Alyssan Strandoval
Female Human Wizard
Your father used to be a fisherman. He made a good living for your family. That is, before the runoff from the smelting houses poisoned Diamond Lake. The crystal clear waters of the lake gave this community it’s name. Now, the lake is poisoned and filthy, and the fish that sustained a whole industry have all died. The once majestic docks are now dilapidated, the once beautiful waters stink.
When the fishing industry failed, your father took work in the mines. Your parents had to sell their house. They "temporarily" moved into Jalek’s Flophouse. A run down converted warehouse that’s home to nearly a hundred of Diamond Lake’s poorest. Within days of the move, your mother grew sick. You were only a little girl, but you remember your mother’s passing.
Your father always being in the mines, you were left to raise yourself. You and the other kids from Jalek’s played in the streets, found whatever you could to entertain yourselves. Games of dare were particularly popular, and you weren’t afraid of anything. One day the kids dared you to steal an apple off a tree in Allustan’s garden.
Known as the “smartest man in town,” Allustan is a reclusive wizard. People speak in hushed tones of the mystic power he wields. Usually, he would just shoo away children that enter his meditation garden, but the day he caught the bare-footed, grubby faced girl stealing an apple from his tree, he invited her in for tea.
You were very afraid, but equally fascinated. Allustan’s house was luxurious. His library filled with hundreds of leather bound tomes. The smell of the herbs, spices, and exotic spell components lingered in the house, exciting your senses. He must have seen something in you that first visit, because he invited you to come and visit again the next day. And you did.
You kept going back, day after day. At first he would just chat with you, or have you help him in his garden. Soon he was teaching you to read. You loved reading. He’d lend you books to take home. Reading them would allow you to escape from the harsh realities of the slums into the history of the realm and the myths and legends of old. You were welcome to read any books in the library except the ones on the top shelf: his magic books. That just piqued your interest in them more. They were beautifully bound, with strange symbols embossed on the spines. Allustan began to allow you to stay at his house while he went into town. Usually, you would do chores around the house while he was away, or read in the library.
One day your interest got the best of you. You just knew this magic stuff couldn’t be that hard. You pulled down a book of the shelf and opened it. Attempting to read a spell from the book, your head began to spin, your brain started hurting. The next thing you remembered, you were laying in a bed in the guest room. Allustan was sitting over you looking at you with concern in his eyes. After it was established that you were ok, Allustan told you that what you had done could have driven you insane. “The words of magic are not to be taken lightly,” he said. “If you want to read those books, you have to start at the very beginning.” You thought Allustan would be mad, but instead, he told you, “Well, if you’re going to try to read them anyway, you might as well learn how to do it correctly… besides, I need a little entertainment in this dull city.”
That was 6 years ago. You’ve been studying hard, apprenticing under Allustan ever since. You love magic. It has actually come to you quite easily. But you tire of lessons. You want practical experience.
A week ago, a trio of richly dressed adventurers from Free City showed up in town. They’ve been frequenting The Feral Dog. Word has it their intention is to explore the long abandoned Stirgenest Cairn on the lake’s distant southeast shore. What a joke. You and your friends used to play in that Cairn. There is no treasure to be found there. The place is harmless. But it got you thinking… What if there are other cairns around here that haven’t been thoroughly searched. The hills surrounding Diamond Lake are filled with the burial chambers of heroes of ages forgotten. Maybe one of them might have secrets left to reveal. Allustan has held a long time fascination with the tombs in the nearby hills. After reading through some of his research on the subject, you came across references to the the “Whispering Cairn,” a little known tomb said to be haunted. The "Whispering" is supposedly the sound of the ghosts.
Deitrik Cicaeda is the Chief Cartographer for Diamond Lake. He works out of the Garrison, the local fort that protects Diamond Lake and the surrounding area. Deitrik has all the official survey maps of the area. Thane Vendarin is the only person you know at the Garrison. He’s the son of Lieutenant Vendarin, who is in charge of one of the squads at the Garrison. You asked Thrane if he could get you a copy of the map that shows the location of the Whispering Cairn. Two days ago he brought it to you. It appears that its close to a mine that has been closed for a good 50 years now. Apparently the owner of the mine passed away with no heirs a good 10 years ago. It should be easy to go in and do a little exploration.
