Mizzen

Mizzen 7^th lvl Ranger of Gwaeron Windstrom/3rd lvl Rogue

NG Half-moon Elven Male Dalelands Gwaeron Windstrom

HP 97

Fort +11 Ref +14 Will +7

AC 21

STR 18 DEX 18 CON 16 INT 18 WIS 15 CHA 14

Spot +13 Listen +13 Search +13 Track +8

Languages Common, Chondathan, Elven.

Items Longsword+1, Mstk Rapier, Whip of Disarming, Elven Chain Shirt, Cloak of Resistance +2, Ring of Prot +2,

Mizzen of Semberhome, the son of a Moon elven scout from Semberhome and Human ranger of Deepingdale, was actually born in the village of Bristar during the Elven Retreat and jointly raised in the Cormanthor forest and neighboring Dales. He took the epithet “of Semberhome” in honor of his mother’s heritage and vowed to one day reclaim the ancient Elven home from the Drow who are currently reported to inhabit it.

During his early years, Mizzen was raised by his mother in Bristar, where at times he felt the burden of being a half-elf amongst the mostly pureblood elven and human villagers. At 11 winters of age, Mizzen’s father, Frax Amble-----, convinced his mother the safety of their child depended on learning the ways of the ranger. Though Mizzen had rarely seen his father and was afraid to leave his mother and home, the child adapted quickly to his new life in the forest of Cormanthor.

Frax was part of The Stalkers of the Silent Path, followers of Gwaeron Windstrom who patrolled the forest of Cormanthor for Zhentarim, Malarites, Dragon Cultists, Drow, Trolls and other vile creatures. It was in this company that Mizzen became a skilled woodland tracker. A part of Mizzen felt remorse for the beasts slaughtered by the Stalkers and he never shared the hatred his companions felt for these creatures. He did however, share their enmity for the men hunted by the group, Zhent poachers, spies and Cultists. Nothing felt more rewarding to him than the capture of these corrupt, selfish and cowardly humans whose organized groups sought to make profit for themselves and bring misery to the peaceful folk of the Dalelands.

Zhents that eluded the group would often slip through Tilver’s Gap and disappear in the streets of Tilverton, while Cultists would reach their hideouts in Scardale or Ordulin and vanish. The Stalkers of the Silent Way would not pursue these criminals into the cities with the exception of Nivet Amblebrick, younger brother of Frax and uncle to Mizzen.

Nivet was as much at home in the city as he was in the forest, an intriguing concept to Mizzen, and the young ranger often followed his uncle into the cities of Sembia and Cormyr, learning whenever he could. Nivet was as much a rogue as he was a ranger and taught Mizzen the basic skills of manhunting in an urban environment

It was on a pursuit into Ordulin that would lead Mizzen to journey far from the Dalelands. Maldraedior, a mid-ranking officer in the Cult of the Dragon, had been chased from his hideout near Battledale to the very streets of the Sembian capital. The pair of manhunters quickly tracked their quarry to The Stranded Fish tavern. They found Maldraedior at a table with five others and before it could be avoided, the tavern erupted into violence. Mizzen barely escaped with his life but his uncle was not as fortunate. The officer had run a blade through the heart of Nivet and there was nothing the young ranger could have done to stop it. Slumping from exhaustion and grief in a a garbage-filled alley many blocks away from the tavern, Mizzen swore he would bring his uncle’s killer to justice. As if a sign from the gods, a barrel of trash fell upon the rangers lap that included a half-starved mongrel pup that Mizzen named Cane.

Together the pair would track Maldraedior west across the heartlands, to the savage frontier. Despite the trail going cold countless times, Mizzen and Cane caught up with the Cult officer in Luskan, the City of Sails. Never in his life had the tracker been filled with such single-mindedness of purpose. The long pursuit had honed his skills and devotion to Gwaeron and when Mizzen found the body of his quarry impaled on the knife-edge of a chambermaid who’d been the man’s lover for the evening, the ranger was beside himself. This was not how he had envisioned their meeting while tracking through the waist-high snowdrifts of the Coldwood or picking over the refuse for clues in Scornubel. Mizzen had dreamed a thousand ways to disarm the officer and wished many times that Maldraedior would fight back…..and leave Mizzen no choice but to slay him as he had slain Nivet. Tymora, it seemed, had other plans.

His story as it relates to the campaign begins in the Sword Coast North. Mizzen had become an accomplished bounty hunter and by 1373 DR had developed a reputation after apprehending the Dread Pirate Miltaides in Luskan and also bringing Burkham Zoolth, a.k.a “The River Street Strangler” to justice in Waterdeep. Mizzen spent a winter in the City of Splendors enjoying his success before deciding to continue his career. In the summer 1373, he became interested in a potentially lucrative bounty.

