Desmond Taragon

''He slowly washes the blood from his hands with a look of regret. A dead body lies in the center of the room with a pool of blood trailing off to the corner where two men stand. The man on left has a look of disbelief, while the other plainly shows fear through his small black pupils. Desmond finishes drying his hands with a sigh and looks to the two men still standing in the corner.''

"Now, if you're finished attempting to kill me for my possessions, I believe we agreed to a price of 36,600."

''Without waiting for a response he throws a bag of gold at the feet of the men and unceremoniously rips the necklace from the dead body on the floor. The clanging of Desmond's armor cuts sharply through the silence as he walks to the door, but before exiting the room he turns and bows to the men.''

"This concludes our business, both ends have been upheld. Good day to you gentlemen."

Desmond stands upright and then continues out the door.

Description
Desmond stands just over six feet tall with long flowing bright red hair looking to be in his late 20's or early 30's. He has a red tattoo that runs up the left side of his neck and face and will occasionally wear an earing or two. His slender figure clearly show the muscles that run up and down his body. Although better than average looking, he tends to use his intelligence to get what he wants rather than his charms. When outside you will rarely find him out of his suit of pitch black armor. Desmond carries no visible weapon upon him but that doesn't help to make him appear any less dangerous -- his eyes betray his training and experience in battle.

Personality
Desmond's personality shifts between that of a gentlemen and that of a military leader. He is used to being in charge and he tends to act that way. That's not to say he looks down upon people, he just expects them to do as he asks. In fact, coming from a military background he has a strong appreciation for everyone's "position" and will give them the respect they deserve.

He is extremely confident in his own abilities to deal with situations, a trait that is often mistook for arrogance and tends get in the way of him making many friends. This abundance of confidence doesn't mean he is rash, quite the opposite actually. When in a confrontation he will hold back and let things play out for themselves a bit, using this time to judge his opponents and come up with a sound strategy.

Agenda & Goals
Every character has a big picture in mind and Desmond is no different (well, he's a little different in that his big picture is more like a mural the size of an elder black dragon). However, once you got to know Desmond his grand dreams wouldn't come as a surprise. Everything he does is a small piece of a bigger puzzle and one day he hopes to have it all come together.

Taragon Keep
Desmond wishes to establish himself as a powerful figure within Phlan. As a means to this end he is currently building a large keep upon the ground of the destroyed temple of Bane.

Early Years
Desmond never speaks of his early years and often pretends as if he never had a childhood. All the information contained in here has been gathered by interested historians from various accounts. Most of this comes from soldiers that served under him or knew of him growing up.

As far as anyone knows, Desmond was never raised by his parents. As best as they can tell he was orphaned somewhere in the southern part of Moonsea, a bastard child of some noble trying to find a good time in the red light district. Although street schooled, Desmond was very intelligent and quickly picked up on the natural order of things. This of course meant that "might made right" and so he joined up with the Hillsfar militia by pretending to be much older than he really was at the time. Being as young as he was did offer up some challenges, but a keen intellect offered Desmond a helpful advantage in tough situations.

The militia helped to bring a very strict order to Desmond's chaotic lifestyle and this worked to give him a strong resolve. He spent quite a few years working for the militia, doing the usual things a militia did in Moonsea; plundering, ransacking, destroying. Pretty much all the fun things one expects to do in a misguided militia. This worked out pretty well until Desmond's unit was decimated by a pissed off hydra. Without a unit left, this seemed like a perfect time to desert the militia and travel around Moonsea.

Zhent Keep (Eleint : 1372 DR)
Wandering life was fun and Desmond took this opportunity to learn about the wilder side of Moonsea. This didn't last very long though due to Desmond running across a small extension of the Zhent military which didn't take kindly to vagabonds. Impressed with Desmond's abilities, he was offered a slow painful death by being put to work as a slave in Zhent Keep or a chance at fame by following the wishes of the Zhentarim. After weighing his options (somewhat quickly), Desmond decided slavery would be boring and joined up with the Zhent army. Desmond's ability to follow orders (thanks to his early experience with the Hillsfar militia... which he of course kept to himself) and his impressive reasoning skills allowed him to quickly travel up the ranks.

