Heroes of Yesteryear: part I

The first would-be heroes arrived at the borderland barony of Tandis in the early spring of the year 1370.

Many have come and gone. Many have died - some ignominiously and others in grand fashion. I will concern this accounting with those yet alive and perhaps some more recently deceased.

The heroes of Tandis are tenants of the freehold of Harrowhoff, a handsome manor not far from Tandis Hill. This was granted to them by lord Fillip for returning to him a golden eye. The retrieval of this was during their first foray into the labyrinthine dungeons beneath the castle, but I digress. 

The master of Harrowhoff is the esquire Welborn, a magic user of no little power. We will begin this accounting with him. 

Welborn came from a privileged upbringing and first came to Tandis to retrieve the belongings of his brother who died adventuring in the dungeons below. It wasn’t long before the budding magic user fell in with the band and began his own career of exploration and plunder.

While exploring a barrow, Welborn was petrified by a horrifying creature. His form stood there in the darkness for many months, and Harrowhoff was thereby inherited by one of his relatives from the West. The chronicler at the time of writing cannot remember this warrior’s name, though no doubt his deeds were valourous.

In time a woman from the south lands came to Harrowhoff having heard of fighters of stout heart in residence there. This woman, Sabira needed sanctuary you see, for she was pursued by assassins from her wicked homeland of Zagra. The woman boasted of her many talents including song, dance, and horse lore. The master of Harrowhoff agreed to take her in, thus Sabira became the warrior’s consort and in due course, she was with child.

In time the warrior promised the yet unborn child to the sorceress Morcarat. The details of this arrangement and how it came to be will be recounted in the tale of another one of Tandis’ heroes.

In time this warrior,  master of Harrowhoff, met his own grisly end in the bowels of the dungeon, but as luck would have it, Welborn was made free of his stony form. This was due to the intervention of a water nymph found in a cave, but that is another story altogether.

Welborn, once more a man of flesh and bone resumed his mastery of Harrowhoff. Sabira, ever cunning, seduced him and became his own consort. Welborn believed himself to be the sire of the unborn child, the pregnancy thus far kept secret (or so she thought.)

Little did Welborn know that the former landlord had promised the unborn child to Morcarat.

Some months later, lord Fillip got wind of this pregnancy and decreed that Welborn was to wed the woman. Lord Fillip was rumored to have said, "We shall not have bastards sprouting up like cabbages at Harrowhoff." The wedding took place at the Green Wizard's hall, Verdengard, and was by all accounts a gay affair. 

In another event, Welborn visited the grim castle Lichgate and there met a necromancer of great power. Ever since he has been enamored with the darker arts. Once, using a powerful potion, he ensorcelled a gaggle of ghouls to his side and with them assaulted the earthworks at Duncrag.

Welborn wears the serpent’s ring taken from the sorcerer of Sesgroth from whom he also claimed The Black Book of the Worm King.  He wields the powerful iron rod of fear and is a fearsome thaumaturgist. 

Welborn is rather patrician in his dealings with others and believes he naturally deserves all the honors he has achieved. He is no coward on the battlefield and his flashing missiles have struck down many a foe.