Alaric Eversteel

Alaric Eversteel is a man of Tethyr, a devout follower of Ilmater who attached himself to the party of Harminil and Varragh il Sunayn following a magical dream. One of the main drivers of the Free Ward insurgency, was instrumental in the Assassination of the Lord Protector, before settling permanently in Nightstone following the success of it.

# Early Life

## Childhood

Alaric, a human possibly possessing a small amount of elvish ancestry, was raised on the outskirts of the ancient Tethir (or Wealdath) forest in the kingdom of Tethyr on the Sword Coast. With an upbringing in a highly religious farming community, Alaric was taught to worship and respect the gods before the destruction of his village at the hands of unknown, possibly demonic, forces. While still a child following the death of his parents in this attack, he was protected and eventually raised to early teenaged years by a powerful and faithful cleric of Ilmater who had saved what he could of the village's population from the attack, Tesrik Ironhill. Tesrik taught Alaric much of the basics of his religion and intended for Alaric to follow in his footsteps, but eventually the call of adventure led Alaric to abandon his adoptive father.

## Life in the Wild

Together with but a few of the more experienced frontiersmen who survived the attack, the teenaged Alaric fled deeper into the forest of Tethir where he spent much of his early years honing his skills as a ranger and protector within the magical forest. He became skilled in the ways of stealth and survival as the junior member of this band of rangers. Eventually, however, their obsessive hunting of the forest's monsters and demons led to only Alaric being the last to survive.
Now alone, he did on occasion come into contact with the more magical aspects of Tethir while acting as somewhat of a protector of nature within the forest, befriending a group of dryads after saving them from a bugbear attack, upon which he was even given the rare reward of entrance to a feywild portal and some of their magical secrets. Alaric spent a couple decades in this forest learning his trade while still holding onto his faith in Ilmater.

## Starting a family in Nightstone

Alaric as rangers sometimes do, eventually found his calling and returned to human civilization for love of a woman with whom he made a modest living farming near the fortress of Nightstone, while also reconnecting with Tesrik, now an elderly man but still a powerful cleric who wed the two. However, this happiness was not to last. Alaric had been in Nightstone trading some of his wares when the goblins attacked, and quickly returned home to his farm upon his escape, only to find his beloved wife Yenna, as well as his teenaged son Gren and young daughter Ada, already deceased. Now middle aged and once again having lost everything, Alaric has again taken up the call of adventure and returned to his roots as a ranger and protector of good.

## Return to the Wild

Shortly after his return to the wild, he begun having dreams that reaffirmed his faith in Ilmater's plans, and received word that Nightstone was liberated by a party headed by Varragh il Sunayn and Harminil, which was confirmed by one of his magical dreams. Believing that their quests are of great importance which he must take part in, Alaric made his way back to Nightstone, seeking to find the duo and join them.

# Rebuilding Nightstone

## Arrival in liberated Nightstone

Alaric arrived in Nightstone following the Defense of Nightstone, which was attacked by an undead army lead by Lovac. Alaric was surprised that old contacts had returned to Nightstone, including old watchmen like Galen Stark. Alaric first met with Harminil, as Varragh was in Daggerford, with Harminil accepting his services, seemingly impressed by Alaric's swordsmanship. Alaric also wasted no time to spread Ilmater's word in the liberated town. He met Varragh a few days later, who was also glad to accept him.

## Exorcism of a Yochlol

Not long after joining the party, the Sons of Finderwel were preparing a ritual to exorcise a Yochlol that had possessed a renowned Demonologist, Nicholas Remay, in order to progress in their quest to reclaim their Jeweled Crown. Alaric fought together with Varragh and the three Sons of Finderwel the demon. Alaric received numerous wounds, but in the end the group prevailed and Nicholas Remay was now freed from the Yochlol.

## Rebuilding Nightstone

Over the next days, Alaric helped in the rebuilding of Nightstone, as well as spreading the word of Ilmater. He was particularly fond of the Kobolds who Varragh allowed to set up an embassy in the town, having a light-hearted, but interesting theological discussion with the little creatures. Alaric also recommended Galen Stark to Varragh to be a watch commander in the town, which Varragh accepted.

## In Waterdeep

With the party in need of a high-ranking cleric, the group preserved Zaerk's body, himself a wanted man in Waterdeep as a bargaining tool, should they get in trouble to to Harminil's and Varragh's past exploits there. After their arrival in Waterdeep, the group was surprised to hear that their bounties had been cleared, as well as that there was a new man in charge of the metropolis, an individual who went by the mantle of the Lord Protector. Alaric visited the Temple of the Seldarine, trying to extract as much information as possible from the elven clergy, both regarding the new authorities, as well as if they were using the under the Lord Protector banned magic. His weird questioning left Alaric without clear answers. Eventually, the group made their way to their old ally, Pierre Kukassy in the Field Ward. Throughout the Field Ward, Alaric spotted many inscriptions on walls, honouring the memory of Tesrik, now considered a martyr, following his execution by the forces of the Lord Protector. Varragh and Alaric also used their magic abilities to enter the now barred residence of Harminil, to retrieve the remaining gold from their bank heist.