While the Zhentarim did keep a pretty tight leash on Desmond, things weren't all bad. His ability to quickly and efficiently carry out his orders allowed him a small unit under his command and the favor of Scyllua Darkhope. Since it seemed that Fzoul Chembryl was all the latest rage there was always lots to do and things seemed to be going good. That is at least until Nassim Molrin came along with his League of Extraordinary Paladins. They put Fzoul to rest and pretty much ended the Zhentarim, ending Desmond's military career along with it. Desmond had no choice but to once again take up wandering.

Two Minds Becoming One (Hammer : 1375 DR)
One day, while wandering along the River Tesh, about ten leagues west of Yulash, Desmond came across a small nomadic group of humans. While this isn't all that unusual (especially given the history of people attempting to desert Zhent Keep), there were a few things that intrigued Desmond about this group. For starters, they all looked as if born of the same blood line, as if they shared a common distant relative. Even more disturbing is that Desmond himself shared enough of these traits to wonder if he had somehow stumbled upon the group to which his natural parents belonged. This in itself was enough to pull Desmond towards their encampment, but another remarkable fact was there obvious lack of defenses in such a harsh environment.

So, feeling somewhat safe (and superior) he decided to pay them a visit. They welcomed him openly and invited him for dinner which Desmond kindly accepted. When questioned of their lack of defenses they seemed to only smile and respond with some off-hand comment like "Only those we wish to find, find us." With nothing else really going on, Desmond decided to travel with these nomads for the next few days, just to satisfy his own curiosity.

The next few days quickly turned into weeks and Desmond's eyes were opened to a whole new world. A world in which he realized just how weak and meaningless he was. It was clear to him that if he ever hoped to achieve the power he desired, he needed to learn from these nomads and become one of them...

''Desmond walks down to the cold dark waters of Moonsea and washes himself for the last time of his life. He strips himself of all his possessions and walks naked up to the tent of the tribal leader, a man by the name of Yolab Beringer. He prostrates himself in front of the door with an expression of grim determination. With a slow nod, Yolab understands everything Desmond wishes to convey. Yolab responds:''

"Turn around Desmond, they are waiting for you outside."

''Desmond turns around and does his best to hide the expression of shock on his face. He is no longer standing in the middle of a field, but is now surrounded by a large circle of figures clad in robes within one of the largest, most ornate, temples Desmond has ever seen in his life. Chanting begins and while the words are of no language Desmond knows, he understand. The words speak to him of the end and of the beginning, the words explain the darkness and the light, the words shut the door to show the open door behind it. But just as Desmond thinks he understands what is happening, he dies... forever.''

* * *

"Open your eyes Desmond. Yes, that's it, open your eyes and look upon the world. Your physical and spiritual mind have been combined and you have been reborn anew. Go, wash yourself and get some rest."

Desmond walks down to the cold dark waters of Moonsea and washes himself for the first time in his life.

A Purpose (Kythorn : 1375 DR)
Desmond disappeared for almost half a year before he was seen again. Those that remembered him from before hardly recognized him, he seemed a changed man. The two most notable differences is that he now adorned himself with a holy symbol, and the other is that a fire of determination burned in his eyes. He traveled from inn to inn and was always asking questions about various random people he was looking for. After he left a particular town, an unsavory or corrupt figure would just suddenly turn up dead. Rumors would spread like the waves from behind a boat, many believed he was working as some sort of vigilante of the church. Desmond's life continued on this way for at least a good year or more.

The Good Life (Mirtul : 1376 DR)
Desmond occasionally had a companion or two but for the most part he always traveled alone. Aside from when the occasional urge came upon him to lure a bar wench off to bed, he seemed quite content keeping to himself. However, things all changed when a man by the name of Jax Farnf. came along. He knew of Desmond's past and offered him a business proposition to start a mercenary guild.

The offer must have intrigued Desmond because a few short months later, he and Jax started up what was known as "Hack and Slash" just outside of Hillsfar. Although it was a small outfit, they quickly became renowned for having the most crack team of mercenaries north of Fallen Stars. Jax ran the business side of things, handling finances and job opportunities while Desmond took care of the hiring, training, and planning out the missions.

Desmond and Jax were rarely ever found apart, always in good spirits, talking of business or their last client. Business was good and the money was pouring in for them both. Having the best fighters meant that premiums could be charged for their service and as their reputation grew so did their change purses. It was about this time that Jax decided it was time to perhaps settle down, he had bought himself nobility and his eye was caught by the beautiful Mina Kalisto.

