Zaerk

Zaerk, nicknamed "the Animal" was a member of the Amrik's raiders, and for a brief time, companion of Varragh and Harminil.

# Early Life

Zaerk was born in Waterdeep in 1467. Together with his half-brother, Ziraj, they were both recruited by Amrik to join his criminal organisation, the Amrik's Raiders. For some years, he worked as a career criminal, terrorizing Waterdeep's poorer districts, despite being at times conflicted with his role in the organisation. In 1492, Amrik and Ziraj were killed by Harminil during an attempted bank heist by the organisation, which went wrong due to the involvement of Varragh il Sunayn, Varis Aloro and Harminil. As a result, Zaerk found a new calling in life, revenge, seeking to find those who killed his brother.

# Travels with Varragh and Harminil

## Joining the party

After the hard-fought Liberation of Nightstone, Harminil, together with his two brothers made their way to Daggerford to report to the Duchess of their victory. On their way, Zaerk met the elves, muttering about how he is searching for the ones who killed his brother, Ziraj, unaware that he had Harminil in front of him, being unable to identify him from the wanted poster he had snatched from Waterdeep. Zaerk was sent to Nightstone by Harminil for work. There, Zaerk met Varragh, who put him to do some heavy lifting following the aftermath of the battle.

## Encounter with Lovac

The newly established party went to Daggerford to close some matters regarding the rebuilding of Nightstone. Zaerk in the meantime, instead went to the Shanties of Daggerford, being most reminiscent of the Field Ward in Waterdeep. After breaking into a house and stealing a few valuables, Lovac, a bounty hunter, who unbeknownst to the party, was hired by the new government in Waterdeep, led by the Lord Protector to hunt down the Butchers of Waterdeep, approached Zaerk and tried to bribe him to help him catch Varragh and Harminil. Zaerk's stupidity and greed however, meant that he couldn't be reasoned with, and as such attacked Lovac directly to steal his money. In the ensuing fight, Zaerk's pure power was able to overcome Lovac's magic, forcing the bounty hunter to flee. After the fight, Zaerk went looking for prostitutes, before being forced to leave, following his public and vulgar request for prostitutes.

## Scheme with Taffy

While Varragh left for Nightstone, Zaerk stayed with Harminil, Tyavos and Vahayon in Daggerford, as the latter wanted to figure out a way to help Nicholas Remay regain his mental sanity to help them proceed with their quest. Zaerk in the meantime had managed to arrange a job with Taffy, via his underworld connections from his time at the Amrik's Raiders. Taffy wanted to run a gambling scheme, as well as a fixed boxing match. Zaerk would have to encourage players to gamble a lot of money, as well as lose the boxing match on purpose. Harminil, driven by his oath and needing of funds to proceed with his quest, also agreed to join in, as well as to watch over Zaerk.
Zaerk did his part in the gambling scheme, loading people with free drinks and him voluntarily raising the stakes to drag other players with him. Zaerk however was not willing to throw a boxing match on purpose and he started by betting on himself. This was not known by Harminil, who tried to persuade him to lose the match, as he would make more money that way, and it would give them good accord with a well connected man of Daggerford, even if he was part of the criminal underworld. Zaerk was nearly convinced, till he realized that his opponent was a Goliath, which Zaerk saw as a direct challenge. Despite numerous attempts from Harminil to have Zaerk change his mind, Zaerk won the match. Zaerk made 200 gp from his bets, the duo however lost out on must bigger sums of money, as Taffy was enraged by this development. Zaerk offered some of his winnings to Harminil, who despite believing that this whole ordeal was not worth the return, accepted it, driven by his oath.

## In Prison

Zaerk's roberry from a few days prior didn't go unnoticed. He was arrested near the palace and was taken to the prison of Daggerford. While staying there overnight, waiting for his trial, the Goliath boxer attacked him in his cell, trying to kill him, after Zaerk did not throw the match as ordered, resulting to a big loss for Taffy. Zaerk however was able to best the Goliath again, despite being unarmed compared to his adversary, killing him swiftly.
The next day, Zaerk was brought in to court. Harminil managed to learn about this and decided to attend, interested, and also hoping to get Zaerk out, as for all his stupidity, Harminil saw in him use for his quest, ever restrained by his oath. While testifying, Zaerk tried his best to avoid answering all questions directly, ignoring procedure and protocol. He called Harminil to testify for him, being of noble birth. Harminil, surpsingly did corroborate some parts of Zaerk’s defense in which he begins to call attention to Taffy’s crimes, trying to allege a massive conspiracy. Harminil even perjurs himself in corroborating some legitimate lies and half-truths on Zaerk’s behalf, to bail him out. In the end, Zaerk was released, being handed a relatively mild fine.

## Defense of Nightstone and Death

After returning to Nightstone, it was attacked by a force of undead led by Lovac and two other Thayans. Varragh's rebuilding and re-fortifications efforts were put to the test. During the Defence of Nightstone, Zaerk fought hard and destroyed many undead, being motivated by the money he was offered for each kill. The adventuring party, together with the garrison dispatched by the Duchess, which was led by Daratha, after taking the alias of Rowan and starting a new life in Daggerford, managed to handily defeat the undead horde. After the battle, Zaerk pestered Daratha regarding his drive to find the ones who killed Ziraj, knowing her from their time at the Amrik's Raiders, trying to entice her with promises of revenge for the murder of Amrik, which was also carried about by the same group. There, he realized that Harminil and Varragh were the people he was after, and attacked them. Zaerk was also attacked by the scouts when he tried to charge at Varragh. Zaerk, who had received numerous wounds during the defence, was quickly bested by Harminil and knocked down. Zaerk was able to stand up one last time, being finished off by the scouts with their archer fire.

# Character

Zaerk was rather primitive as a person, reflected in his bestial ways when enraged. He was particularly fond of gold, making it obvious at every possible opportunity, as well as of violence. He also lacked basic cognitive skills, not being able to realize when he would make more profit and when not. In combat however, Zaerk was a force to be reckoned with, his primal rage and fury could strike down many foes.