Absolution

Absolution is a tiefling warlock.

Known backstory
Thus far, Absolution has revealed little of his past, mostly that he has no living family. In a somber campfire discussion of death, he told the party that he was surrounded with death and has never seen the dead in the streets die well or be treated with respect in death.

Meeting the party
Absolution was approached by Maurice the dwarf in the Gilded Pot in Ironridge and initially declined, thinking it was a personal favor. When it's revealed lives are potentially at stake, he accepts the quest and joins Sorin, Donna, Bartholomäus Songwood, and T'amantha Witherdleaf on their way to the mine. Arriving at the mine, Absolution tries to intimidate the mind-controlled miners after they rebuked Bart's words, but failed. A terrible struggle ensues, and he discovers that great and powerful magic is present. Heading deeper into the mine, they find a secret passage to a hidden chamber. A booming, disembodied voice warns them to leave, but they press on and find a tomb. Inside the tomb, Absolution is down by a spectral ghast that he attempted to take on but overwhelmed him. The ghast is vanquished, and they return to Ironridge with a dark, shadowy stone. As reward, Sorin and Absolution negotiate for a 20% shared equity in the mining company.

Sorin meets his contact, Snake Eyes, who puts them in contact with Banruse, a local oddities dealer, to discern the nature of the discovered tomb. Banruse identifies it a shrine to the evil sorcerer Dal-Ebos made by copycats seeking to reassemble the Stones of Power - the one they found in the shrine was the Stone of Shadow, and Banruse suggests the group seek out the stones of Power, Glory, and Judgment before they're put to ill use.

Travelling to the Monastery of Stone for more information and to inspect the Tomb of Dal-Ebos, Absolution encounters Brother Drubble, a somewhat abrasive monk that exchanges him in banter. The group finds Dal-Ebos' crypt empty, without body or his ancient crown used to wield the Stones. The group sets out to an ancient crater in the Swordpoint Badlands to find the site of Dal-Ebos' death to see if either ancient relic is there.

On their journey, the group is ambushed by a group of gnoll bandits. The party fells all but one, and Absolution purses the one survivor attempting to escape, ignoring Bart's pleas to let it go. They find the gnoll camp, where a deceased halfling lay with his belongings taken. Absolution lets the group take the treasure and covers the halfling's body. A barbarian named Jimi approaches the group, having been tracking the bandits, and joins their travels.

At the crater, the group finds the crypt guarded by a skeletal swordsman, who attacks Donna. Absolution ends the battle, and they see the guardian was actually devoted to the service of Pelor. Inside the tomb, he falls victim to a dread-inducing trap, trying to take the guardian's skull and sword through a warded hallway. The enchantment is broken when Donna destroys the magical orbs warding the hall. They find a skeleton holding an ancient book, but are held down by magical ropes. Absolution notices the skeleton is not bound by ropes, but doesn't understand that the ropes are a mental illusion until T'amantha tells the group. Recovering from the illusion, Absolution grabs the ancient tome.

Before the final chamber, the group finds an animated statue with sapphire eyes. Before the group is too weathered, Absolution blasts the statue's eyes with fire and cracks them, ending its animation. They sense a great evil behind the final door, then enter to find Dal-Ebos' burial site. They escape, and Absolution gives the found tome to Banruse to translate. The group heads back to Ironridge, decipher the script as the Chronicle of the Demise of Dal-Ebos, then head to Sevenports in search of another stone - one laid in the crown of its king.

Stone Quest
On their way to Sevenports, they arrive in the hamlet of Gimmel's Den, where they help the town overcome their infestation with rats by using a magic flute. Absolution observes the Mayor's young daughter bravely defend her mother in their home with a wood sword and gives her his mace to practice with, telling her to stay noble and never lose her spirit. The Mayor slips Absolution 50gp as a thanks for the town and the gift.

The group arrives in Sevenports in time for a mass execution of pirates, however they're unable to meet with the king to discuss the Stones. In the Velvet Boar tavern, Absolution notices a man that ends up approaching the group - a former member of Sorin's old guild named Sampro. They learn of the guild's collapse and that the guild assumed Sorin's death, then tells them of a secret entrance they could use to get close to the king in order to seek his aid and advice. They decide to sneak into the celebration from the inside while the rest of the party attends the ball.

