Kane Bolton

"*I'll take the first couple of watches. It is not things in the forest that I fear, but what lurks in our own midst. You try to sleep... if sleep will come.*"
―Kane to the expedition group the evening before being killed by the Wendigo[src]

**Kane Bolton** was a tracker and guide that worked around several small townships in Hildurn. He was one of six members chosen for an expedition into the wilderness by renown hunter, Willard Lacey. What was only meant to be a winter out hunting wolves turned into so much more as the Wendigo attacked the expedition group and ended up killing Kane.

## Physical Description

Kane Bolton was in his late twenties with dark-olive skin and shaggy brown hair. His stubble was full but scraggly and he always seemed to have a nervous look on his face. He wore white fur armour, a white fur cloak and a white fur hood.

Kane always carried around the first sword he made as a smithy's assistant, but never tended to use it.

## Backstory

### Leaving Home

Kane grew up in the small tribal settlement of Zundabar with his two parents Dohassan & Kaya, as well las his younger brother Hastin. When Kane grew into his early teens he decided that he wanted to leave the tribe and see what the rest of Hildurn was like away from all of these superstitions and traditions. So under the cloak of darkness one night, Kane ran away.

After travelling for a while Kane arrived in a township called Fyford, where he found work as a smithy's assistant for a dwarvish smithy called Thrinian Brandlethorn. Kane worked there for nearly eight years before leaving to become a tracker and guide throughout the small towns and villages in Hildurn. As Kane grew a reputation for himself he attracted the attention of a well-known hunter called Willard Lacey. Kane ventured into the wilderness with Willard a few times, mainly to help track deer or small game for Willard to hunt. And although Kane didn't like Willard Lacey one bit, the coin was good.

### The Curse of the Wendigo

Kane Bolton was actually the first person Willard asked to join him on a wolf-hunting expedition for the winter. Sure, wolves was a big step up from deer and rabbits, but Kane was confident in his tracking abilities and agreed.

Apart from Willard Lacey, the group consisted of a snow elf, Zaleria Naicelea, an orc covered in tribal feathers, Tuk Dulaga, an armour-clad dwarf, Gartokar Garaninov, and a red-headed barbarian, Valor Hecktor. They all met up in the town of Belmead and Willard outlined the plan, which was to head out for the winter and kill as many wolves as they could, gathering up the pelts and meats. He then had a contact in Solwish who would buy them and pay good coin.

As the group slept overnight in The Howling Horde before the start of their journey in the morning, Kane was awakened by a feeling that something evil was in the inn with them. He left his room and headed down the stairs to find the barbarian, Valor Hecktor spasming and sweating before screaming as he awoke from a dream. Kane used to see this happen to people back in his tribe in Zundabar, and they were usually receiving visions of events yet to happen. Kane questioned Valor about what he had seen, but enraged, Valor grabbed Kane and told him not to mentioned it again or Valor would kill him.

The next morning the group headed out, and were met with an old woman who in a fit of rage cursed Willard and the rest of the party with the Curse of the Wendigo. The Wendigo. This was an entity Kane had heard so much about back in Zundabar growing up. The Wendigo was a story passed down from generations, a god that was cursed to linger upon Kelmarth forever, always hungry for human flesh. Kane had tried to forget about these tribal stories, put them down to just being legends and superstition. But this felt real, especially with Valor's vision just the night before.

After that, the group started to encounter strange happening after strange happening. Wildlife vanished from the area, and people started to have more demonic dreams and nightmares. Fear seeped its way into Kane's mind, all of the stories of the Wendigo came back to him and the situation seemed hopeless.

One morning Willard disappeared from the camp and was soon found skinned and tied between two trees, before disappearing completely and then showing up again with wolves feasting upon his flesh. Kane started to become delirious with fear and refused to sleep from fear of never waking. But while Kane was out on his watch, the Wendigo came for him. Kane became frozen with fear and couldn't even make a sound as Valor Hecktor, possessed by the Wendigo walked up to him. Valor extended his arm and his hand was different, each fingertip was razor sharp, long and thin. With his hand, Valor ripped Kane's face from his body and then jabbed the claws into his heart. Kane was dead.

Two of the expedition members, Gartokar and Zaleria eventually managed to stop the onslaught and defeat this beast that Valor had become, casting the Wendigo's spirit out of Valor's body but also killing Valor in the process. Gartokar and Zaleria then slowly made their way to the town of Solwish together.

The whole incident became known as The Winter's Peak Massacre.

## Session Appearances

 Poor Bobby
 Fey Choices