3. Captain Tolcrack Landreaper

Captain Tolcrack Landreaper

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    Login Name: Tsarist
    Character Name: Cpt. Tolcrack Landreaper
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    The briefest of histories: Captain Tolcrack Landreaper and the Landreaper Company
    Born in: Sudrav (tradepost at the Southern edge of Earthwood, Damara)

    Born to father Corrickan Landreaper, with his mother dying in childbirth.
    When Tolcrack is still a young lad, they both leave their village of Sudrav and head for Heliogabalus where Corrickan has been offered a job as a bodyguard for one of the important merchant families. Not far off a decade later, things turn sour and Corrickan 'dies' in extremely suspicious circumstances - Tolcrack flees Heliogabalus, with some of Corrickan's friends and acquaintances who were finding themselves in similar positions of danger. Due to the enormous respect the men and dwarves had for his father, they agree for the young and resourceful Tolcrack to lead them as a company of men. This became known as the Landreaper Company, which turned mercenary, moving West to the Bloodstone Pass and setting itself up as a reliable and effective organisation, patrolling the routes and protecting tradeposts, villages, mines and dwarven settlements.
    Many years pass, and Tolcrack is thinking about passing on the leadership - he decides to leave someone in charge of the men, whilst he travels out and gains some knowledge of the world outside. His route takes him through Heliogabalus, where he looks into circumstances involving his father's death, to little avail, and then onwards into Narfell, where he gains much experience of things that were previously foreign to him; he stays for a year or two before deciding to head back to Bloodstone and to Krag Ungor where the company were based.

    [[i:e86e5c0e1e]a summary of events during his second spell in the land of Narfell (Jan to May '03)]

    Captain Tolcrack Landreaper arrived back from his return to the Bloodstone Pass and his mercenary company there, amidst a renewed effort from the Nars 'bandits' (or so they had been previously) - on his first day back he was seriously injured defending the town. He re-established himself in Norwick, and made new friends and acquaintances. He worked to form a company of Landreapers that would be based in the Giantspires, to mirror the company he left under the command of his trusted dwarven friend, Kroggan, in Bloodstone.

    Having found a few men he trusted enough to be in his company of mercenaries (they got some work during the orc siege of Jiyyd), he was approached directly by Vashere Obarsky - a powerful man, claiming to want to instil unity and protection in the varied and warring factions of Narfell by founding the Alliance. Vashere hired Captain Landreaper and his company to command the Alliance Free Swords - an organisation of mercenaries who were the hired fist and initial bodyguards of the Alliance - many people reacted strongly againt the formation of the Alliance (rumours of ulterior motives), especially as it seeked (and obtained) agreement of protection and alliance from Jiyyd and Norwick. Balin Troff, although previously a high-ranking member of the Alliance, left his position to form the Troff Legion.

    Amidst an amount of turmoil, caused by Vashere's departure, and diminishing demand for their use within the Alliance (which had been taken over by Velaria Scrye), Captain Landreaper detached the Swords to become freelance mercenaries, keeping the name ‘Free Swords’, but withdrawing their full employment by the Alliance. The Landreapers opened to other potential employers.

    After some time, having trained up the company, and led them on plenty of jobs - primarily for traders wishing an escort for their miners - Tolcrack heard some disturbing news from Bloodstone, compelling him to return to his company there; he assigned command of the company to his right-hand man, Valen Silvermoon: the choice of continuation or disbandment was left in his hands.

    The Captain left on his journey to Krag Ungor, where his company were awaiting his return - the reasons remained unknown to those he left behind in Norwick; the Giantspire Landreaper Company disbanded.

    [Reason for going back:]
    Kroggan Dhúsgarth died, leaving his son, Kamli without father (local custom dictates that a young dwarf with only his mother to raise him lacks the means to grow into a strong male).
    Also, dispute had broken out between Sevardo, a man who was set to take charge of the company, and Dasur, a dwarf who felt that it should be another dwarf who succeeds Kroggan.
    Tolcrack returned to foster the young dwarf until another suitable foster father could be found; he reassumed captaincy of the company for a few years until animosity subsided, and he could reassess an appropriate new leader.

    Tolcrack arranged for the Landreapers to take some time away from Krag Ungor - a tight-knit community which relied on trade - because he felt his men were getting restless. He led them around the various outposts for just over a year, hiring the company out to traders who wanted safe trade routes. All of the company gained experience in different fields, and Tolcrack learned almost as much from fostering Kamli, as he taught the young dwarven lad.

    The company returned to Krag Ungor, and settled back into its previous life; but soon, Tolcrack realised that the company needed a more radical and permanent change of scenery. Remembering his experiences in and around the Giantspires - from Norwick to Peltarch - he started to picture life for a mercenary company in a land which is developing fast into a strong trading community: the opportunities would be endless, as he has already seen during his formation of a small company of Giantspire Landreapers.

    After a year of thought, Tolcrack reveals his plans to the company, at the same time as handing the 2nd Captaincy of the Bloodstone Landreapers to Vúrin Shattermace - a dwarf who had gained much honour and respect for his abilities over the past few years, and to whom he also passes the responsibility of fostering Kamli - by now a dwarf with great potential as an armour-smith with good eyes and a good aim with crossbow and throwing axe.

    Having done all this, and briefed the company on future plans, Tolcrack prepares for his return to the lands of Narfell, in order to make arrangements for the crossing of the company.

    [[i:e86e5c0e1e]Jan '04 onwards]
    Tolcrack reappears to try to secure some contacts and clients for the company. He catches up with the local scene and starts to travel between Bloodstone and Narfell quite often, trying to build up and maintain his social network in a land where faces perpetually come and go - like the tide.
    He decides to delay the crossing of the company until the time is right for it and it can be assured the profits it needs to survive.

    It shall be left for fate to decide how the events to follow shall unfold…


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