Arnaldo Guilliero
Arnaldo Guilliero
Arnaldo Guilliero was a Milagonian adventurer and explorer. He was a memnber of the then prestigious Guilliero family. He was secretly also a member of the Crimson Order.
He gained fame for his many explorations, but that of the Spice Islands earned him infamy. His insistence on discovering strange creatures and a 'Forgotten Land', for which he could provide no evidence, as a part of his travels damaged his reputation and led to his exile from civilised society. His only proof, a skull of a draconic-like creature with three horns, was confiscated from him by the Crimson Order. This skull was later rediscovered in the stacks of the Crimson Keep by Jed Kingsdown.
Guilliero's mind, damaged upon his limping return to Milagon never recovered and the response to his wild stories led to him becoming secretive and hiding information from everyone.
Guilliero, sensing his death draw near, gathered his meagre writings - a magically warded diary and some charts, and placed them in an ornate enchanted chest which could only be opened by a direct descendent. His hope was that one day, his reputation could be posthumously restored by a member of his line when exploration became easier.
This chest later ended up stored at the Ormadian Repisitory where it was discovered by the Thanes of Order.
More was learned about Guilliero from his diary and from The Story of Arnaldo Guillero as told to the Thanes of Order by the Tala’aga.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Arnaldo was the eccentric head of a noble house, through which he led and funded various expeditions about 300 years ago, when exploring was a thing in vogue. He wrote much on his travels and collected many trophies in his lifetime, ranging from simple treasure, to the weapons, armour and magical artefacts of his foes, to the corpses and body parts of the monstrous creatures he slew. Some of these still exist in protected display cases within the Casa di Chimera. On his expeditions he faced many dangers. He remains one of the few to have returned from Coatl unscathed. Such a lifestyle was expensive, even for a nobleman, and before long even his deep coffers were running low.
Having spent most of his family’s fortune, Arnaldo married a beautiful woman named Deidra from a wealthy Milagonian family and unintentionally fell deeply in love with her. They started a family together, producing two sons named Armando and Eldriche, but the constant dangers of his travels mixed with the alchemical alterations he subjected his body to meant that their relationship was often under strain. After yet another near brush with death, Arnaldo decided that he did not want his wife to grow old without a husband or his children to grow up without a father and he resolved to make his fortune from one final adventure. Word reached him of the burgeoning wealth emerging from The Spice Islands. With every year, it seemed there was a new explorer returning from the archipelago having mapped a previously undiscovered island and claiming ownership of its rare and exotic bounty. His own expedition would last over a year, and he returned, somewhat maddened, speaking of a Forgotten Land hidden in the islands themselves. He claimed to have discovered a route to this Forgotten Land by following clues from the folklore in The Spice Islands. The legends told of a forbidden entrance that would lead to a place forgotten by time. Ignoring the local taboos, he supposedly entered this Forgotten Land and returned dishevelled, but proudly displaying the head of a beast he felled: one he believed unique. It was big as a dragon, but with a bony frill, three horns and a beaked mouth. Upon his return, he begged both The Spicers and the Cartographers to fund a further expedition to fully explore the Forgotten Land, but both refused. Arnaldo had returned without any of the usual evidence of gold, gems, spices or sugar that might have intrigued either guild, merely the skull of this monstrous creature that experts of the Teralogical at The Ormadian Repository debunked as either a taxidermical hoax or some sort of mutant proto-dragon. Despite his protestations, he was publicly labelled a charlatan and a madman. In desperation, he retreated to the Crimson Order to pledge his case, but though they took the strange creature’s skull for further study, they were also unwilling to pursue his research. Returning to Milagon, exhausted and almost penniless, Arnaldo discovered that his beloved Deidra had grown sickly and would not venture out to see a healer for fear of the gossip that had engulfed their family. She died shortly afterwards, a loss that would break Arnaldo’s spirit and deepen the rift between him and his eldest son Armando. Although he attempted to publish his findings, the publication was suppressed by the Crimson Order who feared his writings would further expose them. As debt-collectors circled around the Casa di Chimera, Armando angrily confronted his ailing father and it is believed that the ensuing fight may have left Arnaldo with a mortal wound. Little is known of what happened to Arnaldo after this altercation, but he was never seen publicly again. Since this time, the house has passed through several members of the Guilliero family, each of whom have been discovered dead shortly afterwards. This has led to talk of a family curse that has seemingly plagued the House of Guilliero for generations. The Casa di Chimera now sits vacant, its windows boarded and some rooms inaccessible behind locked doors for which the keys have never been found. No-one will purchase the house for fear of the curse, although several items have been recovered by family members and sold or gifted to the Ormadian Repository. One such item is a puzzle box, which is currently on loan to the Cryptological department under the supervision of a tabaxi named Piece of the Puzzle. It is believed that the box may contain Arnaldo’s lost manuscripts and even a route back to the Forgotten Land, but as yet no-one has been unable to find a way to open the box or uncover its mysteries.
