Sornafein Gladebrook

Mental characteristics

Personal history

My mother was a shadow cursed human. The curse came from a battle she had with some shadow beings. The curse hindered her magic causing it to go awry. She was visiting a tribe of moon elves in an attempt to have the curse removed. She was abducted in a drow surface raid. My conception is a result of her poor treatment at the hands of the drow. After they determined that the aura of magic surrounding her from the curse was useless, she was cast into the stench streets of Menzoberranzan, the place of my birth. She worked as a prostitute trying to earn enough gold to pay a traveling merchant to take us to the surface. The brothel she worked at kept her in perpetual debt with high interest rates but it’s the Mordant Vapor ("Dreammist") that trapped her there. Over the years I happened to befriend a noble youth named Thelius. Thelius and I were kindred spirits in that we found the cruelty of the drow distasteful and unnecessary. We hatched a plot to steal a luck blade from a trophy case in Melee Magvere, an elite drow training facility. During our attempt we drew too much attention and in an act of desperation Thelius sacrificed himself sending me to the surface. He stayed behind to take the blame allowing me to escape. His reasoning was that he was of a noble house the punishment would be more lenient. I was a nobody from the stench streets, I would not be noticed or missed. I was to go to the surface to establish a base and return for him when I could. I proceeded further down the passage and called on the magic of the luck blade. Inside the blade an efreeti had been trapped. It promised to grant my wish of going to the surface if I take the blade with me to a witch named Tamara. I believe I have earned the enmity of a demon by releasing the efreeti. It calls to me in my dreams. When I arrived on the surface I was able to determine from prior research that I was indeed on the surface but across the ocean from the continent of my birth. I was able to locate and deliver the sword to the individual Tamara and offered my arcane skills. It turns out that my mother's curse was my blessing. While the curse inhibited her magic, it merely augmented my own innate talents. I spent the last 3 years working with Tamara's organization as an associate. These last few years I have been trying to fulfill my promise to Thelius. I’m applying with a secretive organization in an attempt to establish myself here on the surface. I’ve learned so much these last few years. *That's how Sornafein became associated with the shadow network of 8 Fingers (That was 3 years ago.)* ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Unknown to Sornafein, Thelius was given to the spider queen and has since been turned into a drider.* *A demon named Jixtus keeps tabs on Sornafein waiting for a time when Sornafein is strong enough to be useful. It wants to punish Sornafein for releasing the demon's adversary (the efreeti) and will stop at nothing to do so. {this is fluff for later character building}*

Personality Characteristics

Motivation

I always have a plan for what to do when things go wrong. I am always calm, no matter what the situation. I never raise my voice or let my emotions control me. I am incredibly slow to trust. Those who seem the fairest often

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Alignment

Chaotic Neutral

Age

Birthplace

Menzoberranzan

Children

Gender

Male

Eyes

Amber

Hair

White

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Gray

Height

5'5"

Weight

145

Related Reports

The nature of power

These last few weeks have left little time to chronicle my thoughts. The nightmares continue to haunt me. We’ve achieved the goal we sought but at the cost of our most valued party member. Renaldine, for some unknown reason at the last moment fled back through the portal to hell. We could hear a few quick steps before the portal collapsed. One can only assume that she intentionally trapped her self in hell or met a rapid demise after heading back through. I have this unusual sense of loss and hurt in my chest. In my weakness and rage, I gave in to Jixtus… I’m am bound to the demon now. It’s influence has changed me, I can feel it. Jixtus has bestowed upon me a dark power that easily matches and even surpasses my own in ways. In any case, the cost my weakness and the nature of this power is yet to be determined. Cruzzick was aware of my circumstances and let on to it in our confrontation. I did the only I could to protect myself and the party. I killed him. The party also has yet to confront me about what was mentioned. This has been an amazing journey thus far. Depending on the parties reaction to my circumstance, this unexpectedly enjoyable time in my life may have already come to an end. I can do nothing but continue forward and see where the path goes next.

