Garrett ap Crag


 * "Words that kill... Would you speak them to me? With your breath so still, it makes me believe." - Qwent of the Hills 

Garrett ap Crag is the current Marshal of Stonetop. In addition to assisting with major quartermastering, he is in charge of the militia, and is responsible for organising and preparing Stonetop's defense. This article focuses on Garrett's introduction and character before, and during the start of the campaign, and may update to reflect recent changes in the character. To find a live log of the character's activities and perspectives, visit Garrett's Journal.


 * "All able-bodied villagers must fight, and protect the village when needed. Everyone trains in spear, shield, sword, and bow. Folk rotate through guard duty, manning the watchtowers every night."

Introduce Yourself

 * "Let me suffer now, and never die!" - Garrett

Name
Garrett ap Crag. (Welsh, lit. Bravespear, Son of Crag, 'ap' meaning 'Child of' in Stonetop.) Most commonly referred to simply as Garrett, or Marshal; very rarely as Marshal Crag, a name tied to his grandfather in Stonetop's living memory.

Appearance
At more than forty winters passed, Garrett's doing well, all things considered. Fit, firm, training every day and eating like a horse, with graying but still-voluminous, dark brown hair, and a functional beard. He is portrayed by Big Boss, with voice somewhere around the "Geralt-Big Boss-Eddard Stark" continuum of 'raspygrumble' types. He has one set of well-maintained armour and clothes, consisting of a boiled leather chest piece, scarred but well oiled, with a jagged wolf cut into the front, and matching arm and upper-leg guards. Underneath the armour, he wears a soft cloth tunic and braccae, with carefully, tightly cut hide footwraps. A steel arming sword often rests in a simple leather scabbard at his hip, his bronze shield stored at home; a waterskin and drop pouch opposing. His clothing is pocket-laden, completely unadorned or dyed, and older, but extremely well-kept.

Background

 * "You grew up here, descended from a long line. Some of the biggest names in Stonetop's past are perched in your family tree. Everyone in the village takes your authority as a given." - Seren

Garrett is a Scion of the Crag family. who take their name from the ground Stonetop was built upon, and the village it became, and rightfully so - their forebears were some of the first people to lay down stones with new purpose here, and give this place a name in our tongue.

As a background, Scion gives the Marshal roll-less access to parts of two moves they can later take: questions from 'Take The Measure', specifically regarding anyone from Stonetop, and 'Read The Land' regarding anything within half a day of Stonetop. His Crew is Disciplined, due to his own experience and through his training of them, and they take one other advantage * at the start of the campaign.

Place of Origin
Garrett was born and raised in Stonetop, through both Catrin and Geralt, and the hands of dozens of others. Though he's travelled a little, Stonetop encompasses the greatest portion of his life, and his fortunes rise and fall with his home. It is, in essence, everything to him, and he willingly forfeit a life of relative peace to defend it.

While he was growing up, Catrin spent most of her energy leading the hunting and trapping parties for the village. Geralt taught Garrett how to fight, from bare knuckles through to every blade, point and bludgeon imagineable, and it took Garrett nearly two decades of training to overcome Geralt in combat. No one taught him how to lead, however; he learned that on his own. His sense of tradition and respect came not from Seren, surprisingly, but from Aerona, his grandmother.

Drive
Honour: "Accept hardship or difficulty to uphold your word or do the right thing." Though he has never been light on Resolve, nor is he the kindest soul since the revelation of his infertility, Garrett has always striven to do right by his kin, and respected the importance of tradition, and the underlying power of words, both in their meaning and in their saying.

War Stories

 * "I'm no hero... Never was, never will be. I'm just an old killer, begged to do a job no one else has the stones to do." - Garrett

The last time the Militia (the town's defense force) saw serious action, it was: to drive off fifty bandits who'd taken up near The Ruined Tower, claiming to have a weapon of the Makers in their keep.

When exactly did this happen? Middle of Winter, 12 months prior to game-start.

Who lost their lives, and who mourns them? Parry, Blodwen's son of sixteen winters, died in the Lygosi Bandit Skirmish last year.

Who saved the day, and how? Garrett asked for warriors willing to knock heads with the Black Gate to save their home - they would slip in during the night, kill the sentries quietly, and flush the bandits out into the waiting Militia's spear wall. He asked that every volunteer leave knowing, their lives were forfeit to the defense of the village. Six of the village came forward, and seven left to flush out the branded Lygosi bandits. It was Qwent of the Hills who called their bluff, who stood before their machine, ready to die, and gave them time to position themselves. There's a fresh dent in the Black Gate because of Qwent.

Who comported themselves with honor? Blodwen, despite the loss of her son. Though she blamed, and still blames Garrett for the death of Parry, she did what needed to be done to protect her kith and kin during, and after, the battle.

What’s been bugging you about it ever since? Garrett doesn't know for certain if the weapon was Maker-made - it bears similar, older marks with The Stone, and Odhrán - it could be a tool of the gods, or of the Makers, or something else entirely.

What’s got you even more worried now? The Weapon glows a fraction more with each lightning strike on The Stone; a year on, you can just make it out in a pitch black room. With every lightning strike on The Stone, the Weapon builds up more glow, until it flows over, scouring the ground around it of life. With summer coming up, it may need to be moved out of the village for now...

