Kaylin Tramaer

A centaur trained as a fighter turned monk, Kaylin Tramaer charges into battle fighting enemies with both her mighty glaive and in hand-to-hand (or in her case, hand-to-hoof) combat. Kaylin is an expert warrior capable of striking foes down in a single blow and following through with additional attacks to bring down their allies or simply hit more capable enemies as many times as needed to fell them. She and several other adventurers were collecting alcohol ingredients for the dwarf Sindri when they ran afoul of Noxidus, the Green Shadow Dragon. Noxidus killed Kaylin's companions while she fled for her life, leaving adventuring behind her and settling down to a simpler life as a baker following the near-death experience.
Table of Contents

History

In Sindri's Debt

Coming to Tavern Town for their yearly festival, Kaylin stopped by a tavern called the Fine Mend for a drink and found herself involved in a bar fight. When the dust settled, only herself, All Smite, and Vinnie Vice were still standing. It was only then that the barkeep and owner, Sindri, came up from the basement and saw the mess the fight had made of his bar. As he was chastising the group for the damages (and Vinnie for hopping behind the bar to grab drinks), Kaylin tried to leave the establishment to avoid paying damage. Rushing out the door, she very nearly collided with the arriving Amon T. Lado, who promptly ignored Kaylin and began politely mocking Sindri.
There seemed to be some bad blood between Sindri and Mr. Lado, who stated he was head judge of this year's brewmaster competition and would disqualify Sindri if he couldn't get his bar in tip-top shape on top of preparing his brew for entry. He left with a false smile and Sindri told Kaylin and the other tavern brawlers that they were going to gather the ingredients he needed while he fixed up the bar to cover the debt they owed him for the damages. Their first stop was the Underdark, which they could access through the old, abandoned Brag Mine, to capture a cave fisher for its naturally alcoholic blood.

Underground Escapades

The group traveled north into the mountains, using a map Sindri had given them marked with the rough location of the mine entrance. They eventually found it but the entrance was sealed, blocked off by a large wooden wall put in place to stop anything from coming out of the Underdark and into the local woods. All Smite found a series of small cliffs the group was able to climb up, but there was no easy way down into the entrance area. He tried to cross the top of the wooden wall, slipping and nearly falling before Vinnie provided a quick rescue. On the other side, the two managed to find a way down and then All Smite made a makeshift staircase of crates and barrels so Kaylin could get down without having to traverse the wall.
Venturing into the mine, the group was quickly noticed by a group of grimlocks who could hear them coming, particularly the clopping of Kaylin's hooves. The starving creatures attacked but proved to be no match for the seasoned warriors. Kaylin cut down several of their number with her glaive, striking the first fatality of the battle as the cut the leading grimlock in two right down the middle. While All Smite and Vinnie explored the mine, Kaylin took the time to meditate by the fire and patch up the minor wounds she'd received fighting the grimlocks before the group continued into the Underdark.
Following a winding tunnel, the group spotted a little kobold cutting at an old web. It bolted screaming, "Bad guys!" when they said hello and the group pursued, hoping it may know where to find a cave fisher. They were interrupted by a group of steeders that seemed to want the adventurers to stay out of their territory, though the kobold had somehow made it passed them. With no way forward but through the giant arachnids, All Smite started a fight and quickly found himself overwhelmed while Kaylin and Vinnie jumped in to help him. The deaths of the smaller male steeders attracted a large female, which put up a much tougher fight that the males attempting to court it. But not tough enough for our brave adventurers, who slayed the giant insects but were less successful in picking up the kobold's trail. As the group searched, Kaylin failed to notice she walked right by the spot where the kobold had hidden himself. With that lead seemingly lost, the group pressed forward.
Following a stream that soon turned into a small river, the group came to an enormous cavern containing an underground lake. The river waterfalled into the lake over several ledges and a cliff. At the edge of that cliff they spotted a cave fisher just as it reeled in a fish with its adhesive filament and gobbled it up. They were able to creep up behind the creature, noticing a second one sleeping nearby, thanks to their steps being silent behind the noise of the running water. With surprise on their side, they were able to knock the first cave fisher unconscious quickly. Unfortunately, this made far more noise than mere footsteps and roused the second creature, which was angry that its mate had been attacked. It put up a much tougher fight than its partner but was equally subdued by the adventurers, who tied it up and took their prizes back to the surface.

