Post by ! Game Master on Aug 20, 2019 13:40:25 GMT -5
Many tales have been told about Caer Glenn, but none are as famous as the story of Baderon the Bold. Before we begin let me tell you a bit about the layout of Caer Glenn. Caer Glenn is filled with hills and mountains made up of vast amounts of stone. Many a fort are located on top of these mountains, unreachable to anyone who does not know the way of the mountain climber. The most famous of these forts was Evermore Reach. It was located on top of a large crag so tall that it was said to be unbreachable. The only way in was kept secret by the Evermore family for many generations. So secret that the family blindfolded anyone who had not been told as they came in. This brings us to the story of Baderon the Bold and the day he found his way into Evermore Reach.
Baderon Vinscotti was a man from a desert continent far from Caer Glenn. The name was lost after a great war caused famine and poverty to spread through his homeland and the people who lived there were forced to flee. Baderon and his family traveled by boat to Caer Glenn and happened upon the shores by accident. They struggled to grow their desert crops in the cold temperate region so Baderon's father was forced to become a mason and help build the giant keeps that seemed to be popping up everywhere. One of these keeps happened to collapse and injure an aristocratic man of Caer Glenn. The blame was put on Baderon's father, so the man hired a band of bandits that was ravaging the area to "take care of him." The bandits killed both of Baderon's parents and kidnapped him into slavery.
He lived as a slave for the next five years, secretly plotting his revenge against the ones who had killed his family. They would often taunt him about how the nobleman Reginald Evermore had paid them a fat sum to kill his family. His twelfth birthday rolled around and he was finally given the chance to get some payback when he was ordered to cook the camp a meal. He slipped enough nightshade into the food of all the adult bandits that it simply put them to sleep and they never woke up. The other slaves looked at him as a hero and the children of the camp were too young to truly understand what had happened. The freed slaves had never led themselves and there were many more dangers now that they no longer had the bandits protecting them, so they elected to choose a leader. The only name to come out of the cauldron they had put names into was Baderon.
For the next five years the camp grew and grew. They survived in the same way the bandits had and stole from the rich nobles who were scattered everywhere throughout the highlands of Caer Glenn. The only nobles they could never find a way to best was the Evermore family and it was because they had built on the highest crag for miles around. Baderon knew there had to be a secret way up to them, but as hard as he searched, he could never find it. This enraged him and he would search the area around the crag for hours at a time sometimes. One day he decided to do the impossible and climb the mountain. He told his people his plans and told them he might not make it back if something went wrong. They begged him not to go, but this was a matter of honor and Baderon was not about to give up his need for revenge just because death was staring him in the face. He gathered up his gear and headed back towards the crag, "Prepare for war. I shall find out how they get down that damn mountain and we will take everything they have." He told his people before he left.
The climb up the mountain was 8000ft almost straight up and there were several points where the cliff would overhang which is why it was deemed "impossible" to breach. There were very few places to rest and even the greatest of men would cower in the face of this sort of danger. Baderon was not your average man though and his goal was so important to him that he would do whatever it took to achieve it. He climbed for two days, getting sleep the first night only because he had found an alcove which was safe enough for him to curl into a ball and get some rest on. There were several points in which he almost fell and sheer willpower alone was just enough to save him. By the time he reached the top his gloves were torn, and his fingers were bloodied. He quietly began his search for the hidden way up the crag and it was not long before he found it. A cave located on the east side of the crag with stairs leading downward. He followed the stairs down for what seemed like forever and when he finally reached the end, he was shocked at what he found. The entrance was directly south of his camp and only had a large boulder covering it. It wasn't something a person searching could find unless they moved every boulder in the highlands and just happened to come across it. That was why he could never find it.
He rushed back to the camp and gathered his fiercest warriors. They ascended the stairs and began their attack on Evermore Reach. They fought for two days before Reginald Evermore surrendered and the battle was over. The bandits called out to his family and told them of Baderon's plight, what Reginald had done, and then placed an offer before them. "Give us Reginald and we will leave this place and never come back. We won't share the secret about how to get up here either." Reginald was a cruel man, even to his family so the decision was an easy one for them to make and he was presented to Baderon in bindings. Baderon was a man of his word and he and his bandits immediately left the crag with Reginald in tow. He looked at the man who had ordered his parents murder and said, "Because of you my family is dead and I was forced to live as a slave for five years. You will now experience the same life I had, only I will not give you the chance I was given to get my revenge."
