Kehr Oldwyll is a Barbarian of the Stag Tribe.
Kehr is eight feet (2.4m) tall. His body is muscular and scarred. He is fluent in the trading languages of Lut Gholein, Skovos, and Therat. He wields a greatsword named Scorn and wears a bearskin cloak, while his legs are girded with piecemeal plate and mail armor. He wears oxhide boots.[1]
Biography[]
Kehr was a member of the Stag Tribe. While they warred with the reavers of Entsteig, he abandoned his duty to pursue the daughter of a passing merchant. As such, he was absent when Mount Arreat was destroyed, and with it, the Stag Tribe.
Kehr became a sellsword, serving sultans, warlords, and merchant princes throughout the Skovos Isles. He adopted the Askari practice of removing hair from his face and head with a sharp blade. This made him seem like less of an outsider on the Skovos Isles.[1]
Wayfarer[]
Return Home[]
Kehr left the isles to travel to the valley of his tribe, in order to find them. However, the tribe had been wiped out, and he was confronted by the ghost of his sister. No matter how far he travelled, Faen always appeared to him at sundown, and always with the same words. “Kehr Oldwyll. Traitor. Traitor!” Kehr marked himself with the sign of a traitor, but still, his sister continued to torment him.[1]
The Iron Path[]
Deciding to leave, Kehr planned to head to the Gulf of Westmarch, from which he could find passage around the peninsula on a trading barge. After that, he could sail from Westmarch, to Kingsport, and finally, back to Skovos. He headed for the Iron Path, and walked for ten days. Every sunset, the ghost of his sister appeared before him, condemning him each time. He feared that she might pursue him all the way to Philios, and considered striking her down. However, he stayed his blade, believing that he had earned her ire.
At the Iron Path, he encountered a group of refugees under attack by kharza. Despite his unease, he stayed clear, knowing that he owed these peasants nothing. This changed, when he saw a woodcutter fighting off kharza, holding a girl’s arm. He intervened, killing the kharza, though the girl was killed. He praised the boy for his bravery, and sneered at the refugees who had fled earlier.
The refugees pleaded for Kehr’s protection, offering him food and silver in exchange. Kehr took their payment and agreed to escort them, content in the knowledge that they would either die soon, or would die as soon as their paths diverged. He spent the first sunset alone—if Faen was going to appear, he didn’t want to frighten them.
Aron approached him, thanking him for his help, but Kehr wasn’t interested in conversation. Still, Aron impressed him, given how he had defended a stranger’s child, and had expressed gratitude while others cowered. Aron explained that these days, the kharza were everywhere, from the peaks of the Kohl Mountains to the foothills. Furthermore, they were getting organized. Aron explained that the column was a vanguard for the people of Dunsmott.
Kehr was unmoved, telling Aron that nothing would be done about the kharza, as no king ruled in these lands. It was best for them to get across the Kohl and stay there. Kehr told him that he was the last of the Stag Tribe, but refused to explain how he had survived.
Faen appeared as she always did, and her words remained the same. He had hoped that protecting the woodsmen would have redeemed him in Faen’s eyes, but that clearly wasn’t the case.
The next morning, the kharza attacked twice, and three more refugees died. The refugees closed ranks, and no more attacks occurred. Late in the day, Kehr had them erect a defensible camp, and then, despite their protests, he left them, claiming that he wished to survey the area.
Over the next eight days, the attacks were fewer. Over the week, Kehr’s demenor began to thaw; he became more accepting of conversation, as long as it was brief, and questions few. Kehr and Aron shared tales of their upbringings.
They reached the point where only two days on the Iron Road remained. However, the refugees were getting aggravated with the lack of food. Kehr remained unmoved, but flinched at the use of the word “duty.” He responded by pointing out that he had served as a sellsword for multiple employers, and had never barred steel for so little. Aron begged for his forgiveness, but Kehr told him that he’d live if he left the refugees behind. If he stayed with them, he’d die.
Aron stayed put. Kehr didn’t, as he walked into the shadows. He called out to his sister to appear to him. She didn’t appear, but kharza did, attacking him. He was bound and brought before a kharza twice as large as the others; the matriarch of the Bone Clan. He was forced to watch as the refugees were marched before him. The queen revealed that the attacks hadn’t been intended to slay the refugees, but drive them to her. The queen claimed that Kehr was her servant, and Aron believed her. He demanded that he be allowd to kill Kehr. Amused, the queen let him have his axe.
Before they fought, Kehr told Aron the truth about his past. Aron revealed that he’d known the truth of Kehr’s mark the moment he’d seen it, and used his axe to carve a new scar over it. Now, the mark said “brother.” Aron was killed, but gaining power from his sacrifice, Kehr killed the matriarch and her followers. He went to the refugees and told them to gather their belongings. That their destination was two days’ distant.
Kehr escorted the refugees to Westmarch, then headed back up the Iron Path, knowing that more refugees would be headed south. The Bone Clan had dwindled, but worse things than kharza dwelt within the Dreadlands. Tales spread from Ivgorod to Westmarch of the Iron Wayfarer; the guardian of the path. [1]