Narchect, a Dwarf Defrauded

Narchect, a stout-hearted dwarf...

Narchect the dwarf, son of Narwalt and Cragchect, is one of the relatively few dwarves to have taken up arms against Lilhelndine and her forces. The Rebel Forces, which are dominated by gnomes, elves and centaurs, has struggled to recruit among the reclusive and geographically removed dwarves of the Klevarcht Mountains.

Narchect himself was initially quite skeptical of the Rebel Forces as well-why shouldn't he have been? He had a happy life, as a miner of precious metals, jewels and all other bounties of the mountains. He had grown wealthy through the profitable trade of these materials with other dwarves and humans in the surrounding areas: he had built an excellent reputation, a thriving business, and a happy family. Truly he was the picture of happiness. However, these halcyon days were not to last for poor Narchect, instead they were cruelly wrenched from him by the caprices of a society that he did not fully understand.

Approximately 20 years prior to Jarthen's having joined the Rebel Army, Narchect was traveling with a weighty load of precious stones and highly valuable, dwarfish metal goods from his home in the Klevarcht Mountains to a market in Tresleneer. He had elected to make this great journey because he knew that his wares would fetch a considerably higher price in that major city, than they would in the nearby villages. Additionally, he reasoned that if he made the trip all the way to Tresleneer, he would be able to sell the products of an entire year's worth of labor in one fell swoop.

Having been in this business for more than a few years, Narchect knew that the dangers of transporting valuable goods over long distances are considerable, so he hired a group of five dwarves to escort him through the marauder-rich mountains and into Elothnin proper. Once he reached the low plains and well-maintained roads of the empire, Narchect believed himself to be safe, protected by the regular patrols of imperial guards that discouraged thieves from plying their disreputable trade.

Woe to those who are so bold as to make such assumptions, as Narchect was soon to discover! Always a frugal individual, Narchect dispensed with his escort of dwarves upon reaching the main road, and continued along alone. During his first day's travel Narchect encountered only a few souls, and passed a generally uneventful day of travel. On the second day, however, Narchect and his cart were stopped by a handful of imperial guardsmen, who asked to inspect his wares. Not really having a choice in the matter, and being a generally law-abiding sort of fellow, Narchect readily obliged the soldiers.

The soldiers gave the cart a cursory examination, and quickly claimed that the dwarf was carrying contraband and that the entirety of its contents would have to be confiscated. Naturally, Narchect was aghast: the cart, after all, represented the bulk of his yearly income! He argued with the soldiers but to no avail, they only laughed at him, which drove him to attempt violence against their persons. Now Dwarves are fearsome warriors, but not even the toughest of their kind is a match for ten armed soldiers.

After receiving a sound thrashing from the soldiers, Narchect was clapped into irons, and marched off to a prison camp in the mountains, ironically, only a few bare miles from his home. Here he was forced to labor long hours in the mines with common criminals, and, with a great deal of importance to the rest of Narchect's story, a handful of captured rebel elves. These rebel elves saw the seething anger and resentment in the dwarf and told him of their beliefs and aspirations, quickly winning him to their cause. Narchect worked in the mines for four long years, before the opportunity for escape presented itself: the elves worked in conjunction with the dwarf to disarm several prison guards, take their uniforms and abscond into the night.

After his escape, Narchect returned to his family, who, quite naturally, had given him up for dead, and informed them of his intention to join the rebel army. He convinced a handful of other dwarves to come with him after hearing his tale, and they traveled together across the Northern reaches of Elothnin, often in disguise or under cover of night, until they reached the Erkenheld Forest where they joined the other rebels. Narchect and his band of passionate dwarves quickly formed the nucleus of the Rebel Forces' dwarfish battalion, which, in subsequent years has grown considerably, and developed a well-earned reputation for bravery.