The Tome of Agrimar

Tome Excerpt

The History of the Farvel Clan

Trystin Farvel, son of Marcus and Jillian Farvel, was a young halfling with a peculiar problem.  While many halflings followed the path of the rogue or thief, this was due simply to their racial aptitude for the career. Dexterous hands, small stature, innate stealth, and deceivingly childlike appearance made them highly sought out candidates of many a thieves' guild. Trystin Farvel, however, was not a thief by choice.

From the time of his birth, Trystin was immeasurably drawn to shiny things. His parents thought this a good sign, guessing he would follow the path of a jewel maker – a fine and profitable business. Once Trystin could move about on his own two feet, things around the house began to disappear into his pockets and a small pile collecting under his pillow. Upon discovering his little horde, Marcus scolded the child and explained the importance of respecting others belongings.

Though Trystin was very obedient in all other matters and strived to live up to his father’s expectations, the poor halfling seemed unable to control his hands when faced with objects of interest. Jillian was first to sense his distress after repeated lectures from his father, and she took her son to a sage hoping to understand what might be causing this problem. Trystin was found to be cursed with the rare disease known as kleptomania. The sage explained that the child simply had no understanding of “personal” belongings and could not be taught no matter how hard anyone tried. He would take things without even realizing he had done so, objects of particular interest making it to his pile much like a dragon’s horde. Other objects he would later discover in his pockets with no knowledge of where he had acquired them.

When Jillian returned home, tear stricken, to explain this to her husband, Marcus was furious. Being an honorable halfling, he despised those who devoted themselves to the path of the thief, going so far as to cut himself off from his own brother- a master of the thieves’ guild in the city of Kyrie. Marcus could not fathom anyone stealing without the knowledge that they had done so. He loved his son and devoted himself to trying to rid Trystin of his curse.

Marcus attempted to train the disease out of his son through fierce discipline to no avail. He called on physicians, mages, seers, wizards, and all manner of experts and magicians to try and cure the boy, but none could. There seemed to be no cure, but Marcus would not give up.

Trystin was stressed by his father’s obsession. Believing himself unworthy of his family’s love, the child left at the young age of thirteen to free his parents from the burden he had become. The child worked job after job, unable to stay employed as he was accused of thievery and banditry. Trystin eventually made his way to Kyrie, where his uncle was quickly informed of his presence. Bitter toward Marcus and seeing this as a wonderful opportunity to gain a skilled thief and take an underhanded revenge, Bayern took it upon himself to bring Trystin into his guild.

When he was approached by a shady man in the streets, Trystin was so distraught and self-loathing that he cared not what happened to him anymore. Feeling himself good for nothing, the halfling did not believe he could be of any use to anyone. This man offered to train him in a position perfect for his skills. At first Trystin scoffed at the idea, but after some skilled persuasion he began to seize the man’s words.

He followed.

And so ensued Trystin’s training as a thief. The details of this are unimportant in the grand scheme of things, and so let us return to Marcus. Marcus Farvel loved his son dearly, and when Trystin left, Marcus was heartbroken. Jillian, of course, was heartbroken as well as any mother should be, but her loss was simply that of a mother losing her child. Marcus’ loss was deeper and even more delicate than that. Recognizing the damage his obsession had done, Marcus took Trystin’s leave-taking very personally. He felt that he had driven his own son away and became so embittered by his actions that he became physically and mentally ill.

Many a physician was summoned to try and help Marcus recover, but it seemed that nothing could be done. When his brother, hearing of Marcus’ condition, offered to pay him a visit those close to Marcus thought this action could only help. Helping Marcus recover, however, was far from Bayern’s mind.

When Bayern informed Jillian that he knew the whereabouts of her son, she was thrilled and ushered him into Marcus’ room. The brothers conversed for some time, and when Bayern emerged – a twinkle in his eye – Marcus seemed rejuvenated and showed promising signs of recovery for the first time in the past three years. He was determined to set out on a journey to Coale where, he had been assured, he would find Trystin.

Trystin had been hired out to a group of scholars seeking a collection of ancient artifacts. He was to aid the party in acquiring the said artifacts, and their use of his skills would be purchased from the thieves’ guild for a percentage of their profits. These scholars were following a trail laid out by a series of historical tomes, and Coale was where their trail ended.

Again, I shall skip over the details of this endeavor to come to the point. The artifacts were eventually found to be contained within the horde of the ancient fire dragon, Naerdineonis. Marcus arrived on Coale as Trystin ventured into the cave of this very dragon. Trystin’s undertaking was a success, insomuch that he retrieved the items for his party. However, he was distracted by a small a silver ring embedded with a crystal somehow mystically containing the image of a silver dragon with sapphire eyes and ruby claws. Trystin was captivated. In his examination, the ring ending up upon his finger.

Naerdineonis awoke.

Marcus was searching the town on the island of Coale for his son. He asked everyone he passed if they had seen the halfling but was having no success. Suddenly, there was an earthshaking roar from the far mountain and the ground seemed to give way beneath his feet. The city was in a panic. When Marcus rose to his feet, the sun was blotted from view by the presence of a ferocious fire dragon.

The actions that ensued I will not even attempt to cover in full detail as they are lost to me. Suffice it to say, by some means unknown to me, Trystin slipped away and Naerdineonis took his revenge upon the island. Amidst the great chaos and destruction, Marcus and Trystin were reunited. As Bayern had planned, Marcus was distraught to find his son following the path of a thief. However, Bayern did not anticipate Trystin’s reaction. The boy, instead of defensively standing by his decision and sending his father away, was likewise distraught to find that his life choice did not please his father. Having to put aside their differences for the time being, the two halflings worked together to sequester a means off the island and secretively away from the grasp of the enraged fire dragon.

Once safety had been reached, Trystin left his father’s side once again to complete his job and deliver the stolen artifacts to the home of the scholars now lost in the molten perils of Coale. This time their differences were resolved, and there was peace found between Marcus and Trystin.