During a large celebratory ball, Absolution and Sorin scale the castle wall, pass through a garden, and enter the castle through a window. They find a small kitchen, then disguise themselves as chefs, ducking a guard patrol and conversing with a dwarf chef. The next day, Sorin and Absolution remain behind the buffet tables as the group socializes. The king rises to make a speech, but falls dead as his crown is stolen away by kobolds. Sorin and Absolution make pursuit. Though Absolution hits one, they make it to the city gates and the foot chase turns to a horse chase. Though the rest of the party (save Donna) joins them, only he and Sorin manage to last til the "end" when a fireball throws them from their mounts.

Regrouping at the gates, the king is confirmed dead and the group wastes no time tracking the kobolds. They come to a mountain pass, encountering bugbears, then press on to a staircase leading to a hideout. The party, worn from their travels and prior chase, barely manage against their attackers, and are taken out by another fireball.

Absolution is captured with the rest of the party, but doesn't wake until after everyone else frees themselves from the chains holding them to the walls of an empty room. With the help of Donna and Bart, the group escapes their kidnappers and pursue the kobolds yet again. They find a cave in a small valley filled with traps and dripping stone structures. The tracks disappear, and the party is attacked by a water weird. Absolution saves Donna from a mighty blow, and T'amantha fells it. Retracing their steps, they stumbled upon a giant stone creature and flee for their lives down a stream.

Making camp beside the lake they came to a rest in, they elect to head back to Gimmel's Den to see if the kobolds made themselves known. Unfortunately, no one in the town has seen them - however, Absolution notices that in the weeks past, the mayor's daughter has been practicing with her mace and carries it with here wherever she goes. The group goes back to Ironridge to speak with Banruse, who suggests that they look for other Stones, surmising their nameless enemy has acquired the one they sought, and Banruse returns to the Monastery of Stone with Sir Rufus, who meets the group outside her shop. Before she leaves, Banruse instructs the party to find the Stone of Glory in Sir Dunkel's Serpentine Citadel, north of Yelalot. Snake Eyes approaches the group as she leaves with a note in her handwriting, informing the group that there may be a double agent in the Monastery.

In the Yelalot forest, the group is ambushed by elves led by T'amantha's mother, who asks for their help with a village recently razed by goblins. Though they're pressed for time and can't find the goblins proper, the group stays behind to help the village. Absolution helps dig graves for the fallen as others help in their own way, and the morale begins to turn around for the better.

They find the Citadel perched atop a great mountain, and a manticore named Duke requests the party's aid in clearing the Citadel, his home, of intrusive orcs in exchange for a reward. Absolution sees Duke as a potential friend and trusts him immediately. Inside the Citadel, the group finds two orcs in the main entry hall. T'amantha and Absolution attempt to knock the signal horn out of one of their hands, but fail - the horn is tooted and more orcs move to rush into the chamber. Before they do, Donna knocks one orc down and Absolution blasts the door open so the orcs are caught off guard. During the brawl, Absolution drops a number of orcs himself, surging with fiendish power that strengthens his constitution. Eventually, just two orcs remain, including the one with the horn - both surrender. Absolution grabs the horn and toots it in the orc's face, telling him to not toot in people's faces because it's rude. He tells the orcs to go start a new life and not hurt people or people's feelings.

They find little else in the Citadel, save debris, then come to Duke's quarters. Learning that the orcs are gone, he asks the party to lay down on the floor while he gets their reward, which they assume is the Stone of Glory. Absolution's trust in Duke is betrayed as Duke attacks the prone Donna with a rock, resulting in a rueful battle. Absolution tries to blast his betrayer with a newly-found and powerful blast, but is unused to the power. Still, Absolution deals the final blow to Duke, but instead of falling to the ground like others had done before at his arcane fire, Duke is entirely consumed by flames and is reduced to ash. Absolution mourns the loss of a potential friend as he continues further into the Citadel with the group.

The next corridor is partially collapsed, yet the collapse reveals an outlet to the mountainside where the Citadel is perched. The group investigates an opening in the mountainside and discovers the mountain is a long-extinct volcano with an uncollapsed caldera - and a man is making his way up that caldera from the inside. Absolution and Sorin get his attention, and he identifies himself as Donovan. The group saves him from a troll that's been chasing him, and he decides to help the party explore the Citadel out of intrigue for lost science and knowledge. Moving back to the Citadel, Absolution blasts a hole into the collapsed wall.