My indecision and haunted by dreams

My progress in terms of expanding my personal power has been frustratingly slow and yet I find myself surrounded by a group of mighty... friends? Renaldine seems to be coming out of her shell. The other day she made a joke at my expense and it reminded me of Thelius. Those two will get along great if I can manage to get the two together. I still have not revealed my oath to Thelius to the group. I fear if they learn the complete circumstance surrounding my arrival they may reject my company. Not only am I of a race that has earned contempt, I believe I've also garnered the interest of malicious other worldly forces. I must find a way to open up about it before my secrets get someone hurt or killed. 8 fingers has been decent to me but it is not the sort of institution one can plant roots with, quite the opposite if one desires a life free of treachery. This group I travel with gives me hope. Like me they are on a journey to find their place in the world. Like me they face challenges that seem beyond what any one being can overcome. Like me, I believe, they find comfort in a group that accepts them with all their imperfections. I have yet to make any real progress in devising a way to bring my friend to the surface. Once we return I intend to seek out an arcane user more adept than myself. Perhaps with divination magic I can look in on my friend. I'm sure he'll have new scars after the stunt we pulled. He is full blood dark elf and so 3 years is not so many to him. How I miss taking his money and laughing during our games of rollies. Recently I had a dream, I was being assailed by a kaleidoscope of color and emotion. I'm overcome by a cacophony of whispering in a language I don't not understand. I see images of the spider queen smiling. I see the efreeti offering me a way out pointing to a door and when I step through the door I'm suddenly in shackles. I see Thelius's face change expression from consternation to intense agony, I see myself in an ocean of water with nothing around as far as the can see. I feel exhausted as I tread water and slip beneath the surface. Above me a demon hovers offering me its hand grinning wide with delight and malice. I see my new found friends dead all around me. I see myself dead on the stone and my friends abandoning me, they are happy to be rid with me. I feel the sting of the high priestess's snake headed whips as the gouge my skin, my stomach's burning as the venom is soaking in. The pain from the poison is crippling but she doesn't stop whipping me. Over and over and over and over, I awake covered in sweat panting.

Return to the Iron

We begin the long journey back. Renaldine has found an interesting relic, a tome that promises doom and destruction in minute detail. Renaldine suspects it has something to do with a possible progenitor of the chaos curse. Traveling back we see immense tracks of a possibly injured giant. Renaldine detects a pack of canines around our perimeter as we travel. We make sure to pay better attention through this area. The dogs follow us as we make our way back for 3 days. The tail by the canines is ominous we decide to deal with it. Its an obvious sign we are being followed. We look for higher ground and ready ourselves for there approach. Apparently the wolves were scouting for a group of orcs, with the high ground, we were able to repel them with only minor injuries to our team. We finally took down a creature that Mazira has been eager to consume. So much so that she consumed it raw. It didn't look like it agreed with her stomach. I must say I'm als0 interested to see how this creature taste albeit cooked. Goldareas managed to process the animal and we have more meat than we can carry. We decided to cook the animal right here and then take as much as we can carry for the journey back. The next few days are uneventful. Speaking with Felix he suggests that Balthazaar Gelt or Olicia Piminova from Kislev found in Karfarek, would be better able to discern the properties of the tome we found. He outlined in detail the do's and don't 's of the Iron's code of conduct.

Skaven Emerge

Day 6 Our first rest period in the halls; the walls look as though little squares are cut from the glow stone. the lighting system appears to be based on light reflection that is dispersed through out the tunnels. We appear to be at a nexus where many passages meet. Gotrek continues to lead us with his map. When asked about our course, Gotrek says we are going down an underground highway toward a more theologian part of the kingdom. We break camp early. Renaldine admitted to the party that her past is virtually a mystery to her. Since her reawakening she seems to have developed divine powers. She finds her condition to be agony. We try to console her and quietly move on. We continue to travel for miles. Halls lead off the highway in every direction. The main cause way shows evidence of all manner of creatures using the highway. Among the signs of passage are goblin and orc sign. We travel further and begin to hear voices, we approached as stealthily as possible but had to press the attack with little knowledge or preparation for what we face. Goldareas catches a small contingent of goblins and orcs by surprise, during the battle Skaven emerged from the ground. Our group moves well together, we were able to deal with the threat with no issue. We travel the next eight hours unmolested. This area is more cavernous. We find a suitable location to camp and settle down. Day 7 We hear echoes of wall drumming as we begin travel. Gotrek thinks we're being pursued. We pick up the pace. As we continue the water way seem to be completely contaminated with the warp dust (crushed warp stone radioactive from a meteor of some sort.) Nothing to see really.