His people rejoiced when all the men and women made it home to them and they eyed the new addition warily. Baderon stood before them and said, "I know we have vowed not to take slaves, but I am not a cruel man and do not wish to kill unless I have too so this man will be living out the rest of his days here as a paid servant. He will work for his meals and for a warm place to sleep each night." His people cheered and from that day forward he was known as Baderon the Bold. Reginald Evermore lived in the camp for over ten years before being released with a new title, Reginald the Regretful, but the story of how he got that title is for another time and another place.
Baderon Vinscotti was a man from a desert continent far from Caer Glenn. The name was lost after a great war caused famine and poverty to spread through his homeland and the people who lived there were forced to flee. Baderon and his family traveled by boat to Caer Glenn and happened upon the shores by accident. They struggled to grow their desert crops in the cold temperate region so Baderon's father was forced to become a mason and help build the giant keeps that seemed to be popping up everywhere. One of these keeps happened to collapse and injure an aristocratic man of Caer Glenn. The blame was put on Baderon's father, so the man hired a band of bandits that was ravaging the area to "take care of him." The bandits killed both of Baderon's parents and kidnapped him into slavery.
He lived as a slave for the next five years, secretly plotting his revenge against the ones who had killed his family. They would often taunt him about how the nobleman Reginald Evermore had paid them a fat sum to kill his family. His twelfth birthday rolled around and he was finally given the chance to get some payback when he was ordered to cook the camp a meal. He slipped enough nightshade into the food of all the adult bandits that it simply put them to sleep and they never woke up. The other slaves looked at him as a hero and the children of the camp were too young to truly understand what had happened. The freed slaves had never led themselves and there were many more dangers now that they no longer had the bandits protecting them, so they elected to choose a leader. The only name to come out of the cauldron they had put names into was Baderon.
For the next five years the camp grew and grew. They survived in the same way the bandits had and stole from the rich nobles who were scattered everywhere throughout the highlands of Caer Glenn. The only nobles they could never find a way to best was the Evermore family and it was because they had built on the highest crag for miles around. Baderon knew there had to be a secret way up to them, but as hard as he searched, he could never find it. This enraged him and he would search the area around the crag for hours at a time sometimes. One day he decided to do the impossible and climb the mountain. He told his people his plans and told them he might not make it back if something went wrong. They begged him not to go, but this was a matter of honor and Baderon was not about to give up his need for revenge just because death was staring him in the face. He gathered up his gear and headed back towards the crag, "Prepare for war. I shall find out how they get down that damn mountain and we will take everything they have." He told his people before he left.
The climb up the mountain was 8000ft almost straight up and there were several points where the cliff would overhang which is why it was deemed "impossible" to breach. There were very few places to rest and even the greatest of men would cower in the face of this sort of danger. Baderon was not your average man though and his goal was so important to him that he would do whatever it took to achieve it. He climbed for two days, getting sleep the first night only because he had found an alcove which was safe enough for him to curl into a ball and get some rest on. There were several points in which he almost fell and sheer willpower alone was just enough to save him. By the time he reached the top his gloves were torn, and his fingers were bloodied. He quietly began his search for the hidden way up the crag and it was not long before he found it. A cave located on the east side of the crag with stairs leading downward. He followed the stairs down for what seemed like forever and when he finally reached the end, he was shocked at what he found. The entrance was directly south of his camp and only had a large boulder covering it. It wasn't something a person searching could find unless they moved every boulder in the highlands and just happened to come across it. That was why he could never find it.
He rushed back to the camp and gathered his fiercest warriors. They ascended the stairs and began their attack on Evermore Reach. They fought for two days before Reginald Evermore surrendered and the battle was over. The bandits called out to his family and told them of Baderon's plight, what Reginald had done, and then placed an offer before them. "Give us Reginald and we will leave this place and never come back. We won't share the secret about how to get up here either." Reginald was a cruel man, even to his family so the decision was an easy one for them to make and he was presented to Baderon in bindings. Baderon was a man of his word and he and his bandits immediately left the crag with Reginald in tow. He looked at the man who had ordered his parents murder and said, "Because of you my family is dead and I was forced to live as a slave for five years. You will now experience the same life I had, only I will not give you the chance I was given to get my revenge."
His people rejoiced when all the men and women made it home to them and they eyed the new addition warily. Baderon stood before them and said, "I know we have vowed not to take slaves, but I am not a cruel man and do not wish to kill unless I have too so this man will be living out the rest of his days here as a paid servant. He will work for his meals and for a warm place to sleep each night." His people cheered and from that day forward he was known as Baderon the Bold. Reginald Evermore lived in the camp for over ten years before being released with a new title, Reginald the Regretful, but the story of how he got that title is for another time and another place.