Disciples of Dreth'dor

The Disciples of Dreth'dor were a group of mercenaries that worked for the Order of Solis. Throughout their years of operation, they saved villages, accidentally started a war between Galefridus and Gavriel, and ended the threat of the vampire Shridra. The most well-known Disciples include Borys, Skamos, and Cal, though rumors exist that the group included multiple other members throughout the years.

Background
By 953 GD, it had been years - decades, even - since a tale of Heradric Dreth’dor had cropped up that held credence. The legend of Dreth’dor was dieing. And with it, his symbol of hope.

When Disciples of Dreth'dor were recruited to hunt monsters, it wasn’t just to rid civilization of their immediate threat. Sure, they would be saving people’s lives by capturing or killing a monster that was attacking their village, but they'd also be saving their spirit, by renewing an old legend and bringing back the hope that this dark age will come to an end - that the villagers just have to hang in there and not live in fear.

For a year, the Disciples of Dreth'dor were in training. The training was extremely rigorous, sixteen hours a day, every day for a year. They trained mind, body, and soul, through all manner of sparring, calisthenics, target practice, resistance training, meditation, and more, oftentimes training several things at once, in all manner of unfavorable conditions – rain, sleet, thunderstorms, snow, hailstorms, freezing weather without any warm clothes – all to toughen them so that when on the field, they would be able to adapt to any situation and act without hesitation. "Cruel and unusual" would not be inappropriate terms to describe the training exercises, which sometimes could almost have been considered torture.

Master Vamros was their only trainer. They learned quickly that if they didn’t call him Master Vamros, they would get rapped on the head with his walking stick. All this training took place in Dreth'dor Manor, which is secreted within Thornwood forest, south of the Copper Hills, north of the Dragonspine Mountains and west of Lake Aede. It is within the king's realm in the Lion Kingdom of Galefridus.

Missions
Over the course of a few years, the Disciples of Dreth'dor undertook a series of missions for the Order of Solis. These missions are outlined below.

Mission 0: The Manor
As a final exam to complete their training, Master Vamros orchestrated a scenario that would test the Disciples' courage in the face of true danger: they would awake to the alleged threat of the manor's butler being a powerful vampire that kidnapped Vamros, and they would need to utilize a variety of skills in order to free their master. The Disciples succeeded, officially completing their training, and earning their first day of rest in a year.

Mission 1: The Night Is Theirs
We treasure the trees, for the fruits that they bear;

We treasure the sea, for the fish we ensnare;

We treasure the sun, for the daylight it shares;

We treasure the day, for the night is theirs.

-Woodbury prayer of thanks

For years, the little village of Woodbury was troubled by the presence of unknown evils called "Howlers." These creatures haunted the village by night, emitting horrible wind-like sounds and shaking the walls of houses. The Howlers were attracted to any form of light, and the villagers would barricade all doors and windows to prevent any light source from escaping their homes at night and deny entrance to these creatures. When these creatures were first encountered by the villagers, several denizens were forcibly taken by the Howlers, never to be seen again. Since then, the barricades kept the villagers safe at night, and they lived a productive life during the day, but were forced to endure the haunting sounds at night.

The Disciples of Dreth'dor fought the Howlers one night, defeating them, but the Howlers returned the next night. After investigating further, the Disciples discovered that the Howlers were coming from somewhere East of Woodbury. The only landmark of note to the East is Iryar's Fall, an abandoned watchtower that overlooks Lake Aede. From the watchtower, the Disciples spotted a body in the lake, and after digging around, recovered a total of eight bodies from the lake, in various states of decay, that corresponded to the Woodbury villagers that disappeared over the years. They also recovered a burlap sack containing a human skull. After giving all the remains a proper burial, the Howlers returned for one final night before taking the shape of human spirits and beaming up into the sky as light beams.

It was ultimately determined that the initial Howler was the restless spirit of Sergeant Iryar, and every abducted villager became another Howler. While Iryar was known as a local Galefridish war hero who fell in battle against Kainic forces, it turned out that the village elders of Woodbury held onto a dark secret: Iryar was, in fact, killed by some of his own men, decapitated, and unceremoniously dumped in Lake Aede. Those men were natives of Woodbury, and the Howlers were Iryar's revenge on them and their descendants.

Mission 2: The Rainman
Shutter the windows and close fast the door,

Let him not in nor let drop wet the floor;

Speak naught but a whisper or else he shall hear,

Pray to your gods for the Rainman is here.

-Song of the Rainman

The Rainman, a creature of Galefridish folklore, was foretold by rumor to be arriving in the town of Brushmoor in autumn of 953 GD. The Disciples of Dreth'dor - along with a number of morbidly curious tourists - visited the town with the express purpose of encountering The Rainman. One night, within the most populated public building in Brushmoor - Mar's Inn - a tourist recounted a chilling tale of a tavern devastated by the Rainman. Despite the claims of many that they did not believe in the creature, his tale was able to stir fear, uncertainty, and doubt into most of the people within the tavern.

This visitor eventually revealed himself as the Rainman, and the Disciples of Dreth'dor attempted to defeat him. During the fight, a lantern spilled and started a fire that spread rapidly, forcing everyone to evacuate. The Rainman remained trapped within the inn as it burned to the ground.

Mission 3: The Horde Unleashed
We dug to mine the gold most fair,

We dug to build a mighty hoard;

We dug ‘til we unearthed their lair,

We dug ‘til we unleashed the horde.