A Mission With Gildas (Kythorn : 1376 DR)
A wizard by the name of Mordak Brellier requests a convoy so that can safely transported an item to Teshwave. He doesn't explain what the item is, other than that it's very powerful and very dangerous to those who don't know how to use it. He fears that Girella Scatterstar has been eying this particular item herself for a long time and may attempt to steal the item for herself.

Desmond decides to go himself along with a few of his better recruits, one of them being a man by the name of Gildas Alexandre. They were ambushed en route and the convoy was caught off guard. Although Desmond and his recruits succeeded in defeating the bandits, it was an unnecessarily bloody battle. Once the tides had turn in the favor of the defenders, the attackers refused to surrender and continued to violently attack the convoy. Many of them died at the hands of Desmond and Gildas and the two were left with many nights of uneasy sleep.

A Tested Friendship, A Crumbled Will (Alturiak : 1377 DR)
So it was then that Jax and Mina were courting. It made sense after all, Jax was one of the richest men in Hillsfar and Mina came from a family of great political power. Mina was a strong woman, incredibly beautiful, and had a very keen wit about her. There was hardly a single man in all the area that didn't envy Jax.

Jax moved the office of Hack and Slash to his estate within Hillsfar while Desmond continued to run things over at the barracks. Business continued to grow and as it did, Jax had more and more traveling to do. During these trips he often asked Desmond to watch over things at his estate and keep the business running. Desmond didn't mind, the estate was comfortable, had adequate training groups, and of course Mina was a pleasure to keep an eye on. Mina didn't mind so much either since Desmond was enjoyable company.

During one such business trip Jax had forgotten a very important document and had to return for it. It was then that he found Desmond showing Mina his melee prowess, in bed of the master suite. At this point, nobody knows exactly what went on, but the most popular rumor goes like this:

''Jax, outraged and betrayed attempts to kill Desmond. Desmond brushes Jax aside easily and retaliates but is stopped from killing Jax because Mina throws herself between them. Desmond then proclaims his unending love for Mina but she doesn't reciprocate since her family would never understand and they need Jax's wealth for their political gains. Desmond, anguished and despaired, commits suicide by falling upon his sword. Jax, scared that he would be charged with the murder, burned Desmond's body to remove any evidence. He then paid all his servants to spread word that Desmond quit and has left Hillsfar for good in search of greater power.''

However, those few that knew Desmond personally know that Desmond would never kill himself. They just figure he left town to prevent any trouble that would have resulted from his betrayal to Jax.

A Mercenary for Hire (Ches : 1377 DR)
Desmond heads back to Hack & Slash to grab his few belongings and heads out of the area in a northward direction. He drifts from town to town looking for any work to take away the dullness. Mostly odds and ends but he eventually gets picked up a small group that simply refer to themselves as hunters. They hire Desmond out for what they believe to be a suicide mission.

The Hunters had plans to infiltrate a small mind flayer encampment being guarded by a juvenile red dragon and needed Desmond to provide a distraction for them to sneak in. Desmond took the job quite happily and met with the group the following night as planned. As the group executed their mission things seemed to go off without a hitch, Desmond quickly took the attention of the red dragon allowing the Hunters to sneak into the encampment undetected. However, where things didn't go quite as expected, was the part where Desmond was able to slay the dragon in just a few concise attacks.

When Desmond met back up with the group the leader of the Hunters (a woman they called Yari Uslaav) wasn't quite sure what to say. Luckily, or perhaps UNluckily, she didn't have to think of anything at that exact moment because they the group were suddenly ambushed by some extremely pissed off illithids. The battle that ensued was very intense, and people were killed on both sides. At one point Desmond was even under the grapple of an illithid, ready to take his brain. Fortunately, Desmond's training as a sanctified mind was enough to avert the flayer's action but not before sending Desmond into a vengeful rage. He retaliated with a cleansing strike that instantly killed his foe and then quick turn he then plunged his sword deep into another mind flayer temporarily disrupting that one's ability to perform psionics. Sensing the tide of the battle slowly shifting away from the illithids, they decided upon a hasty retreat.

