Slagger Tornfury
Slagger Tornfury hates elves. He doesn't just hate them, he HATES them.
Slagger Tornfury hates elves. He doesn't just hate them, he HATES them. He stays to himself mostly but, if it gets in his mind to go out elf hunting, well, I don't know anybody that is able to stop him. Old Lord Niavon has tried numerous times, the hammer and anvil that worked them together goes back ages, and mayhap he has succesfully tamed him once or twice, but no other dwarf alive can. You let Tornfury get his ten seconds and I wouldn't walk that dark tunnel for all the gold in Mt. Shinnier, I don't care how long his beard is! Many a dwarf can understand his hatred, elves are softer than sandstone and pride and anger are good for the soul after all, but his anger has rock veins that delve deeper into the dark than is natural and safe.
Stories talk that all this fury goes back to the adventuring days, but don't all stuff go back to those days for all dwarves? The earth never forgets and all that, and Tornfury was never one for letting things fall under stone when it comes to the beardless, elves especially. There was this time when a diplomant from the tree folk come near for a parlay of sorts. King gave him a flat shovel for a peace walk until old Tornfury caught scent of the happenings. You could hear his boulder call from the farthest passage and all knew the rockslide was coming. It was comical if blood wasn't threatened, so they pushed that elf ahead of Tornfury's call post haste. Lord Niavon locked any doors he could find and him and some brothers set up barricades. But Tornfury was a rolling lightning stone crashing through everything. Somehow he even managed to get through a locked, steel door without damaging it! Young'ins that saw it said he had the spirit of Dranothoin in him as he raged through the corridors. I don't doubt it one bit.Â
The elf got away that time. They ain't always so lucky. Tornfury roamed the mountainside for days afterwards cooling the forge and dowsing the hot iron. He doesn't go into town anymore. Seems he knows his own limits, although I bet there would be plenty to stop him if he tried. We protect him from those that hunt him out but I am afraid if any more embers jump the forge that even his knowledge of The Box That Cannot Be Opened won't save him. Many say he'll probably meet the same fate as Grordrim. You kill too many without a stone debt and nobody can protect you.
Secret:
Lord Niavon was disposed for his failing mind and how it endangered the dwarvish peace. He is convinced that it was the elves that instigated it and developed a secret hatred for them. Tornfury had the normal, natural hatred for elves, as all dwarves do, but it wasn't nothing extraordinary. Through Niavon's madness, he paid a corrupt hedge mage to curse Tornfury and give him a hatred of elves to match his. He fealt that he needed his traveling compainion to understand the same raw hate in order to carry out whatever plans he had at the time. However, the hedge mage's spell went a little too far. It caused an untempered fury against of the elvish race and the ability to sense when they are near. This curse throws him into a blind rage that only time or bloodletting can tame. For the most part though, Niavon was satisfied and, even though he could probably stop Tornfury most of the time, it usually is in his best interest to allow the rage to take its course.
This has caused much anxiety in Tornfury, obviously. He has no memory of what have happened but stories and such from witnesses makes it enough that he fears himself. It benefitted the party a few times but, overall, he has no control over it. Once they got home, he tends to stay there. Niavon is too crazy to be allowed to go out on his own and Tornfury isn't trusted outside the confines of the mountain.Â
Niavon claimed he saw Tornfury open The Box That Cannot Be Opened which is currently in the possession of the mountain races. Tornfury can't remember doing it. So the dwarven people protect Tornfury from those that would seek justice in preparation of the one day the box may need to be opened. They believe the box a godly gift that will be granted to the people that open it in a time of need. But others think elsewise but better off keeping Tornfury around just in case. They don't let him near the box anymore either.
Uncontrollable Powers:
Beard of Unlocking: His beard can turn itself into almost any key shape and pick almost any lock. Even magical locks don't do much good. This is a side-affect of the curse and Tornfury never has any memory of how he gets through these doors. It only works when he is enraged to allow him to fulfill his need to attack.
Plot Hooks:
- Well, you could have an elf in your party and that will about do it.
- Isn't that enough?
Just had the urge to write something about a dwarf with an obscene hatred of elves. So I did!
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? Responses (8)
Overall, a good sub. I personally would like to see less of the dwarfish sayings, so that the meaning is clearer. If you want, keep some of them in there, to spice the whole thing up, but clarity should be kept. And for me, the beard of unlocking, while a good idea (and I'm probably going to steal it at some point), just doesn't fit the picture of a dwarf who goes on berserk rages to slaughter elves. Tornfury isn't exactly the stealth type. It would be more realistic to give him a power to automatically bust doors down with one kick, even if its magically reinforced.
Still, I like the idea of a dwarf going on rampages killing elves.
This strikes me as fairly complete post (not much wanting for content here), written with a consistent tone and flippant style that is fun to read. We don't learn much about Tornfurry's other side, or if he has one, but I am thinking this is more about the rage than the man.
His key-beard of unlocking is pure gold!! Can picture him walking up to an intricate triple-locked door. His hanging whiskers animate and dive into two key-holes like moray eels, squirming around. His beard meanwhile, (i picture it golden-blonde for some reason), contorts itself into a bizarre key-like form and enters the third key-hole. His eyes roll back into his head....clack, clack, click.
Consider that stolen!
This is pretty cool - if a little hard to follow. The magic beard - I agree completely with Muro there.
I haven't hit ore for a long time, you have to allow me some fool's gold before I give you the full battle axe.
A solid NPC, and one that I feel more than a little sorry for. Another possible plot hook would be a quest to break Tornfury's curse, and expose Niavon's meddling.
Why does he hate them?
