +5 Fort save vs. cold weather.
Compass +2 circumstance for Survival or Knowledge (Dungeoneering) to avoid becoming lost.
Dodge [Combat Trick] Up to double Dex bonus in stamina points, increase dodge bonus from Dodge by stamina spent.
Fey Magic (Favored Terrain [Cold]) Gain spell-like abilities in selected terrain.
Fey Protection +1 to AC versus attacks of opportunyt from fey, and to save vs. effects from fey.
Fey-Taken -2 vs. disease, illusions, poison and spells, spell-like abilties and supernatural abilities of fey.
Freed Slave +1 Will saves.
Mobility +4 to AC vs. AoO provoked by moving out of or through a threatened area.
Mobility [Combat Trick] Double bonus of Dodge combat trick vs Attacks of Opportunity provoked by movement.
Warded Against Witchery +1 to spellcraft to ID spells of evil arcane spellcasters, +1 to save vs thier spells and abilities.