Yari, suddenly in need of new Hunters, and realizing that if it weren't for Desmond they may all be dead right now, decided that it was time to open up membership. She presented Desmond with a gift (recently acquired from said angry illithids) of bracers. These bracers (Bracers of the Beast Within) would allow Desmond to tap into the power of metamorphosis allowing him to take on certain aspects of intended creature. The price was for Desmond to join the Hunters and become an ilithid slayer. Desmond, looking on this as a way to grow into a more powerful psion, took the bracers and left his sword behind.

The Hunt Is On (Tarsakh : 1377 DR)
The goal of the Hunters was to hunt down and destroy mind flayers. This is no easy task for the illithids are an incredibly cunning and diabolic race that will do anything to better themselves. As the old adage goes, in order to hunt your prey you must think like your prey. So it was that over the course of next six months, Desmond's soul slowly blackened, piece by piece. However, as more and more mind flayers fell to the hands of the Hunters, he felt the ends justified the means.

Aside from the occasional night involving too much alcohol where Desmond and Yari fell victim to their physical needs, they kept things pretty much business between them. This wasn't to say they didn't want more between them, it was just that the life they led allowed little room for entertainment or relaxation. But, for the most part, Desmond was content.

As the success of the group grew, so the did the wariness of the mind flayers. They become more and more prepared and as time went on, the hardships and dangers of the Hunters life slowly chipped away at everyone. New recruits were much fewer and farther between than injuries or deaths to existing members. The size of the group dwindles as the risks associated with each mission grew, and they became desperate for new recruits. One of these new recruits happened to be a spy for the mind flayers, his name was Burak and he was a half-human half-illithid that didn't properly complete the ceremorphosis.

One dark night, after the Hunters were drunk on the success of another mission, Desmond awoke to the screams of Yari penetrating the blackness of the night. He rushed to her tent to find Burak hunched over her limp body with his knife carving a hole in her head. Desmond's rage boiled all the way up through his body and exited him in a maximized blast of cranial deluge, literally causing Burak's head to explode. Desmond scoops up Yari and dimension doored to the healers. They did what they could for Yari but unfortunately she was left with permanent brain damage. A few long and sad days later they left Yari with a local monastery just outside of Elmwood and the Hunters disbanded forever.

With Zhent Keep destroyed, a lost love in Hillsfar, and now a shattered Yari in Elmwood, Desmond decides that it's time to head to northern Moonsea... to Phlan.

A Druid Friend (Nightal : 1377 DR)
On his way to Phlan, Desmond comes across a druid dressed in bear skins in need of some help. The druid introduces himself as Xavier Fledliweth and explains how a small group of cave trolls have been terrorizing the local area. Desmond, intrigued by this wild-elf and looking for something a little more interesting than the humdrum of traveling decides to help Xavier out.

Almost immediately after finding and attacking the trolls, Desmond is surprised to see Xavier transform himself into a savage ape. Sensing the sheer power of Xavier, Desmond decides that there is no reason to hold back in front of this elf and he risks using his own "claws" in battle. Working together the two make quick work of the adversaries and feel a deep amount of respect for the other's abilities.

They spend the remaining journey to Phlan traveling with one another and recounting past battles. During this time Desmond also tells Xavier of his plan to build a keep and start a new life in Phlan. Xavier, already planning on helping with the rebuild of Phlan, offers his services to Desmond.

Phlan (Hammer : 1378 DR)
After arriving in Phlan, Desmond and Xavier part ways with plans to meet again from time to time at the Laughing Goblin Inn. Desmond continues on to the inn to setup residence for awhile and get some much needed food and drink. He spends the next few days getting a layout of the small city and gathering what information he can about the current council and the various people of power. Once he learns of Gildas' position as the captain of the guards, he seeks him out to ask for help.

With Gildas' help, Desmond is able to meet with the council. They have concerns about a keep being built in there small city of Phlan and decide that Desmond will be put under review. If he can prove himself and his character, then something may be worked out to allow Taragon Keep.

Gear
Total Value:

Alternate Forms
Desmond has the ability to use metamorphosis through his bracers or normally. Below is a list of stats of creatures that Desmond tends to metamorph into.

Cave Troll (Bracers)
Desmond uses this form in regular melee combat.

Wyvern (Metamorph)
Desmond uses this form for aerial combat.

White Dragon (Metamorph)
Desmond uses this form for traveling long distances. Depending on the region he may go with a blue or green dragon instead, but he usually prefers a white dragon since it's built for speed.