## Brief return to Nightstone

The group then returned again to Nighstone for a few days, to gather their resources while Pierre Kukassy would try to find floor plans of the Waterdeep palace and armory, in order to conduct a surgical strike against the Lord Protector. After conducting in further rebuilding affairs, the group made their way to Waterdeep to enact their coup. The now revenant Varis Aloro had followed the group, with only Alaric being aware of his presence. He chose not to inform the rest of his companions about Varis Aloro coming with them.

# Waterdeep Insurgency

## Coup Preparations

After many rounds of discussion with the Knights of Aloro and the defectors led by Ulder Cole, the group agreed to pose as dignitaries from Nightstone and enter the palace that way, hoping for an audience with the Lord Protector. The group entered the palace, but was made to wait, as there were no official inquiries for an audience made by their behalf. While inside the palace, the group started scouting to get an idea for what they would potentially have to face. Varragh's aggressive methods led to the group being locked in their quarters for a fortnight. The following day however, they were allowed free roam again in the areas they were permitted to, and were invited to a dinner with the Lord Protector himself, which the group accepted. Alaric had a small talk with the Calimshan embassy, his ideals being the opposite of the leadership of Calimshan and with him being too pressing at times, led to the embassy staff being annoyed at Alaric.

## Failed Coup

Eventually, the dinner with the Lord Protector came. After the Lord Protector introduced himself to the party and asking them about their business from Nightstone a sergeant interrupted the Lord Protector suddenly during the discussions with the party. The Lord Protector, simply announced that were urgent matters he had to attend and fled the dining room. Harminil immediately realised what was going to happen informed the rest of the group. Quickly, the dining hall was filled with many guards and the Thayan contract bounty hunter, Lovac. Alaric suggested a surrender, however Harminil managed to goad Lovac to drop his weapons and make some room for a "duel". This feint was successful, as all members of the group were able to escape through the balcony, with Alaric having the most difficulties after being grappled by Lovac. The coup now turned into a desperate escape attempt. The group fought valiantly and was forced to surrender after being overwhelmed and Alaric being nearly killed in the fighting. Varragh was the only one able to escape.

## Stormhaven Prison

All captured combatants were transferred to the high security prison in Stormhaven island. Alaric and his companions would not stay there for long, after being freed in a daring operation led by Varragh. Alaric and the captured coup plotters, joined forces with the Knights of Aloro and Ulder's defectors and cleared almost the entirety of the prison, even killing 3 inquisitors and capturing one alive. The group then made its way back to their base of operations in the Field Ward.

## Assassination of the Lord Protector

Not able to achieve their goal in their first attempt, the group realised that with Varis having entered the palace via the sewers, they could use the same method to enter discreetly and with a bigger force. Alaric also found some time to visit a temple of Tyr in Watereep. Explaining his cause to the priests who sympathized and supported it, Alaric was gifted a Greatsword of Tyr to put an end to the Lord Protector's tyrrany.
Amassing the full strength of the Knights of Aloro, Alaric, Varragh, Varis, the Finderwelians and Ulder's defectors attacked the palace a second time, hoping for a more surgical strike. After arriving at the floor where they thought the Lord Protector was residing, the group managed to dispatch some guards without attracting attention to themselves. Eventually, Harminil found the Lord Protector in a private room, together with the ambassador from Calimshan and a Red Wizard of Thay, Lahnis. The group attacked, catching their victims by surprise. Lahnis was ultimately slain by Alaric, with Varis taking down the Lord Protector. A standoff with the Lord Protector's forces then ensued. Ulder, himself a former high ranking guard, tried to negotiate with the guard, but to no effect. The strike team then retreated via the sewers.

## Retirement from adventuring

After escaping the palace, the group made their way to the Docks via the sewers, persuading some not so trustworthy sailors to take them to Baldur's Gate, promising them treasure. However the group managed to hijack the ship, leaving the sailors with a small rowboat so that they wouldn't drown in the High Seas. Realising that Tesrik was finally avenged, Nightstone was reclaimed and rebuilt, Alaric saw that his drive for adventuring was over. He had decided to settle permanently on Nightstone and lead the rebuilding and expanding efforts, while being a watchful eye over the town. Varragh gladly agreed to this and thanked him for his services. Harminil also waved goodbye to Alaric, inviting him to the blessed Elven realm, Evermeet, should he be able to finish his own quest.

# Character

Alaric is a wise, easygoing, just, and religiously devout man, to the point of fanaticism that can blind his otherwise even keeled mind. His involvement with the party and seeing Nightstone restored reinvigorated his faith after a period of aimless drifting in the wilds. A fundamentally good natured man, Alaric is uncomfortable with the types of compromises that need to be made in an gray world. Despite his advanced age, Alaric is an accomplished combatant, using both magic and swordsmanship to achieve victory.