The Crier Article: The Undesirables
The Undesirables
By Jackson Corbet, 12 Sûrei 156ATIf you are reading this you are likely very fortunate. You've been taught to read after all, and you are likely safe in the upper reaches of Westfall. But this is a story of those unfortunate. Those whom you would likely scoff at with upturned noses. Kobolds, Tieflings, the poor, the different, the cursed, and the plain unlucky. They are forced to live on the outside of society. In the wilds and in the sewers. They are looked at with scorn and loathing. They are judged. They are a problem to be dealt with. They are the reason you are safe.
They are The Undesirables.
Some weeks ago I was made aware of a strange rumor circulating in Westfall. A group of unlikely creatures in a mercenary band known as "The Undesirables" had saved the town of Westerlose from a maniacal man known as Garth The Tenacious. Further investigation revealed these rumors to be true. Furthermore, I discovered that this strange group was founded by a Tiefling named Magnus in Westfall. Curiosity got the better of me, and I headed there hastily.
I was, however, disappointed when I arrived at The Verdant Manor. The base of the mercenaries was all but empty. Talking with the grounds staff I learned that they had been dispatched to Dugafjord on another mission. Following the trail, I headed across the continent.
Finding Magnus wasn't difficult. He is a Tiefling of red skin with horns, yellow eyes, and a tail. Hardly inconspicuous. In Two Ports he told me of his vision. The Undesirables were formed of those outcast, and the organization served three purposes. One, to give its members a sense of purpose and belonging. Two, to show the world that the creatures ridiculed and hated were not what their poor reputation suggested, and three, to serve and protect the good folk of across Malgrave. In the coming days I would come to understand this vision with intimacy.
It was then that I found the Undesirables in Dugafjord. Towns in the surrounding area had been devastated by strange and powerful monsters, and the Brides of St. Cuthbert of had hired the mercenaries to investigate and stop the threat. In the chapel, I finally met the members of this band with great surprise. Here are my first impressions:
Romeo: Small kobold with an easy-going demeanor. Almost sickly and surrounded by a horrid smell.
Tolliver: Knighted kobold atop a pony-steed with violently malicious eyes. Looking to prove himself but a bit abrasive. Honor bound and noble in his intentions.
Kalgrim: Large brash kobold, utterly unpredictable and wild.
Scumbag: Friendly kobold who was quite hard to understand and seemingly obsessed with rats.
Muzu: Quiet adonis of a triton, quite mysterious.
Gol'rotta'rotta: Large and beautiful Dragonborn. Burning with a cold passion and determination. Known by some as "The Captain". Commands the attention of the kobolds almost absolutely.
Ürsa: Charming young man with pale skin. Timid. Very guarded, but with kind eyes.
Honestly, I was underwhelmed. Surely this could not be the same group that thwarted an army in Westerlose. They seemed unorganized and rash. They also looked martially unimpressive (with the exception of the Captain) and I am ashamed to say that my own stereotypes got the better of me. In the coming days I would see just how wrong my first impression had been. As the days passed it became apparent that each of them had faced exceptional adversity. Adversity is a funny thing. Those of wealth and status are poor in it, and thus made soft. Those of poverty and ridicule are rich in it, and thus are forged tougher than adamantine steel.
Adversity or perhaps Hell, was in Dugafjord that week in the form of Arseny Vadima. The Undesirables learned that it was he who was behind the attacks on the neighboring towns. A general of Frostbane, Vadima's full intentions remain unknown. What I do know is this: they were unimaginably wicked. I cannot recount all the horrors enacted by this man in this article, but a brief summary includes:
The torture, enslavement, and inhumane augmentation of 5 Dragonborn
The ravaging destruction and slaughter of 7 towns
Plans to capture innocents for use in unspeakable "experiments"
The murder of a baron and his family
The creation of numerous draconian monstrosities
Arseny was protected by a network of armor that made him nigh untouchable. The Cuirass, a force of devastating Draconians, protected his center. The Greaves, a network of spies and soldiers, his feet on the ground. The Pauldrons, a legion of wererats headed by Taggart the Vermin. The Gauntlets, an order of Sorcerers led by Alexei Bludkov, grasping tightly around his weapon… a sword composed of five enslaved Dragonborn. A sword that when wielded slaughtered swiftly and absolutely. And yet, this evil was no match for the strength that can only be forged in the furnace of adversity. Hardened by the streets, tempered by hunger, thirst and pain, toughened by hatred endured, the Undesirables stood against great darkness. The edge of the sword, stronger than adamantine and sharper than the Roc’s talons swung true at Arseny’s seemingly invulnerable armor. Every blow chipped away at his integrity, sending cracks through the dark metal…
His tenacity constant and unstoppable as the ocean’s wrath, Karlgrim Stormwave slew scores of Draconians in the sewers of Dugafjord.
CRACK.
During The Battle of the Wererats, Ürsa The Moonscythe obliterated Taggart in a force of lightning rivaled only by Bronze Dragons.
CRACK.
Trial after trial, Tolliver Ironsoul kept his stubborn focus to protect and serve all peoples. During the Battle of the Wererats, he nobly found and thwarted the sorcerer that had infected and incited the curse of lycanthropy on Dugafjord, ultimately winning the day and saving its civilians.
CRACK!
By throwing himself between every monstrosity and the innocence they looked to slaughter, Romeo, The Kobold Cast in Bronze, saved uncountable lives. His will to save was rivaled only by his rage towards the wicked, and in Dugafjord’s outer limits he brought justice to Alexei Bludkov with a swift end.
CRACK!!
Muzu The Magnificent countered Arseny’s blows at every turn. He healed and saved countless wounded from the embrace of death, and commanding water in a glorious display, protected the heart of The Undesirables as an unbreakable armor of their own.
PARRY! CRACK!!!
And as the armor cracked and crumbled, his sword was taken from his hands. Gol’rotta, The Captain of the Undesirables, freed every Dragonborn from his grip. She, the Winter Dragoness, shattered the helm of Arseny’s armor, and looking into his cold caustic eyes, froze him.
With fury and justice the sword shattered the demon’s armor and claimed its grotesque head!
General Arseny Vadima, plague of this land, was defeated!
But justice and vengeance mean nothing without compassion. In the quiet moments after each battle, I saw The Undesirables, the group hated and tormented by the likes of those more fortunate, show compassion and kindness to those less fortunate. These outcasts are heroes in the truest form.
So next time you see a Kobold do not wince. Next time you see a Tiefling do not judge.
Instead, smile. Buy them a drink. Share a laugh. Sing the deeds of these heroes to the rooftops and celebrate the safety they have brought you.
Because when true evil appears at your threshold, do you want the proper and the wealthy? The attractive and the charming? The soft of skin and faint of heart? No.
You want the ones who have been through hell and have been forged in its fires.
The ones who have nothing to lose and everything to prove.
You want The Undesirables.
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