As we rested and gathered our strength, I intended to briefly enter a meditative trance to refocus my energies. As luck would have it, Thudd was full of energy (do dwarves ever tire?) and decided to fill me in on some of the details of his past. I can only assume that my not so nice smelling friend has decided to take me as confidant. Tymora is clearly not shining her luck on me this day.
As Thudd began his tale, I began to wonder how I was going to maintain the patience to listen to his story. I was quickly realized that once Thudd starts talking, he does not mind if you listen or not, so long as you sit there and do not interrupt him. I was able to feign interest in his tale while slowly entering my trance.
It appears that Thudd the Sullen was some kind of war veteran. He claims to have once been a high ranking officer during the Conquest of the Giants War (or whatever war he was referencing). During the war, Thudd was captured and became a prisoner of war. Thudd was 
held in a dungeon for many years, tortured and eventually forgotten and left for dead (I tend to think it would have been best for me if he was actually dead). Thudd eventually escaped with the help of a guard who’s own father was treated well behind enemy lines by the dwarves. Thudd claims his deceased father was the cleric who healed his captor’s father. Thudd returned to his home only to find his wife gone, having left him for someone else after she had spent all his wealth and sold his family belongings (including his fathers great magic family treasures, his crested plate armor and craghammer). I believe Thudd is a veteran with many unresolved issues stemming from the horrors of war. Thudd walks with a slight limp his face scarred with an eye that doesn't want to open all the way (like he's squinting at you). He gives the impression that he is always ill tempered but I think that is just an act having spent some time with him.
After returning home to an ungrateful community (he claims that he and his brothers in arms sacrificed their lives for nothing), Thudd, soon found himself an outsider to the people he gave so much of himself to defend. Realizing that he was no longer needed or wanted since the war was over. Thudd quickly realized his only true family was the friends he lost in the war.
held in a dungeon for many years, tortured and eventually forgotten and left for dead (I tend to think it would have been best for me if he was actually dead). Thudd eventually escaped with the help of a guard who’s own father was treated well behind enemy lines by the dwarves. Thudd claims his deceased father was the cleric who healed his captor’s father. Thudd returned to his home only to find his wife gone, having left him for someone else after she had spent all his wealth and sold his family belongings (including his fathers great magic family treasures, his crested plate armor and craghammer). I believe Thudd is a veteran with many unresolved issues stemming from the horrors of war. Thudd walks with a slight limp his face scarred with an eye that doesn't want to open all the way (like he's squinting at you). He gives the impression that he is always ill tempered but I think that is just an act having spent some time with him.After returning home to an ungrateful community (he claims that he and his brothers in arms sacrificed their lives for nothing), Thudd, soon found himself an outsider to the people he gave so much of himself to defend. Realizing that he was no longer needed or wanted since the war was over. Thudd quickly realized his only true family was the friends he lost in the war.
Thudd claims that now only War and Battle are the only things left in his life. With out a war, Thudd left his home and wandered through several towns until he was soon homeless in the streets. Used, abandoned, and thrown away by his people, Thudd has lived for years trying to reclaim what he lost. I believe this has made him half mad and though he attempts to drown himself with ale, I believe he is hanging on to something. Thudd claims that he would welcome the end but nothing seems to do the job. Though his people turn away from him and mock him, it is obvious this is a tough man, and I suspect they respect formidable warrior he was and I believe still is. Thudd did find some work (if you can call it that) as a dwarf who occasionally puts an end to brawls (I have a feeling that this happened mostly by him wandering drunk into the middle of the fight till enough blows wake him up enough to take a swing). Perhaps for the sake of pity or maybe because it never hurts to have a crazy dwarf on your side for emergency back up, a tavern owner provided Thudd scraps to eat and an alley to sleep in. Though he does not state it directly, I suspect that Thudd lived in his own refuse and rags in a squalor that would have diseased the average man. I can only imagine the surprise people had when this dead heap of a dwarf suddenly moved on the alley path and raised his tin begging cup (which oddly he still 
carries and I assume he uses like a pair of brass knuckles to knock skulls based on all the dents in it). Thudd continued on for some time about his life, but eventually remarked that the other day in town was typical. He woke with a bag of garbage on his head, a rabid squirrel biting him in the nuts, and some bum taking a leak next to him without realizing Thudd was there. Thudd said he wandered into the tavern that morning in a weakened state (though he claimed to be sober) and decided to sit with me since I appeared to be someone who could dislike him no more than he nor anyone else already did.
carries and I assume he uses like a pair of brass knuckles to knock skulls based on all the dents in it). Thudd continued on for some time about his life, but eventually remarked that the other day in town was typical. He woke with a bag of garbage on his head, a rabid squirrel biting him in the nuts, and some bum taking a leak next to him without realizing Thudd was there. Thudd said he wandered into the tavern that morning in a weakened state (though he claimed to be sober) and decided to sit with me since I appeared to be someone who could dislike him no more than he nor anyone else already did. Little did I know the drunken mess of a dwarf I walked by that morning was Thudd. I was able to pull some additional details from Thudd’s story that I mentally filed away in case the information could be useful in the future. Thudd's nephew comes once a year to the town to bring him home. Thudd refuses, since his memory of his former life is dim and clouded. Thudd, surprisingly, has more money than most people in his community. Every time he gets put in jail, his belongings and veterans checks are confiscated and stored. Because of his schizoid paranoia, Thudd refuses to sign anything, which is a requirement to pick his items. I suspect the local station is holding a couple thousand of his gold. I suspect with a good heal, cure disease, or even a remove curse combo that he might just come back to his senses. I will say that if I hear Thudd say "My name...I'm not much for names and introductions but it's what I hear from my enemies after my hammer is introduced to them," or "A little ale drops yer inhibitions a bit, and a hammer swings more smoothly, after a few, like darts and pool, I get better," any more times, I might just have to kill him for my own sanity.
No comments:
Post a Comment