T H A D U R I M L E A D B R E A K E R
Gender: Male
Age: 109
Race: Dwarf
Profession: Former merchant guard, travelling hammer for hire.
Appearance: Thadurim stands a little over 4 and a half feet tall, stout and stocky like many of his kind, and his broad frame combined with plate armor creates the illusion of looking almost as wide as he is tall. An enormous mane of greying hair makes him stand out, pulled back and sideways away from his face in several scrappy attempts at a ponytail and cascading down past his chest from his jaw adorned with simple silver and gold rings. His beard covers a plain face; a squared jaw and thin lips almost always lifted upwards in a friendly smile. His nose is large and rounded, nestled between two beady brown eyes with an almost grandfatherly warmth to them.
Over a century of living has left its mark on the old dwarf. His voice remains deep and powerful, and his body is still conditioned and strong through training and exercise. Thadurim's face, however, tells a different tale. The young boy who once trekked the halls of Narhoul is long gone, overtaken by a man of many seasons, weather beaten and wrinkled. Time has chiselled a dozen crevices across his forehead, and deep laugh lines are just visible on either side of his mouth, half covered by the tangle of snowy facial hair. A mass of knotted pink flesh surrounds his left eye, a scar of past travels, and two fingers on his left hand are crooked after an injury in his youth. Liver spots are sprinkled over his face, a sign of years of wandering under the sun. Thadurim also has self inflicted scars on his chest; an F on his left pectoral in memory of his close friend Findeck, a D on the right for his close friend Dworin and an H over his heart for his half-brother Hokhil.
Despite his age, Thadurim has not slowed too much. He is still spritely and joyous, waddling with a spring in his step, but there is no denying that he tires much easier than he did in the past. He carries himself with pride, standing as tall as his stumpy frame allows. A beer belly wobbles with every step, straining against the crimson and gold plate and mail that he dons for combat. His travelling leathers are as worn as the man himself, scorched by sunlight and coated with the dust and dirt of decades of wear. All together, Thadurim's appearance can best be described as warm and comforting, with the look of an ageing man who is not yet willing to release his grasp on his youth.
Personality:A surprise to add a personality section, but a welcome one Thadurim is a kindly soul with a good heart at the core of everything he does. The old dwarf has outlived many of his good friends, but instead of hardening his heart as a result of his losses he cherishes everyone that he has the pleasure to befriend. As such, he views life as the most precious thing a person can own and is extremely selective and reluctant in taking it. He is dependable, willing to use the wisdom he has gathered from years of living to lend his ear and give counsel to any who should need him, and is excellent at keeping secrets unless doing so would bring harm to someone he cares about. Thadurim is humble, driven by curiosity and the desire to see as much as he can in his years rather than by material gain or a desire for glory and reverence.
Thadurim has a thousand stories, much to the annoyance of any who share his company. Despite the old dwarf's compassion and good will, many find his constant regaling boring and irritating, and his sarcastic japes are often construed as patronising rather than hilarious. He is a rational man, capable of taking a step back from a situation and evaluating options, talking through scenarios and avoiding conflict between parties. However, he is ultimately indecisive in the face of all but the most obvious decisions, sometimes even bickering with himself over what to eat for dinner, ruling him out of any leadership positions.
Thadurim has one real desire in life, and that is to see the world. He has been relatively successful so far. Among the thrill of travelling across the world, far beyond the borders of Baldock, Thadurim finds pleasure in meeting new people and sharing his experiences with them. He has earned many a free night at the inn sat by the fire, telling tales of distant corners of the land, of great wonders and terrible horrors. He helps people where he can, finding genuine joy in the knowledge that someone else's life has improved as a result of his actions. His greatest peeve is being called old; 109 is only just halfway for some dwarves and he intends to be one of them. He also despises intolerance in any form, particularly that shown by humans towards orcs and especially the self-centred stubbornness of his own mountain-dwelling people.
Thadurim was born and raised in the dark underground kingdom of Narhoul, and so has no problem with congested, dark or underground spaces. On the other hand, he has a paralysing fear of heights. His other greatest fears include going blind; gods forbid his sight should be taken before he sees all there is to see, and the same logic applies to his fear of death, which thinking about for too long can cause the blood in his veins to run ice cold. His biggest weaknesses are his fading strength due to his age, and his caring disposition towards others which has often placed him in situations where he can be easily exploited by more savvy and ruthless individuals.
Backstory: Thadurim was born a son of the Leadbreaker Clan in the Dwarven mountain kingdom of Narhoul. The Leadbreakers, once a humble mining family, had risen into the middle classes of Dwarven society in the past centuries through clever manipulation of internal politics and some well places coin in the right pockets, but had chosen to keep their family name to remind each member of their origins. Thadurim's father, Gabatir Leadbreaker, was a prominent magistrate in Narhoul, well known for his harsh rulings and whimsical arbitrary decisions. Thadurim's mother was Orivorika, one of Gabatir's many concubines. It was not uncommon for prominent dwarfs to keep mistresses, and Gabatir was no exception. As a result, Thadurim grew up with dozens of half-siblings and cousins, many of whom were nameless to him and none of whom would get the respect or affection that Gabatir's trueborn children would.