Meeting the Goose & Sneaking Around Town

After getting the cave fishers over the wall blocking the mine entrance, Vinnie heard some nearby bushes rustling. He rushed forward demanding whoever was there should come out, thinking it was the kobold from earlier. Much to his surprise it was his old acquaintance, The Goose, who was wearing a knapsack. The Goose trotted up to All Smite and began pecking at his pack, which All Smite took as The Goose wanting food. While it did take bread from the food he offered, what it really wanted was the strange white & green coins All Smite and Vinnie had found earlier. The Goose took a white coin that All Smite offered but couldn't fit it into its full knapsack, discarding a suit of magical armor to make space. It then collected the remaining coins from the rest of the group, throwing various items out of its pack to make room for them before trotting off somewhere.
After stowing The Goose's abandoned items, the party used abandoned mine carts to start pushing the tied up cave fishers back to town. As they got closer, Kaylin realized that pushing a pair of creatures highly sought after by brewers through a town full of brewers right before a brewmaster competition might not be the best idea. She ran ahead while the others hid in the woods to speak with Sindri on how to proceed. Sindri told her to go back and tell the others to wait until nightfall and look for him just outside the gates. He said he would carry two lanterns so she would know it was him. Doing as instructed, the group met Sindri after dark and saw him bribing a guard to smuggle the cave fishers into town. Carting them silently through the quiet streets, they managed to get to the Fine Mend unimpeded and shoved the bound monsters into the basement. Sindri stated he would look after them and gave the group instructions on their next destination, telling them to head out the following morning.