Excited by your findings, you asked Thrane to gather a few others together to help. It’s a shame to split any treasure you find 3 or 4 ways instead of two, but you know you’ll need some help.
You are all meeting this morning at an abandoned outbuilding near the old mine. Hopefully you’ll get a chance to have some practical application of your skills, or some ancients artifacts that will earn you some gold.
Thaniel ‘Thane’ Vendarin
Male Half Elf Fighter
Your mother is Mikela Venderin, a lieutenant in charge of one of the three squads stationed at the Diamond Lake Garrison. You’ve never met your father. They met during the goblin wars when their units were stationed with each other. Soon after the great battle with Turosh Mok, the leader of the evil humanoid invaders, your parents’ units were separated. A few days later your mother discovered she was pregnant. She was never able to contact him, and to this day has no idea whether he survived the war against Pomarj, or is alive today.
After the goblin wars your mother was transferred to the Diamond Lake Garrison, and was eventually promoted to lieutenant in command of her own squad. For as far back as you remember, you have lived in the Garrison. Your mother is always busy with her duties, and subsequently you’ve been raised as much by the other members of the Militia and the members of the Garrison’s chapel to Heironeous.
You’ve been trained in military ways since you were old enough to hold a sword, and you are now old enough now to join the Militia, but you just don’t like the military life. You know there’s something more out there. Your heart craves excitement and adventure. Bored with the Garrison life, you’ve been going into town more, hanging out at some of the more seedy joints, like the Feral Dog, a sleazy, run down ale hall with a reputation for trouble.
Last week a trio of richly dressed adventures from Free City came into town. They’ve been hanging out at the Feral Dog all week, talking loudly of their plans to explore Stirgenest Cairn. You and the other locals think they’re nuts. Every kid worth his salt has been into the Stirgenest Cairn at one time or another. Any treasures or artifacts that it might have held were plundered years ago.
A few days ago, however, Alyssan Strandoval came to see you at the Garrison. Alyssan is the apprentice of Allustan, the “smartest man in town”, and a wizard of some reknown. You’ve met Alyssan several times before. Diamond Lake isn’t that big.
Alyssan asked you if you could get a hold of a map of an area containing the “Whispering Cairn.” She said she had reason to believe it may still hold some secrets to discover. This has definitely got you interested. Finally, something interesting is going on around here.
Deitrik Cicaeda is the Chief Cartographer for Diamond Lake. He works in the Garrison, and he is the only person in Diamond Lake with the official survey maps of the area. That’s why Alyssan asked you to see what you could do. You’re pretty tight with Dram, Deitrik’s son, both of you growing up together at the fort. Dram showed up the next day with the goods, and wow, they looked really promising! It turns out that the Whispering Cairn is sitting next to mine that has been abandoned for a good 50 years. The owner died 10 years ago, with no heirs. The place hasn’t been touched in forever. It should be easy to sneak into the cairn and do a little exploring.
Alyssan was just as excited about the news as you are. She asked you to put together a small team and meet her at the abandoned outbuilding near the old mine in a few days. You went down to the Feral Dog and got some trustworthy friends together for the expedition. Quinn Thornwistle is a halfing you’ve known for some time. She’s handy with a set of lockpicks, and that will probably come in handy. Aramil SilverFjord is an elf from a few hours north of here. He’s been here a lot in the last year since father died. He’s good with a bow, and the best woodsman you’ve ever met. He can track anything. You decided to round out the party with a gnome cleric named Gundigoot Turco. He recently came to the chapel of Heironeous at the Garrison. He’s quirky, but you like him a lot, and it can’t hurt to have Heironeous on your side.
Today is the day. You’re all meeting at the abandoned outbuilding near the old mine in just a few hours. Finally, time for some excitement in your life!
