Mik'hael Builder

## Mik'hael "Palidad" Builder

### Quote

“Seeing as how in 30 seconds we’re going to jump off a train as it traverses a deep chasm, could I interest anyone in a conversation about the Silver Flame?”

### Affiliations

Wayfinder FoundationChurch of the Silver Flame

## Appearance

A large, muscular human male wearing pristine full plate. He has a trimmed, full beard that is still in the salt-and-pepper stage of graying.

## History

Mik'hael is a Human paladin living in Sharn, a templar of the Silver Flame. As his skill and renown grew, Mik'hael was instructed to join the Wayfinder Foundation, in order to recruit allies in the fight against evil and to advocate for the church's interests.

Mik'hael grew up an orphan in Lower Dura. At a young age, he was left for dead after being wounded in a fight. After being found and nursed back to health by a member of the Silver Flame, Mik'hael joined the church, eventually becoming a member of the Order of Templars.

Mik'hael lives in High Hope, Middle Northedge (p 81 Sharn City of Towers) with his wife and children, but spends much of his time helping the poor in Fallen and other lower city districts. His home is literally right next to Coldflame Keep. Occasionally his job as a templar means coming to grips with evil supernatural forces, but most of the time it means helping to repair and build housing for those in need.

### **The Last War**

Mik'hael spent a large portion of his entire life in Sharn. As a member of the Church, he did not participate in the war. He instead continued working to improve living conditions for the disadvantage people in lower Sharn, routinely coming to grips with supernatural forces that attempted to make their home in the dark recesses of the city.

Soon after coming to Coldflame Keep, the Flamebearer there sent Mik'hael up to the Shadowcrags. There he fought the Ghaash'Kal and gained experience and knowledge of demonkind.

### **Invitation**

Mik'hael received his invitation from Shensari. She grew up in the congregation of Coldflame Keep, and respects Father Tana. When Tana asked her to invite Mik'hael, she agreed.

### **Experience**

Mik'hael is old, for a human. He has prevailed in countless confrontations with supernatural monsters: bearded devils, hell hounds, wights, ghasts, Chuul, and Flying Horrors. The Wayfinder foundation often stirs up trouble in dark, remote places and needs warriors who can protect its squishier scholars.

Before joining the Wayfinder Foundation, Mik'hael did a brief stint with the Clifftop adventurer's guild. During one of these missions, he traveled to Daanvi, the Plane of Order. He had to jump off a moving train and fall at terminal velocity to get there, as well as fought the Emerald Claw.

### **Motivation**

Mik'hael saw first hand the horrors that awaited in the Demon Wastes, and you know that isn't the only pit of evil in the world. He knows that the Church has become bloated with bureaucracy and national concerns. The Five Nations are safe, but what about those remote places where evil bides its time, growing in strength?

### **Future** **Goals**

Mik'hael wants to surround himself with strong adventurers that he can trust, so that when the next Big Evil strikes, he knows whom he can call upon.

### **Secrets**

* Mik'hael's sword, Vincula, is an artifact of the church that has two souls trapped inside.
	+ During the height of the Lycan surge (857 YK), when everyone was distracted, a LoD disguised as an Archbishop named Pavel moved to secretly Destroy Jolan Sol. The plan was to lure the Keeper outside of Flame Keep under pretense to capture the keeper’s soul in a soul coin. The plan would have worked, except for Templar Thomas was arriving to deliver reports from the Purge and saw the ambush in action. He intervened, and during the struggle both he AND the LoD were trapped inside the soul coin. Jolan had the coin forged into Thomas's blade, and wielded by the keeper himself until he died, upon which time it mysteriously disappeared. In actuality, the Keeper feared he would be betrayed again, so he placed the sword in the care of a Templar named Turem, and sent him home to Mror. However, the LoD eventually tracked the sword down and made an attempt to recover it. Fearing that they would try again, Turem took a pilgrimage to Sharn, where he found young Tana serving in obscurity in Coldflame Keep. Tana kept the sword close, waiting for a new Templar to emerge who was not embroiled in Church Politics.
	+ Two voices in the sword whisper to Mik'hael, but he not aware that the voices are not his own thoughts.
* Mik'hael's daughter Mary has a powerful aberrant mark that lets her cast **Suggestion** at will. She is currently being trained by
* Mik'hael has promised a favor to Drag (of the criminal organization Daask). The favor must not be criminal or violate any of his Oaths/Morals.

