A lonely night . . .

Do good, Enjoy life, Have a drink now and again, Stand up for what you believe in

Garradin had waited late into the night before slipping downstairs to the Rusty Dragon's tavern room.  Finally clear of the usual customers Garradin quietly sat down at a corner table and poured himself a drink from his favorite flask.  Here in the quiet solitude of the tavern Garradin felt Cayden's uplifting spirit and began to finally relax.

Today's adventures into the ruins below Sandpoint had been hard on Garradin's nerves.  Between the past few days events of goblin attacks, family infighting, which ultimately led to murder, political maneuvering, and keeping the three other members of his party alive Garradin was surprised that his most irritating moment had been with Aras earlier today.  Garradin grimaced and poured himself a little more of his favorite ale.

Garradin was troubled over the events with Aras to be sure.  He had always thought that once Aras saw he was no longer under the Guild's thumb he would change.  He would begin to trust his new companions and maybe someday be able to call them friends.  Now Garradin was not so sure about his previous thoughts.

Garradin glanced down at his flask and read the engraving he found there aloud into the night.

"Do good, Enjoy life, Have a drink now and again, Stand up for what you believe in."  Such an easy oath to follow Garradin thought.

This was the simplified teachings of Cayden's Placard of Wisdom.  The Drunken Lord was not so high and mighty to judge people on religion, past dealings, rumors, and upbringing.  If a person worshiped Asmodeus and did good then judge him by his actions not his god.

Aras, Skender, and even Craylin were examples of Garradin following this simple teaching.  Skender and Craylin had both proved themselves to be men of both trust and respect.  Aras had Garradin's respect but not his trust and with today's actions - he might never earn it.

Garradin refilled his tankard once more before putting the flask back in his pocket.  Garradin drank the dwarven ale from Magnimar and allowed himself to miss his old home at the church for just a moment.  The fiery liquid burned away his mental fatigue as he sat in the tavern's silence.

The Drunken Lord only had one real rule . . .  "A follower of Cayden is forbidden to deal in human misery."   Most followers of Cyaden believed this to mean outright slavery but Garradin believed it might expand past just slavery.  Garradin thought perhaps any aid given knowing it would bring about human misery would be unacceptable.  And so underhanded and overly threatening extortion tactics sat very wrongly with him.  To Garradin it was another way to capitalize on human misery.  Knowing full well a town of innocent and unprepared villagers stood to be overrun and obliterated from the map.  To threaten that you would abandon such a town if not paid more than a fair share . . .  such tactics were so distasteful to Garradin that they were a mere copper better then slavery itself.

Tactics which Aras has tried to use earlier today on the town mayor.  Perhaps Aras ties to his past were too strong to overcome.  Garradin hoped that they were not.  He prayed that they were not.  For if they were then Garradin did not see a future in which Aras and he could continue to work together.  However the companions had negotiated a small residence / business in the town of Sandpoint.  Perhaps with ties to the community and a reason beyond favors and gold Aras would eventually drop his old habits.

Garradin sat long into the night alone with his empty cup and troubling thoughts.

The question of leadership.

Garradin and his companions retreat back to the Glassworks in Sandpoint after being nearly killed off by a monster none of the party seems at all familiar with.  It's screams and blows upon the stone door left to lock it inside the dungeon echo in Garradin's ears.

Garradin's quickened pace did nothing to elevate his pulsing heartbeat.  His exhaustion forgotten only moments before now resurfaced at any alarming rate.  However Garradin's pace did not slow.  Fear and anger kept his exhaustion at the edge of his consciousness.  Garradin did his best to hide both his fear and his anger from the companions who kept pace with him.  Garradin's thoughts turned inward as he climbed the stairs of the Glassworks' secret smuggling tunnel.

"I am a fool.  Never have I been more upset with myself.  I knew some of the possible dangers of the dungeon.  I knew that I was nearly exhausted and Skender fared not much better yet I still allowed Aras to open that last door!  Cayden bless me I could have stopped it."  Garradin berated to himself.

Garradin glanced to each of his companions to see how they were handling the accelerated journey and see if they were in need of his aid.  None seemed to be in dire danger and Garradin returned back to his inner turmoil.

"Cayden tells that taking a man's freedom from him or not allowing him to make his own path is a grievous sin but I could have still stopped Aras.  Not by force or trickery but by forewarning him the dangers we were facing.  The lives beside his own which he was endangering.  Simple logic which Garradin kept to himself.  Simple logic Aras may have overlooked in his curiosity.  Or just logic to which Aras was unaccustomed to thinking."

