Dustin, Son of Ogust

> *"Better to die with honor than end up dead anyways without a shred of it." ~ Dustin's last words, said to Ilyan Iskaar*
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**Dustin** (or **Barndor**, as is his real name) was a half-orc bounty hunter from Dustwood. He was a holy warrior of the Four, with Oa as his patron. Dustin's main motivations were to protect his sister Lina, avenge the rest of his family and follow the will of the Four in stopping Lord Iskaar's plan. He was a member of the Brotherhood of the Nameless and although he joined at a later stage in the organization, he quickly realised that he must help them due to the sacrosanct *fate* which he believed existed and connected him with the organization. He died in the Void by the hands of Lord Iskaar, moments before victory.

## **Appearance**

Dustin had a tall muscular build with faintly yellowish skin and red-coloured lines on his body.He was usually dressed in full plate armour and preffered simpler clothes. His battle attire consisted of full plate, a gladiator helmet, a greatsword at his back, a heater shield, a small knife called "The Finger of Fate" and a small golden harp, both on his belt. His face although influenced by orcish genes kept its human features except for a small pair of sabre teeth. He had many scars across his body, like damaged ears, a big slashing mark on his nose and multiple stab wounds.

## **Personality and Traits**

Dustin had an easygoing friendly attitude, although scarred by dramatic events in his life. He was caring and empathic to his friends, always trying to see the best in people. A lot was needed to win him as an enemy, but when you did, it was beyond repair. And even though he was a bounty hunter he always tried to serve harsh justice only to the people that truly deserved it and their redemption was no longer forseeable. Since the death of his parents his view of the world became narrow, seeing the very clean line between good and evil.

His code and inner philosophy lied on the existence of an entity above (The Four) which represented the ultimate good and guided him to do the best he could to make the world a better place. Dustin took all the possibility he could bear with no problem, because he knew hat he must repay the gods for their help throughout his life and never let anyone do anything close to what was done to him. As he viewed his comrades as family that gave him power when vulnerable, he also secretly dreamed to have a real family of his own. That made him easily bond to people, valuing his allies, more than anything.

## **Powers and Abilities**

Dustin often relied on his physical strength in battle rather than agility, by mainly using his raw power to slash enemies in half with his holy sword.

### Orcish Genes

His muscular build and resilience were a big part of what makes him a great warrior. He was very athletic and able to wear the heaviest suits of armour and a shield with ease. This made him very hard to be significantly hit with a strike. It also took a lot for him to be worn down and he was often the last to fall in battle.

### Holy Powers

He was given the gift to use magic by the gods with the main purpose of enhancing his power in combat and becoming more agile then normal . He either casted complex spells or channeled this magical energy into his strikes.

### Sword Technique

Although he was able to use any weapon very efficiency due to his long expertise in fighting while being a bounty hunter, during the course of the adventure he devoted himself to use the magical sword "Finger of Fate" in a very proficient and technical manner, becoming a very good swordsman in the process.

## **History**

### Before the events of the campaign

Dustin was born in a small orcish villlage in the Rotlands near the elven city of Grenndel, which was untraditionallly peaceful. Dustin's father, Ogust, a travelling merchant, stumbled to this village in 1980 as he took a shortcut through the Rotlands while transporting his goods. Ogust was suprised that the orcs didn't want to eat him and was instead invited by them to stay for the night. He accepted their hospitality and was seated in a house of four. Two sons, a daughter and their mother. Due to bad weather Ogust had to extend his stay and slept there for a week. Although married during that time, he cheated on his wife with said mother Lasha, who regardless of her age and race was attractive. When it was time for him to go she begged him to stay and join her family, so he can father her sons. But Ogust had to return to Dustwoods, because of his wife and his two daughters, promising Lasha to return soon. The next year he arrived back to the village to meet her and give her children gifts he bought for them, but when he met Lasha she instead introduced him to a baby named Barndor who she claimed was his. Although startled at first Ogust realised the child was infact his and he reached the conclusion that he must father it. Due to his complex situation he decided to take the best possible action and sneak off with him the following night so he can bring it to Dustwoods and raise him with his other family. Ogust introduced Barndor to his wife as a an abandoned baby he found in the Rotlands. A few years later his wife died in childbirth to his daughter Lina. Hence Barndor was told the truth he was Ogust's child and generally had a trouble free childhood with his sisters. Ogust educated his son in the teachings of the Four although he was from the Union and raised him as a believer. By the time Barndor was 12 he reached the height of 180 and gained advanced musculature, so his father entrusted him with watching after his sisters when he is out of town.

