Phineas T. Kettletree

I think it would be really cool if the presence of Phinleigh’s spirit is always noticeable, even when not manifested. If possible, I would like it if anyone using Detect Magic could see an aura of Evocation and Abjuration magic surrounding Phineas at all times and anyone with Truesight could see the silhouette of Phinleigh’s spirit floating at Phineas’ side.

Born and raised in the small farming village of Garrigill – roughly halfway between Tuloth and Jerm – Phineas T. Kettletree lived a blissfully simple life. As an only child, Phineas mostly kept to himself, rarely choosing to play outside in the fields with the other children his age. From a young age, it seemed that Phineas was destined to become a craftsman. It started with whittling – caring small, crude toys from leftover firewood in the shapes of animals and monsters – then pottery – which only lasted a few weeks – and then ultimately, glassblowing.   As Phineas grew older, he honed his skills, turning the front end of the house he inherited from his parents into a small shop from which he sold his creations. While the other kids he’d grown up with moved away, got married and started families, Phineas remained content to keep to himself and focus on his glassblowing. In such a small farming village though, there wasn’t much of a market for Phineas’ wares. Once every few weeks, he’d make a decent sale to a passing merchant, but for the most part, he got by on the kindness of the other villagers, trading favours for food and other necessities.   The simple mundanity of Phineas’ life would change forever when an Elven woman named Evangeline wandered into his shop one day with a little half-elven girl in tow. The girl – Thia – was utterly enamoured by the beauty of Phineas’ trinkets, which he was more than happy to show off. Phineas and Evangeline made polite small talk, with Evangeline telling him they were just passing through on their way to Jerm. After a while of conversation, Phineas gave Thia a small glass unicorn as a token of good luck for their travels and bid them farewell, expecting that to be end of things.   As such, it came as quite the surprise to Phineas when, about two weeks later, Evangeline and Thia appeared in his shop once again. Evangeline told him that Jerm felt like an unsuitable place to raise Thia and that she felt the calm and open fields of Garrigill would help her stay connected to her Elven lineage. From then on, Phineas’ simple mundane life would get a bit more exciting. Every day, Thia would come to visit and spend hours looking at Phineas’ wares and watching him work, and twice a week, Evangeline would stop by with tea and biscuits to share as thanks for looking after Thia.   Phineas came to learn that Evangeline had come from a very conservative family who – upon discovering that her child was half-human – had evicted her from her home and ensured she was shunned by the rest of her town. Unable to locate the father with whom she’d had a one night stand, Evangeline had decided it would be best to move to Xinsas which had a much more mixed population.   Time passed and Phineas, Evangeline and Thia grew closer, an unspoken bond forming between them. It wasn’t until Thia one day called Phineas ‘Papa’ by accident that Phineas and Evangeline finally admitted they’d developed feelings for one another. All of a sudden, Phineas – who’d expected to live his simple life in content solitude – had found them family he’d never known he wanted.   Time continued to pass and when Thia came of age, she took the adult name Phinleigh – much to Phineas’ embarrassment. She also set out to begin a life of her own. Having developed quite the righteous attitude growing up, she had decided she would go to Chent and become a paladin of Minle. Evangeline was resistant - fretting immensely – but with Phineas’ encouragement, Phinley set out on her journey with a small glass unicorn in her pocket that would travel with her wherever she went.   The years continued to pass, but Phinleigh made sure to return home once every year to spend time with her family. Each time she returned more powerful and accomplished than the last, with a new tale of heroism to terrify her mother and astound her step-father with. Until one year, when Phinleigh was around 26, she returned with something neither Evangeline nor Phineas would have ever expected. A blessing from Minle in the form of an immaculate conception.   7 months later, Phinleigh would give birth to a healthy aasimar son which she would name Phaelyn. Overjoyed to have their little family now one size larger, a small celebration was thrown in Garrigill for the Kettletree family. Phineas was the happiest he had ever been and unfortunately, that happiness wouldn’t last.   Just a few days after the celebration, Garrigil was beset upon by a pack of Manticores that had evidently been attracted by the festivities. Without any standing guard for the village, Phinleigh would choose to stand alone against the threat, despite Evangeline’s pleas not to. Phinleigh’s valiant efforts would successfully minimise the harm the manticores caused, but the wounds she sustained in battle proved too insurmountable for her own magic to heal. Despite the village doctor’s best efforts, Phinley tragically passed away a few hours after the battle.   