Shackled City Adventure Path (Chars Selected)
- Thread starter Phyrrus
- Start date
Kafkonia
First Post
BACKGROUND
Quaestio Veritas's life began as many do in Cauldron: his mother birthing him in the single room the family called home while his father was toiling away to make rent. He wasn't the first child born to Iain and Joanna, but he was the first to make it out of infancy alive -- and the last. The extra mouth made it even more of a struggle to make ends meet, but all through his childhood he never heard his parents complain; they merely shouldered the burden and moved on, and this was one of two things that profoundly influenced Quaestio's personal outlook.
The other was the amount of time he spent out of the house. Three people to one room, even when they were all working, was too many, and Quaestio took to spending more and more time wandering the streets, taking in the sights and sounds that Cauldron had to offer. He spent hour upon hour alone amongst the concentric rings that defined the city, until at age 13 he realized he wasn't really alone after all. The spirit of the city was with him. And it spoke to him.
It called itself Urbanus, although he preferred to think of it as Cauldron, and it led him to a woman almost three times his age -- a woman to whom Urbanus had been speaking since she was Quaestio's age, for Urbanus was a young deity, and it preferred the company of youths. This woman, who called herself the Daughter of the City and never told Quaestio her name, taught him about Cauldron, Urbanus, and the world outside the city. And, slowly, without him realizing it, about himself.
Three years into his apprenticeship the plague struck Cauldron. Quaestio and the Daughter worked against it in the city centre, where most priests declined to visit, until eventually the sickness claimed the Daughter and left Quaestio alone. He continued their good works, however, earning a reputation amongst the poor and downtrodden for his tireless willingness to help -- and an unwarranted reputation as a troublemaker amongst those more interested in maintaining the status quo.
It's been seven years since the plague, now, and Quaestio still serves the voice that first spoke to him a decade before. He visits with his parents on occasion, and can usually be found travelling the concentric streets of Cauldron, assisting those in need and helping to maintain the sometimes ugly beauty of his city.
DESCRIPTION
Quaestio Veritas stands slightly below average height for a human, probably attributable to the poor diet he had growing up. He is slim but wiry -- a body built more for speed than power, trained by necessity rather than design. His face is slightly pockmarked from having survived the plague that claimed the Daughter of the City, so he is not a handsome man by any means, but he has a strength of personality and character that draws people to him anyway. His eyes are a dark brown, while his hair is lighter with streaks of blonde in it.
All too aware of the dangers that can lurk within the city, and feeling compelled to help should he come across a citizen in trouble, he will often wear his armour when making his rounds of the city, his heavy mace hanging from his side. He has a working relationship with the members of the guard who frequent the inner rings, and as such they tend to turn a blind eye to the fact that he is dressed for trouble.
His holy symbol is prominently displayed around his neck, although many people whom he meets do not recognize it.
Quaestio Veritas's life began as many do in Cauldron: his mother birthing him in the single room the family called home while his father was toiling away to make rent. He wasn't the first child born to Iain and Joanna, but he was the first to make it out of infancy alive -- and the last. The extra mouth made it even more of a struggle to make ends meet, but all through his childhood he never heard his parents complain; they merely shouldered the burden and moved on, and this was one of two things that profoundly influenced Quaestio's personal outlook.
The other was the amount of time he spent out of the house. Three people to one room, even when they were all working, was too many, and Quaestio took to spending more and more time wandering the streets, taking in the sights and sounds that Cauldron had to offer. He spent hour upon hour alone amongst the concentric rings that defined the city, until at age 13 he realized he wasn't really alone after all. The spirit of the city was with him. And it spoke to him.
It called itself Urbanus, although he preferred to think of it as Cauldron, and it led him to a woman almost three times his age -- a woman to whom Urbanus had been speaking since she was Quaestio's age, for Urbanus was a young deity, and it preferred the company of youths. This woman, who called herself the Daughter of the City and never told Quaestio her name, taught him about Cauldron, Urbanus, and the world outside the city. And, slowly, without him realizing it, about himself.
Three years into his apprenticeship the plague struck Cauldron. Quaestio and the Daughter worked against it in the city centre, where most priests declined to visit, until eventually the sickness claimed the Daughter and left Quaestio alone. He continued their good works, however, earning a reputation amongst the poor and downtrodden for his tireless willingness to help -- and an unwarranted reputation as a troublemaker amongst those more interested in maintaining the status quo.
It's been seven years since the plague, now, and Quaestio still serves the voice that first spoke to him a decade before. He visits with his parents on occasion, and can usually be found travelling the concentric streets of Cauldron, assisting those in need and helping to maintain the sometimes ugly beauty of his city.
DESCRIPTION
Quaestio Veritas stands slightly below average height for a human, probably attributable to the poor diet he had growing up. He is slim but wiry -- a body built more for speed than power, trained by necessity rather than design. His face is slightly pockmarked from having survived the plague that claimed the Daughter of the City, so he is not a handsome man by any means, but he has a strength of personality and character that draws people to him anyway. His eyes are a dark brown, while his hair is lighter with streaks of blonde in it.
All too aware of the dangers that can lurk within the city, and feeling compelled to help should he come across a citizen in trouble, he will often wear his armour when making his rounds of the city, his heavy mace hanging from his side. He has a working relationship with the members of the guard who frequent the inner rings, and as such they tend to turn a blind eye to the fact that he is dressed for trouble.
His holy symbol is prominently displayed around his neck, although many people whom he meets do not recognize it.
Kafkonia
First Post
Question said:
Although it would distract him some from his normal rounds, Quaestio would definitely be interested in learning more about the man responsible for the creation and flourishment of his beloved Cauldron.
Land Outcast said:
I wonder if the old man and the Daughter of the City knew each other... They certainly both seem to have ties to the ins and outs of Cauldron.
Land Outcast
Explorer
Kafkonia said:
More than welcome; the old man disappeared seven years ago (from the sewers, maybe he's on the surface) though... of course, there's plenty of possible reasons for that
stonegod
Spawn of Khyber/LEB Judge
Kafkonia said:
As Quaestio seems very involved in the city's rights-and-wrong, he may have been one of the instrumental town clerics to draw up the upcry against Weapon's "imprisionment;" after all, most of those "entertained" were the self same elite who desire no change.
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