The Guilded Iron Initiation

From Caer Ferric in Averland between World's Edge Mts. & Black Mts. we've traveled south east several weeks into the Badlands, I'm curious to see what creatures live here and how well Gotrek can lead. I'll need to observe the others longer before I can draw any conclusions; day 1 Our path was hard travel but we handled it well. Our camp was haunted by some small canines. I didn't get to lay eyes on them. day 2 We've reached a clearing closer to the peak where the path widens giving a surreal plains feeling. This place has a wide openess I find unsettling. The Mutant Menace As we approach the cross roads we are set upon by human mutants infected by the taint of chaos corruption. We had no choice but to put them down. Our barbarians chopped them down in moments. The Fall of the Orcs 3 hours later as we approach what sounds like a watery area off to our left, Rory thinks he hears yelling. I sneak ahead to find a full on battle between a group of Orcs and a group of Humans. I fell back to report the battle to the group. We rush to join the fray. I wonder which side they'll choose to fight with. We routed the Orcs. I wasn't sure which side Mazira or Goldareas would fight on given their backrounds. It looks like we choose to help the humans at the urging of Gotrek & Felix. Stephen, Klein, Lars, and Willhelm were among our fallen allies. They were new recruits. Outcomes Time to find out what we walked into... We ran into the Knight's of the Fiery Heart. They are somewhat suspect. We choose not to group with the knights directly. I gather that the knight's may also be looking for something in Karak 8 peaks, we may have some competition. Day 3 We camp and the Knights camp a short distance away. They break camp early. Renaldine is suspicious of their group but she does not say why. We traveled half the day before reaching the valley floor. We won't make the gate tonight, we camp again. The night was peaceful. Day 4 We head to the Gates. Passing through the battle field is unavoidable. The field is a common battle ground and sorely abused. The very stone work looks like its crumbling under the onslaught. The Gates are 300ft high as we approach. The structures beyond the gate are equally dilapidated. Walking down the main drag we are implored to hold under threat of violence. We are surrounded by dwarves. Goldareas and Gotrek negotiate with the dwarves, Mazira's presence agitates the dwarves. Goldareas does some fast talking to persuade them to stand down. Nundar Cinderpunch is displeased to find a half orc among us. Goldareas withstands the other dwarf's scrutiny speaking up for his friend Mazira. How curious... Cinderpunch declares that he will take us to the prince and let him decide our fate. They march us down the death funnel as its known. As we get further in we see plain clothes dwarves. The architecture is facinating and grand what little is not collapsed or damaged from siege weapons. The peaks get taller and the mountains seem to close in on us as we approach We are brought before the Prince...

Scouting South; The Badlands

We head south and approach the lively but not quiet bustling town of Akendorf. The empire town is the most heavily guarded of the towns so far. A small tributary comes of the mountains. A small stone bridge precedes the town gate. We find ourselves in the market looking for a place to eat. We notice this area is geared toward other adults sorts of services, dancers, gambling you get my meaning. We intend to find lodgings and ask about other hirelings and services. We settle on a place with an overlapping B&B (The Beggar's Butte). The server is very helpful, she was able to accommodate our needs as well as get us in touch with Trevor Blackburn to provide guidance and additional information about the badlands. Trevor arrived in the night quietly. Mazira and Renaldine, ever vigilant, shadowed his approach. We decide to meet in the morning to negotiate the specifics of Trevor's employment. After much discussion we come to an arrangement. It is revealed that our guide is a "Dhampir" a half vampire. After 4 days the journey has gone perfectly. We have yet to encounter any real obstacles. We continue to travel all the way to Barak Varr.

The Hero's Pariah

Day 7 continued; I decided to express my reservations about Gotrek's leadership to our group. I spoke about how I thought that the Guilded Iron may have sent us on a mission to get us out of their sight, out of mind and potentially out of the way. I suggested that we form a small group and look out for each other. After a brief discussion we decided on a name for the group The Heroes Pariah. We continue forward, the stone work is incomplete in some places and finished in others. Building facades stand half carved from the stone. There are beautifully carved arches and elaborate decorations alongside sheer cliff faces. This may be the edge of the developed area or perhaps a social hub of some sort. Generally the dwarves dig deep and build small communities in order to network and move as a whole with respect to the intent of the kingdom. This is an area like that. We come to a dilapidated bridge and are harassed by a few Skaven, Jules lost his life in the encounter. At days end we come to a hall lined with broken statues and braziers. The braziers appear to be lit but the flame is illusory. Gotrek says we are close to the hold and should bed down here. During the night a spirit visited Renaldine, Gotrek, and Goldareas asking them to help by clearing their rest area of the chaos, in common fashion the spirit gave warning in a mixed message to -let dwarven things lie and be rewarded. - During my watch Felix finally told the tale of how he and Gotrek became traveling companions. It’s a tale as tragic as any of our own. After hearing it I’m inclined to feel that he belongs with us in The Hero’s Pariah. Be that as it may, he’s sworn to follow Gotrek until the dwarf succeeds at fulfilling his oath. Perhaps if he survives he may seek us out and join us then. During the conversation Felix asked about my own background. Much to my chagrin my old habits of secrecy and distrust overcame my yearning to connect, be known, and belong. While I feel an affinity for Felix, he is not an official member of The Hero’s Pariah and I decided that I should not share the details of the circumstances that led me to the surface with him at this time. This group is strong and it seems the common thread of not belonging anywhere is the twist of fate that is showing us we belong together, perhaps. Day 8 We break camp and continue through the halls. We have arrived at the entrance to the hold to find that when Faragrim fled the hold he left the door open. A mutated troll inhabits the hold. It hoards a pile of treasure and wears a green glowing necklace around its neck. In the hold Aldred rushed to the lost sword of his fallen comrade. Out of no where the troll attacks and tares Aldred apart. The Chaos troll battles fiercely Johann was crushed in the creatures mutated claw. We were able to bring down the troll. It's necklace was made of warp stone. Gotrek suspects that the Skaven are responsible for placing it on the troll. If so, they're more resourceful than I expected. We should be careful not to underestimate them. The dwarven spirit thanks us for clearing the hold. A secret room opens in the room with a magic symbol on the ground. Against the wall is a sword and a chest filled with bags of gold. We locked the hold and made our way out of the halls. The Skaven harassed us very little if at all as we traveled back. Belegar thanked us for our efforts in the halls and allowed us to leave with the few treasures we acquired. We now begin the journey back to find out if our exploits are sufficient for The Guilded Iron to accept us as full members of the organization. I wonder if they expected us to return or not.