Phineas was grief-stricken but – for the sake of his grandson managed to recover. As for Evangeline though, the loss of her daughter broke something in her. There was no magic or remedy that could heal her broken heart, and only a few weeks, she too passed away. Left alone to raise his grandson, Phineas refused to wallow in his grief and slowly moved forward, raising Phaelyn with the help of the villagers.   The years passed once more and when Phaelyn reached adulthood, he too decided to set out as an adventurer, intent on continuing his mother’s legacy as a Paladin on Minle. Phineas was resistant, but fearing that said resistance would drive a rift between him and his only remaining family, he gave Phaelyn his blessing and let him go on his way.   Phaelyn would return home 4 times over the next 2 years but when he returned home the fifth, it was not with the group of adventurers, Phineas had met and been told stories of by Phaelyn. In horror and disbelief, Phineas watched as Phaelyn ransacked Garrigill, senselessly slaughtering the villagers for what seemed like entertainment. Phineas’ pleas and cries to Phaelyn fell on deaf ears, his grandson not even looking his way as he rampaged through the village. Only when Phaelyn had had his fun and finally decided to leave did he turn to look back at his grandfather, a twisted grin on his face and a hollow malevolence behind his eyes.   Phineas knew that the man before him was not the grandson- the son he raised. Something sinister had twisted his soul and turned him into the monster that now stood before him. Just a day later, Phaelyn’s old party arrived in Garrigill and explained to Phineas what had become of him. Phaelyn had found a deck of cards in the ruins of a dungeon they had been investigating and drawn a card from it. That night, he’d attempted to murder the entire party in cold blood, successfully killing one of their number before being forced to flee. It was only after Phaelyn’s sudden betrayal that the party identified the deck of cards as a Deck of Many Things and deduced that he must have drawn the Balance card, resulting in his turn to evil.   The party assured Phineas of their intent to pursue Phaelyn and stop him, but this was not a comfort to Phineas. Phaelyn didn’t need to be stopped, he needed to be saved. Phineas would be damned to the hells if he would let the last of his family be corrupted this way, but what could he do? Phineas was an old man now, barely in good enough shape to set off on some grand adventure to save his grandson, and certainly not in good enough shape to fight the inevitable battles he would face along the way.   Desperate for a solution, Phineas took Phinleigh’s old holy symbol and prayed to Minle at the graves of Phinleigh and Evangeline for help, for a brilliant thought or action that would give the power to save his grandson. Phineas felt his heart skip a beat as a familiar hand cupped his cheek and raised his head. Standing before him was a faint apparition of Phinleigh’s spirit manifested on the Material Plane. This was Minle’s answer to his prayers. Taking Phinleigh’s hands – the only part of her spirit that was tangible – Phineas pulled himself to his feet and hurried to pack himself everything he would need for the journey ahead.   With a holy symbol and wedding ring around his neck, a small glass unicorn in his pocket, and Phinleigh’s spirit at his side, Phineas set out from Garrigill towards Felence, with the intention of heading north to the Magen Waste in pursuit of Phaelyn’s last known destination.

Male

Straight

Basic

Self-employed glassblower

Death of his wife and daughter.   Loss of his grandson

I will do whatever it takes to save Phaelyn from what he has become. Only death will stop me.   Whoever created this Deck of Many Things must be stopped, and their creation destroyed before it can do any more harm to the people of the world.   Only when Phaelyn has been saved, will I return home to Garrigill with him to see out the rest of my days.

Everyone has a story. If we listened to one another more, there would be a lot less conflict in the world.   Everyone has the right to happiness, and a long fulfilling life, so long as it does not harm the happiness of others.   A good cup of tea and a long chat fixes a lot more than people expect it can.

I always look for the good in others, even when there is none.   I will do whatever it takes to save Phaelyn from what he has become. Only death will stop me.   My age and simple lifestyle mean I am very unfamiliar with the wider world and its machinations.

Phineas is a kindly old man who loves a good cup of tea and a long chat.   Despite all the tragedy Phineas has faced, he remains stoutly resilient in the face of adversity.   Phineas much prefers to talk rather than fight and is always keen to hear someone else’s stories.

Villagers of Garrigill

Worships Minle

Really loves tea

Glassblowing, Brewing and drinking tea

Irish