Fastred

Fastred was an infamous bandit chieftain who was based in the Vast Swamp between Cormyr and Sembia hundreds of years before the 14 century DR.

History
Many histories of Cormyr made mention of Fastred, both in history and local legend, such as Carcroft the Long's Anthropologic and Folkloric Historie of the Settled Lands.

In his day, Fastred commanded a gang of brigands and killers who regularly appeared to prey on the caravans that crossed the Way of the Manticore. They slew all those who would not surrender and looted the caravans of their riches like gold, silver, and gems before escaping back into the Vast Swamp. Fastred used his exceptional knowledge of the swampland and its treacherous terrain to evade pursuers, even when small armies sought him, leaving hunters caught in bogs and drowned. He seemed to have little trouble with the other denizens of the Vast Swamp, such as the goblins, lizardfolk, trolls, and grells.

Thus he lived like a king, in security and riches, until at last he faced his death, from natural causes, some time in the mid-to-late 9 century DR. Fastred bequeathed half his wealth to his followers to be divided up among them, while he kept the remainder for himself in death. Then Fastred was sealed inside his tomb in the Vast Swamp. His followers seemingly went their separate ways, and shared something of Fastred's story.

In the years after, a legend arose that Fastred's ghost lingered, guarding his treasure still against any who would seek or stumble across it. It became one of the most dreaded of the Vast Swamp's many threats.

Sightings of a mysterious glowing axe-wielding figure said to be Fastred's ghost became common in the farmland around the town of Ghars, northwest of the Vast Swamp, in the, starting in late Mirtul. It had townsfolk and farmers fearful and caused business at the Swamp Rat tavern to decline. In fact, the ghost was nothing more than blacksmith's assistant Dovo in old armor, carrying a large axe, and smeared all over with glimmergrass paint. His beheaded body was found on Eleint 17, and the real Fastred's ghost was initially considered as a possible suspect, with the motive being vengeance against the imitator, but he was eventually ruled out after various mundane clues were found. Meanwhile, the adventuress Kendra had come to Ghars while hunting Fastred's treasure. Grodoveth, a king's envoy, had researched Fastred in the Ghars library and given Dovo the idea as a cover for their spying operation. He was even able to locate Fastred's tomb itself. The next night, Grodoveth went into the tomb and was beheaded by Fastred's axe. Local retired War Wizard Benelaius also located the tomb, went there, hid while Grodoveth went in, and planted evidence framing the treacherous Mayor Tobald and concealed the trap. He also took Fastred's treasure.

Then, after midnight on Eleint 20, the true ghost of Fastred finally appeared in person at the edge of the Vast Swamp and advanced on Tobald as he fled justice at Benelaius's cottage. Fastred only watched as Tobald backed into a mire and was sucked down to drown, before fading away. Later, Benelaius and Jasper returned to Fastred's tomb to discuss what really transpired there. However, Fastred's bones—still in the left-open tomb and likely possessed by a wandering evil spirit—reanimated as a skeleton and pursued them out of the tomb and through the swamp, until it was struck by the darts of a thornslinger plant and destroyed. After that, Benelaius presumed that Fastred haunted the swamp no more.

Benelaius later arranged for Fastred's treasure to be paid to Dovo's widow and children, via a fiction of an inheritance from a distant relative.

Fastred's Tomb
Although hidden, Fastred's tomb wasn't especially hard to find, with sufficient research into local folklore, history, and geography. It lay within a rocky island within the Vast Swamp, accessed via an unlocked trapdoor covered in moss. Slime-slicked stone stairs led down into a subterranean chamber, where Fastred's own axe was mounted in a trap to be hurled at the first person to step foot inside and trip the cord across the floor.

From here, a tunnel carved by water led to a much-larger cavern. Here, atop a dais, Fastred's armored body sat in a throne, decayed to bare bones, rotting wood, and rusted iron, cushions lost to mold by the mid-1300s DR. His treasure chest sat on the ground at his feet. Runes carved into the wall above the throne read Fastred's epitaph.

Description
In life and in death, Fastred was a giant of a man, being tall, broad of body and thick of limb. He wore a gleaming mail shirt and carried a huge axe. As a ghost, he had long hair and a deathly look of sunken cheeks, grim mouth, and disturbing eyes, and he emanated a cold blue glow.

Possessions
He was notorious for his enormous battleaxe, said to be able to cut people in two.

Appearances

 * Murder in Cormyr