Garradin stumbled then but quickly recovered and returned to his maddening pace up and out of the Glassworks.      

"Why had he kept this information to himself?  Garradin knew had kept this information to himself in hopes  that Aras could be the one to realize that he was no longer alone.  Obviously Aras was having difficulty in adjusting to teamwork."  Garradin shook his head to clear the sweat from his eyes.  "I simply wanted him to think of others beside himself.  To see the big picture.  To realize that the three of his new companions had ran across the rickety bridge that spanned across the prison to his immediate aid upon his frightened yell.  To know that his life was forever changed.  People he could trust were in reach if he choose to accept them.  The Guild which had ran his life was no longer present and that free will was a Cayden blessed option."

Garradin caught a sight of Aras from the corner of his eye.  Some of the thief's early confidence in his immortality seemed to have been replaced by deep thought.  "Perhaps Aras is coming to the realization after all.  It was nearly too late but better late than never." Garradin thought.

"Still if Aras were to endanger Garradin's life.  As well as his companions lives.  Not to mention the lives of the entire village of Sandpoint above the aberration filled dungeon.  Garradin would have to do something to stop it.  Perhaps something as drastic as taking control of this rag tag group of companions."  A thought Garradin dreaded more than any other.

Garradin already knew his companions thought him a pious fool, a self righteous do-gooder, and or a self righteous zealot of a drunken fool lucky enough to become divine.  None of that truly mattered to Garradin.  What truly bothered Garradin was the responsibilities involved with leading a group of  . . . anyone.  He greatly enjoyed his freedom and the thought of telling others what to do and how to do it and when to do it sat very poorly with him.  Perhaps one of his other companions would like to assume the mantle of leader.

A brief and very imaginative scene with each of the other companions acting as leader flies through Garradin's head leaving very little doubt that either Garradin himself must assume the mantle or find another way to get the group to cooperate.

Garradin grits his teeth.  Frustration evident upon his face as he continued to struggle with the question of leadership.

The thoughts began to quickly spiral out of control and Garradin is forced to face his fears.  Leadership is not typical for a man of the Drunken Lord but neither is it unheard of.

"I will address the issue with his companions and assume the role of leader if the group is willing.  I will also relinquish the title of leader at first opportunity to do so."

The thought of returning to Sandpoint and finding it's innocent civilians dead due to a mistake either he or his companions had made sent a shiver down his spine and Garradin knew that he would give up a portion of his freedoms for the greater good.

It was a conversation he would have to present to his allies at another time though as the double doors at the front of the Glassworks were now in sight.  

Companions, Allies, or Enemies?

Garradin returns from his meeting with the Mayor and Sheriff of Sandpoint filled with doubts and worries about his new "companions" and contemplates leaving them behind.  

"Magnimar was easier to navigate than this twice damned situation!"

Garradin had decided to take the long way back to the Rusty Dragon Inn so that he could think about his current situation and the people he shared it with.  The meeting with the Mayor and Sheriff had gone relatively smooth even though the rest of his companions had not even thought to attend.  Now he had to convince them that "playing sheriff" was a good idea.  Garradin sighed and tried to remember how he had first met Skender, Craylin, and Aras.

"Skender was at the mage tower where I was a slave.  Craylin was just always around Skender and they both knew Aras somehow."  Garradin rubbed a hand through his hair and began a second trip around the small city still avoiding the Inn.

"So we are all here for the same reason but what is keeping us together?  It's obvious that Aras doesn't trust us or even care to be associated with us.  Well that may not be true his eyes obviously lit up at the mention of starting a "shop" here in Sandpoint."  Garradin thought to himself

Garradin sighed once more.

"Why do I find it so hard to leave them?  They care nothing for me, my god, hell even my opinion.  They ask me to do the talking and then glare when I do it.  On top of that they refuse to even get together and work on a story that sounds plausible and we can all remember.  So why do I remain?  Why do I even continue to try and care?"  Garradin looked around his eyes taking in everything and nothing as his worries continued to dominate his attentions.

Garradin found himself in front of the Inn all to soon for his liking.  He was still unsure of his role in this new situation and if he was even required to stay.  But still perhaps he could do some good for his companions.  Craylin needed a friend other than his brother and his influence.  Skender needed someone to remind him that even as a mage he was not all powerful and that an ally was not always a bad thing.  Especially when they could heal his wounds.  Aras needed him the least but perhaps he would someday.  Garradin dragged his thoughts back to a workable level and entered the Inn.

