Dordlo

**Dordlo** is a Tortle Twilight Cleric who hails from the little town of Serendipity.

## Description

### Appearance

Dordlo is a fairly average looking Tortle. He is of medium height, being 5'9, and has the typical hefty body type. His skin is a pale green color with some darker mottling, and his shell is primarily brown. Like most members of the DuskShell family, he has large purple patches around his shell. His eyes are a dark amber color.

Being a Tortle, Dordlo really has no true need for clothing. His shell gives him all the cover he needs. So, any clothing he does wear is for utility purposes. Recently, he has acquired a pair of khaki fighting trousers.

### Personality

Dordlo is the sort of fellow who is simultaneously incredibly wise and incredibly reckless. Like most Tortles, Dordlo has a thirst for knowledge and a drive to find his way in the world.

Dordlo is considered to be a relatively wise and level headed fellow. He is good at coming up with detailed plans, but they have a tendency to fall through due to strange and unforeseen circumstances. Partly because of this, he has developed a habit of throwing caution to the wind and charging into situations head-first. He has a fascination with the darker side of his healing magic which is connected to his family history of 'spooky' encounters in the dark.

## Biography

### Background

Dordlo was born and raised in the village of Serendipity. He is the youngest child of Miriam Duskshell, and grew up surrounded by family. Thanks to his family's deep connections with the Twilight Gods, Dordlo grew up quite religious, and it came as no surprise that he became a Cleric of the twilight domain.

### SweetWater

Dordlo started his adventures in the farming village of Sweetwater, where Mayor Abigail Bolton contracted him and his companions (Rineth, Manawyd, Calix, Armentel, and Gahildorir) to investigate the cause of a strange water-borne illness that was affecting residents. After some investigation, the illness was tracked back to something called a Greyrot Shard, which had been planted by a local group of goblins.

When Dordlo stepped into the cave, he was struck by a trance. In his shadowy visions, he glimpsed Celestian, God of Wanderers, pondering a strange grey object. Celestian turned to look at the tortle, and pointed towards him, instilling a deep sense of awe, terror, and most importantly responsibility. Just as the visions became almost too much to bear, Dordlo snapped back to reality, and rushed after his companions.

With wit, clever tactics, and raw power, the party managed to outwit the goblins. Calix and Dordlo pried loose the Greyrot Shard, and the party collected treasures from the goblin lair. While Gahildorir and Manawyd went back to SweetWater, the others stayed behind to ensure the waters continued to run clear. While they waited, the remaining goblins regrouped and took them by surprise. The party managed to escape thanks to a quick thinking Sleep spell from Dordlo, but both he and Rineth were wounded in the process.

When they finally regrouped at the Mayor's office, they found that she already had visitors in the form of members of UMAA. The leader, Norlond, had great interest in the shards, and intended to take it back to Spire City so that it could be contained and studied.

### Continued Adventures

At the invitation of Norlond, the party traveled to Spire City, where they became members of the UMAA. They explored the city, did some shopping, and went to the Midnight Bazaar, where one of the party members, Gahildorir, was attacked and killed by displacer beasts. Dordlo and Calix managed to distract the beasts long enough for them to be recaptured, and they managed to acquire the Blessed Sands that they had been sent to retrieve. Having accomplished their first full mission, the group is properly recognized by UMAA, and begin taking jobs. Their first task will be in the town of Clemency, where someone was hiring them to investigate some strange happenings.

At the border to the Orthodoxy, the party was stopped by a cleric, who performed a rite known as the Order of Intercession upon Dordlo. Should the party commit any crimes within the borders of the Orthodoxy, Dordlo would be held responsible. The party met with their contact, who turned out not to be the deacon of the settlement, but a Water Genasi shopkeep named Cordelia. She explained that recently, those who went into the local bog were disappearing, and while it had always been a somewhat risky place, this was rather strange.

In the bog, the party fought Will'o'Wisps and Slithering Stalkers, as well as tracking down yet another shard. This shard seemed to cause a deep stasis over the area, making everything move at a fraction of its normal pace. Unwisely, the group tried to take a rest, and all but Manawyd found themselves unable to move. The rogue managed to scoop the shard into a jar and seal it, allowing his party members, and all the bugs who were frozen in the air, to resume movement. Shard in tow, the party intended to return to Clemency, but discovered that the Inquisition was in the area. As the party was wary of dealing with the Inquisition, they chose to abandon Clemency.