Having spent most of his family’s fortune, Arnaldo married a beautiful woman named Deidra from a wealthy Milagonian family and unintentionally fell deeply in love with her. They started a family together, producing two sons named Armando and Eldriche, but the constant dangers of his travels mixed with the alchemical alterations he subjected his body to meant that their relationship was often under strain. After yet another near brush with death, Arnaldo decided that he did not want his wife to grow old without a husband or his children to grow up without a father and he resolved to make his fortune from one final adventure. Word reached him of the burgeoning wealth emerging from The Spice Islands. With every year, it seemed there was a new explorer returning from the archipelago having mapped a previously undiscovered island and claiming ownership of its rare and exotic bounty. His own expedition would last over a year, and he returned, somewhat maddened, speaking of a Forgotten Land hidden in the islands themselves. He claimed to have discovered a route to this Forgotten Land by following clues from the folklore in The Spice Islands. The legends told of a forbidden entrance that would lead to a place forgotten by time. Ignoring the local taboos, he supposedly entered this Forgotten Land and returned dishevelled, but proudly displaying the head of a beast he felled: one he believed unique. It was big as a dragon, but with a bony frill, three horns and a beaked mouth. Upon his return, he begged both The Spicers and the Cartographers to fund a further expedition to fully explore the Forgotten Land, but both refused. Arnaldo had returned without any of the usual evidence of gold, gems, spices or sugar that might have intrigued either guild, merely the skull of this monstrous creature that experts of the Teralogical at The Ormadian Repository debunked as either a taxidermical hoax or some sort of mutant proto-dragon. Despite his protestations, he was publicly labelled a charlatan and a madman. In desperation, he retreated to the Crimson Order to pledge his case, but though they took the strange creature’s skull for further study, they were also unwilling to pursue his research. Returning to Milagon, exhausted and almost penniless, Arnaldo discovered that his beloved Deidra had grown sickly and would not venture out to see a healer for fear of the gossip that had engulfed their family. She died shortly afterwards, a loss that would break Arnaldo’s spirit and deepen the rift between him and his eldest son Armando. Although he attempted to publish his findings, the publication was suppressed by the Crimson Order who feared his writings would further expose them. As debt-collectors circled around the Casa di Chimera, Armando angrily confronted his ailing father and it is believed that the ensuing fight may have left Arnaldo with a mortal wound. Little is known of what happened to Arnaldo after this altercation, but he was never seen publicly again. Since this time, the house has passed through several members of the Guilliero family, each of whom have been discovered dead shortly afterwards. This has led to talk of a family curse that has seemingly plagued the House of Guilliero for generations. The Casa di Chimera now sits vacant, its windows boarded and some rooms inaccessible behind locked doors for which the keys have never been found. No-one will purchase the house for fear of the curse, although several items have been recovered by family members and sold or gifted to the Ormadian Repository. One such item is a puzzle box, which is currently on loan to the Cryptological department under the supervision of a tabaxi named Piece of the Puzzle. It is believed that the box may contain Arnaldo’s lost manuscripts and even a route back to the Forgotten Land, but as yet no-one has been unable to find a way to open the box or uncover its mysteries.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
Arnaldo cannot pass on from his undead ghostly form until the blot on his family name has been expunged. This can only be achieved by retrieving further evidence of the beast he slew in the Forgotten Land and proving his greatest discovery was not a hoax. When he appears, he will ask the party is a loud rasping voice “Do you believe?” If players don’t know what he is referring to, then he will assume they have been sent by the Order to discredit him and initiate combat. However, if players claim they believe him, he will converse with them answering questions about himself or his history. He will tell them that the means to find the Forgotten Land are hidden within his puzzle chest.
The players chose to converse with Arnaldo rather than fight. Although they had brought his descendent to the house, they had instructed him to wait outside. In true haunted house fashion, the front doors had then locked behind them, sealing Arnaldo the younger outside. After a few failed attempts, Jed was able to convince the ghost to reveal its secrets after swearing to personally lead the expedition himself. Arnaldo revealed the entrance to his secret laboratory and the party were able to locate the vial of preserved blood. Taking the vial to the Ormadian Repository, they poured its contents over the puzzle box and by proclaiming that they ‘believe’ the box opened. Inside they discovered maps, star charts and journal pages that show the way to the fabled Forgotten Land.
The players chose to converse with Arnaldo rather than fight. Although they had brought his descendent to the house, they had instructed him to wait outside. In true haunted house fashion, the front doors had then locked behind them, sealing Arnaldo the younger outside. After a few failed attempts, Jed was able to convince the ghost to reveal its secrets after swearing to personally lead the expedition himself. Arnaldo revealed the entrance to his secret laboratory and the party were able to locate the vial of preserved blood. Taking the vial to the Ormadian Repository, they poured its contents over the puzzle box and by proclaiming that they ‘believe’ the box opened. Inside they discovered maps, star charts and journal pages that show the way to the fabled Forgotten Land.
Species
Ethnicity
Year of Death
1311 PR
Children
Sex
Male
Gender
Male
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
Comments