Party Member of The Good Guys
Backstory
Sartorin originated in the forest outside Walden, a woodcrafter by trade and a skilled herbalist. There, he and his wife Inarie had a young family with two children, Jorieth and Caryarus. Four decades ago, a wildfire destroyed their home and tools, and on the recommendation of a lore-keeper named Sylcaryn who he’d known since his youth, Sartorin and his family left the Verdant Expanse in search of a new home to the north.
They first went to Qudford, where they met a sea Captain, Baha. He was preparing to get underway to Emon, and they were able to get passenger berths. Not long after passing the Slumber Reef, however, the ship was attacked by a sea serpent. Caryarus was killed at the start of the attack, but Sartorin, Inarie, and Jorieth were able to escape on a bit of floating wreckage. There didn’t appear to be any other survivors. With no way to propel themselves, they made slow headway toward shore, and Inarie and Jorieth succumbed to the elements. Sartorin was the only one to survive. He buried Inarie and Jorieth in the grasslands near Oar’s Rest.
Desolate, Sartorin made his way up the coastline until he reached a river, then turned inland. While foraging off the road, he spotted a man on the ground, with grievous injuries. The man had earned the ire of a local band of thugs and had fled toward Plathe, but had been seriously injured in his flight, and had hidden himself away from the road. In exchange for a bow and dagger to protect himself, Sartorin agreed to steal medical supplies from the thugs’ camp. He snuck into the camp successfully, and was on his way out with the supplies when a lookout spotted him.
He found he was able to evade the thugs with relative ease, and returned to the injured man. They went together into Plathe, where Sartorin was able to trade the remaining supplies for more gear. The next day, the injured man asked him to carry a message onward to another village confirming he’d arrived safely in Plathe. Sartorin agreed and set out on the beginning of the next chapter of his life.
Over the following ten years or so, Sartorin wandered the middle latitudes of Tal’dorei. He preferred jobs that required travel, often serving as a courier or messenger. His tasks often required that he go unnoticed by other actors who didn’t agree with the people paying him. Usually, he was able to get by unnoticed, but he also fought his way out of quite a few scrapes. He didn’t make an effort to avoid criminal activity, but didn’t often encounter people asking it of him. While most of his jobs kept him moving, now and again he would accept a long contract performing simple labor or woodcraft if the price was right. Inevitably though, after staying in one place long enough for it to feel like home, there would be moments where the absence of his family would wash over him in a wave of grief, and he would return to wandering shortly thereafter. Always throughout his travels, he avoided the sea unless no other options were available to him.
Sartorin speaks little of his past, and never mentions his family. His only remaining trace of them is a small decorative amulet he keeps, which belonged to his wife. His personality is subdued, but not off-putting, and he has developed contacts in several towns who are always willing to share leads on work when he passes by. None of them would stick their neck out for him, sure, but that’s not what he needs. A place to spend the night, and some gossip about who needs what done will suffice.
To most people, little is known of Sartorin’s history. The first anyone remembers of him on the continent was a scuffle outside of Plathe, where a band of highwaymen found themselves relieved of their medical supplies. After that he descended into the criminal underground. He has a talent for going undetected, and has parlayed that into a nice career transporting high-value goods and information. Over the years, he developed contacts in many of the major trade centers of Tal’dorei, able to turn up reliable jobs for a cut.
Recently, after delivering a message to a soldier in Westruun, one such contact mentioned there was an item that needed to be moved. Quietly. Somewhere southeast. The pay was decent, so Sartorin took the job…
Next: An Adventuring Party