Helping Orcs, Whether She Likes It Or Not

After restocking their supplies, the party headed for an orc camp hoping to trade for some of their sacred herbs. Knowing orcs respect strength, Vinnie suggested the party hunt down a strong animal and bring it to the orcs in tribute to make a good first impression. He managed to find a game trail, sneak up on a buck, and kill it instantly by throwing a hammer at it. He then used the carcass as bait to lure out an owlbear, which put up a tough fight but was subdued by the adventurers. After taking a little time to bandage their wounds and tie up the owlbear, they returned to the road and continued towards the orc camp.
Telling the guards at the gate they were traders that brought the owlbear as a gift, they were let inside the camp and quickly met by the orc chieftain Gagh. Kaylin got to the heart of the matter quick, saying they had come to trade for orc herbs. Realizing they meant the sacred herbs, Gagh said they couldn't simply trade for them but instead prove themselves to the orc people. The quick option was for one of them to pluck out an eye and offer it to the orc god Gruumsh. The other option would be for the party to participate in a raid against the elvish camp on the opposite side of the lake the orc camp was situated on.
With no hesitation or mentioning his plan to do it, Vinnie ripped out one of his eyes and asked Gagh, "Ok, what next?" Kaylin had to stop herself from vomiting at this display, which she barely succeeded in doing, and even the orcs seemed taken aback by Vinnie's willingness to maim himself. After taking a moment to recompose himself, Gagh instructed Vinnie to offer the plucked eye to Gruumsh. Vinnie said a prayer to the orc god (to the best of his ability) and the eye vanished from his hand. Kaylin then tended to his wound to ensure it would not become infected as an orc boy brought a bag of the sacred herbs to Vinnie.
Though their mission was already accomplished, Vinnie still wished to participate in the orc raid. All Smite, having made some orc friends during a contest of strength, was down for it and the pair were able to strongarm Kaylin into coming along. They waited until night and joined several orcs in a pair of rowboats as they silently made their way across the lake. Along the way, one of the orcs described their objectives and the party realized that the orc and elf camps were in fact summer camps, and that the "raid" was a series of pranks to be played on the elves.
On the way across the lake, Kaylin had the foresight to remove her clunky heavy armor in order to sneak around the elf camp easier. Arriving on the opposite shore, the group split up with Kaylin given the task of finding the elves' throwing javelins and greasing them. She headed for a building that looked like it might be a storage shed but spotted an elf that had been attracted by a rock thrown by Vinnie. Still against the idea of the orc "raid", even knowing it only amounted to pranks, Kaylin announced herself and informed the elf camp counselor of the orcs' presence.
The elf instantly blew a whistle and light turned on in the cabins. Some doors flew open but others could not since All Smite had glued them shut. The adult elves broke windows to get out of their buildings and check on the frightened elf children. In the time that it took the elves to organize the orcs were able to escape. Despite this, they thanked Kaylin for her efforts to aid them selflessly and rewarded her by blessing her glaive to emit magical moonlight. With no boats to get back across the lake, Kaylin starting walking the shore to return to the orc camp.
Along the way, Kaylin was joined by The Goose when it landed on her back without her noticing. She arrived back at the orc camp the next afternoon finding Vinnie and All Smite waiting for her. With their business concluded, the group bid their new orc friends farewell before heading back to Sindri.
A few hours down the road, The Goose let out a loud, "Honk!" and startled Kaylin. It wanted the Goose Coins that All Smite had won by besting an orc in an arm wrestling contest and once again emptied its pack of various magic items to make room for them before stowing the coins and flying off. While putting away these new magic items, Vinnie suddenly recalled one of The Goose's previous discarded items was a prosthetic magic eye and promptly popped it in to once again see in three dimensions.
Arriving back at the Fine Mend the next day, Vinnie handed the herbs over to Sindri who then gave the group their next task. They would need to travel to a nearby village and acquire some top-quality grain that had been purchased by the Baker's Guild for their bread baking competition.

Burgling the Bakers

Heading to a nearby village where the Baker's Guild HQ was located, Kaylin and friends got directions from a local gardener and entered the shop area of the guild. All Smite took the lead in the conversation with the clerk, finding out that all the local golden grain had been bought up already. Purchasing a few macaroons for himself and Kaylin to ease any possible tensions, he convinced the clerk to ask the guildmaster if there was any trade that could be made for the grain. The clerk went into the back and much yelling could be heard before he returned and made clear, in no uncertain terms, that the guildmaster would not part with any grain under any circumstances.
Vinnie was not dissuaded by this statement and told the clerk he had some magic grain he'd be willing to trade for some golden grain. Skeptical, the clerk decided to humor him and took a sample of Vinnie’s grain (really just normal grain soaked in whiskey) into the back to bake test cookies. Meanwhile, a senior member of the Baker's Guild approached the party and revealed the paranoid guildmaster had hidden his stocks of golden grain away at a hunting lodge he owned. All Smite asked just what he was suggesting and the gentleman stated he wasn't suggesting anything. He just overheard the party needed grain and told them where some was. And if it happened to turn up missing the unliked guildmaster would likely be booted from the guild, leaving his seat open for some new blood.
Taking the hint, the party decided to investigate the hunting lodge near the western mountains. A group of huntsmen were eating before an evening hunt while a tortle bartender wiped down the bar. Vinnie and All Smite both purchased some magical drinks from the bar before renting rooms for the night. After determining the golden grain was nowhere upstairs or on the main level, they concluded the building must have a basement. Waiting until night, they snuck out and Vinnie picked the lock to the kitchen. Finding another door in there with a sturdier lock, he started to saw through the door when something grabbed his saw from the other side.
Deciding stealth was no longer an option, Vinnie broke down the door and found himself face-to-face with a gingerbread man as big as a person. He chopped his way through the cookie guard before running down the stairs to the basement, finding the tortle bartender, a tabaxi who was the lodge's cook, and more gingerbread men. While All Smite and Kaylin were hesitant to burgle this place, Vinnie had no such qualms. He cut through the gingerbread men and knocked out the tabaxi while All Smite struggled to restrain and tie up the tortle bartender. Though All Smite tried to convince the tortle to surrender, the barkeep refused to give into the demands of thieves. As the group secured the golden grain and departed, the tied up tortle promised he would alert the authorities of their theft.
Heading out, the group saw the severely banged up evening hunting party limping back towards the lodge. Evidentially, they had made the mistake of trying to hunt The Goose and ran screaming into the woods when it appeared behind them. The Goose more Goose Coins the party had collected (having fallen out of the crumbled gingerbread men) before waddling off into the woods in the direction the panicked hunters had ran in. With another ingredient collected, the group returned to Sindri with Kaylin and All Smite growing concerned about the moral implications of their actions while Vinnie was happy with a job well done.