Upon entering the Inn a small halfling serving wench from the night before left Craylin's side and began walking quickly toward Garradin.  It was obvious that Craylin had tried to help her with her request but was unable.  The halfling looking practically sick with worry.

"Now what?"

Sloppy

"Sloppy"  

That's what Aras had called the terrible deed he had helped finish just the other night.  Not tragic, unnecessary, nor even unavoidable.  He had simply said that it had been sloppy.  Garradin shook his head to clear the thoughts away and went back to serving drinks at the Rusty Dragon Inn.  

Garradin had been serving these rough and tumbled farmers and fishermen for the better part of the night.  They were simple folks living their normal lives and trying their best to forget a terrible past and move on with their lives.  Garradin could relate to that very well.  

Having been sold into slavery with his parents at a young age Garradin grasped the need and desperation at which the people of Sandpoint tried to forget the past and advance quickly beyond it.  Garradin shook his head again and smiled to himself as he thought of what his teacher, Gortek, would be saying to him right now.  

" People don't need to forget.  Forgettin' is tellin' the loved ones ye lost they don't mean a damn! And setting yurself up to meet the same vicious events later in life.  Learn from yur past but don't let it control ye or you'll be consumed."    

Garradin had been consumed by his past when he had fled into the cathedral of Cayden and begged for sanctuary.  Having been forced to murder to survive, watch his parents die in front of him, and live the life of a slave for so many years Garradin counted himself lucky to have survived at all.  Gortek the dwarven priest of Cayden who had taken him in had told him he was still in need of saving.  

Gortek had told him "Ye carry so much hate and anger and resentment ye can hardly call that living.  This life was thrown upon ye and I'll help lift it off yur shoulders if ye have the heart to let it go."  

It had taken several years and many a harsh lesson before Garradin had finally accepted Gortek's help and finally accepted his past as a foundation for his future.    During that time Garradin had also began to worship Cayden and even became a cleric of the Drunken Lord.  

Garradin felt himself slip and quickly caught himself before spilling too much of the customer's ale but still heard a customer reply "Careful - don't get sloppy!"  

A brief second is all it took to relive the previous nights terrible events once more.  First the plotting of the events to come, the inevitable deviation from the plans and then the fight to survive which lasted seconds and felt like years.  Then blood was running from the corpse and quickly finding cracks in the floor looking so much like rivers.  The four of them stood around the corpse - beaten, bloody, defiant, and triumphant.  The run from the tower guards, the escape into the sewers, the frantic packing of prized possessions and the nervous trip to Sandpoint their place of quiet, safety, and anonymity.  

It was going to take a long time before Garradin could hear that word again and not feel a cold chill across his spine. 

Garridan Callinova Character Sheet

Garridan Callinova

Jason

CG Male Human Cleric 
Level 7

Virtue - Temperance

Vice - Pride

Initiative: +0 / Perception: +3

Speed: 30 ft.

AC: 19 / Touch: 10  /  FF: 19   

+1 Breastplate +7 armor and Heavy Steel Shield +2 

HP: 60 (7d8+7)

Saves: Fort +7, Ref +3, Will +9

BAB: +5 / CMB: +7 / CMD: 17

   +1 Rapier: +8 ( 1D8+3 / 18-20 x 2 )

Statistics: Str: 14 / Dex: 10 / Con: 12 / Int: 12 / Wis: 16 / Cha: 16 (+1 @ lvl. 4)

Feats: Selective Channel, Toughness, Skill Focus: Diplomacy, Extra Channel, Alignment Channel, Quicken Channel

Skills: Bluff +8, Craft (Brew) +5, Craft (Alchemy) +7, Diplomacy +17, Heal +8, Intimidate +4, Knowledge (Arcana) +5, Knowledge (History) +5, Knowledge (Planes) +7, Knowledge (Religion) +11, Knowledge (Local) +6, Linguistics +5, Profession (Bartender) +8, Sense Motive + 9, Spellcraft +8 

Languages: Common / Shaonti / Varisian / Goblin

Domains: Charm, Travel 

Spells: 0th – 4, 1st – 5+D, 2nd - 4+D, 3rd - 3+D, 4th - 1+D

Powers: Channel (8x/day), Aura of Good, Spontaneous Cure Casting 

Treasure:
Cloak of Resistance +1 / Wand of Produce Flame (7) / (2) CLW Potions / +1 Breastplate / +1 Mithral Rapier / Cold Iron Masterwork Morningstar