Goldstar

The tall, lean warrior stares at you from beneath the shadowy boughs and tangled vines of the Forest of the Damned. His dark garments and suede boots are thorn-torn and mud encrusted. As you stare at his haggard face, you see a luminescent, golden pentacle appear on his brow for a moment, and then it vanishes.

“Only fools come here…fools or the damned. I fall into the latter category unfortunately. I am Goldstar, once a protector of Stonehaven, once vanquisher of Yeenaghu and once a Knight of the Cup. As a child, I discovered I was blood-cursed. The scrye-seer of my village called it a water-gift of Grandsire Furlich, but I know it for what it was, the curse of tainted-blood, lycanthropy. All my young life I struggled to keep the beast within me in check. The older I got the more battles I lost with the beast, but somehow I managed to never kill an innocent. Crooks, monsters and enemies became my fare until I met Aranna Wraithchilde, bearer of the Pentacle of the Winds. I attacked her while under the sway of my beastly self but Aranna defended herself simply by touching the Pentacle to my brow. The Air Arcani emblazoned a golden star upon my forehead and with that mark my brutish beast’s rage dissipated. My blood curse was gone. I could draw on the strength and senses of my lycanthropy but my mind was no longer slave to it. Yanti’s artifact had given me back the gift most appropriate for a scholarly deity. I regained my thought and reason.
“I had lost something as well, the Wild. I was no longer as connected to the natural world, could no longer read the actions and communications of animals or tap into the feral strength of my beast, but that was all a small price to pay to be human again. I never had a chance to thank Aranna, for by the time I recovered my wits Aranna had used the Pentacle to vanish in the night winds, but I made a promise to myself that I would prove myself worthy of this gift.”
“My path to personal redemption led me to Stonehaven where the Gray Council recruited you, Raith, as well as Yatagan, Eric Greenring and me to scout the Landbridge Woods. However, one of the councilors known as Scrye had predicted dire portents emanating from the gnoll-infested forest. The Stonehaven garrison was dealing with a crisis on the Northern boarder and could not afford to spare any manpower to investigate the predicted peril. Our mission was to scout the woods for any sign of this foreseen threat and report back to the Gray Council.”
“This quest turned out to be no simple scouting mission but a crucible beyond anything I imagined. We soon found out that we four had to uncover four ancient artifacts known as the Arcani and fend off the attacks of the gnolls, who also sought the Arcani to empower their foul deity, Yeenaghu. We found the Staff of Earthen Might in an abandoned earth temple. Yatagen discovered the Fire Lord’s sword hidden in a muddy cave. Later, I kept the blade secure by out-running a band of gnolls and leaping a chasm to safety.”
“I found the Bloodwine Chalice lodged under a rock alcove in a stream beneath the Harpy Cliffs. The Arcani discovery that most disturbed me was the Pentacle of Air. It was hidden in the Black Mire. On the path to the Black Mire, we encountered a black spirit that sought a book of prophecies. Both Eric and I recognized the spirit. It was Aranna, Eric’s old friend and my savior. The Pentacle-Bearer had died in the poisonous muck of the Black Mire years before. We had to discover the icon of the Sprite King on a circle of waterlogged wooden markers. None of us could make out any symbol on these markers so Yatagan searched through the venomous mud near several markers and fell deathly ill. He had to keep quaffing healing potions to stay alive until much later when he could find a cure poison potion. Eventually, we found the Sprite King’s Trident on a marker and Yatagan fished out the Pentacle of Air. I wish I had used it to figure out a way to free Aranna from her black shroud or find the book of prophecies she sought. I knew the book was last seen in the hands of a rogue mage that attacked us at the edge of the Landbridge Woods.
“Ironically, we won our struggle against the gnolls by losing all four Arcani to a band of gnolls that took us prisoner. The moronic gnoll shaman High Howler scooped up all four of the Arcani in his arms. Obviously, High Howler was unaware that no mortal being could withstand holding more than two Arcani at once. Holding all four simultaneously caused a major magical cataclysm that pummeled Yeenaghu and slew the majority of the gnoll tribe. Each of the four of us scouts snatched up an Arcani and channeled the magics of the cataclysm to vanquish and shackle Yeenaghu.
“The four of us went our separate ways and gave the Arcani to suitable guardians. My task was to give the Chalice I had found to the Sprite King for safekeeping. I did so and as I passed the cup two him, in the moment our hands were both on it. The cup’s bloodwine aura flashed to light and I felt dizzy. He admonished me that I should be careful! That this was the reason the Chalice most stay in sprite hands; humans were too obtuse to use the chalice safely. He held the chalice it glowed, a small amount of blue shimmering liquid poured into me and the dizziness went away.
“Our band of scouts had broken up but I felt my debt to Aranna was unpaid. I went back to see her spirit and wished Yatagan was there. He was the sorcerer or even you Raith you were wise about dark spirits. Well needless to say, I failed in my attempt to free Aranna and instead wear her shroud of black. I remain forever tied to the Black Mire until the book of prophecies is found.