Garfalax Bloodgold

From Egs Mayhem

by nokvok

Name: Garfalax Bloodgold
Age: 137
Gender: Male
Species: Depth Dwarf
Depth Dwarves are on average a little stronger and heavier than the normal dwarf while having very few talent for magic. Their night vision is excellent, so that they can see clearly in all but complete darkness. Their senses of touch and smell are excelling those of humans in the same way an elf's vision
and hearing excel their vision and hearing. Depth Dwarves do not float, but sink in water like a stone.. or rather like a sack of sand. They usually wear a paste of fat and dirt and several other ingredients. Those protect the skin from drying out in the mines and make the heat of the melting ovens more bearable.
Build: 4'4" high, 320 lbs heavy. Very muscular.
Theme song: to be decided, taking suggestions.

Appearance:
Very sturdy and compact, bulges of muscles. He needs to walk sideways through most doors. His face looks raw and always covered with earth or dirt. A long, gray beard hides his mouth and his hair and ears show that he wore his helmet longer than most normal humans live!
His eyes are small and so dark blue that they almost shine black, the nose is flat and was broken several times on his live.
Usually this dwarf is seen in his black full plate mail, thick chains hanging from the horned helmet to protect the neck. From each hip, down the leg, hangs a foot long, light and sharp axe, each boot features a sheath for a long knife while the grip of a large, two handed axe looks over his left shoulder, the edge of a medium sized shield looks over the right. By his side hands a mostly metallic Crossbow and a quiver.

Personality:
Garfalax is a violent, greedy, gloryhound. He lives to be the best, richest, most powerful dwarf there is, and having a third of his live behind him, it looks like he's on his way.
While violent, he has no interest in torturing peasants or grunts, he's more about testing his skills and strength against true master of the fight or overwhelming odds.
And while he is greedy, he has patience and the foresight that investments and small sacrifices sometimes bring the biggest profit.
The most however he enjoys a cheap tavern, cheap, hard alcohol and good foods. That's the time he easily begins to tell his stories, to brag about his fights and mourn the end of the good old days or companions who fell during his struggle for power.
As Depth Dwarf he has a significant detest against politics and anyone who submits his principles and dreams to political compromises. He values a good war as way to avoid compromises.

Abilities/Skills/hoggings:
Garfalax is a fighting machine. His main attributes are strength and vigor, while dexterity and intelligence are only little above average. His century of training and experience however make him a combatant who has only few to match him. A single strike with his axe downs trees, and bands of ogres are his daily routine.
The Crossbow is too strong for most humans to cock, but hardly any accurate. It is more a deterrent and instrument of intimidation.
There is non... not even the sightliest spark of magic in Garfalax, and neither is any sense for art or politeness. His favored manipulative skill is Intimidation.

Background:
Garfalax Bloodgold...
137 years ago in the depth of Tongash, the cavern city build in the rubble of an old mithril mine in the Kingdom of Terrainia, a child, and the Legend of Garfalax Bloodgold, were born.
The Legends tell that it were troubled times for the depth dwarves of Tongash, many enemies hungered for the wealth the miners dug out of the dirt, and many an enemy did not come with sword and fire, but with treaties, false promises and treason.
In that times Garfalax was a miner, a very good miner. But the days became longer, and the payment for his reaping became shorter. All of Tongash suffered. At first they missed some luxury, then there were a few poor families who had to leave to try their luck elsewhere... but soon people didn't have enough left to boy food. Children were starving while their parents picked gold and gems out of the earth, crying when the traders came and paid next to nothing for those valuables.
Around 100 years ago, Tongash revolted. A sudden and violent out lashing at those who exploited them. Hundreds of axe and pick bearing dwarves, steeled from the years in the mines and the desperation in their hearts went out and took what they thought they deserved.
The trade outposts close to Tongash were extinguished in this storm, a single night of massacre.
Suddenly Tongash was a rogue city, no longer answering the calls from either king or fellow dwarf. The mines now fueled the forges of war, and the dwarves of Tongash traded now in blood, taking from the lands on the surface what they needed to survive in the depth.
This... war... carried on 50 years, and in this halve century, there was one dwarf of Tongash who was the most restless, the most cruesome and most feared of all. Garfalax. Bloodgold was soon his name, for his demand was always the same: "Pay in gold or pay in blood."
Hidden in the depth of the earth, no one was able to find and extinguish the root of this terror, and when they finally found it, even a three year long siege couldn't break the dwarves resistance.
An armistice was called, a truce agreed upon. The dwarves of Tongash no longer shall be under the rule of the king, but have and keep their own army and government. In return they shall no longer raid their neighbors, but return to the trading and sharing.
The king promised amnesty for all Dwarves fought in the war, all but one. The bloodiest, most cruesome and remorseless warleader of all. Garfalax was the kings demand in exchange for peace and independence.
But Garfalax fled with a few loyal comrades, for he still wouldn't trust the promises and treaties. A long time they had to hide, fleeing the hunters of the king and his old home, Tongash.
25 years they were in hiding, 25 years they were hunted, 25 years they lived of the axe, fed from what they could steal or conquer. 25 years... until the hunters gave up.
25 years ago, Garfalax Bloodgold and three of his comrades were left, and they left the depth and came to the surface. Criminals, but no longer pursued. Reputation for their surviving, feared for their waring skills... sought out to solve whatever was to solve by the axe.
Two years ago the last of his comrades fell in battle. It was more or less a paid raid, getting some townfolks into troubles so that a rich man could gather control over the town.
Engrash bled to death in Garfalax' arms, and there is something his friend said, which hounds him still. "Garfalax... so many battles have we fought, so many suffering have we sown... do you... do you remember why we picked up those axes which were our lives ever since? Do you still remember how it is to be a miner? Garfalax... I... I miss the mines. And I fear that... in the end... I've become the reason.... why some of these... poor fellas here will miss their town."

Equipment:
(High quality depth dwarven weapons and armor is usually made from skillfully fabricated alloy with low mithril or adamation parts and are very very rare)
- Depth Dwarven high quality heavy crossbow (It actually needs an built in winch to be loaded within about 20 seconds (by Garfalax, mosts other cannot cock it at all!) and shoots lead bullets off chicken-egg size. It is fairly inaccurate, but a point blank shot is very lethal. Really heavy armor does provide some protection (lead being soft and all)). Weights about 16 pounds.
- Depth Dwarven high quality double handed axe (doublesides axe-head with a long spike at the top). Weights about 12 pounds.
- 2 Depth Dwarven high quality hand axes (about a foot long hatched, one with a hammerhead on the opposing side, the other with a long spike. Both have short blades at the top and hand guards). Weight about 5 pounds each.
- Depth Dwarven high quality shield (as opposed to normal shields, this medium sized shield is made out of metal, is lightly bulged to the outside and has no spikes except small blades to the side). Weights about 20 pounds.
- Depth Dwarven high quality Plate Armor (this black piece of fine craftmanship is smooth and functional, the joints protected with chain and scales, the helmed featuring long nose and cheek guards, but no visor so it doesn't limit sight) Weights about 60 lbs.
- Money. He is not the richest, and not the most generous one, but he got enough money to keep his expensive equipment maintained and some extra for unexpected expenses. He got a few hidden hide outs where he is storing some treasure which he needs for his plans.
- He doesn't have any magic Items, seeing as they do tend to not work properly for him and his almost magic repelling depth dwarvenhood. Same goes with many low grade magical elixirs.
He does have two very expensive healing potions however which should work, and which he carries around in two small mithril bottles.