A Wizard & Warriors

Sindri next sent the party off to see a wizard that he said could help them collect heavenly honey. Arriving at the wizard's tower, Kaylin knocked at the door with a very large door knocker shaped like a gargoyle's head. It promptly came to life, asking for their business and as to why it should allow them inside. The door knocker wanted to know what was in it for him and accepted Vinnie's offer of booze, the knocker's cheeks turning red like steel being forged as it hiccupped and swung open.
The wizard was coming out of a trapdoor carrying an armload of books and looked surprised to see visitors, as if he hadn't heard the door knocking banging. Kaylin took the lead introducing the group and found out fairly quickly that the wizard was hard of hearing. After several failed attempts to speak with him, she finally gave up and used a piece of chalk to write on the tower's walls. Now knowing why the group was there, the wizard invited them in and they began walking up the tower. Along the way, Kaylin noticed a map of the multiverse and concluded the wizard was some kind of expert in planar travel. The wizard told the group he could send them somewhere they'd find heavenly honey in exchange for a small favor. He provided them with three tuning forks and asked them to attune the forks while they were there so he could sell the forks later.
Promptly agreeing, the wizard directed them to the tower roof that could only be accessed via ladder. Vinnie and All Smite had to work together to get Kaylin's centaur self up the ladder before hopping into a portal. They arrived on a stone path leading through an endless field. Before them was a massive wooden wall, marked only with a gate where two guards stood. Though Kaylin had no idea where they were, All Smite instantly recognized the gate to Valhalla. The gate keepers stated that mortals could only pass after proving their strength, summoning spirits of viking warriors for each of the adventurers to fight.
As the guards had stated, this test would be of their strength and the group suddenly found their magic items disabled. Not as reliant upon magic item in combat as her companions, this made little difference to the well-trained Kaylin who managed to defeated her opponent with minimal difficulty, using a combination of strikes from her powerful glaive and swift hooves. Her natural skill allowed her to defeat her opponent well before her companions finished their fights, Kaylin cheering them on from the sidelines. In the end, all three adventurers defeated their opponents and were given golden armbands that would allow passage through the gates. They walked to a nearby dock on the shore of a lake and began rowing towards a light at the top of a cliff face, hearing the sounds of music, laughter, and merriment coming from the top.
While the cliff was not very hoof friendly, Kaylin was nonetheless able to scramble up it akin to a goat. This was still a taxing effort and she reached the top quite tired and ready for a quick bout of R&R. After enjoying a bit of merrymaking, the group explained the reason for their visit. Seeing an opportunity at entertainment, the spirits of Valhalla stated they would award honey to the mortals if they could complete whatever challenges the spirits thought up on the spot. Taking a little time swapping war stories with the spirits, Kaylin then approached a man named Swensen sitting alone he claimed he was ostricized for using wits over brute force in battle. He said he'd designed a maze for training wits that none of the other spirits would even attempt, so Kaylin offered to be the first. She quickly determined that Swensen's name provided a hint for solving the maze and earned a jar of heavenly honey for her efforts.
Remembering they still needed to attune the tuning forks, Kaylin began to explore the rest of the hall away from the feasting area. She saw a massive throne and a spirit told her that was where gods would sit when they came to visit, typically either the All-Father or the Storm Lord. The area permeated magic and Kaylin tapped one of the tuning forks to a glowing engraving in the floor, disappearing and popping back up on top of the wizard's tower. After her companions followed suit, the group left the wizard his tuning forks before departing back to Sindri.