Meanwhile, Donna attempts to check whether Donovan is evil and can be trusted. Instead, her divine sense picks up incredibly, noxious evil emanating from Absolution's magic - but none from him. The group argues about whether Absolution is thereby evil, to which he retorts that nobody's complained about his magic as it was helping them. Donna is still wary, but they continue together, eventually coming to a room guarded by automaton centaurs. Absolution helps Sorin by hexing the one closest to him, but Sorin takes out his automaton by himself. Turning attention to the last guardian standing, Absolution's blast yet again envelops its target, though the metal and stone melt instead of turning to ash.

In the final room of the Citadel, the group finds Dunkel's quarters. As the group investigates the room for clues and treasure (including the Stone of Glory), Absolution collect's Dunkel's remains into his backpack. The mountain collapses, and the party discovers that the Citadel is actually a giant, centipede-like travelling fortress. Donovan manages to stop the Citadel at the edge of the forest, and the party is greeted by Lurk and Glurtchk, who've been inspired by the heroes' actions to truly turn their lives around. The group asks them to seek out Maurice and work in the mines to earn an honest living, and they spend the night by a fire before heading out.

At the fire, Absolution buries Dunkel's remains and inscribes a grave marker from the Citadel's rubble. This inspires a deep conversation about how each member of the party views death and dying - Absolution doesn't know what to believe, only that death is an equalizer that humbles all and that the best one can do is try to honor the fallen, should they be deserving. In the morning, Donovan drops the group off at Ironridge as the orc duo heads to the mines.

Conflict in Newport
In Ironridge, the group receives word that a red dragon named Infernus has been terrorizing the northern territories of Valden and make their way north to Revetal, where Infernus was last seen. Coincidentally, the Stone of Power was last seen in Silverwall, which was destroyed by a red dragon in the past. On the way, the party stops in the foggy Newport. Sorin explains that it's best he not be seen, as his guild believes him dead and he's a wanted man.

T'amantha catches an urchin in rags attempt to steal Donna's coin purse, but everyone (save Absolution) notices. Donna's eyes meet the young half-elf girl's and she grabs the girl's arm to march her to a guard. T'amantha protests that she's just a girl. The young girl bawls as Donna brings her before a guard, and the guard grabs her wrist and refers to her as a low-life that needs to respect her betters, taking the party aback.

T'amantha tries to convince the guard that she's her sister, but they don't buy it and Donna argues about justice and punishing the unjust. Absolution gets the girl's attention with a mage hand, shows her the shackles on his wrist, and asks if she can trust him. She nods tentatively, and he manifests the sound of a whistle to distract the guard, then taps her shoulder as she turns invisible. She falls to the ground, still crying and in shock. Donna detects the magic, grabs the girl, and the guard threatens the group with violence.

The guard threatens the group again that if they don't leave, it'll be at their peril, and he says that he'll do whatever he pleases. This pushes T'amantha and Absolution over the edge, as they attack simultaneously. The guard is engulfed in flame, and he falls to his knees. Donna casts a protective sanctuary around him as he blows a whistle, blocking T'amantha's arrow. The sound doesn't escape the bubble, and the guard falls over. Donna rushes to his side to lay hands and heal him, and he groans back to consciousness. He nervously gets into defensive position. He asks Donna if the girl's even worth it, and Donna lukewarmly agrees she is, considering the predicament they're in now.

T'amantha looses another arrow, but the sanctuary spell compels the arrow away toward Donna instead. T'amantha is taken aback by the compulsion and notices too late as the arrow flies. Their eyes meet, and Tamantha's are full of regret and surprise as the arrow strikes Donna. Absolution pinches the guard's whistle with his spectral hand, rendering it useless, then steps closer to the guard, staring him in the eye.

The guard, calling himself Hames, sees Donna get shot and tells her to run to the guardhouse, pointing to a building with a hammerhead shark insignia, so that she can get help while he holds off the rest of the party. Donna starts off in that direction, but holds back and lingers before going too far, anticipating an attack from the party.

Hames tells the group that they can leave now or face trouble, and they have to decide right now to leave or fight. T'amantha says that if he lets the girl go, it doesn't have to end in death. Hames unequivocally declines. The sound of dogs in the distance draw near (the whistle was for dogs!) as Hames lunges toward Absolution, drawing blood and eschewing Donna's holy protection. T'amantha strikes him with an arrow. T'amantha entreats surrender once again, and Absolution tells him he's in no position of power. Hames barks at them again, and Absolution turns him into ash.

