Hero of Daggerford

The Hero of Daggerford was a caravan guard and adventurer who stopped the Zhentarim plan to install a puppet leader in the city of Daggerford, and stop the activities of the Cult of the Crippled Fang in the late 14 century DR.

Possessions
The Hero was awarded the Daggerford's Medal of Honor, a powerful enchanted medal in recognition of their great deeds for the city of Daggerford. After the threat to the Moonsea was ended, the Hero was granted membership in the Harpers and a powerful magic Harper amulet to celebrate that membership.

Relationships
Talarenne was a loyal friend, traveling and adventuring of the person who would eventually become known as the Hero of Daggerford. The two shared connection that sent the Hero onto a long journey of Talarenne's rescue in 1372 DR.

Not much was known about the Hero's family, but he had a falconer brother.

Early Life
Talarenne and the Hero of Daggerford knew each other for many years before the faithful events of the. They worked and adventured together, saving each other's lives countless times. One notable adventure of the couple was battling the great Two-Headed Wyvern of Stamislot under cover of the night in the pouring rain in Amn. Tala saved the Hero's life by pulling their neck away from the hungry wyvern's maw all while the other head of the monster bit Tala's own backside.

Darkness over Daggerford
In 1372 DR, the merchant named Falias Emberthumb hired the Hero and Talarenne to accompany his caravan from Waterdeep to the city of Daggerford in the Delimbiyr Vale. As they traveled along the Trade Way, not far from Daggerford, a group of bandits, in reality Zhentarim agents, ambushed the caravan. As soon as the fighting started, Tala was absorbed by a bright, magical light and was spirited away, leaving the Hero friend fending for their life against disguised Zenths.

Talarenne was an accidental capture as she looked fairly similar to another one of the caravan's passengers, Astriel Shalyn, an agent of the Lords' Alliance heading to Daggerford to investigate recent troubles that plagued the region. The Zhentarim agents were tasked with using the scroll of binding that magically reduced Hero's friend in size and trapped her inside an enchanted orb known as a binding prison. Once the surging caravaners reached Daggerford, they were informed that the city gates were locked due to a murder that was recently committed.

As this seemingly unrelated tragedy unfolded, Astriel Shalyn, in reality, an agent of the Lords' Alliance, began untangling strange happenings of a very recent death of Duke Pwyll "Greatshout". She asked the Hero to meet her at the resplendent Chateau Elite inn to discuss the adduction and all the plot threads that entangled Daggerford. Astriel released her true identity to the Hero and enrolled his aid in investigating the recent flood of bandit attacks, shady shipments, a new mercenary force that seemingly came from nowhere, and more importantly, a slimy merchant who seized control of Daggerford after the count's sister, Bronwyn Daggerford, was kidnapped.

Early on, the Hero met a mercenary down on her luck who was trapped in Daggerford – Raegen Brunegar, who joined the Hero and acted as his conscience. Another new friend was a gnome Purfbin Doogrick who offered his more pragmatic view of things. Together they investigated the mysterious weapon shipments that traveled through Daggerford via the Mariners' Alliance and found their way into the hands of the gathering orc forces in the city's vicinity. The weapons smuggling operations were masterminded by the Zhentarim agents. The city trade routes were under recently increased bandit attacks on the caravans, allowing the new aspiring Duke, Matagar Bugo, to fill Daggerford with the Griffons Mercenary Company as the only force that could keep the trade secure.

The Hero's activities alerted the Zhent agents in Daggerford, and after they attempted to assassinate Astriel, she relocated to the nearby hamlet of Liam's Hold and asked the Hero to come along. As expected, the hamlet had its own share of troubles. After the Hero offered a swift resolution, Liam's Hold's mayor offered the Hero an abandoned monastery of Bhaal as the new base. The temple had been empty since the Time of Troubles and was an abandoned eyesore. The news of the new Hero spread fast. Locals approached the adventurers with requests to investigate disappearing cattle at the neighboring Wild Pastures. The investigation let them uncover the assembling orc and tanarukk forces led by Gorgomorz, the infamous and historic Devil of Daggerford.

Along the way, the adventurers became involved in Burnas Tellrot's desire to retrieve the treasure of Peredus the Great, a scheme that led them to face off against Sulfurus the black dragon. Daxiong, a strange necromancer who wa sopsessed with making a perfect zombie. Aided Millie Churlgo and her Churlgo Cheese in repealing Zhentarim extortion. Aided Maerovyna of the Harvest House in investigating miller Fernd Krip and avoiding famine. And rescuing Delfen Ondabarl's friend and familiar Sujit from the creature's old master. Helping the Green Hag of Lizard Marsh in her feud with a lizardfolk witchdoctor, and Redeye in delivering a blow to an enemy lizard tribe. The Hero also aided in the siege of the Castle Exeltis and guiding the Green Hag's daughter into the hands of the young woman's beloved.