### Trials of Yurtus

The party travelled back to Serendipity, or as it was better known, Duskshell Village. Although they were still within the borders of the Orthodoxy, Duskshell village was considered somewhat of a safe haven, as it had been home to the Duskshell clan for generations. There, Dordlo and his companions were welcomed by his Great-Aunt Vhyrra, who quickly filled him in on all the recent news and gossip. Among news about recent pearl harvests, nosy inquisitors, and their fighters being called to the Vigil watchtower, the party learned of a nearby Orc war band that Vhyrra believed was at least partly responsible for their dismal harvests. She also informed him that while he had been off adventuring, the family had taken in a stray of sorts. Berry, or "the devil-druid", was a young tiefling who had shown up not long after Dordlo had left on his adventures, and she had been instrumental in helping the village avoid the Inquisition, who were raving about something called "Shards of Yurtus"

The party, now with the help of Berry, agreed to investigate the orc problem. On their way up the mountain pass, they were caught in an ambush. They killed one of their attackers and managed to subdue a second, who explains that they are defending the "enclave of Shaghrakh". At the party's insistence, the orc captain leads them the rest of the way. There, they met the titular Shaghrakh, a wise old orc who, through his dreams, had learned the error of blind rage, and was trying to lead his people in newer, cleverer techniques. Manawyd, who was beginning to suspect that this would once again lead to a shard, asked that the party be allowed to undergo trials to become initiates of the order. Although the orcs were doubtful, they were also intrigued, and agreed to allow the party to make an attempt. The next morning their trials began. The first trial demanded they show mastery of their strength. Calix and Dordlo, being the strongest, took up the challenge, stepping into a fighting ring in which they faced off against a pair of orcish initiates in hand to hand combat. Once they had succeeded in knocking their opponents out of the ring, the group was allowed to go on to the second trial. In this challenge, they were required to show mastery of their surroundings by making their way across a series of sky-poles. Dordlo showed surprising grace for a creature of his bulk, and eventually each party member made their way across. Finally, they had to face off against Tanarukk the Irradiated, guardian of the shard of Yurtus.

The party faced off against the beastly orc. It seemed that no matter how hard they fought, nothing they did could do any real harm. What was worse, the orc seemed to have an aura radiating off of him which sapped the strength of the party, as well as Tanarukk himself. Eventually, the orc's stamina failed him, and he crumpled over, seemingly dead. What was better, during the fight Dordlo managed to scoop the Greyrot Shard into a jar, sealing it and hiding it within his shell. The party had succeeded.

A feast was thrown in the group's honor, and they were invited to stay for as long as they needed to rest and recuperate. During this time of rest, Dordlo meditated and had an epiphany on the reachings of Shaghrakh. Dordlo learned the spell *flurry of blows*, and found that he was quite interested in the concept of exploring Monk teachings.

Dordlo, Rineth, and Berry returned to Duskshell village so that Dordlo could spend some extra time with his family, and Berry could get a better idea of what she was doing next. Rineth just had nothing better to do. Mama Duskshell was eager to see her beloved "Dordi", and insisted that he and his friends stay for dinner. Berry and Rineth were even invited into the kitchen to assist in cooking!

While the women work on cooking stew, Dordlo ventured out to the shore to talk to his cousin Hurli about his visions. Hurli had been having visions of their own for many years, so Dordlo held some hope that his cousin would be able to offer insights on what they might mean. They compared notes, so to speak, and found that both of their visions involved red tides washing over everything. But while Hurli's visions usually ended there, Dordlo also saw a mechanical entity fighting back against it. Unfortunately, neither Tortle knew what the visions were supposed to mean.

He returned home, and shared a dinner of Bittersweet Jambalaya with his family and newfound friends. In the morning, they were roused by Calix, who after speaking to the orcs had learned that they were going to try to join the fight at Vigil. The party, now with the addition of Berry, sped off towards Vigil on the backs of Berry's transformed rats.

After a few hours of intense riding, the party reached Vigil, where an intense battle against raiders and monsters was already underway. The orcs arrived only moments later, and threw themselves into the battle as well. Dordlo launched himself from the Vigil trebuchet, intending to throw the jar containing Tanarukk's shard down the throat of the sandworm in the hopes that the monstrous orc might follow. However, this is not quite successful. The two monstrous beings fought against one another like Kaiju until eventually the sandworm retreated into the desert.

Only moments after the battle was ended, the party was faced with another challenge, as the reinforcements from the Citadel finally arrived, led by Inquisitor Obadiah and his dragon, Kiltharutekk. Although the Inquisitor was distrustful of the adventurers, he was begrudgingly thankful for their help, largely due to Calix and Dordlo's quick pronouncement of their faith. It takes some convincing, but the party even managed to talk the Inquisitor out of executing the orcs. During the night, Dordlo attempted a banishment spell on both Tanarukk and the shard, but it caused searing pain to shoot through the minds of all those who had phsycic powers. And what was worse, the shard seemed to come from...nowhere.

