Gaith Unwood

## Introduction

Gaith Unwood is the last in a long line of The Monks of The Mountain. Possessed by an ancient evil, he searches desperately for redemption in a world he fears.

## Motivation

Gaith believes in his herbal skills, and nothing more. He is afraid to get close or love anyone, because the spirit inside of him desires to possess anything good and pure, ensuring their destruction.

He opposes the greed that comes from money or earthly possessions, having no use for them himself.

Gaith fears the beast within and tries not to make use of its powers. However, he will tap into the spirit if he or his friends are in dire need. Or if he feels he has nothing to lose.

In regards to the Monks, Gaith does not believe that the order cannot continue with him, and he refuses to find a pupil. He intends for the practice to die with him.

## History

Not much is known of Gaith's birth or parentage, but he was taken in as a student of the Monks at age 9. He learned well, and when a child fell ill in the village eleven years later, he was called along with his master to help. The monks discovered the child was possessed by an evil spirit, which prayed on beautiful things. Gaith offered his own life in the child's place to the spirit, who quickly accepted. Gaith and his master returned to The Mountain, hoping to find a way to rid Gaith of the spirit.

During an herbal ritual to remove possession, the spirit lashed out and attacked Gaith's master, killing him. This led Gaith to lock himself away in seclusion, fearing that more would die if they became close to him.

Twenty years later, when a band of skeleton warriors attacked The Village Beneath The Mountain, Gaith came down from his monastery to defend the village. During the struggle, one of the warriors injured him, causing the spirit within to defend Gaith. The situation got out of hand, and Gaith's power destroyed the city, killing both skeletons and villagers. He promptly fainted.

### Campaign

Previously, Gaith had received a summons to an inn to discuss the skeleton warrior issue, but he ignored the summons until after the battle. Ashamed, he left The Village Beneath The Mountain and journeyed to Tustoff. There, he met four other travelers. They were shortly joined by their benefactor, a member of Heaven's Gate by the name of (insert here). He gave the heroes sums of money. Gaith informed the party that he would not accept it, which led Wolfrum and Lil Guy to ask for it. Gaith instead slipped the gold into a drunk's pocket to spite them.

Suddenly, skeleton warriors attacked the tavern, but were repelled by the party. The party decided to accept the quest, and Gaith used his herbs to track the warrior's trail to their origin, a crypt underground. There they fought Hogarth The Mad. However, after leaving the crypt, they returned to Tustoff to find it burnt to the ground while they were gone.

During this time, Gaith journeyed with Patrin to Heaven's Gate, where his possessing spirit spoke to him for the first time since killing Gaith's master. Gaith formed a grudging alliance with the spirit, and agreed to use his powers to complete the quest, and only that.

Returning to the ruined Tustoff, Gaith and (insert here) rejoined the party. They journeyed to the city of Vunderton, but were stopped at the gate. Gaith used his spirit's telepathic powers to beg the guard to let them through, promising to return and free the man from slavery. The guard complied, letting the magic users through the gates. Once inside the city, the party stopped at the Temple of Saga, where Gaith distributed weed in order to win the cleric's favors. Asking to gaze into their scrying pool, the clerics agree. Gaith is given a vision of Mathida, running from some danger in the woods. Shocked by his vision, Gaith gets drunk at the party's next stop, letting it slip to the party that he had destroyed his own village.

The next morning, Gaith and Patrin head back to the temple, only to find it under investigation for using magic. In addition, the stone that powers their scrying pool has been stolen, leaving the pool powerless. Gaith and Patrin disguise themselves as detectives sent to investigate the scene. Gaith is paired with a sniffer named (insert here), who he ditches at (insert here). Gaith returns to the temple, where Patrin informs him that he needs to try contacting Saga with the clerics. Gaith proclaims himself The Necromancer, using his spirit to produce a magical show, then flees, giving Patrin and the clerics the space they need to contact Saga. Gaith is quickly captured and tortured in the city's prison. He tells his tormentor, who happens to be the Jarl of the city, Jekyll Girthgrip, that he hopes to use this display to lure the true Necromancer out of the shadows. Agreeing to Gaith's plan Jekyll tosses him the key to his cell, ordering Gaith to make his escape look like an accident. At the same time, Paetron and the party arrive to break Gaith out, entering the prison in disguise. They meet Gaith below, where Gaith informs them of the plan to escape. Tensions are high, as Gaith almost attacks Paetron over a disagreement. They leave the city, with Gaith putting on a magical show, ending with branding the front gates with the Necromancer's hourglass seal. They retreat to Girthgrip's hidden cabin in the hills to hide for a while.

They find themselves defending the cabin in the woods, while an army of the undead passes by. Gaith telepathically informs them of the nearby city, hoping that an undead attack will mask their entrance into the city later. The undead leave the woods, saving the cabin.

After hiding their for a time, the party returns to the city, with Gaith in disguise. They use the sewer system to get past the gates, entering the city through the town square's well. The party travels to the Merchant Division of the city to interrogate (insert here), who met with the Necromancer previously. When the man peeks through his door slot, Gaith pokes his eyes and teleports behind him. The man is revealed to be an idiot, who had no knowledge that the man he met was the Necromancer. He tells the party where he was supposed to meet the Necromancer, and the party rushes to the spot, fearing for Sadie's (Patrin's lover) life.

## Weapons, Additional Skills, & Features

Gaith carried a magically endowed quarter-staff, carved by one of The Monks of The Mountain. He also carried a short bow used mainly for hunting, a box of herbs, and some recreational drugs.

## Trivia

Gaith's appearance was heavily based on The Witcher series' main character.