NPC Relationships

 * "A bird is not just made of feathers. A wolf, not just teeth. Both cast shadows." - Tywyll

Who is your closest kin? Garrett's mother is Catrin ap Crag ('Ma Crag'; 62), blind master furrier and ex-trapper/hunter lead, and his father is 'Pa' Crag (59), penitent warrior-bandit, location unknown, left when Garrett was 3. Ma Crag is preceded by Aerona ap Crag (77), living spry, and Geralt ap Crag (75), prior Marshal, and now Publican of Stonetop.

Who is your lover/spouse/betrothed? Sioned ap Crag, a stout and hale woman, hard worker in the fields, with animals, and in her home; she can weave and sew, and boil, curve and stitch leather; a great cook, very patient, incredibly loving, if rough like all Crags. Garrett chose to distance himself from her (separated but not divorced) due to his discovered infertility. They had striven for almost two decades to conceive a child, but two years ago, Seren finally had an epiphany to check Garrett - it never crossed anyone's mind that it may have been him. It broke his heart, having to accept that he may be the last Crag in Stonetop. He tried to kill himself during the skirmish at the Ruined Tower, but Tywyll stayed his hand. Sioned and Garrett still love each other, and she still looks after Garrett, even though he sleeps elsewhere for now.

Who is your lieutenant? Qwent of the Hills, a Hillfolk woman who came to Stonetop six or seven years ago, during a particularly harsh winter. Never had Garrett seen someone headbutt the Black Gate so unflinchingly, and still return for orders. The Crew respect her, and so does Garrett. Qwent mostly heads the Crew from within, while they all turn to Garrett as a leader. The Crew have varying relationships with each other, and share body and mind alike freely among those they trust - themselves. None have been brave enough to broach their collective desire to bring Garrett into their fold, but Qwent is having trouble burying that feeling.

Who ran the militia before you? Garrett's maternal grandfather, Geralt ap Crag; 'Marshal Crag'. In order to become Marshal, in addition to earning the respect of his tribe and learning the ways of leading, Garrett had to take Geralt's arming sword from him by force. He tried twice, over as many days; the first saw him get his ass beat. The second saw the complete opposite, Garrett resoundingly flooring Geralt, and emerging with the sword. The fight is remembered in shudders and pale faces of the older members of Stonetop. This was not a previously known tradition - but it is now, to Garrett.

Whose kin is dead because of your decisions? Blodwen, her son Parry lost during the Lygosi Bandit Skirmish a year ago; he died in the directionless stampede of panicking bandits, as their camp was destroyed by fire and steel.

PC Relationships

 * "You're not a Stone Wolf, but you're still kin - same thing either way; family." - Garrett

Which one of you was part of my crew? Odhrán was Crew a couple years ago when he came to Stonetop - it was the best way to keep an eye on him. They disbanded not long after his Markings appeared.

Which one of you has proven their worth, despite my doubts? Deryn, after being tasked as Blodwen's temporary apprentice, to learn about failure from one of the hardest tasks in town; Deryn turned out skilled at detailing the handles of the bronze swords Blodwen was making. Blodwen said nothing to Garrett about it.

Which one of you has kin to whom I've promised to keep you safe? Celyn - Gwendyl, and moreover, Seren, would boil Garrett's blood in his waking nightmares if he allowed the world to take Celyn from Stonetop. Realistically, Garrett believes he's safe, but that if she died, their hearts would break, and to lose the Daughters to sorrow would shatter Stonetop's resolve; "The sun may as well not bother rising, without Celyn."

Which one of you went against my orders and got someone killed? Celyn got Braith, Deryn's older sister (as part of Garrett's prior Crew) killed during a heavy Crenwin raid. Garrett had ordered her back to the Ringwall to hold the line, but Celyn stayed behind to staunch Gaenor's fatal wounds and provide comfort. Braith got dragged into the Great Wood trying to save her, and her screaming gurgled out. We never told Deryn. It was Tywyll who suggested we lie to her, but Garrett spoke the words.

Other PC Questions Regarding Garrett
Which one of you has participated in a sacred rite with Celyn? Garrett organised for a semi-regular rite to Helior, to maintain respect for all the gods in deserved measure. Helior asks for, perhaps, the most pious and painstakingly reverent rituals, but Garrett makes sure to oblige. He slips in thanks to Aratis on the side, for helping him keep his mouth shut when he needs to, and as penance for working the village's law without a chosen Judge OR a Sheriff.

Which one of you stayed Odhrán's hand? Garrett was the first in a long while to step up and try to hold the tide of Odhrán's new-found fury; a poor fool got drunk and disorderly, and tried to pick a real fight with Odhrán. Odhrán moved to strike back with genuine might, but Garrett stayed his hand with a single word, like ice down his spine. Qwent tackled the fool down and he was dragged away to have some salt put back in his head. The fool was a fool, but perhaps didn't deserve to die for it; Garrett believes Odhrán should have known better.

Deryn's Debt To Tywyll for their eye-loss to the acid-snake-mole. Under Construction.

Seeing Odhran's markings bearing similarities to the Stone. Under Construction.

Moves

 * "No victory, no defeat. The survivor just carries on the fight. That's our destiny, boy!" - Geralt

In this section, include the moves currently available to your character - moves otherwise available to your class but not your current character (I.E.: moves not yet chosen), can be included as names, but leave them only as links to the relevant sections of your class's wiki article.

Moves: 

Crew, Logistics.

Veteran Crew: Fighter.

Permission to Die, Sir

Equipment

 * "STUFF IS THE THINGS OF LEGEND" - SMORG

Mundane Gear
Under Construction.

Minor Arcana
N/A

Major Arcana
N/A

Quotes

 * "Ooh, irony." - Balketh