An offer of 2,000 in Sembian Nobles for the delivery of a shield dwarf on the run from Fireshear was posted by the City Watch of Waterdeep. According to the Watch, the dwarf had destroyed mining equipment and other property and was wanted by the Noble House Vsstani of Westgate. A description of the dwarf, named Ovak, was provided along with instructions that the fee could be collected upon delivery of the dwarf to the family villa in Westgate, contact Baron Dester Valendezzar of House Vsstani.

Mizzen picked up the trail by the beginning of fall and suspected Ovak to be in Waterdeep. He estimated he was a but a few days away from capturing the dwarf when he was beaten to the punch. A group led by Kemen of Baazelphon, rumored to be sponsored by the Night Masks of Westgate, had the dwarf bound and shipped east via caravan.

No sooner had Tymora taken this opportunity away from Mizzen then a new one presented itself. A dangerous sounding figure had appeared in the city and was responsible for murdering several priests of Selune as well as a librarian in the Temple of Oghma. The individual was described as a human male, with silver hair slicked back in a widow’s peak, a large scar running down the right side of his face and wore the trappings of a servant of the Dark Goddess. The man was also said to be protected by obsidian armor with helm, and wielded an enormous greatsword used to cleave the poor librarian in two were reported by witnesses. The City Watch took to calling this man “The Stranger”, and placed a bounty of 25 Harbor Moons for his capture. The House of the Moon raised the reward by 1,000 dragons and were whispered to be looking for him on their own.

By the second month of the new year, 1374, Mizzen and Cane had picked up the trail of the Stranger and tracked him to the small town of Secomber, due east of Waterdeep. There locals informed him that a man fitting the description of the Stranger had indeed passed through the town over a ten-day before. The local Priest-Librarian of Deneir had been tortured by the Stranger and was very forthcoming with Mizzen about the event. The Loremaster, named Murroh, was attacked from behind while walking to his home and awoke gagged and bound by thick rope to his office chair, next to his apprentice who was similarly bound.

The Stranger first slit the throat of the apprentice and stared into the boy’s eyes while his life faded. He next explained to Murroh that he was looking for a group of four adventurers out of Waterdeep and that he was most interested in the wizard among them. By the time it was over, the Priest-Librarian was barely alive and the Stranger was headed to Scornubel in pursuit of his quarry. Murroh gifted Mizzen with an enchanted whip and blessed the ranger in his quest. The Priest-Librarian also gifted Mizzen with a gem of information: among the group of adventurers being pursued by The Stranger was Ovak. Murroh went on to explain how the actions of this group saved his life and those of the townsfolk from an infestation of ghouls beneath the cemetary.

Hunter and hound made haste to the Caravan City and immediately sent out feelers for their marks. He found the adventuring band as they were being arrested but lost them upon their escape from prison. With no sign of The Stranger and Ovak being aggressively sought by The Red Shields, the odds weren’t looking good. As is customary in the bounty business however, luck changes quickly, and Mizzen picked up a solid lead that The Stranger had headed to Berdusk and decided to pursue. Home to the Harpers, Berdusk was a haven for bards, rangers and worshippers of Selune, and Mizzen expected The Stranger to keep a low profile while in town. Almost a ten-day had passed since Mizzen’s arrival in the city without a trace of The Stranger when word reached his ears that a Moonmaiden had been murdered. Though the authorities were tight-lipped about the incident, rumor had it that the victim had been cleaved nearly in two by a single, massive stroke. When investigating further, Mizzen was nearly knifed in the throat by an undercover Knight of the Blue Moon (servant of Selune) who also seeks The Stranger. Mizzen was able to smooth things over by explaining he was responding to the bounty posted by the House of the Moon in Waterdeep and learned that this Stranger had quite a few organizations hunting him.

Cane picked up the scent and lead his master east to the farming community of Asbravn, perhaps a ten-day or so behind The Stranger. And once again, Tymora smiled. The adventuring band that had disappeared in Scornubel was in this very town, complete with the fugitive dwarf. But how had they managed to get behind The Stranger ? Had they discovered the man’s identity and decided to follow him or was it simply an accident ? While Mizzen pondered the possibilities he watched as the adventuring band battled with Zhentarim agents.

Doubt began to creep into the ranger’s mind. To Mizzen, deeds spoke louder than words and this band had risked their own skins to challenge evil at every opportunity, while the Stranger had dealt nothing but misery and death wherever he treaded. Mizzen had also wondered if his own skills were enough to apprehend the man. Perhaps he would forget about the bounty on the dwarf if only to have the adventurer’s help in catching The Stranger?