-Bofgyth Miner's Creed

The dwarven settlement of Bofgyth, which can be found within the caldera of a former volcano, had been recently suffering attacks at night from creatures that inhabit the caves and tunnels that line the caldera’s inner wall. In the past, the dwarves had made attempts at mining the ore found within these tunnels; however, it seemed this mining activity provoked the creatures. But it had been a long time since a dwarf set foot within the tunnels – yet the creatures had begun attacking once again. In 953 GD, the Disciples of Dreth'dor arrived to find out why.

Despite the attacks, few townsfolk were attempting to leave the town. It was said that deserters were attacked and killed by the monsters. The Disciples of Dreth'dor eventually uncovered a sinister plot by the town's Matriarch Oria - she was using an eladrin named Nymil Amahel Koehik to lure the monsters out of the tunnels and leave a trail of footsteps to the political enemies the Matriarch wished to kill. It was further revealed that the Matriarch was acting under orders of Priestess Shridra to perform a ritual that would summon "Lolth's Child" into the world.

Mission 4: The 10th Hell
When there is no more room in the Nine Hells, the Dead shall walk our world.

-Doomsayer's 6th Prophecy

In 954 GD, the Disciples of Dreth'dor traveled to the Farraji town of Al'Abzari, where they discovered that Den Nosferatu had been unleashed upon the town. While they managed to eliminate the threat before it could spread to other towns, Al'Abzari was destroyed in the process. Priestess Shridra was ultimately found to be responsible for unleashing Den Nosferatu upon the town.

Mission 5: Faceless
Wherefore do I revere the vampire behind the sister of agony, restlessly?

The tears drift, towering above the memory of peacefulness.

The desert drifts, though still their eyes tumble mockingly.

Suddenly, it all changes; the city rides an avenging jewel.

I am faceless.

-Excerpt from the journal of the Bellrich Butcher

Murders had been occurring in Bellrich. The victims were always young, attractive women, and the bodies had had their faces sliced off, leaving a grinning, bloody skull. The cause of death was generally a slashed throat. The local authorities believed a serial killer was responsible – and in 954 GD, the Disciples of Dreth'dor went to investigate.

The serial killer - nicknamed the Bellrich Butcher - was found to be a shapeshifter that was taking on the guise of the mayor and his wife, and had set up her headquarters in the mayor's home. In the basement, the Disciples discovered a horrific display of human facemasks hanging from the ceiling as well as the rotting corpses of the mayor and his wife.

The Disciples ultimately confronted the Butcher as she was attempting to flee the settlement by raft. They defeated her in combat, and she fell into the river, presumed dead.

Mission 6: The Hive
The origin of the kruthik lies in the cruel history of the tiefling empire of Bael Turath.

Tiefling mages infused wordly reptiles with fiendish blood, creating the kruthiks as infiltrators

''to weaken enemy holdings from within. Perhaps the tieflings had a way to control the kruthiks''

at the time, but if so, that technique was lost with the fall of the tiefling empire.

-Excerpt from The Folio of Unusual Creatures, by Yotrem of Far Pollstone

A hive of monsters known as krutik was slowly spreading towards inhabited lands in Matrona. The Disciples of Dreth'dor ventured into the labyrinthine passages of the hive, killed the kruthik queen, destroyed her eggs, and captured a young kruthik for study.

Mission 7: Paen the Mad
Raised through suffering, deprived, tortured, depraved, Paen walks the world with his macabre

covey, spreading all he knows: agony.

-Excerpt from the folktale of Paen the Mad

Savage attacks were taking place on eastern farms within the Main Duchy of Folkhard. The farmlands were burned to the ground, and the mutilated corpses of humans and animals were strewn about. This same type of slaughter was the hallmark of Paen the Mad, who had been banished from this world and into the Shadowfell two centuries prior.

The banishment ritual ensured that Paen and his covey could not remain in the world, however, the renewed attacks were always taking place on the four days of the new moon. It was suspected that Paen could cross over from the Shadowfell only during these times of great darkness.

The Disciples of Dreth'dor defeated Paen and his covey, though first discovering that Shridra is the one responsible for freeing him. They then performed a magic ritual to ensure he could not return - and though tales of the Disciples end on a triumphant note, in reality, it remained unclear whether the ritual was performed successfully.

Mission 8: The Beast of Barural's Delve
The Beast unleashed, blood spilt

A city, a people, an ominous wilt

Through wit, through acumen, the ancients devised

A prison of iron, of gears, disguised

Within their mines did the ancients shelve

The Iron Warden of Barural's Delve

-Old ballad

CLEAN UP

Physical Description:

The presence possesses people, has no known corporeal element.

Encounters with the last possessed creature indicate the victim has been kept alive for extended periods with no sustenance, resulting in a ghoulish appearance.

Victims have also been known to self mutilate.

Additional Information:

The Beast is is only capable of possessing living, conscious people.

It cannot travel through solid objects such as walls or containers.

It is attracted to conflict and attempts to cause it, and death, wherever possible.

The presence pays no heed to the well-being of its victims, until there is only one left, at which point it seeks out more.

The Beast was originally contained within an object referenced as The Iron Warden.

They transferred the Beast into a prisoner who was sentenced to death. They have him locked up in the Iron Warden. I am cured. Malvanos' plan worked.