In the House of Madness

After giving Sindri the heavenly honey, he sent the adventurers out to House Forst to acquire special tree sap sold exclusively by this family. As the group walked over a hill, they could see that a massive purple line had been painted around the Forst family holdings with another line going right down the middle of the property. Talking to a pair of bickering guards standing on either side of the line, the group learned that Mr. Forst had died and his two children were fighting over his estate. They had literally divided the property in two during their bickering forbid anyone who entered one half of the property from entering the other. Kaylin and Vinnie decided to go speak with the sister, Syl Forst, while All Smite attempted to negotiate with Syl's brother.
Knocking on a door on the west end of the house, Kaylin was greeted by a maid who asked what their business was. Informing them they sought to purchase some Forst family sap, the maid returned inside to make preparations. After a few minutes, Kaylin and Vinnie were ushered inside to meet Syl Forst. It became quickly apparent that Syl was not the most stable of individuals, believing that someone was attempting to assassinate her on her brother's behalf. She wished to hire Kaylin and Vinnie to investigate this matter, convinced some of her own staff were in on it and not sure who to trust. Syl encouraged them to speak to her staff and gave them a crystal rod that could electrocute people to "encourage" anyone who didn't want to talk. She assured the adventurers that shocking someone with the rod "wasn't fatal, usually".
Speaking with several maids and servants, the pair learned that the conflict between the siblings had been going on for 3 years. One of the maids confessed that a tabaxi in town had tried to bribe her for a floorplan of the house, which she declined to provide due to her fear of Syl. The maid also panicked and quickly shut a window that Vinnie tried to open due to her allergies, though Kaylin and Vinnie suspected a nefarious motive behind this action. Vinnie left Kaylin after talking to a few more people, deciding to investigate the area outside while Kaylin continued to question the house staff.
Speaking to a piper and paying him to play a tune (and to "jog his memory"), Kaylin learned that Syl's apparent insanity was quite recent and started not long after she read a strange book from the house library. As Kaylin explored more of the house trying to find a way to the library, she was surprised to see The Goose waddling down the hall. The Goose beckoned for Kaylin to follow it, waddling down to Syl Forst's chambers. Syl's personal maid appeared terrified of The Goose while Syl herself leapt from her seat and kneeled as deeply as she could, forehead touching the floor, while referring to The Goose as "My Lord". She had prepared a number of Goose Coins as an offering and also offered to sacrifice Kaylin for speaking to The Goose too casually, though The Goose honked a negative at this idea and Syl seemed to believe that Kaylin was The Goose's noble steed.
The Goose discarded more magic items from its knapsack, which Kaylin promptly collected, before hopping on Kaylin's back and tapping her side with its foot and honking, presumably meaning "giddy up". The pair rode out into the woods, coming to a circle of dead trees. The Goose hopped off Kaylin's back and pecked the center of the circle before stepping back, causing an inky black dot to appear. The dot rapidly expanded like water as a black shape rose out of the portal to the Far Realm, sounds of screams and whispers of mad horror echoing from the portal and scraping against Kaylin's mind. The Goose tossed a small bag of Goose Coins to the creature it had summoned, which promptly sank back into the portal before the gateway closed. The Goose then waddled off into the woods somewhere as Kaylin returned to the Forst manor, eager to forget whatever she had just seen.
She returned to discover Vinnie Vice had worked out some sort of deal in her absence and secured the tree sap the group had came for. Taking a donkey-pulled wagon filled with barrels of sap with them, the group then returned to Tavern Town. Sindri was happy to see the group return successfully once again and informed them there were only two more items on his list, dwellberries for fermenting and special crystal to make fancy serving glasses for the drink competition. Figuring it would be better for Sindri if they got the berries first, Kaylin and co. headed to the Pin Ruins to do just that.