Enter the Peaks

Day 5 After consideration, I have been chosen as second in command. We are going to meet Prince Belegar Ironhammer. We prepare ourselves as we approach, Renaldine turns inward and falls to the back of the group. I'm not sure what to expect next, transparency seems to be the best policy at this point. Belegar's garb is fine but modest. The place is modest for royalty. Glowing light blue gems adorn a chandelier designed with concentric circles, the throne is an intricate work of ivory and gold, flanked by dwarves in blue garb. Belegar welcomes us as we approach the throne. One of the dwarves number, a female in flowing purple robes, wears a thick chain with a book that hangs from her neck. (Magda Fraydaughter) We are being measured here. The tension is malleable among the dwarves here, they appear to be burdened by something. Our party attempts observe the cultural norm and social decorum, Belegar cackles oddly. Gotrek speaks first asking whether any intend to block his path, Belegar laughs again perhaps at the implied challenge of the question. Belegar questions the dwarf about Felix being a blood brother. Gotrek has Goldareas explain our intentions here in Karak 8 Peaks. Goldareas explains that we're in the process of initiation. Belegar asks if we pursue the treasure of his people. Goldareas explains his ambitions and background to Belegar. The king responds with the question "Do we know the dangers we seek to face." Belegar begins to reminisce about the Queen of the Silver Depths history and the glory days of the Eight Peaks. As Belegar continues the dwarves in the room become solemn. The description of the mines give the impression that they are vast and are more of a nation than a city. As they built the city they expanded, the had war with the elves driving them from the land. This proved economically self defeating generating a self imposed economic isolation. The dwarves retreated further underground. The dwarf pauses often in his agonized ruminations, his face a mask of incredulous shock at having lost the city along with much national dignity. The new enemy emerged from underground. Demons, Orc, Goblins, Ratmen, and (Chaos Curse creatures?) over whelmed the kingdom. Belegar presses Goldareas on whether he is after the abandon treasure holds of the kings people. Goldareas offers an alliance, Belegars support in exchange for our help regaining some of the area from the "Darkness" as he described it. Goldareas's appeals persuade his majesty to allow us entry into the depths. I get the impression the meeting was more about his majesty alleviating himself of any responsibility than granting us permission. I inquired about the Knights of the Fiery Heart. Coincidently the king brings the knights before the court and has them explain their intent in the peaks. Aldred tells a tale of a fallen knight that fell with Faragim's party in an venture to the area. Aldred tells of his vow to retrieve a holy weapon of his order "Karaghul" wielded by fallen Raphael. Aldred justifies his mission with a tale of a vision from his god. We discuss our plan and arrive at the decision that we need to keep an eye on the Knights of the Fiery Heart until we can better discern whether the harbor underlying motives. We'll persuade them to accompany us.... Renaldine advises against it urging caution. She deduces that Aldred would tie Goldareas heritage in to his prophecy. Her prediction is dead on. His prophecy seems conveniently self-serving. We over hear Aldred's group discussing their slim chance to find the blade. Goldareas convinces Aldred we should travel together. We get our weapons being escorted by Magna. She leads us away from the hall to a room on the ground floor that meets the needs of our group. What it lacks in amenities it makes up for in hospitality. We camp. Day 6 In the morning Goldareas informs us of a gather he and Renaldine attended in the night. The short version is that we face a potentially lethal situation when we get inside. We have been assured by Belegar himself that its only a matter of time before we are in over our heads from the sound of it. We push forward, we can not turn back without making an attempt. We've traveled a day underground and have found some silos that appear to have been abandoned. They smell like decay and suggest that this area had recently been held by the dwarves but was lost a second time.

Sornafein Gladebrook