Alfric Hogskull, Washed up Never-Was

[GoblinSapper]

Alfric was born first out of my desire to have a generic crushbot fighter character. From there I developed into the idea that I wanted some kind of washed up adventurer, someone who had tried the life and come out the worse for it. Someone world weary.
 
His backround evolved organically from there.
 
I had been planning to do a journal for Alfric explaining his history when I made him my main (eventually), like I did with Lazaric.
 
That will never come to pass now, but this is as far as I got.
 
[hide="Alfric Journal"]
"Where you running, you filfthy witch?" Jeb sneered, grabbing the girls wrist as she tried to pull away. "Y'know, Me n' Joe oughta tie you up in the river, see if you float," the large farmboy grinned, showing broken and missing teeth. "Less maybe you wanna make it sweet for us, huh witch?"

Anette pulled her wrist out of his grasp and backed away glaring, trying her best to hide her fright. The sixteen year old girl was a natural red head, and astonishingly beautiful, her cream colored skin highlighted by generous dusts of freckles, and her bountiful form displayed by cloths somewhat more tight then was proper. She enjoyed showing off for the boys - something she regretted now.

"Jeb and Joe Arnswold! I'm no witch and you know it! I- I just... Farmer Donnel just has queer fits in his old age! No magic about it!" She snapped, crossing her arms to cover herself and backing away, regretting letting the two Arnswold brothers corner her out of eye and earshot of the rest of the town.

"Fit's nothin! We saw's ya, we saws ya wiggling your little witchy fingers and whispering witchy things at him, and then he just does a jig in his yard? You're a witch says I, and we oughta tell the town and burn ya!" Joe replied, cracking his knuckles and looking fearsome. "Unless a make it sweet for us," Jeb added with a lecherous smirk, also cracking his knuckles.

Anette narrowed her eyes. There was no way in creations name she was touching the disgusting Arnswold brothers, but she couldn't let them accuse her of witchery infront of the whole town. Her mother had long been suspected of the black arts before she died of the whooping cough when she was four, and every little bad coincidence already landed her glares. Of course, she HAD been practicing magic, but that was besides the point.

Jeb and Joe closed in on her threateningly, violence and lust in their faces. She squared herself and prepared to summon up the powers she was only just learning she had, when she heard an almost inhuman howl, and saw a blur out of the corner of her eye. The long wooden pole of a muckrake slammed into Jeb's stomach, before whirling around and cracking Joe across the head.
In an instant, a large but gangly figure, shirtless and caked in the muck of long toil with pigs interposed itself between the two boys and Anette. The man towered over them like the mad fury of Tempos himself, rage in his eyes, and his rake held ready to deliver further punishment. The two stumbled back, swearing in suprise and pain from the sudden attack.

"This ain't got nothin' to do with you Hogskull!" snarled Joe, holding his bleeding head. "Git you on and mind your own damn business!" Hogskull just stood there glowering at him, body almost shaking with barely contained anger. "You leave the lady alone," he growled, his monkey like face twisting into a snarl, "now." The brothers shot looks at each other. Picking on a defenseless trollop of a witch was one thing, but Hogskull was known to be the strongest lad in the village and had an ornerous temper. Without further words they withdrew, glaring venom at Anette. She just put her hands on her hips and stuck out her tongue at them.

Alfric turned to regard the girl, noting her tousled up clothing, torn during the scuffle with the Arnswold. He swallowed and turned beet red, turning his gaze gallantly to the sky. "Uh...you alright, Miss Heatherby?" he asked, fixing his eyes on a particularly interesting amorphous cloud. Anette smiled at him, running her eye's up his muscular, shirtless body before settling on his face. Ugh, his face. Well, at least his -muscles- were nice.

"Yes Alfy, thank you," she said in a sweet voice. "I don't know what got into the Arnswolds, but I'm sure they won't bother me again with such a gallant young knight protecting me," she smiled, whisking her eyelashes at him. Alfric swallowed again and gave a nervous smile, rubbing the back of his head. "I-i'd be glad to be your protector any time, Annie," he chattered nervously, the look in his childhood friends eyes making him feel unsure and...fluttery, in his stomach. Anette smiled and took a step closer, then crinkled her nose at the smell of hogs that surrounded him. "Tell you what, meet me by the creek later, so I can thank you, alright? I need to hurry on and see to Mr. Donnel, he needs me to do chores around the house," she said, quickly retreating from the stench. She flashed him a coy smile, and blew him a kiss, before flouncing off.
Alfric swallowed hard.
-

"...and -thats- why i'm going to become a knight, someday. I'll protect the weak from the strong, and do things to help the people, just me and Helm. Maybe i'll even become a paladin," he finished impassionedly. Alfric lay sprawled out by the creek listening to the water lap at the shore. Anette sat beside him, beautiful as always in the moonlight, picking the little flowers that grew nearby. She smiled and stuck a few in his chestnut hair, stroking his face with her fingertips.