In a summer night of 1995 a few months after his father returned from an expedition Barndor heard a knock on the door. Without asking who was knocking and regardless of the fact everyone was home he carelessly opened the door. Suddenly a dozen men entered the house, knocked him on the floor and beat him so much that he lost consciousness. Afterwards, the vagabonds quickly killed his father, raped and also killed his two elder sisters and beat his younger one to the point she lost her sanity. After Barndor woke up and saw the scene, he quickly got his sister Lina to the doctor. Upon returning home, he saw everything was trashed and upside down with all of their valuables stolen. Regardless of his pain, he decided he should devote his life to look after his now sick younger sister. As they faced misery and hunger he tried to get any job he could, but due to his race he was feared by most and was pushed away by employers. Hence, he decided to change his name to something more human, choosing Dustin after Dustwoods. He worked everything he could and eventually was well acquainted with the underworld of the city. When he became 16, he heard about a new forming organization - The Salamander - supposedly backed by an aristocrat, which illegally employs warriors as bounty hunters. Due to his now large physique, he decided he could be good for this. There, he met with Daron of the minor House Lillypond. A man who looked for other ways to acquire riches due to his poor lands. As Dustin joined, he requested from Daron to give him bounties, which require him to catch rather then kill people and when killing, the people to be ruthless criminals. Daron took a liking for him and they became friends regardless of their differences. As the new organization was proven successful, Dustin was able to acquire large sums of money to take care of his sister. They worked together for 7 years. During that time Dustin also investigated the attack on his home and tried to find the party responsible for it. He successfully tracked down 8 of the 12 attackers and killed them. Upon capture, he tried to interrogate them on who was their leader, but they refused to talk. His only clue was that they must come from the Empire.

In 2004, Dustin was given a bounty to execute a wealthy elf in Grenndel. As he planned his trip, he decided to take a route through the place his father told him he comes from. As he finally arrived in his home village, he started looking for his mother Lasha and find out what happened to her, as he thought she was dead, because his father refused to talk about her whenever he was asked so by Dustin. The orcs told him that she was alive and is still living with her family in the village. Upon meeting her she immediately recognized him and told him she was glad that her son was back. As he stayed there a while, he decided that he should not execute the bounty he was tasked with and should instead ditch The Salamander and start living a peaceful life with his new family. Upon staying there, he planned to make his living by trade, like his father, which will improve the village and make him happier. For a year he travelled throughout the Rotlands with materials and stocks, taking advantage of the many goods his village had to offer to the Union. He looked after of his sister while in Dustwoods and gave money to caretakers while out of town. After returning from his last expedition to the village, he saw it in ruins. His mother, two brothers and sister all killed as was everyone in the village. Dustin followed the tracks of horses leading to the elven village of Revdae, where was stationed a small elven patrol force. In rage, Dustin thought they were responsible for the slaughter, so he ambushed the elven captain and attacked him. Before he could harm him, he was handled by the other guards and put in jail.

During Dustin's time in the elven cell, he made contact with a cellmate calling himself "Sir Gavin". Although a very strange and hostile man at first, Gavin helped Dustin escape by giving one of his knifes in order to cut down the wooden bars, after being rescued himself by a man called Mikhael Strand. He heard Strand call Gavin "Senecius" and assumed that was his real name. As the two strangers quickly left the cells, he heard chaos ensuing outside and the rooms quickly started filling with water coming through everywhere. In a rush, he tried to cut down his bars, but he didn't have the strength or ability to do so as they were enforced by some kind of magic. By the time water reached his neck, he accepted his fate. He made a final prayer to the Four that his sister would be fine after his death and let go of the bars. In that moment the knife he was given lit up in bright light and white plasma extended from it, cutting through the water to become a meter long lightsaber. In dismay, he tried to use this on the bars and it cut directly through them like it was butter. As he swam to the top and escaped, the village was entirely flooded and a ship was sailing off in the distance.

Dustin evacuated the village and returned back to Dustwood to live with his sister. He told Daron he no longer wishes to fight, but just live his life peacefully away from everything. As he always wanted to live in the Empire and heard the wages on labour were higher there, a few months later he took carriage for a small hamlet near Man's End to work as a lumberjack or a fisherman, leaving most of his savings to his sisters' caretakers.

As he arrived in the village, he witnessed a scene he could never expect. A tall man and other men with no faces fighting another group of people, among which was his rescuer Senecius along with his comrade Mikhael. The battle, although intense, was short as the tall man, by some kind of magic, teleported from place to place, leaving in the blink of an eye a rock over a small elven girl, smashing her and reducing a priestess to dust with a green ray. Dustin, in an effort to get to a safe spot, hid in a back alley, but in a matter of minutes three man entered the alley. Senecius, Mikhael and the tall man. The tall man coming from nowhere blocked Senecius' path and his supposed ally Mikhael knocked him prone on the ground with the tall man finishing Senecius off with multiples rays to the head, draining his vitality. Dustin, shocked by what he just saw, decided that he should not intervene in this as he previously promised himself to not fight any more battles. Sneaking through the men with no faces already surrounding the hamlet, he successfully fled back to Man's End.

While sitting on his crate, reevaluating what he just saw and his next course of action, an ominous elven woman and a blind human woman walked up to him and asked him if he had seen Mikhael Strand or Senecius. He told them what he saw, but as they left in the direction of the hamlet, he figured that he owes Senecius and must protect his friend's lives. He quickly caught up to them and told them he would help them. Thus, his journey with the Brotherhood of the Nameless began.