Near-Death Experience & Retirement

The Pin Ruins were once a thriving dwarven community, before an accident flooded the area and the citizens were forced to evacuate. Seeing the water everything, Kaylin and All Smite removed their usual armor and switched to some of the magical mariner's armor they had acquired from The Goose. Meanwhile, Vinnie discovered that the berry bushes outside the ruins cave had been picked clean by a large animal. With no berries here, the group decided to enter the cave in search of berries only to be greeted by a low, echoing moan.
Vinnie went into the cave first, taking a few cautious steps forward as a sorrowsworn emerged from behind a statue. The creature moaned, slowly stepping forward and asking Vinnie for a hug as it stretched out long arms that ended in spear-like points. Kaylin rushed in to attack the creature, attracting its attention and being the one "hugged" as its piercing arms dug into her skin. Vinnie attacked the creature in response and as his blow struck the creature, Kaylin felt its pain and was injured further by the backlash of psychic energy. At the same time, more, albeit smaller, sorrowsworn ran into the room. Kaylin and All Smite focused on these new enemies while Vinnie kept the big one busy, the group eventually emerging victorious despite Kaylin's injuries.
Continuing into the next room, they saw four cracked pillars holding up an ancient ceiling. Through a massive hole in the southern wall laid a massive pool of water that stretched further than they would see in the dark cave. Suddenly, a voice echoed through the tunnels and chambers. It greeted the adventurers as visitors, asking that they stay a while and keep it company. Unable to locate the source of the voice, the group pressed on. Vinnie entered the next room alone and not long after All Smite heard the sounds of combat, rushing to find his friend engaged in battle against several ghasts. Kaylin decided to hang back due to her injuries in the previous fight, but she was soon approached by the source of the voice: Noxidus, the Green Shadow Dragon.
Emerging from the large pool of water, Noxidus used his breath weapon to leave Kaylin near death before retreating back into the water. Kaylin began to fade in and out of consciousness while All Smite and Vinnie continued to battle the ghasts. While the boys were occupied, Noxidus emerged from the water fully after deducing that Kaylin surviving his breath attack meant she was protected by energized Threads of Fate. He grabbed the unconscious Kaylin and began to drag her towards the water with the intention of drowning her.
When All Smite used his divine magic to grant healing energies to himself and his allies, Kaylin awoke surrounded by magical darkness and began to retreat, using the enhanced speed of her magical horseshoes to flee the cave quickly. Her friends never came out of the cave, though Noxidus did as he took to the skies searching for Kaylin. Fortunately for her, the shadow dragon's eyesight was poor in the daylight and his gaze went over her hiding spot without spotting her. Once he left to search another area, Kaylin fled the area entirely.
Shaken by the deaths of her comrades and other things she'd seen in their time together, Kaylin abandoned adventuring entirely. She went past the outskirts of Tavern Town, not wishing to return in case lawmen were still looking for her, and made her way to the Baker's Guild hoping to settle down there. The new guildmaster recognized her and acknowledged her aid in gaining him his position and getting the old, unpleasant guildmaster expelled from the guild. And so, Kaylin settled down to a much simpler life of baking breads, sweets, and other treats for the local community. As she was growing accustomed to her new life, she heard news that the entire population of Tavern Town had seemingly disappeared overnight, though she didn't know what to make of this information.

Current Status

Retired from adventuring to work as a baker

Related Plots

• Campaign 04: Tales of Tavern Town

Magic Items
Armor of Gleaming (plate mail)
Eyes of the Eagle
Horseshoes of Speed
Weapon of Warning (longbow)
Moon-Touched Weapon (glaive)