Despite being a descendent of a moderately rich and powerful Dwarven clan, Gabatir's half children were afforded little and would have to work their way through the ranks like the rest. Thadurim struggled in school, and many of the crafts and engineering talents that came naturally to other dwarfs did not come so easily for Thadurim. He struggled to understand the basics of forging, and the tinkering and mechanics that his kind were so renowned for was another mystery entirely to him. His hopes of becoming a forger were dashed altogether by a single clumsy, misplaced hammer blow that crushed two fingers on Thadurim's left hand and left them crooked upon healing. As if he hadn't struggled enough trying to craft with 10 fingers, crafting with 8 was almost comically impossible.
Growing up on the inside of a corrupt, bureaucratic society as a member of a corrupt, bureaucratic family had a profound effect on Thadurim. He did not fall prey to the doctrines that placed dwarf kind above all else and saw their kingdom for what it was; a joke. Anyone could be anyone, as long as you had the right name or enough money. And anyone who didn't would spend over a century hitting rocks with a pickaxe or looking after the offspring of someone more famous than yourself. Thadurim did not want to waste his years surrounded by stubborn men with small minds who could see nothing but the dimly lit caverns in which they lived and chose to ignore the world outside full of life and wonder. Seeking to be literally anywhere else, Thadurim devised a plan.
A teenaged Thadurim Leadbreaker enlisted in the dwarven guards, along with his half brother Hokhil and best friends Dworin and Findeck. He had no great desire to serve his kind, and neither did his companions, but for the four of them it was nothing more than a means to an end. They spent almost half a decade in training, drilling day and night, learning to fight with hammer and axe and shield and spear. Findeck almost dropped out a dozen times, but the trio's combined persuasive powers and a single incident involving some physical restraint kept him with the group through to completion. Once inducted as guards, all four immediately enlisted to be caravan guards, serving as protection to dwarven merchants escorting crafted goods from Narhoul to the kingdoms of men and elf and orc.
Thadurim and his companions had managed to do exactly what they had wanted. They had found a way out of Narhoul that would take them far away rather than leaving them to navigate this strange new world alone. It was almost like having a guided tour. Over the following few years they would travel to Baldock, Fenlia and Kunizu. It was during this time that Thadurim and his friends would visit Dalton and Malcast for the first time, even meeting the Lord of Malcast, Lord Hedlef's grandfather. Confident in their knowledge that they could strike out alone, the four dwarves waited until the dead of night about a week's march from Dalton on their way back to Narhoul, and made off with enough of the caravan's rations for their trip. Within the week the four had returned to Dalton and were eagerly debating how best to start their new lives in the real world.
The four dwarfs would actually spend the best part of two months in Dalton, in no great rush to go anywhere. Hokhil insisted they venture south, for he longed to walk among the warrior clans of the orcs, and also to visit a woman in Fenlia he had grown fond of during their time there. Findeck wanted to travel further east than they had ever been, all the way to Yolotco and Ixcalco, places they had never seen. Dworin, of course, wanted to go west and south to rest his eyes on the shimmering waters of the bay of Tara, and to cross into lands anew via the Shirai pass. It was difficult for Thadurim to watch his friends tear themselves in three different directions and the stubbornness of Dwarves made compromise difficult. In the end they settled on a journey that would take them east to the coast, where they would travel back down south, west again through the desert and then along the coast of the Bay of Tara where they would eventually reach the Pass and the city of Fuchima.
Their journey would span decades. The four dwarves lived as best they could by offering out their services to any who would need it, carrying out odd jobs and eventually even putting their training to good use by offering themselves as mercenaries and bodyguards. As it turned out there were many who were eager to have a band of armed and armoured dwarves guarding their caravans or chasing off brigands, and few who would be willing to pick a fight with them. As the time passed they found themselves passing from Baldock to Yolotco, and oddly enough, it was Thadurim that was first to admit he missed home.
The young dwarf enjoyed his freedom, and had begun to find wonder in the smallest things from the green of the grass to the shimmer of the moon, the elegance with which the leaves danced in the wind and the chill of rain cascading onto his skin. Yet there was no denying that he missed the warmth of his hearth. He missed home cooked meals, he missed laughing with a dozen brothers over casks of ale that they were far too young to drink and he missed his mother. And knowing that he could never go back to them, for they had surely been branded thieves and deserters, filled him with more sorrow than he had ever known.
