Kelson Darktreader

Grandson of Elorfindar Floshin and a nephew to Darfin, Kelson Darktreader is a half-elf approaching two hundred years of age. He has served as Master of the Hunt to generations of Daggerford dukes. No one in Daggerford knows the Misty Forest and High Moor better than Kelson. The Huntmaster is taciturn, never using two words where one will do. His long hair is silver and his face shows the weight of years. He is still spry, however, leading hunts and taking rangers out into the wilds to teach them the secrets of forests, hills, and moors. If the characters talk to him, Kelson Darktreader has a theory on the gnolls troubling the Trade Way. He, Isteval, and Darfin Floshin made the trek to Waterdeep through the wilderness along the road. Kelson and two of his scouts reconnoitered the damage; their trip to Waterdeep didn’t allow more. Since Nandar Lodge is little more than a ruined foundation, the Huntmaster believes the gnolls are operating in or near Phylund Lodge—a ruined keep in the western Ardeep Forest. Kelson can recount that, in his youth, he took part in some of Lord Urtos Phylund’s hunts. Wealthy Waterdhavian nobles frequented the lodge then, hungry for excitement and trophies. The object of such hunts was often a fantastic creature the Phylunds had captured and then released into the woods. If the characters are interested, Kelson can tell them the story of the lodge as it appears in the “Phylund Lodge” section’s introduction. A character who succeeds on a DC 13 Intelligence (History) check doesn’t need Kelson’s recollections to know the lodge’s story. After Kelson’s return from Waterdeep, the duke assigns him the ridiculous (Kelson believes) task of searching the countryside near Daggerford for those who might have stolen the Delimbiyr Bloke. Kelson uses the opportunity to train scouts. Kelson “Darktreader” Floshin, Master of the Duke’s Hunt ============================= Kelson “Darktreader” Floshin (NG male half-gold-elf ranger 5 / hellreaverT9H 2, see Appendix 2, page __), born in the Year of the Claw (1299 DR), is only beginning to get some silver hairs among the gold that have adorned his head since his youth. The bronze-skinned Huntmaster is taciturn and close-spoken, never using two words where one will do. Popular tales about the Huntmaster say that no one in Daggerford knows the Misty Forest and High Moor better than Kelson. Kelson’s grandfather is Lord Elorfindar, and his father was Elorfindar’s gold elf son, Filvendor “Lightfoot” Floshin (see Chapter 1). His mother, Ylasmrae Darktreader, who died in childbirth, and foster mother, Jillian “Forestheart” Darktreader, were sisters, daughters of a human woodsman of the Misty Forest. Filvendor vanished in the Inner Sea Lands in the Year of the Year of the Snow Winds (1335 DR), after finding a new magic sword with a will of its own in the horde of a remorhaz (and leaving his old one with tribe of High Moor barbarians). Jillian died in her sleep soon thereafter (early in 1336 DR), but the cause of her death was never determined. Kelson entered the service of Duke Draconandar in the Year of the Lost Helm (1329 DR), as a huntsman under Seandaer “Sean” Farranger, then the Master of the Duke’s Hunt, and continued that service after Duke Pryden ascended to the ducal throne in the Year of the Lion (1340 DR). In the Year of the Bow (1354 DR), while Duke Pryden and most of Daggerford’s defenders were away, as part of the force besieging Dragonspear Castlke, Kelson was tasked to investigate rumors of a horde of orcs and goblins gathering beneath the boughs of the Misty Forest. After recovering his father’s sword (Kizidathil*) from the barbarians of the High Moor, Kelson eventually confronted and killed Jagurt Redclaw, the orc leader who was assembling the horde at the direction of the devils of Dragonspear Castle. After being led into an ambush by a devil known “Blackeye,” Kelson determined that the devil-bear had returned to Daggerford in the guise of Kelson to romance Lady Bronwyn and to open the River Gate when the Redclaw Horde arrived. Keldson destroyed the diabolic infiltrator and saved Daggerford, but his relationship with Lady Bronwyn remained strained thereafter, as she could never forgive herself for falling for Kelson’s imposter and the Huntmaster could never match his imposter’s charm. After Seandaer Farranger fell in battle during the siege of Dragonspear Castle, Kelson was promoted to the position of Master of the Duke’s Hunt. In his new role, Kelson battled countless devils, a fight that in many way still continues. Duke Pwyll has tasked his Huntmaster with continuing the scour the duchy for diabolic influences, as Daggerford’s contribution to a larger effort by the Lords’ Alliance to eliminate the vestiges of the Alliance of Avernus. Kelson’s singleminded focus makes him a relentless foe of all surviving fiends, but the endless battle has also increasingly distanced him from his divine patron, the Daughter of Silvanus, leaving him a grim figure, given to dark, gallows humor. Kelson’s closest relative in Daggerford is his half-brother, Filarion “Filvendorson” Floshin, but the two barely speak to one another. For his part, Kelson sees Filarion as an irresponsible rake, much like their father, who lives off his grandfather’s fortune and contributes nothing to the safety of Daggerford. He also suspects that Filarion was responsible for the recent theft of Filvendor’s sword, Kizidathil, although he has no proof of his half-brother’s perfidy. (In truth, Kizidathil* was stolen by Ignax “the Ghost” and hidden in the dungeons of Morlin Castle, deep beneath Castle Daggerford (#6). Kelson Darktreader, Master of the Hunt Half wood (moon) elf male ranger, neutral good Kelson Darktreader is approaching two hundred years of age and has served as Master of the Hunt to five generations of Daggerford dukes. It is clear that no one in Daggerford knows the Misty Forest and High Moor better than Kelson. The Huntmaster is a taciturn man, never using two words where one will do. His long hair is silver and his face shows the weight of long years. He is still spry, however, and still both leads the duke’s hunts and takes young rangers out into the wilds to teach them the secrets of forest, hills, and moor.