Rattlejaw

I can take you lot into the forest, sure. Can even slip you past those pompous knights that swarm the place these days.

But that will cost you, and I don't think you have the capital for my fees.

— Rattlejaw

Rattlejaw is, despite appearances, a jolly wilderness guide whose ramshackle hut is located right outside the gloomy Death's Head Orchard, southwest of the Gilded Spire. He does not actually realize he is dead, and all attempts to convince him of that fact have failed.

Physique

By all accounts, Rattlejaw seems to be the skeleton of an average-sized human male. His skeletal structure is in a remarkably good condition compared to the ragged clothes he wears, which would imply a significant gap in the age of Rattlejaw himself and his clothes.

There are no apparent forces which animate him, and even the corruption of the neighboring Black Forest has been ruled out due to Rattlejaw's pleasant disposition and the fact that he can exit the forest at will, unlike the shades that drift through the orchard.

Mental Attributes

Rattlejaw himself has no memory of his past, claiming only that he is a wilderness guide who has taken people into the Great Forest (he still uses this archaic term for the Black Forest as if he is unaware of what has happened to the place) as long as he can remember. He refers to the Seekers as new arrivals, even though the knights of the church of Resounding Truth have patrolled the outskirts of the forest for decades at this point in time.

These gaps in memory also manifest themselves when someone inquires for his name. He becomes unresponsive for a moment, after which he seems to almost "restart", greeting the person again like they are meeting for the first time and introducing himself as Rattlejaw. Whatever happened and brought about Rattlejaw's death seems to have deprived him of his memory, except for the memories pertaining to his occupation.

Despite being mortally challenged, Rattlejaw shows no signs of intellectual deterioration. He exhibits the cognitive capabilities of a grown man, with a sharp wit and sense of humor. He confesses a love for the great outdoors and claims that the Great Forest is the only place he feels home at, exploring its depths apparently being his favorite pastime. He claims that he has mapped out most of the cursed woods, a feat so colossal that it would take several teams of Seeker scouts months, assuming they would even survive to bring back the data.

Denial

Rattlejaw is utterly resistant to any notion that he is dead, and even gets irritable if the subject is pushed for an extended amount of time. He seems similarly unaware that his shack is a dilapidated ruin, and often gives visitors tours of the sad hovel as if it was a cabin worth displaying.

Researchers from the House of Learning have suggested that perhaps the skeletal woodsman is a denizen of the Forlorn Kingdom somehow locked in time, living a long-gone past that only he can experience in tandem with current reality. Another working theory is that he is a victim of the Grey Pox that somehow resisted the siren call of the Funereal Manor or, alternatively, a Faltered that has managed to break free from the control of the Ashen Baron.

Occupation

By his own admission, Rattlejaw is a freelance wilderness guide, and claims to take all those willing and capable of paying into the Great Forest and show them the "sights". When asked what exactly these sights are, Rattlejaw expresses coy mirth and says that it costs his standard fee to get the answer to that question. When offered money for his services, he declines, citing that he only accepts the legal tender of the land which, according to him, coins minted by the church are not.

No census performed in the past century lists any wilderness guides, and certainly not ones for the Great Forest. Due to the church cordoning off the Black Forest from the rest of Nascindor, very few people even could hire Rattlejaw for his services, yet he describes numerous transactions that have allegedly taken place in the very near past.

Equipment and Capabilities

Rattlejaw wears a ragged, black long-coat over what looks to be a leather waist-level harness that secures several pouches and bags onto his person. Otherwise his skeletal frame is bare, with the exception of some accoutrements around his collar bone. He also carries with him a walking stick hewn and fashioned from the black lifeless wood of the trees in the Black Forest. Those who are magically attuned claim that the stick makes them feel uneasy, hinting at it having properties that hinder or even outright locally repel the Tapestrum Arcanum.

Rattlejaw is a phenomenal outdoorsman, and possesses the blatantly supernatural ability to pinpoint his exact location within the Black Forest at any time, an ability the church is very keen on investigating further as harnessing it would allow the Seekers to better coordinate their patrols and the areas covered by said patrols.

Dead? Are you quite alright?

If I were dead, would I be standing right here, conversing with you?

–Rattlejaw

Current Status

Living in his hut right outside the Black Forest

Current Location

Death's Head Orchard

Species

Human

Sex

Male

Gender

Man

Presentation

Masculine

Eyes

Hollow

Hair

Long gone

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Calcium White

Weight

27.5 lbs

by Midjourney

_{Rattlejaw in front of his hovel}