'Suck my Wiggly Dick!' - Hieronymus the Liar in the Edranari Empire

Preface - "Banishment"

"Banishment. That is where Hieronymus Quelthic's life truly started. Descended from the lesser Noble family of Tieflings – the Quelthics – Hieronymus was banished from the court after successfully seducing his own half-sister, when she and a few others were visiting. The Quelthics, although not in the public eye as some of the more powerful families, identified how bad this would look; they were the only Tiefling nobility, a race despised in some areas of the world. Hieronymus' action was too big to go unpunished.

"Stripped of his inheritance and identity, Hieronymus found himself quite at odds with his situation – he didn't have any power, or money, or anything to his name. Plus, now he had this infamy hovering over his head. He fled to Dameusia under the pretence that, against a backdrop of communism, he might just be able to get by. Unfortunately, he was incorrect; it was as hard, if not harder, to get through every day here. However, thanks to its infamous reputation, Hieronymus' own seemed diminished. He used this to his advantage, and, upon discovering his life of semi-nobility had left him with superior speech skills, tried his hand at being a mountebank. He emphasised his mysterious air by adopting a masquerade-style mask, an accessory he continued to wear constantly. His occupation became more lucrative, and Hieronymus found himself greatly enjoying Dameusia. He would enjoy the arts, scam people for his own amusement and flirt wantonly with anyone he found interesting enough.

"As Hieronymus became more familiar with the customs of the normal folk, he began participating in the monthly festivals, discovering his particular love for the Festival of Masks. It was exactly where a charlatan like him belonged. It wasn't long before talk of Kasir, God of Pleasure and Temptation, graced his ears. Hieronymus, feeling an affinity with the God, spent time researching him, learning the lore, the myths and legends revolving around Kasir, finally coming to a decision – Hieronymus belonged more in Kasir's metaphorical court than the Queltic. He holds onto the hope that, one day, he might meet Kasir. As preparation for that day, he carries with him two feathers, that he might demonstrate his devotion to Kasir when the time comes.

"Hieronymus will tell you that he believes it was indeed Kasir's influence that led him to his chosen path of combat. He had, after all, shown he was serious about following Kasir. He was led to pledge himself to the Hexblade Patron Guile after he realised he was growing bored of conning people; it seemed far too simple now. It is unlikely that Kasir had anything to do with the decision of Hieronymus' patron Guile though, but rather to do with Hieronymus' undeniable charisma and aptitude for risk. The little pulling thread at the back of his mind insisted he take a trip to the Underdark, for it was there where he would find the power of Guile. Hieronymus, after some frantic, obsessive organisation, joined an expedition. While the expedition focused on their goals at one particular point in the journey, Hieronymus, again, found himself drawn elsewhere... he was led to a pocket dimension in which lay a sword. Guile spoke to him, granted Hieronymus the power of the Hexblade and it is this path Hieronymus follows to this day. He seemed to take to it slowly, having to train hard, but the persuasion of his patron had not faded from his mind – Hieronymus trained, eventually coming to see his new powers as his plaything.

"It was soon after that his title of 'the Liar' was applied to him. Upon launching an elaborate but lucrative scam on a group of dwarves, the dwarves became enraged that they'd clearly been conned. Hieronymus, still not powerful enough with his blade, succumbed to their combined force. Upon getting him upon the ground, one of the dwarves inscribed with a knife the word 'LIAR' onto his chest in Edranari. It was their reasoning that, as the common language, this charlatan might not scam anyone in the future. Hieronymus, shocked, injured and overpowered, could only wait for his wounds to heal. However, permanently on his chest, the word LIAR shone, light and extremely noticeable against his light crimson skin. It was easy enough to cover up, but another shred of infamy had come to soil his name. From then on, he henceforth became known as Hieronymus the Liar.

"Because his reputation was more or less ruined in Dameusia, he decided to seek out fresh hunting grounds. He left for the Edranar Empire, as it seemed to be the richest area around. Once there, he pledged to make himself known for something other than scandal, for once, and so offered to assist someone in their goal of collecting ore. It seemed like an easy task, but Hieronymus, desperate for something fun to do, persuaded his companion to accompany him into a cave where they might find more ore. His companion agreed weakly, but the two ended up having to fight for their lives. His companion was enraged by this afterwards but Hieronymus, heart fluttering from the thrill of something new, pressed in further. It was worth it – he came across a weapon, a magic longsword, one which warned of danger. A very useful item for a man who often became distracted by something very trivial. After the quest ended, Hieronymus was not paid as promised because of the simple fact he almost got the other person killed. However, Hieronymus was not too upset; his prize was the sword.

"However, Hieronymus still needed money. He had no choice but to volunteer himself for other jobs. Assuming jobs for the state might be the most lucrative, he ended up as a bodyguard for group of biologists. Hieronymus, never having an affinity with the sciences, did his job as best he could, fending off wild beasts, leaving the biologists to tackle their own issues. After the quest was over, he escorted the biologists back to civilisation, before boarding an airship back to Khora."