Valoryn Nightshade Character in Felstadt | World Anvil

Valoryn Nightshade

Valoryn Nightshade (now Wolfhound) is a Hound of Stal under the command of Arla Wolfhound. The name he went by originally came from the shadowy blade he wields: Nightshade.   Valoryn is characterized by those who know him for his impeccable taste, charming disposition, and vicious cruelty against his enemies.  

Personal History

Youth

Much of Valoryn's personal history is unknown (just the way he likes it), but his hatred of Gloomspire and of other Drow supports the idea that he spent a significant amount of time there in the past. At some point he left for the surface and never looked back.  

Against the Giants

Valoryn joined a party with fellow adventurers Baui of Clan Kazemaru and Akwele Onokankwu to try and take on the Empire's task of defeating giants. When the other members of their original party were killed, Valoryn and the other surviving members were imprisoned beneath Chief Nosnra's steading. Valoryn got his revenge on the giant when he poisoned the creature to death during his questioning.   This act caused some friction with his new party members, but Valoryn nonetheless accompanied them to their second destination, the fortress of the Frost Giant Jarl Grugnor.   While investigating Grugnor's personal chambers, Valoryn pulled a mysterious chain and was separated from his party and teleported to the hall of the Fire Giant King Snurre. Valoryn managed to infiltrate a group of Drow and get some information on the alliance they had with the giants.   When the party arrived and engaged Snurre in battle, Valoryn defected from the Drow and rejoined them. He could sense here that he was very close to his goal of obtaining Nightshade's full form. A few hours after their first battle with Snurre, Valoryn recieved a vision that confirmed it. However, before he could get much closer, the party fought Snurre again. Valoryn managed to kill Snurre himself, but was the only member of his party left conscious at the battle's conclusion. He played dead and was thrown in a cell with the party's other two surviving members as the Fire Giants scrambled to find new leadership.   From his cell, Valoryn coordinated efforts to make sure that those who had been killed were resurrected, escaping with the help of a new ally and eventually bringing the party back together. When everyone was back, Valoryn encountered the current holder of Nightshade, who had appeared to pass the weapon on to him. Valoryn put the old man out of his misery and finally took possession of that which he had been long searching for.   In the subterranean caverns beneath the Fire Giants' Hall, the party was approached by a pair of Ilithid, who offered them powerful magic items in exchange for the promise of placing a ring on the finger of the Drow Nedylene and keeping her alive, which would likely subject her to unknown future torments. Valoryn convinced the party to take the deal with the intention of not upholding their end of it: he planned on taking Nedylene's life--and the brunt of the Mindflayers' ire--himself.   In the party's final confrontation with Nedylene and the Ashmaker in Ivargrad, Valoryn succeeded in killing the woman, placing the ring on her corpse afterward. The Mindflayers were aware of the deception and held the entire party responsible for it. Valoryn also provided the description of Gloomspire on which the attempt to teleport the Ashmaker away relied.   After the end of the quest, Valoryn was offered a position in the Hounds of Stal by Iorvus Great-Dane, which he accepted with the intention to rise in the ranks and someday take over the organization for himself, making use of its wide network of informants in the meantime to try and locate the other half of Nightshade.  

Recent Events

Valoryn was recently spotted in the city of Felstadt as part of a Hound unit accompanying Princess Kohinoor Sattari on a diplomatic mission. While the princess was otherwise occupied, Valoryn was tasked with disposing of the body of Governor Gerdemaine and cleaning up evidence of his assassination, which had taken place during his meeting with the Ring & Wren.
Alignment
Neutral Evil
Species
Age
307
Children
Height
6'2"
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
Known Languages
Common, Elvish, Undercommon, Abyssal, Thieve's Cant