Quinn Thornwistle
Female Halfling Rogue
You’ve lived in Diamond Lake for 15 years or so now. It’s a squalid, dirty town full of corruption and greed. Your parents work in the kitchens at the Emporium, a combination tavern / freak show / gambling hall that exists solely to separate the miners of Diamond Lake from their money. You know it’s seedy, but it has its benefits.
You used to hang out behind the scenes of the Emporium’s stage show and “Gallery of Science.” Tasmo the Magnificent is escape artist/sleight of hand expert that has worked in the emporium stage show for a good 8 years now. He befriended you as a child, and taught you everything you need to know to unlock most any lock that comes your way. He is also a proficient cutpurse, and taught you a few tricks of the trade. Between what you learned from Tasmo, and the things you picked up from all the other “professionals” at the emporium and around town, you’ve become quite the rogue.
Last month Tasmo picked up and left town. He said he “had the itch,” and was moving on to “Bigger and Better Things.” His sudden departure upset your status quo. Things seem rather dull around here. Sure, there’s the constant opportunity to separate a mark from his coin purse, but you feel like that’s just not you anymore. You’re looking for something more. And that’s where Thaniel Vendarin comes in.
Thaniel, or Thane, as his friends call him, is an army brat who lives up at the Garrison. His mother is a lieutenant in charge of a large contingent of militia stationed there. You met him at the Feral Dog; a seedy bar that caters to the town’s poorest laborers. The Feral Dog has a reputation for trouble, but it’s nothing you can’t handle. You’re wise to the Diamond Lake underworld, and you know enough to stay out of the way.
Last week three richly dressed adventurers from Free City showed up at the Feral Dog. You were there having a drink with Thane, and an elven woodsman friend named Aramil Silverfjord. They made no secret of their intention to explore the long abandoned Stirgenest Cairn on the lake’s distant southeast shore. Every local knows that place is all empty of anything of value. You’ve been in there many a time as a child, and know firsthand. You didn’t think much more of it, other than eying their bulging purses a bit. But after sizing the adventurers up, you decided you’d stick to easier marks.
Two days ago when you met Thane and Aramil at the Feral Dog, he told you about a plan he’d worked up to check out a little known cairn called the “Whispering Cairn.” He said he’d done Alyssan Strandoval a favor and gotten her a copy of one of the Garrison’s survey maps of the area, so that she could find out about the cairn. From what Thane has told you, it sounds like it could be pretty promising. Both you and Aramil agreed to join them on an expedition into the cairn. You’re to meet this morning at an old abandoned outbuilding near the old mine. Time to put some of those skills you’ve learned to good use. This ought to be a lot of fun!
Gundigoot Turco
Male Gnome Cleric
You grew up in the gnome warren of Grossetgrottel, not far from Diamond Lake. Life was good for you, but you were restless. You left in search of glory and adventure. You traveled the area for a while, but had little direction to your quest. One day at an inn you heard a cleric speak of Heironeous, God of Valor. This Heironeous guy sounded like your type of God. If he couldn’t give you some guidance on your quest, who could? So you went to the temple to Heironeous in Free City.
Asking for guidance, they suggested you join the church. You figured you’d do one better. You enrolled for training as a Cleric of Heironeous. 6 months ago you finished your training, and they assigned you to the Chapel of Heironeous at Diamond Lake’s Garrison. The Garrison is the fort of the local militia. It sounded like you might finally see some action, but you’ve been here six months now, and nothing in the slightest bit interesting has happened.
A few days ago you were in the chapel praying to Heironeous for guidance when Thaniel Vendarin came in. He’s the son of one of the higher ups at the Garrison, although not a member of the militia himself. You’ve spent some of your free time over the last six months hanging out with him. He’s quite a bit more interesting than the militia members, and seems to be as interested in finding a little glory as you are.
He told you that he’d found out about a burial chamber near here that might hold some secrets yet to be revealed, some traps yet to be disabled. Taking it as an answer to your prayers, you told Thane (as his friends call him), that you’d be more than interested. You’re meeting up with the rest of the party this morning at an abandoned outbuilding close to the cairn. You feel Heironeous is with you, and glory awaits!