"A Paladin, huh? Big dreams for a pig farmer," she said with a smirk. Alfric blushed and looked away, gazing out across the watever. "Yeah, maybe," he said, then glared fiercly. "But i'm gonna do it!"

Anette tilted her head and smiled. "Not with your temper, your not," she said with a small laugh. "Remember when you jammed your toe on Farmer Donnels fence? You smashed the bloody thing down, and spent a week rebuilding it," she giggled. Alfric blushed again and closed his eyes with a sigh. "Yeah, I guess I do get too mad sometimes. I just can't think straight, and I..." he trailed off dejectedly, chewing on his tongue.

Anette studied him. Alfric had always had a crush on her, as far back as she could remember. Of course he'd never been the handsomest of the boys, or the most charming. In fact, he was roughly on the bottom, as far as those things went. He'd never really been worth her time. But with these powers, things changed. She needed someone loyal, a friend. Someone who would look out for her, and protect her from ignorant gits like the Arnswold's.
Anette leaned down and murmured softly into his ear. "Maybe we can help each other, Alfy. I can help you with your anger issues, and, I could use a big strong mans help from time to time..with chores and stuch," she whispered, tickling his lobe with her lips. Alfric turned bright red and swallowed. "H-help me, h-how?" he stammered nervously. "Oh, lots of ways," she said coyly, teasing with a lock of his hair. "But for starters, just relax, and listen to the sound of my voice."

Alfric blinked as she began to whisper. He couldn't quite make out what she was saying - it was in some funny language he, and quite honestly neither had she, ever heard before. But they were words of power, words of meaning, and they slipped and writhed into his brain, pulled out of the memories that ran through his blood. His eye's drooped. Odd- all of a sudden he was...feeling...

zzz...
-
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Alfric was a pigfarmer from a little dirt spot in Tethyr, who had big dreams of someday being a knight or maybe even a Paladin in the service of Helm. Unfortunatly that was not to come to pass - for he met the love of his life, and the bane of his life, Anette.
 
Anette was a sorceress and a powerful enchantress, and due to a mixture of love and a need to use Alfric to protect herself - as well as a simple desire to exploit her new powers, she worked perminant changes over his mind, eventually perminantly lowering his wisdom and charisma with her conditioning - though she did get rid of his explosive temper as promised. At first things were fine - they even got married happily, and planned to live the big adventurers life together even as Tethyr went to hell and civil war around them.
 
That was when they met Jerrick, a Cleric of Sune, to whom the inexperianced Anette was instantly smitten. Jerrick was chaotic good and had no interest in birddogging a married woman. Anette could be...persuasive, however, and they began to carry on an affair right under Alfrics nose as they adventured, Anette relying on her powers more and more to make Alfric forget his suspicions.
 
Eventually they would dismantle an would be Orc warlords tribe of goblins through sheer luck and attract the attention of the local duke, who offered each of them a sweet stipend for three years of military service each. They accepted, but military life quickly began to grate on Anette, who had also begun to dislike the hardship of adventuring. Noting his wifes distress, the ever-willing Alfric volunteered to take their terms of service, working for 10 years in exchange for Anette and Jerrick being allowed to go back on their obligations.
 
Jerrick protested but It was Alfrics idea, after all, so they went east and settled down, living comfortably in sin off of the three stipends Alfric dutifully sent to them, still oblivious to the affair. Time and perhaps a little creative magic use had dulled Jerricks guilt at this point.
 
Alfric spent 10 miserable years serving in the military, during which he met and fell in love with another follower of Helm, Sarah- a "poor old dog soldier" like him. Alfric was faithful to his wife though and refused to partake, despite the fact that even he was almost certain his marriage was estranged at that point. He rebuffed Sarah's advances the night before a major offensive ("we may not live to see the next night..."). Sarah was killed in battle that day, for a meaningless victory. It broke what was left of his spirit.
 
Then the war ended, and Alfric went home- to find nothing. He was able to track Anette and Jerrick down however, and came home to find them in bed- at which point the combined forces of the enchantments holding his mind failing, his post traumatic stress, and anguish came snapping back.
 
He blacked out, and woke up outside the house covered in blood.
 
I never really specified that he killed them, but Alfric certainly beleived he did and lost faith in the gods and everything for a time. A near death experiance with a Mist worshipper would scare him back into faith and cause him to make ammends with Helm, but even then he lived listlessly, more or less just pressing on because he knew nothing else - "An old war-dog looking for a place to lay down and die."
 
Eventually he got his wish, fighting Ghula in a full party wipe. Alfric was ready though - to see Helm, to see Sarah. I decided to Perma him. It was a pretty epic battle, and he 'endured' greatly.
 
Lest you think he was a complete woobie, my sole screenshots of him are comical.
 
[hide="Alfric 1"]
 

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[hide="Alfric 2"]
 

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[Nightshadow]

No, really, why -does- everything taste purple?

lol, nice character =)

[TheMacPanther]

XD

[Listen in Silence]

Very good for a side character.

Very good for a main character.

Very good for a character.

Very good.

[DoctorCog]

You couldn't choose a better soldier to fight side by side with than Alfric.