Allustan Neff
Relationships
History
When the party first heard about the cult underneath Dourstone Mine, it was Allustan who helped them prepare to fight them. He offered to sponsor their mission, lending them whatever help he could. He wanted to play his part in the fight against evil. He used his library and personal knowledge to inform the players about the necromancer Filge, and about the cult he had mentioned. He was able to tell them that the Ebon Triad was trying to unite Vecna, Erythnul, and Hextor into an all-powerful overgod. After the group reported back from raiding the compound, the intel they gathered along with his research revealed something new: this heretical order had a prophecy: the Overgod could only be formed during the Age of Worms, an era of writhing doom heralded by the reappearance of an elder evil named Kyuss. He thought it very likely this group would be trying to resurrect Kyuss, to speed this doom along. Since the party was outmatched against the compound, he sent them to Blackwall Keep to recruit his old friend Marzena the War Mage. After that, the party was embroiled in the intrigues of The Free City of Greyhawk . When a dragon attack brought them rushing home again, they found his house levelled by Ilthane's acid. Townsfolk had told the dragon, who was seeking Allustan and the party by names, that Allustan was probably in the Whispering Cairn, an old tomb that he'd been fascinated with of late. The party rescued him from where he'd gotten imprisoned by one of the tomb's defenses, and he was the one who told them that the Wind Dukes had hidden ancient weapons of Law within the complex. After they retrieved these, they reunited with him to have a proper debrief. Allustan was impressed and beyond proud of the party's progress. They had achieved more than he dared to hope, and had evolved into highly capable adventurers, forces to be reckoned with in the fight against the writhing chaos. With a proud tear in his eye, Allustan told them he had nothing left to teach them, and sent them on to his former master, Tenser.
Relationship Reasoning
Initially, the party needed use of Identify to use the magic items they'd found in the Whispering Cairn. His library was also useful in figuring out what kind of fresh hell they'd gotten into.
Commonalities & Shared Interests
Allustan is an expert in the history of the Cairn Hills, and was able to tell the party much about the Wind Dukes and their war on Chaos. About the Ebon Triad he knew less, but still more than most.
Shared Secrets
Allustan knows that the Ebon Triad is trying to bring the Age of Worms in order to create their overgod.
Shared Acquaintances
Governor-Mayor Lanod Neff is Allustan's brother whose rulership was on the verge of toppling to an oligarchy of mine managers before Allustan moved to town to protect his sibling. He is also the former co-apprentice of Eligos under Tenser Manzorian, though he retired from his apprenticeship before completion in order to become an adventurer.
Wise, curious, elderly wizard living in Diamond Lake. He conducts research on the tombs in the Cairn Hills.