Carmen HalfelvenLong ago whilst I was still playing second edition AD&D, I stumbled upon the first and most memorable character. Her name was Carmen and she was a fighter/thief who faced numerous adventures. There were numerous incarnations later but the original was the most memorable and enjoyable to play.
From an early age Carmen was raised by her father, a wagoner who travelled around selling his services as a transporter of goods with his young daughter in tow. Carmen never knew her mother but understood that her mother was thought about with much affection by Carmen's father. Soon her wagon was attacked by a group and bandits but the family narrowly missed being killed due to some warriors coming to their rescue. From that moment onwards the young woman vowed to learn how to protect others.
At the age of twelve Carmen and her father settled in the town of Gregory where she met two humans who soon became her best friends. Daymoss was a mischievious apprentice wizard who liked to play with illusions. The paladin, a young nobleman known as Sir Leksalot, was always waiting around to keep the rogue and the wizard out of trouble as he set such a good, moral standard for them both.
When the trio were old enough they decided to start adventuring to make their mark upon the world around them and maybe make a real difference. When they had accumulated enough wealth from their travels Carmen sent for her replacement mount, a war elephant from another country. Soon she gained for herself a reputation as 'Carmen the Elephant Warrior Princess'. [Remember that this was my husband GM'ing in a time when Xena was actually still popular.] Her archery skill was legendary as was Carmen's ability with a longsword. Carmen rarely used her anatomical strikes unless really needed but this was seen more as luck by the awed populous.
Finally after some time the trio made their way across several countries to find themselves in Arcia. Upon reaching there, the three noticed that there was a monk ahead of them in battle stance. They all looked at each other in query. They walked closer only to be yelled at by the tatooed gentleman.
"You aren't going to harm my brothers!" he said in an accusation that confused the party even more. "What are you talking about, man? We are travellers passing through and aren't planning on hurting anybody. What the hell is going on anyway?" As he began to speak to them a group of mounted soldiers came down the road and began to attack the group only to be foiled. One got away, however which eventuated in further trouble later because he 'tattled' on the quartet.
The monk led them to his monastery up the road where the adventurers found a group of pacifist monks sitting peacefully amongst their domain. It became evident that the group were being bullied as an attempt by the king to join the army of the dark, tyrannical warlord. Carmen felt pity for the genuinely kind monks and felt that she had to do something about the poor treatment by the cruel minions of the warlord.
The next day as the trio were talking to the monks at the monastery, a rider on horseback came up towards the community at a gentle pace. As he called out to speak to the leader of the monastery, a group of soldiers starting to shoot at him with crossbows.
One of these men was the king's eldest son, Havis. He called the man a traitor to his family and that he would die because of it. The party had begun to fight the men by this time and had already taken out two of the twelve of the man's attackers. The target was angry at him for the obvious transgression for accusing him of such a thing. A single arrow shot was fired just before the strange visitor to the monastery fell down to the wound.
The battle wore on a bit longer with the stranger beginning to fight alongside the party but the arrow was poisoned so his combatr was labored and ineffecient. Soon the numbers were down enough for the prince and the remaining two to escape on their horses but there Nicholas fell down to the poison, not able to stand any longer. Carmen rushed to the stranger's side to assist but he could hardly even manage the task of speaking a few simple words other then 'Priest of War... secret..."
Upon closer inspection it become apparent that the man bore a signet ring of the royal family of the country and that he had documents upon his person that he was carrying around suspiciously. The trio decided to go through the trouble of moving across some harsh terrain to get to the priest that they were directed to just before Nicholas went into a coma. This would include going through a swamp to take the man to this warpriest that was mentioned in his documents. During the trek the party faces several hazards, including quicksand and a giant toad. Troglodytes are another monstrosity faced by them which results in some injuries that will be later healed by the Warpriest, Zacharias.
Eventually the heroes make it to their destination and must avoid the patrols of guards moving about the capital city. Upon reaching the temple they see a tall, stocky priest carrying a war-mace over his shoulder as he prays. The garb is that of the rank of the priest that Nicholas was talking about so it is Carmen (who has been tending to Nicholas since the beginning of their journey) that makes the first contact. "Are you Zacharias?" "Yes, woman! What do you wish of the temple? If it is guidance and a strong arm for battle then our god seeks to empower you, but if it is peace to accept the dark ways and comlacency of the world around you, then you are in the wrong place, child." "I'd like to speak to you alone, sir. I have important things to discuss with you that needs some disgression." The pair move to his meeting chambers whilst the other pair wait in the bushes making sure that the patient is out of harm's way.
Some time passes with Carmen explaining the situation. The priest seems aggressive but genuinely reasonable and kind. His war-like nature brings forth a great amount of anger when he hears of the prince's poor treatment by the evil warlord and Prince Havis. "He was unlucky enough to be born into a family of miscreants and heathens that do not understand the real purpose of war. The evil bastards! Bring the prince here so that I can treat him... There is a battle to wage upon these rulers of idiocy and darkness." The prince is restored to health by the priest after the pair move the body around to the temple back entrance in between patrols and a visit by a group of soldiers.
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