The Zhentarim forces entered into a dark alliance with Gorgomorz's tanarukks of the Dragonspear Castle. Zhentarim planted the puppet ruler to take over Daggerford - Matagar Bugo, while Gorgomorz wanted to destroy Daggerford. Zhentarim planned on betraying Gorgomorz. Once the balor's orcs invade Daggerford, Zhentarim would lead Matagar's Griffon mercs to defeat the invaders and imprison Gorgomorz inside a magical orb. The win would've let Matagar Bugo rule the city on behalf of Zhentil Keep with the full support of the citizens and the Lords' Alliance.

Eventually, the Hero, with Astriel's help, untangled the plot and tracked the Duke, who was not as dead as previously believed, as well as his sister, stashed away in the ruined Illefarn. Joined by a dwarven guide and an ancestor of the ruined city – Veiti Ironeater, Derval Ironeater's spirited daughter. Pwyll Daggerford and Bronwyn Daggerford were freed, and the Hero with his companions rushed to stop the tanarukk invasion of Daggerford.

The Crippled Fang Crisis
A year later, in the, the Hero of Daggerford was contracted to accompany a caravan from the Dalelands to the town of Voonlar by Madoc the Uncouth. The merchant offered an extravagant payment for a simple task. As later was revealed, Madoc was once a member of the Zhentarim who stole a hefty amount from the Black Network. The trip took them several days, and just within eyeshot from Voonlar, the caravan wagon lost its wheel. Thankfully, the repair was swift, and the caravan reached the city before a brewing storm hit the road.

Soon after the entry, Madoc and the Hero of Daggerford were confronted by a member of Voonlar's watch, demanding they leave the streets as soon as possible – the city was under curfew under the orders of Bron Buorstag Hlammythyl. The Bron felt that the fiend armies summoned by the Order of the Crippled Fang that recently began plaguing the roads of the Moonsea were soon to attack Voonlar. By happenstance, the Swords Meet inn was a dining spot for Bron Buorstag Hlammythyl, the High Priest Gormstadd, and several Zhent agents when Madoc was arranging lodgings. They noticed and confronted the dwarf merchant over the theft. The dwarf revealed his affiliation to the Hero of Daggerford and begged for his help. Despite the adventurer's involvement, the Bron challenged the Hero to a duel over the head of his treacherous employer.

Outside the Swords Meet, intoxicated brute Buorstag clashed with the Hero but was quickly knocked out cold. Despite the agreement to spare the dwarf's life if the Hero emerged victorious, Gormstadd simply ordered Madoc's execution, which swiftly ended his life. Immediately after the duel's resolution, the town was attacked by the Order. The town was flooded with fields, forcing the city guards, priests, and adventurers to take up arms to defend Voonlar. The Hero followed the carnage to the Dark Lord's Hand temple that was seemingly directly targeted by the monsters. The adventurer arrived in time to witness Gormstadd the Rerisen being incinerated by the Cult's wizard Zacharus under commands from a mysterious archmage in an eyepatch. Subsequently, the fiends were defeated, and the following day brought the Hero some clarity on the events and several new allies.

After the attack, the Hero was approached by Sharalyn Lockleaf, a harper agent who helped defend the town. She knew of the Hero by reputation and revealed to him that she's been spying on the Zhentish activities in the city of Voonlar and connected the attack to the Black Network. The Cult targeted the Zhentarim based on its previous targets. She led the Hero of Daggerford to recruit several other brave adventurers who helped defend Voonlar – a noble from Mulmaster, Astar Graysteel, a haughty Waterdhavian wizard Eremuth Silverwind, and a mysterious undead woman named Lyressa. Once in the privacy of a room in Swords Meet, Sharalyn revealed that her contacts in Shadowdale knew of the Hero's travel and informed her of his eventual arrival to Voonlar and was sure that he would be willing to help her cause. Harpers were dedicated to the balance of power, and despite being enemies of the Zhentarim, the truth of the situation was that without its protection, many of the innocents who lived in Zhent-controlled settlements would suffer under the attacks of the Order, and eventually, the entire region would become unprotected and vulnerable. Vulnerable Moonsea meant it would be served to the ambitions of tyrannical Hillsfar on a silver platter, and Hillsfar was infamous for its extreme hate towards non-humans. Begrudgingly, Sharalyn Lockleaf asked for the Hero's help to stop the new threat to the Zhentarim.

Legacy
The Hero of Daggerford's deeds were immortalized in print. The book called the Darkness over Daggerford was printed and distributed the year after the fateful events across the Sword Coast and the Moonsea regions. The book stated that the Hero's deeds did not just save Daggerford, but also he benevolently helped the locals and their many issues in 1372 DR.