Charles "Chuck" Ling
Charles "Chuck" Ling was a necrobane of Kelemvor, a member of the Lord of the Dead's church dedicated to the destruction of undead and other foul creatures that prey on mortals. He and Ürek Thëch Ösen were once part of a larger order until the day the two returned from a mission. Their conclave had been attacked by pirates, stripped of their belongings before being burned alive. Though he did not know it, the damage was more than to their bodies. Their very souls were sacrificed to Maegera, a primordial worshipped by one of the 4 Pirate Lords, Ranbur the Red. Chuck sought to avenge his fallen comrades, knowing it was pirates who did the deed but not yet sure of their identity.
Ürek and Chuck were introduced to the Venture Boys when Althea Filanes, N28, and Bakris Tarak left Fast James "Jimmy" Deric in the care of the Church of Kelemvor's healers. N28 had seen the two before during her own work for the church but did not know them well. They told her of what happened to their comrades while she informed them of the recent theft of an Abyssal Shard by Arachnor. After also learning of the Venture II's run-in with pirates, the pair decided that they would be able to do some good by signing on with the Venture II. When they met Captain Eugene Reynolds the next day, he eagerly agreed seeing as he was desparate for more good hands to crew his new ship.
Their first task was helping to deliver supplies to an orphanage in Hopewell Harbor. On arrival, the party learned the town had been locked down due to a murder investigation. Chuck went with Althea and N64 to answer a summons from the sheriff, who was looking to hire the party for an outside perspective. The group first investigated the crime scene, where chuck found a key to a local inn behind a crate. After checking out the morgue and learning someone else was posing as investigators, they headed for the inn.
Chuck booked a room to check out the victim's room discreetly and interrupted a pair of doppelgangers disguised as a dwarves tossing the room. The doppelgangers made a run for it, managing to elude Althea and N64 while Chuck dealt with the angered innkeeper. Following tracks left by one of the escapees, Chuck and his companions found themselves at the local orphanage. They tried to talk their way in, but with no luck due to showing up in the middle of the night. As they began to leave, they noticed one of the sisters who ran the orphanage trying to get their attention. She begged for their hope, telling them about strange behavior she'd noticed in some of the children. The group agreed to help her, planning to return the following evening and meet her secretly in the basement.
They found the sister in the basement the next night, going through a hidden door to find her being kidnapped by doppelgangers. The fight that broke out saw the sister and two doppelgangers dead with the last shapeshifter captured. Chuck assisted with interrogating the prisoner, Xaeyruudh, as the group discovered the doppelgangers had been branded and forcibly controlled by the witch. He was narrowly able to remove the brand while keeping Xaeyruudh alive, allowing the doppelganger to speak freely about a hag's plans to kidnap and cook up the children.
Heading through a gateway to the darker part of the Feywild in the basement's wall, the party found their arrival expected by the hag Nightwhisper. After a coy greeting, she dropped beneath the ground as her monsters began to attack the party. Taking on her true form, her hands emerged from the ground and pulled Chuck & Ürek into a cavern below. The ninjas tried to battle the hag, but the advantage of being on her home turf tipped the scales in her favor. Ürek received a grievous injury and Nightwhisper took him hostage, demanding Chuck's surrender in exchange for Ürek's life. Chuck tried to stall for time and the negotiations were ongoing when Ürek bled out from his injury. He went limp in Nightwhisper's massive hand and she crushed his corpse with her powerful grip now that he was of no more use to her. The hag soon fled and Chuck collected Ürek's remains, choosing to stay behind and hunt her down in the hopes of avenging Ürek's untimely death.
When Nightwhisper later ambushed the Venture Boys with two other hags, Chuck's former companions speculated that Nightwhisper may have killed Chuck but were unable to confirm their theory before Nightwhisper's death. This was indeed the case, as Nightwhisper had killed Chuck with the help of her sister Mathilda when Chuck tried to ambush them.
Circumstances of Death
Killed by the Vengeance Coven while attempting to avenge Ürek
Children
Aligned Organization
Related Plots
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