## Personality

**Personality Traits**

* I have a tendency to miss obvious social cues or say dumb things, sometimes on purpose.
* This Palidad makes dad jokes.

**Ideals**

* **Order**. Humanity's laws and capacity for good is what separates us from monsters and devils.  (Lawful)
* **Greater** **Good**. The lot of a good person is to lay down their lives in defense of others. (Good)
* **Redemption**. Everyone deserves a second chance.

**Bonds**

* I protect those who cannot protect themselves.
* I have sworn to follow Flamebearer Tana, and to continue to defend the world against Evil.

**Strengths**

* People find me trustworthy because I always tell the truth.
* I'm willing to listen to every side of an argument before I make my own judgment.
* I am respectful to authority, and this has kept my friends from being arrested before.

**Flaws**

* I have difficulty lying even when it is necessary.
* I will offer second chances at inopportune times.
* I am respectful to authority, even if sometimes they need a punch in the face.

## Completed Missions

### Legion Lost

In Legion Lost, Mik'hael has just joined the Wayfinders and is seeking to make friends. One of the Wayfinders, Quarion, recruits a party to investigate an ancient chamber that has been opened. His friend, Dala, ran a month to make it back to civilization, and says that gatekeeper druids are barely keeping some monsters contained. Quarion asks the wayfinders to look any survivors, including his friend, an purportedly friendly undead called "Professor." Mik'hael has reservations about undead, but goes along to help ensure that the aberrations that have been unleashed from the chamber are contained. Once the Wayfinders get to the island, they discover plant-zombies, a strange type of undead where the necrotic parts feed upon the lifeforce of the plants. The group fights their way from the beach to the center of the island, where they confront the final monster. They defeat it and close the gate, then return home.

**Mik'hael now has contacts with Gatekeeper Druids.**

### The Challenge with Changelings

A short time after Legion Lost, Mik'hael is now a veteran Wayfinder. The "Professor" from the earlier mission has contracted another expedition to look his missing companion, Dala (also in Legion Lost). Mik'hael does not find out that the mission's client is the undead Professor, and he is upset when he finds out. Nevertheless, he bides his time and agrees to look for Dala, if only for her sake. There was somewhat of a wild goose chase throughout Aundair, Lake Galifar, and then Passage. It turns out that Dala's idea of a vacation was to hoodwink people into throwing lavish parties for her, and she had many outstanding debts to support this lifestyle that she was attempting to evade. The party captures here, and initially the guards of Passage were quite annoyed with the Wayfinders, Mik'hael managed to smooth things over.

**Mik'hael knows Sergeant Major Grimes of Passage City Watch.**

### Bad Blood

Mission begins when Mik'hael is working at Wayfinder HQ and Charity rushes in looking for him. Other Wayfinders help her locate Mik'hael, and she tells him that their daughter, Mary, has disappeared. He immediately goes to look for her, and is joined by Stef, Jawbreaker, and Leo.

While Mik'hael has been busy working for the Wayfinders and Church, his daughter Mary fell in with the wrong crowd. Unbeknownst to him, she had developed a powerful aberrant mark capable of casting something similar to **Mass Suggestion,** but with fewer restrictions and seemingly at will. She's also managed to acquire a bad-boy Half-orc boyfriend named Garash who *also* has an aberrant dragonmark, and has recruited her into House Tarkanen.

Mik'hael and the others track down Garash, and in the process kill one his friends while capturing the other. Garash takes them to Binde, who tells Mik'hael that she will train his daughter how to use her aberrant mark safely, but that an evil member of the House, Hakeshar, will almost certainly try to use Mary's mark for his own gains. The Wayfinders learn the whereabouts of Hakeshar from Garash's captured friend, and find him in his underground dracula-stalactite-castle beneath the Cogs. Hakeshar turns out to be a demon, and is slain by the Wayfinders. With this threat gone, Mary is able to learn from Binde in peace.

**Mik'hael knows a prominent figure in House Tarkanen, Binde.**

## Side-Talk

### Mik'hael and Mollie's Community Service

(This narrative details an "off-screen" adventure that accounts for the extra XP dot Mollie and Mik'hael received from their Players DMing games.)

