Arrant Quill

Arrant Quill was a renowned bard and member of the Harpers. He was famously imprisoned within a demiplane that resembled his home village, in order prevent him and those he cared about, from succumbing to the effects of an ancient cursed artifact.

"We lift up our light to reveal what is hidden and banish the darkness forever."

- The penultimate line spoken by Vargan, in ''The Curious Tale of Wisteria Vale.

Description
Quill was a handsome man with a distinguishing scar that ran down from his cheekbone to his jaw. He received the scar on the night when his home was burned down by a heartless nobleman.

Personality
He was a notable charming and confident man who carried himself without pretense or arrogance. Despite the fame he achieved and accolades he received, Quill remained a humble servant of goodness in the Realms.

Abilities
Quill was an adept spellcaster, having first developed a knack for the Art as a boy. While he wrought tremendous magical power in his career with the Harpers, he never used that power for selfish reasons.

He was especially skilled at delivering cutting insults at his foes, enchanting his words so they harmed his opponent's psyche.

Possessions
Quill had in his possession a cli lyre, one of the legendary instruments of the Bards.

Activities
From his youth all the way through to adulthood, Quill had a passion for telling stories.

History
Arrant Quill had a rather idyllic childhood, growing up in the small village of Wisteria Vale, a few miles away from the sprawling metropolis of Baldur's Gate. When he was just a teenager however, Wisteria Vale was burned down by a visiting noble lord, who found the village's accommodations insufficient to his tastes. At some point during the chaos, the evil lord slashed Quill with a crystal dagger, leaving a long gash upon the boy's face. Quill swore vengeance that day, but was entirely unsure how he could strike out against the callous nobleman.

Eventually Quill tracked down the nobleman to a bustling city. While in the city, Quill was approached by a wizard who saw his determination to right the terrible injustice. The wizard invited the young Quill to join him as a member of the Harpers. Working together, Quill and the wizard snuck the young bard a grand revel that the lord was attending. Quill confronted the lord amidst his noble peers and slew him where he stood. Although he finally carried out justice against the murderous lord, Quill was troubled by the corruption and malice he saw within the city's nobility. He vowed to root the forces of evil wherever he encountered them, confidant that he and the Harpers could rid the Realms of their presence.

Over time, Quill acquired more power as a spellcaster in the Harpers service, and attained a legendary reputation among the adventurers of Faerûn. In or around the, he entered into a terrible battle with an archmage, who had been corrupted by a crystal touched with malign forces of the mad god Cyric. While he emerged victorious, Quill was unfortunately affected by by the crystal's corruptive nature. Quill became convinced that Harpers organization had grown too powerful for its own good, and had to be destroyed. In order to protect themselves―and prevent Quill from making a horrific mistake―the Harpers imprisoned him within the demiplane of Wisteria Vale, a near-perfect simulacrum of the bard's home village. While Quill remained imprisoned within, the Harpers worked vigilantly to find a cure to the curse that corrupted their comrade's mind.

Some time later, a beholder named Renekor dreamed itself into existence within Wisteria Vale. Renekor's mere presence within the plane twisted the carefully-tailored simulation. The errant beholder trapped Quill in an extradimensional space within painting in Wisteria Vale's manor house, and created a fake copy of the bard for its own amusement.

The real Quill became aware of the beholder's presence and came to understand the true nature of Wisteria Vale. The corruption of the Cyricist artifact left Quill paranoid that the Harpers planned to kill him, rather than cure him of his affliction. Unbeknownst to Quill, his affliction could only be cured by slashing him with a certain amethyst dagger, that resembled the blade used by the evil lord to scar his face.

In the, a Harper wizard named Ryllia Liadon, who knew Quill in his youth, solicited a band of adventurers to free Quill from the demiplane and administer to him the cure that would free him from his terrible paranoia.

Rumors & Legends
Arrant Quill's adventures were immortalized in the story entitled The Curious Tale of Wisteria Vale. The book told the tale of Vargan, a young man whos life story mirrored that of the famous bard.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * Candlekeep Mysteries: "The Curious Tale of Wisteria Vale"