Thadurim's idealistic view of the world would shatter in Ixcalco when Findeck died. What had started out as a simple escort contract would leave Thadurim on his knees in the mud and rain, cradling his friend's head and looking into scared tearful eyes as the life left them forever. It was the first time Thadurim had lost someone close to him, and the grief was almost too much to bear. The fact that it was the first time he had taken a life, burying the blade of an axe deep into a man's abdomen as he charged at Thadurim with sword raised, was entirely overshadowed. As soon as the three survivors left Ixcalco, they vowed never to travel further east than Baldock again so that it would be a place they had only shared with Findeck, and eventually they would make the joint decision to carve an F into their chest in Findeck's memory.
F to pay respects.As Hokhil had wanted, the three remaining dwarfs travelled the deserts inhabited by the orcs next. An unforgiving experience unlike anything they had witnessed before, the dwarfs eventually found themselves relying on the roaming orcish tribes for support. The orcs, pleased simply not to be viewed as lesser and instead proud to be seen as mighty warriors by the dwarfs, were happy to accommodate. The trio lived among the orcs, under a tribal chieftain named Kugbu, for around 4 years before deciding to break from their travels in Fenlia for a year to save up money and recover from the hardening experience of desert life.
Had any interesting stories of the rare encounter between dwarf and orc? Did Thadurim learn anything?Opting not to travel through the Badlands again, the group ventured through Kunizu to reach the Bay of Tara, before crossing over the pass into Nishi. Having achieved their goal, Thadurim was determined to see more of the world, spurred on by the knowledge that his life could be taken from him any day just like had happened to Findeck. The trio travelled south through Nishi and into the Empire of Tara. Thadurim and his companions spent over a decade in Tara working as mercenaries and seeing all there was to see before making their way around the Badlands and back to Baldock.
In Baldock Thadurim was hit with a surprise as Dworin announced his intention to return home to his family in Narhoul. The dwarf, scarred by the journey and the loss of their friend Findeck, had seen the world of humans and ultimately decided the dwarfs were right to look down on them; they were greedy and violent, and had killed one of their own. Despite his friends' pleas and the reminder that he would be held accountable for his actions regardless of the decades that had passes since then, Dworin was determined to return home and make amends for his wrongdoing even if it meant his own life. Aggrieved by their friend's decision, Hokhil and Thadurim did not stand in his way, and Dworin returned to Narhoul. In a similar vein to their lost friend Findeck, Hokhil and Thadurim engraved the other side of their chests with a D in Dworin's honour.
Dalton would become something of a base for the brothers over the next decades. Any adventures, big and small, would stem from the capital of Baldock. The two went on several short voyages to nearby islands, experiencing travel over open water for the first time, and visited Malcast several times to help with jobs and tasks. Thadurim and Hokhil built something of a reputation in Baldock as dependable and capable fighters who could be entrusted with any job big or small. It was through their work that Thadurim built a good friendship with the Lord of Malcast, whom he had helped on several occasions.
Was there any specific case of helping the Lord of Malcast? It was also through his work that Thadurim lost the last of his companions, his brother Hokhil. Hokhil was almost 15 years Thadurim's senior, and was unable to fight off the infection when a wound suffered at the hands of bandits festered. Thadurim spent three weeks at Hokhil's bedside, at first encouraging him to pull through, then ordering him, and finally desperately begging him. It meant nothing. Hokhil died, leaving Thadurim alone in the world. He has not travelled since for lack of a travelling companion, and has since carved a final letter into his chest; an H directly over his own heart.
Thadurim has continued serving in Baldock since his brother's death, hoping that his work will finally bring him into contact with new friends to see the world with. The appearance of the Hanged Man presents a most grievous and desperate case indeed, and Lord Hedlef himself has reached out to Thadurim for help. Thadurim has made haste for Malcast, where he hopes to lend his hammer once more to the cause of helping those in need.
Weapons: Thadurim fights with a large hammer over half his own height, forged by Dwarven smiths and meticulously maintained over the years. As a backup for close quarters he also carries a short-shafted axe, which also has practical functions like chopping wood and can be thrown somewhat haphazardly to attack a foe from range.
Armor: Thadurim wears a combination of plate, mail and leather. He is a small target, protecting his torso and joints with sturdy dwarven plate and his limbs with mail to afford more mobility during combat. He also has a lighter set of leathers to wear while travelling to prevent him from overheating.
General Provisions: Aside from a handful of pouches on his belt, Thadurim also carries a knapsack with a bedroll fastened to the bottom. His supplies include a few days worth of food and ale, equipment for starting a fire, a coin purse with a reasonable amount of gold and tools for maintaining his weapons on the road.
Magical Items: TBA
Magical Affinity: Thadurim has zero magical affinity whatsoever. In his years he has seen magic used for good and bad, to help and to harm, and has lost a few friends along the way to the consequences. Despite it all, he maintains a relatively neutral view of magic and magic users, seeing both the positive and negatives to its use but remaining wary of magic users he meets until he is sure of their motives and intentions.
Spells: None.
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