### The AshStone

The party made their way into the Amber Steppe, eventually making their way to a village. Though the party is looked at distrustfully, they were brought into the village to speak to the Argdu, who explained that the village was in something of a crisis. Two months prior, a strange ash-colored stone had appeared behind his hut, causing it to catch fire. Olzira, a half-elf elder of the village, threw the stone into the watering hole, saving the village, and briefly creating a beautiful hot spring. But things once again turned sour as the watering hole boiled away after a few weeks. Khabici exiled his druid advisor, Alaqa, and said it was her responsibility to fix the issue.

The party sought out Alaqa, who was busy trying to tame the sporadic wildfires which cropped up around the dried up watering hole. Dordlo hatches a plan to try and restore the oasis, but wants to take the time to rest and prepare for the night. Berry, however, is not as cautious, and instead strips down and charges towards the shard, hoping that her tiefling fire resistance will be enough to save her from its heat. Unfortunately, the heat eventually overcomes her, and she passes out only moments after sealing the shard within one of Dordlo's jars. Berry's rats ran to her aid, and seeing that the danger had been mitigated, the party followed. Dordlo sealed the jar within a second, larger one, and forced a healing potion down Berry's throat, reviving her.

They returned to the village to report their success, and the Argdu is quite impressed. However, he refuses to allow Alaqa to return to the village, claiming that as she did not solve the problem, she was not redeemed. Berry protests this, but Dordlo quiets her, insisting that she can't interfere with whatever beliefs these centaurs had. The adventurers followed the Argdu back to his tent, where Manawyd tried, and miserably failed, to take a 'souvenir'. The Argdu used this as an excuse to have his Alabatu throw nets over the party, capturing them. He had them stripped of their weapons and loaded into carts, where the next morning they would be hauled to his Clansmeet and presented as gifts to the elders. During the long and tormentingly hot journey, Dordlo tried to come up with a plan. However, he was reassured by Berry that everything would be fine, as she had received a message from Alaqa through her hummingbird, Flit.

> "I saw your heroism, outlanders. Don't make a play, let me do the talking at the clansmeet. Trust me."
>
>

Although the others were not quite as trusting as Berry, they realized that they did not exactly have a better plan, and agreed to follow the druid's suggestion. By the time they reached the location of the Haalaka Clansmeet, it was nearly dusk. There were many other carriages holding similar prisoners, and a large gathering of centaurs around a funeral pyre, singing a G*ahuudlyn Duu* (Song of Grief/Mourning) for a lost clansmate. The party watched from their cages as Khabici preened and boasted, much to the annoyance of the elders. The elder then revealed that he knew Khabici was lying, as Alaqa had already arrived and explained everything. And while Khabici had, in a way, solved the issue of the shard, thus earning his place at the fires, he also needed a lesson in humility. Four large, burly centaurs approached him and swung at his legs with great clubs, shattering them.

Finally, the party was set free, and were invited to tell their tale. They explained what they knew about the shards, and in return they learned from the centaurs that a great many of the stones had appeared throughout the Khanate and the Amber Steppe. In an attempt to be rid of them, the Clans would send someone with the shard far into the desert, where usually they would perish. The funeral they had interrupted was being held for the Elder's cousin, Murrum, who had died in that very way. The party also receives compensation for their labor in the form of gold, as well as necklaces of leather and crow skulls which mark them as friends of Clan Hekkta.

The next morning, they return to the oasis. After many hours, and countless uses of the *Conjure Water* spell, they managed to restore the watering hole. Although Berry asked Alaqa to join them on their journeys, she refused. She told Berry that as wonderful as adventure sounded, the clan was her home, and she was needed here. When Berry voiced her sadness over not having a home like that, Dordlo reassured her that she would always have a home back in the Duskshell village.

### Trouble in Clemency

The party traveled down the river towards Clemency. Although they made attempts to fashion a raft, the timbers drifted apart, leaving them to trudge alongside the shore. Dordlo, however, chose to continue within the river, using his Tortle ability to hold his breath. He stayed in the river while the rest of the party ventured into the city of Clemency, decompressing in the water before he joined the others once again.

### Spire City

The party returned to Spire City, where they learned of an upcoming concert from the Eladrin Pop Star Perasona Jiwa. They make their way to UMAA headquarters, where Dordlo takes on the responsibility of telling Norland their tale. He was incredibly interested in their description of the centaur's methods of dealing with the shards.

The party does a bit of shopping and reconnaissance around the city, meeting Lady Vironia, and stopping in at Johnald Humanman's Emporium of Essentials and Essoterics before they went to the venue for Perasona Jiwa's concert. However, not long after the beautiful pop star began to sing, a horde of mind flayers tried to hypnotize the crowd, including Cordelia, Berry, and Vironia. Thanks to some quick thinking from Dordlo and Rineth, a vast majority of the concert goers were able to be saved, including all of their newfound friends. With a *Sending* spell, Dordlo calls for reinforcements from Norland. Before long, a platoon of Mechanized arrived, and secured the tunnels.

