Shtalls Story
Shtall’s Story (2018 - 2019)
Shtall is a burghal gnome that works as a toymaker, travelling throughout Elanthia and making toys for any that seek them. This story doesn’t begin with Shtall though…
One day, adventurers began hearing voices from the shadows that spoke in rhyme and relished taunting their victims. The voices belonged to a multitude of dolls that appeared cherub like and innocent, but harbored the souls of malicious and evil spirits. Although they all looked very similar one difference did stand out; each doll’s hair was of a different color. Some dolls had red hair and some blue. Some dolls even had green or yellow hair. In time the dolls with hair of gold came to be the most feared of all.
From Wehnimer’s Landing to Ta’Vaalor, no city was spared a visitation by the dolls. Some reports claimed the dolls to be gentle souls that only wished to play games with people and have tea parties. Other witnesses claimed to have seen the dolls mercilessly attack victims and gorge themselves on blood. Some people even offered up their flesh to the dolls and made pacts with them, promising the dolls a feast of flesh in exchange for the dolls’ help in some scheme or another. The dolls did seem to enjoy teasing their victims before their feast and during these exchanges a few details were learned from the dolls. Apparently they were created a very long time ago by a master they had eventually devoured. Their original master had also created a Keeper that was able to control them, but in their opinion the Keeper was stupid and fast asleep anyways.
The majority of the dolls victims were adventurers and those people that inhabit every town and city that are not likely to be missed, because of this fact, the dolls were never hunted down and only faced resistance the few times adventurers were able to organize a defense to some degree. A number of dolls did perish in these encounters, but for the most part the dolls only ever retreated once their lust for blood had been sated. Things continued on in this manner for many months.
The situation abruptly changed one evening when the dolls openly attacked the Sapphire Gate of Ta’Illistim in an attempt to force their way into the city in mass. The dolls had managed to come and go in secret for the most part due to their small size and they kept their raiding parties few in number for the most part. Adventurers came together in great number to repel this assault along with the help of the Sapphire Guard and although the number of dolls slain was great, so to was the number of defenders slain. The city was saved, but at best the battle could be called a draw.
The very next night the dolls assaulted the town of Wehnimer’s Landing and were able to penetrate its defenses due to the much weaker defenses of the frontier town. The dolls managed to assault the West and North Gates as well as taking control of the docks. Having faced a similar battle the night before, adventurers were better prepared to face this stronger invasion of the dolls, but the price in blood paid by the defenders was still great. The dolls were driven back in the end, but the outlook was grim should these invasions continue to increase in frequency and strength.
Once things had settled down that evening, Shtall arrived at the Wehnimer’s Landing West Gate saying. Shtall was familiar with the lore of the dolls and since there appearance, he had been searching for a relic to end the doll menace. He was finally successful in tracking down such a relic and had managed to acquire a certain gem within the Turamzzyrian Empire that was capable of binding and sealing away the dolls. The gem was protected by magical wards and safely secure in his wagon for the time being. Shtall feared the gem would not remain safe for long, as the dolls were likely to learn of the threat posed by the gem and would eventually attack and overwhelm the defenses he had in place. Shtall advised those adventurers gathered that a ritual requiring the light of the moon would be necessary to activate the gem. He would go into hiding for now and return in the evening a few days hence once his preparations for the ritual were complete.
Later in the week, the dolls tried to attack Ta’Illistim again, but the city had been fortified and the dolls were easily repelled with fire magic. A number of the burning dolls lamented the use of fire and decided to attack a city that was cold instead. Icemule Trace quickly came under attack and the town has hard pressed to hold off the assault of the dolls at their three gates. Adventurers quickly organized and even an impromptu concert was held by a band of dwarves calling themselves “Mithril Mayhem”, to rally the morale of the defenders. Just as the town seemed poised to fall to the dolls onslaught, a number of them were heard to scream and thrash in frustration and bitterly complain of “wards” having been erected. Then they all disappeared into the night, leaving the town of Icemule Trace to recover.