*A week goes by after the Wayfinders return from* Legion Lost. *One morning after a few days of resting with his family, Mik’hael heads to* Fallen Sun *to see if any new adventures have been posted. When he opens the door to the tavern, the dawn’s light falls on a lone figure at the bar: Mollie sitting on a barstool, asleep. The rest of the tavern is deserted, except for the still form of Ketaal who is snoring loudly on the floor behind the bar, flask in hand.*

*After checking the job board and seeing it bare, Mik’hael approaches Mollie and shakes her gently.* “Did you have a good time?” *he asks with an amused look on his face.*

*Mollie jerks and lifts her head. A string of drool sticks the hair to her face as she looks at Mik’hael blearily.* “Hi, I-” *she starts to introduce herself, but stops, realizing that she knows this person. She should greet Mik’hael as though he were a friend.* “Long time no see! It’s been…” *she pauses, still waking up and not sure what time it is.* “... two days?”

*Mik’hael smiles and gestures towards the sunlight shining through the door.* “We’ve been back in Sharn for three days. Have you… been sleeping at-” *he glances at the bar,* “- er, *in* the tavern? If you need a place to stay, my wife would love to put you up in the guest room.”

*Mollie blinks at him, then looks back the bar. She is awake now. She realizes fully where she is.* “Oh. N-no. I have a place. Everyone was talking last night and Ketaal said ‘Don’t go anywhere, let me fix you a true Khorvairian drink!’ But then he passed out, and...I… he’d asked me to s-stay... “ *she trails off.*

*Mik’hael seems puzzled, but his time fighting beside Mollie has taught him to smile and nod at these idiosyncrasies. He gestures towards the jobs board.* “There isn’t any work to be had yet. What are you going to do in the meantime?”

*Mollie stares at him, thinking. Do? What I always do. Train. Is that the wrong answer? She wonders to herself. Then she realizes she has been silent too long and he’s still waiting.* “Um… nothing?”

“Would you like to come to church and then do some work in Lower Dura with me? We’re going to be fixing some houses. There’s always a lot to be done and not enough hands to do it. I can show you how to frame a wall. What do you say?”

*Mollie nods vigorously. She wasn’t back home anymore, and needed to meet new people and try new things. And she liked helping people. Helping people did not always require talking.*

*Together, Mollie and Mik’hael head first to Coldflame Keep in High Hope to meet with father Mazin Tana. He seems very nice to Mollie, and she starts to bow.* {Should I curtsy instead? I don’t know how to curtsey. Does it require a dress?} *She decides firmly that bowing is the right course of action, but by the time she finishes, the father has moved and she finds herself bowing to a potted plant.* “...nice plant. Very...green.” *Father Mazin Tana shoots Mik’hael a puzzled look as if to say “what’s wrong with her?” Mik’hael smiles and shrugs.*

\_\_\_

*They leave the church and go to the widow’s house in Lower Dura. It takes a long time, but eventually they patch a wall that had caved in. Just as the widow is insisting that they take each take a fruitcake, there is a scream from outside. A woman is being chased two skeletons down the street. Carpenter Mollie suddenly turns into eerily-silent-yet-ferocious Angry Mollie. She throws open the door violently (which falls off the hinges) and then surges into the street. By the time Mik’hael gets outside and unlimbers his sword, the skeletons have been smote into dust, and Mollie is breathing heavily. In the distance, there are more screams.*

*Things escalate quickly, and by tracking down the undead swarming up from the Cogs, eventually they corner scrawny necromancy. They fight and best the fiend (he goes by the name Mathander), and although Mik’hael offers him a chance to surrender, he spits in his face draws hidden wand from his sleeve and points it at Mik’hael. Mollie promptly removes Mathander’s arm, and then his head. Everyone is showered in blood, and Mik’hael lets out a disappointed sigh that another soul gave themselves wholly to the darkness. They wearily trudge to the surface and back to Mik’hael’s house, where his wife Charity helps them clean up and tends to their wounds. Mollie considers her bloodstained clothes, then considers a glaive. Reach weapon.*

## Downtime

### Crafting Narrative: Splint and misc. Weapons

**10 Downtime dots spent to craft Splint Armor, Longsword, Warhammer, Warpick, Shield, Dagger (2), and Mirror (Steel).**

Some time later, Mik’hael picks up his wages from the Wayfinder Foundation. He has never held so much gold in his life. He decides that now is the time. He cannot put it off any longer; it is time to upgrade equipment! He starts to shop, but soon realizes that he cannot carry all of this by himself. So he stops by Coldflame Keep to pick up Billy, one of the pages there. Together, they go shopping, trudging all over Sharn to find the right merchants. After acquiring all the tool she needs, Mik’hael and Billy head home.

