Gretel

Information

Player: medusa333

Character Full Name: Gretel Stonehand

Character In-Game Name: Gretel

Nickname(s): Gret

Association(s): Bronzebeard Clan

Race: Dwarf

Class: Warrior

Age: 123

Sex: Female

Hair: Red (Often styled into two braids)

Eyes: Green

Weight: 130

Height: 4'7"

Appearance

Prefers to wear mail but will wear cloth if she feels comfortable in a situation. She disapproves of fancy clothing.

Other: She has a jagged scar across her left shoulder.

Personality

Always seeking adventure, Gretel is a bit of a risk-taker. She is very extroverted and seeks to know everyone around her. As opposed to others who sometimes seem like they're waiting for their turn to speak in a conversation, Gretel seems genuinely interested in the lives of others. It's almost as if she hopes others' lives will distract her from her own. She can be a bit sensitive on some topics, particularly the one of dwarven beards. When angered, she is quick to react, often spewing out a string of Dwarvish swears or throwing the odd stein of ale across the tavern. She is very inquisitive, although she may not be the quickest thinker. She distrusts things she cannot understand, such as magic and the arcane.

History

Gretel grew up in Thelsamar on the Western side of Loch Modan. From a young age she was exploring and fighting her way through the foothills. She often saw her adventures as a game and would picture herself a great heroine on a quest for riches. Oftentimes, she stumbled across treasures, small ones at least, and would bring them home proudly to the Stonehand family.

She befriended mostly males and acquired their attitudes and some of their habits, including spitting and (of course) drinking. The noise in the taverns she visited often rose as she'd sing Dwarven folk-songs, sometimes even bursting into dance on the tables and kicking flirtatious male Dwarves lightly as she did so. She often went on hunting excursions with some of her closer friends, fighting what foes and creatures they stumbled across.

In her mid 90's all her practice paid off. A group of Orcs was encroaching on Dwarven territory from the direction of the Wetlands. Despite the protests of her family and her friends among the villagers, Gretel charged ahead to aid the guards in battle. The battle was fierce although it only lasted a few hours. Some Dwarves fell to the hands of the Dragonmaw Orcs, yet Gretel fought until the Dwarves had won. Suffering some minor wounds (including the one on her left arm that developed into a scar), Gretel was welcomed back into Thelsamar as a hero.

She celebrated until the news reached her that her close friend Hammel Knockfist had fallen in battle. She was crestfallen. Her adventures suddenly seemed to possess real dangers. Ensen,a father figure to her among the villagers and then nearly 200, expressed remorse at her friend's death yet told Gretel he was grateful that she had lived.

Gretel visited Hammel's home and looked around the stone room with silent reverence. It seemed frozen in time. Everything was in the place that he had left it on the day he died. An extinguished candle in a pool of wax, an overturned sheet on the bed, a book open on the bedside table, all seemed to miss Hammel's presence. Gretel stood there for what may have been hours, not touching a thing, only observing the room. She wondered what he would have done if he had returned the evening after the battle. This, she decided, was the only mourning behavior she would allow herself.

She visited the meadow outside the village, where bodies were lined along cloth while waiting to be properly buried. She approached the body of Hammel. His features beat and bloodied, the only way she could recognize him was his axe. She lifted it, heavy in her hands, and swore a silent oath that she would make someone pay - someone - anyone.