Dordlo and the others went back to the lodgings provided for them by UMAA, and made plans to raid the mind flayer lair come morning. During the night, they were visited by Perasona, who, having heard that they were going into the lair, had decided she needed to accompany them. The party, especially Dordlo, was hesitant at first to allow her to come, but she insisted, and come morning they all set out together.

#### Into the Lair

In the Mind Flayer's lair, the party found many of the stolen audience members locked in cages, under a magical sleep. Rineth slapped one of the prisoners, a human child named Rhea. After some panic, some fangirling, and a fight with the guards, the party was able to continue on. They found many horrors, such as a meat-processing plant and an incinerator, as well as a room full of seemingly mindless prisoners. Though it takes much effort, the party is eventually able to funnel the prisoners and slaves back into the lift, where they should be able to be helped by members of UMAA. The party also meets a pack of gnome-rats and rat-gnomes, creatures who had their minds swapped. Manawyd accidentally causes the gnome-brained rats to be electrocuted, and the party agreed to never speak of what they saw again.

Eventually the party made their way to an "Implantation Room", where the Mind Flayers implant their tadpoles into the brains of prisoners. Chained to a pair of metal slabs, they find Gleebo the Goblin, as well as....Norland? The party talk to their imprisoned friend, and discover that he has been in the Mind Flayer lair for weeks, which meant the person they had spoken to before coming down was some sort of imposter. Gleebo, having already been infected by the mind flayer "brain worms" has his head bashed in by Calix and Dordlo, and Norlond is set free and escorted back above ground by Rineth. They will have to deal with this imposter situation later. For now, they needed to finish this job.

The party continued onwards, finding more yet another shard, this one giving off an aura of euphoria. Perhaps the Mind Flayers enjoy a sweetened meal. They manage to secure this shard and continue on, finding the hive of the Servitors. Inside is a strange pillar like device that a few of the party members realize is being used to control the Servitors. The party destroys the device, freeing the Servitors. They also discover strange pods with pupating mind flayers inside, which Calix and Dordlo destroy. They continue on and find a strange crystalline chamber containing a huge, humanoid sized shard. When the party moves some of the stones around the shard, the room is filled with a deafening silence, and Perasona seemingly blinks out of existence. After the stones are returned, all of the sounds come crashing back into their ears, causing thunder damage.

The party does a bit more exploring, finding a large library in which a pair of Drow were conducting research. After a scuffle, the party kills one of the pair, but the other begins levitating and convulsing, and emitting a strange, eldritch light from her eyes. A voice which was not hers came from her mouth, threatening the party with the wrath of Sheb-Nakteth before the Drow's head explodes in a shower of blood and brain. The party hurriedly continues onwards, and finally finds the Elder brain. Undefended and helpless, the brain can do nothing to stop Calix and Dordlo from building a fire beneath it and boiling it alive.

The party continue through the lair, bringing down mind flayers and gathering what intel they can. They find more shards, as well as a pool which they discover to be a teleportation circle leading to each and every location of a shard. Whatever these shards are, it seems that this is their origin.

#### Loose Ends

The party travelled back to UMAA headquarters, where they and Norlond plan to confront his doppelgänger. Armed with spite, determination, and the code word of Sammiches, the group stormed into Norland's office, where they came face to face with the false Norlond. Though the imposter tried to run, he was swiftly caught, and the true Norland began beating him until he revealed his true identity as a changeling from Vyrland. The party filled Norland in on all the things he had missed, and everyone is faced with the crushing reality that whatever is happening is much bigger than they ever could have thought. In addition to the shards, they are now combatting political rivalries that could lead to national warfare.

## Relationships

### Party Members

##### Rineth

Rineth and Dordlo have a mutual respect for one another. They do their best to protect one another, though they aren't always great at it.

##### Berry

Berry and Dordlo are close friends. Thanks to Berry's closeness to the rest of the Duskshell family, they are almost siblings in a way.

##### Calix

Calix and Dordlo have a mutual respect for one another, both trying to lead the party.

##### Manawyd

Dordlo and Manawyd often fight over the rogue's irresponsible nature.

### Family

##### Mama Duskshell

Dordlo is quite close with his mama, though he often feels smothered by her.

##### Cousin Hurli

Dordlo and Hurli are cousins, and, being somewhat close in age, the two of them were somewhat close as kids. Recently, Dordlo went to his cousin for advice regarding a series of strange vision-like nightmares.

##### Great Aunt Vhyrra

Dordlo is not super close to his aunt Vhyrra, though they still have a good family bond.

##### Bimmini

Bimmini is Dordlo's niece via his older sister Ayesha. He enjoys the little one quite a bit, though he has not had much time to get to know her.

1. ↑ Vassals
2. ↑ Actually, this was Daisy. But the party did not know that.