Gerhart

"**Evil is like a tree. Its roots lie in the darkness, whilst its leaves wave in the sun. For the unsuspecting, it may even have a pleasing appearance. You might cut away the branches or even cut the whole tree down, but it will merely grow again, stronger than before. Yet all the while, the roots grow thick and black, gnawing at the bitter soil, drawing its nourishment from the darkness and growing even greater and more deeply entrenched. Such is the nature of evil, and this is why it is so difficult to destroy, for it must be exterminated leaf, branch, trunk and root. It must be exorcised utterly or it will return all the stronger, time and time again, until it is too great to destroy. Then, we are doomed.**" - *Gerhart's extremist conclusion, after properly contemplating the teachings of Iomedae.*

## Gerhart

Demons, planar incursions, plagues, drugs, criminals... So much death and suffering. When one man lost what little he had in these cataclysmic events, enough was enough. There is a certain kind of insanity that comes over someone who has nothing left to lose, and this insanity consumed the man that is now known only as Gerhart.

Righteous anger filled him to the brim. With no regard for his life, he took what makeshift weapons he could and ventured out into the streets, seeking to doll out vengeance on those that, in his mind, elevate the wretched life in the Puddles into a living hell.

He was weak, malnourished, unskilled. Much like any denizen of Absalom living in its worst district. He stumbled through his first years of furious vigilantism with a mixture of luck, determination and perhaps even divine intervention. Wounds did not stop him, fear did not stop him and eventually he learned exactly what one needed to survive upon these cursed streets. It was then that he had discovered the spark of divine power within him, twisted as it was, for his mind was as infinitely far from the heroic paladin, as it was from the pious and dogmatical mind of a cleric. He was willing to go to far greater lengths.

Eventually, he was discovered by the Inquisition of Iomedae, finally recieving formal training. From here, only the gods know what fate awaits him.

## Noteworthy details

- Gerhart despises most adventurers. He is convinced, that they are a magnet of trouble, which brings only more suffering to the common, weak people of this world. He believes that most adventurers are simple gloryhounds, drunk on their beyond mortal power, neither caring who they trample upon, nor having true intentions beyond personal gain when performing their heroic antics. There is a contradiction here, for he himself is prepared to make sacrifices in order to root out evil. The difference, according to Gerhart, is that it is always a conscious choice for him, and it is always something he makes a conscious effort to avoid having to make.

- Gerhart does his utmost to remain entirely concealed. He prefers not to attract any attention to his person, nor does he seek any fame or glory for himself. He has set up an incospicuous book shop in one of the districts of Absalom, not far from the Puddle. Unbeknownst to most, the shop's underbelly actually contains a whole arsenal of weaponry. What's more, there is a whole workshop intended purely for the creation of firearms and ammunition. The fact that his ammunition and weaponry is handcrafted makes it all the more difficult to track down, should someone have a mind to, as no official gunsmith will be able to identify it as the handiwork of one of their market rivals.