“Honey, I’m home! Check this out!” After a few steps he remembers to kick off his muddy boots. He finds Charity teaching sword-play to their daughter, Mary. When they see Mik’hael approaching with new shinies, they rush over. However, it soon becomes apparent that Charity is not pleased.

“How much did you pay for all of this?”

Billy and Mary make themselves scarce. Mik’hael hesitates. “Um… I got some good deals. I went to Tradefair and…” Charity arches her eyebrow and taps her foot.

“Did you forget that I apprenticed as a smith? I can make half of this. How much was it?” Reluctantly, he tells her. “Take the smithed items back, leave the rest.” She smiles at him.

Two weeks later, Mik’hael tries on his armor. The full platefits him like a glove. He smiles at Charity, and she winks. As Mik’hael heads out the door, ready for whatever dangers lurk in the shadows of Sharn and beyond.

### Receiving Vincula

*The sanctuary in Coldflame Keep is once again empty as the last of the congregants trickle out, returning to their duties in Sharn. Mik’hael and his family, Charity and Mary, stay behind to help clean up, returning hymnals to their spots and picking up leftover sermon leaflets.*

*After they finish, the family turns to leave. Flamebearer Tana speaks,* “Mik’hael… could I speak with you for a minute?”

“Of course, Father.” *Mik’hael bids farewell to Mary and Charity, and follows the Flamebearer to the front of the church. He opens a hidden, warded cabinet in the altar and produces a sword. He unsheathes the blade, revealing the tell-tale blue of a flametouched sword. As he does so, Charity and Mary are just exiting the front doors. Mary glances back and sees the sword, and there is a longing in her eyes. Her mother calls her name, and she departs.*

*Now alone, Tana offers the sword to Mik’hael, who takes it reverentially.* “What is this, Father?”

“This is *Vincula.* “He has been in my possession for a long time now, and the Flame tells me that it is time for him to have a new home.”

“I… don’t understand, Father. You say ‘he’ like it is a person.”

*Tana nods.* “I did, and could even say ‘they,’ for there are two individuals bound to this sword. But I prefer not to speak of the other. Let me tell you the story of this sword, and then swear you to guard its past as you guard this sword from the forces of darkness.”

“A long time ago, near the end of the Lycanthrope Purge, there was an attempt on the life of the then Keeper of the Flame, Jolan Sol. A fiend, one of the Lords of Dust, had infiltrated the Church under in the guise of an Archbishop named Pavel. This imposter laid a trap using an artifact from the era of Giants, a soul coin. We can only wonder in horror what he had planned for the Keeper’s soul once imprisoned.”

“Fortunately, one of your forebears, a templar named Thomas arrived by providence at the just right moment to thwart the trap. He engaged the fiend in combat, and in the end sacrificed his life by binding both himself *and* the fiend inside the coin. Jolan Sol ordered the coin forged into Thomas’s sword. He named it *Vincula*, which means “Jail” in draconic.”    *As he says this, he rotates the sword so that Mik’hael can see the Pommel. It is flat, shaped like a large coin; one side bears the image of a roaring tiger, the other an armored human in prayer.*
“*Vincula* has been kept safe by other templars before you. He has had many homes, as the Lords of Dust seek to reclaim him for their own dark purposes.”

*Mik’hael holds the sword in awe. He is uncomfortable accepting such a responsibility.* “Why not keep him safe in Flame Keep, Father?”

“That is where the fiends body resides, safe. And so shall it remain, secure, so long as the soul is kept apart.”

*Mik’hael referentially resheathes* Vincula *in his scabbard.* “I will keep him safe, Father.”

*The Flamebearer nods.* “Keep it safe, and use it well. Flame light your path.”

“Flame light your path.” *Mik’hael responds in farewell.*

[[ 17 Downtime Dots and 212.5 gold to fluff-craft Flametouched Iron (onto my old sword), Warpick, Chain (20ft), Lock. ]]

## Crunchy Bits

###  XP & Gold Log

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