The dogs approach as T'amantha follows Absolution into an alley to escape and get off the street. On a nearby rooftop, he admits it got out of hand, and T'amantha confides in him that there was something shady going on and she got an awful vibe from the guard. Absolution points out how empty the streets got as the dogs approached, that the homeless lived in fear. A man covered in rags and bird droppings on the rooftop chimes in and tells them that that is indeed the case and identifies himself as Lord Birdy, a de facto leader in the street community.

Lord Birdy recognizes them as the rumored adventurers in town that stood up to the guard and helped those on the streets, and offers them a stay in a safe house. The arrive in a damp, dark cellar with cots, and Birdy tells them that the local guard has fallen in league with the Jackals, Newport's most prominent gang. The guards take "low-lifes" off the street and turn them over to the Jackals, who throw them in cages, smuggle them out of the city, and sell them to the Golden Empire as slaves. He thanks them once again for their help, and suggests they rest for the night.

In the morning, he and T'amantha discover that Donna was taken into custody following a brutal streetfight in the night, and they use Lord Birdy's trusted avian companion, Darla, to send a coded message to Sorin so they can meet up and save Donna. They meet at an abandoned warehouse on the docks called Wolves' Wares, and find that Sorin rescued the little girl from the day before, Jules, as well as two others named Big A and Sorrowful Pete. They get each other on the same page as far as Newport's current affairs, then move to break Donna out of prison.

Absolution bribes a street merchant to speak to the guards outside the main guard house where Donna was last seen in order to discern her whereabouts, and confirm that she's somewhere in the building. The group plans to have Absolution turn Sorin invisible, then lure the guard dogs out with a spell imitating a dog whistle in order to create the distraction necessary for Sorin and T'amantha to break Donna out. To give Sorin an opening to enter the guard house, Absolution gives one of the guards an arcane wet willy, and the ensuing argument allows Sorin to slip inside. Then, he runs far from the guard house, bides his time, then casts his imitation spell. As soon as he hears the dogs, he circles back to the guard house.

When he arrives, the battle is all but over - Sorin is standing over the guard captain, Mase, and Donna is on the stairs beating another guard to a pulp. He learns that the guards sold the Stones to a pair of kobolds at the Green Spittoon, a local dive, and the reunited group casts aside any reconciliation in favor of immediate action.

At the Green Spittoon, Absolution tries to intimidate the guard into divulging the kobolds' information, but fails. Instead, he follows the group as they track a few patrons from the bar that witnessed the transaction to their home. They pose as friends of the patrons to their elderly grandmother, and learn that the kobolds left this morning heading southbound.

Traits
Absolution has shown that he isn't moved by reward or compensation, and only acts in defense of the weak/oppressed or against the oppressor. He often stays quiet during idle conversation, though he's begun to warm to the group and engage more - he clearly isn't used to relying on or trusting others.

Generally quick to action, Absolution doesn't waste time asking questions unless there's clear doubt in a situation. In combat, he's allowed surrendering enemies the opportunity to change their ways, but would not hesitate to revoke his mercy. However, he is also quick to seek retribution on behalf of others who he believes have been wronged and oppressed, putting him at potential odds with authority figures and, sometimes, his own companions.

Magic
Absolution's magic generally appears as an eerily silent black/white flame with flecks of teal. Lately, his flame has been claiming victims more rigorously and reducing organic/live matter to utter ash, a far sight more powerful than Absolution's will and intention would permit.

Memorable feats/exploits

 * Helped Sorin negotiate with Maurice for shared equity in his glintiron mines.
 * Gifted a mace to Mayor Tam Smith's daughter in Gimmel's Den.
 * Saved Donna from water elemental in cave hideout.
 * Influenced Burk and Glurtchk to work in Maurice's mines and give up their lives of pillaging and harm.
 * Buried Dunkel's recovered remains outside of Yelalot.
 * Attempted to save half-elf girl from Newport guard, coming into indirect conflict with Donna and reducing the guard to ashes.

Notable treasures
[[Category:C]]
 * Bag of 50gp from Mayor Tam Smith of Gimmel's Den.