Background:
Excerpt from Commander Esylwn’s journal…
We got a new recruit today, an Elf - since our unit already has 20 archers I was doubting the sources we got that we really needed another Elven archer; don’t get me wrong the knife ears are the best bowmen in all of Thedas, nobody can compare to them, especially if they are Dalish, but it turns out this guy was meant to be a bit “unique”, yeah, that was the word they used.
The last company that had him said he was first in and last out, meaning he was always at the vanguard and he always came back last from the fight; at least in their experience.
Gotta admit, it got me interested in just what sort of Elf would be like that, hell not just an Elf, any guy, girl, dog or horse is something you want that fits that description.
So, I went to this old mansion in Hightown to pick this guy up, had my Lieutenant and a couple of my hardest lads with me, and as always our mage.
It was the dead of night and we had to skirt a few patrols before we finally reached the place - looked as if nobody had lived in it for years, Ivy was overgrown taking up half of the wall exterior and you could see it making its way through cracks into the house proper - you couldn’t pay me to live in that place, half the homes in Lowtown are better looking than this dump.
I could punch the wall and it’d crumble.

Anyway, we got inside, went through the preliminaries, shook hands with the knives out behind our backs, you know all the usual shit; always be prepared for an ambush first rule I live by when you try and talk to anyone - and I mean anyone, even my own mother.
That's when we got a glimpse of the guy, I can see straight away what they meant by unique, he was clad in armour, well his left side was; the further to the right the armour got the less of it there was, it was as if he could only afford half of the armour being made.
It was real thick plate, a Dragon’s hide would look easier to crack in comparison, his arm had so much metal attached to it I was honestly surprised he could lift to meet my handshake.
The armour looked absurd because generally our groups wear uniforms so you know who they are, ours is a red and black that and we employ styles from Antiva and Ferelden, makes us look real distinctive, and that's what you want.
I suppose he was really easy to spot, you couldn’t miss that thing on a battlefield that's for damn sure.

So, after we exchanged niceties we got down to business, his contract cost me and arm and a leg but his service record really outshined the price - 36 sovereigns for two years; half that again if we lease it for another two years within the first year.
If he breaks his contract we get 50% back, and if he dies during the contract we get 60% if it’s the first year and it halves every consecutive year he’s in our employ.
Thank the maker I brought my Lieutenant it’s all this part of the mercenary work that really grates on me.
All about professionalism and running this place as if it’s a business, I suppose he’s right despite how much it gives me a headache.
They also said we can purchase the contract off them for 160 sovereigns of which I kindly told them to shove it up their arses, no man is worth that amount of money; bloody thieves.

In my experience the entire thing went over very smoothly, which is rare, I consider events like these to go well if only 3 people die, because the sword is usually our bargaining tool, I suppose this is what it’s meant to be a professional in the merc line of work.
Well, I assume it’s going to go well, we also picked up a bit of work with these guys as a gesture of goodwill between our parties; that’ll probably go sourer than Dwarf in a dry bar.
We are scheduled to meet at a crossroads a few miles south of Mount Harrowmount, there we will set up an ambush for some bastards that think they can muscle in on the work we do here, new and up and coming lot that have some dick head noble paying them, this reeks of “good work! Oh would you look at that I just stabbed you in the back.”
I’ve got the guys and the newbie ready for anything, as well as this I have 5 snipers with the task of shooting dead the Elf if he tries to turn on us.
Nobody double crosses Kristoph Eslwyn and gets away with it. Let’s see how this goes in a few days time, maybe I’m just being overly-cautious....

Excerpt from Gerith’s journal - dated: 14th of Solace, 9:27 Dragon

These new guys aren’t too bad, they seem to have warmed up to me fairly well - normally a new merc in an already well established band gets a bit of a tough time, “hazing” they call it, not me though - turns out they all know what work I’ve already done in my time with the old group, they treat me with respect, if not being a bit careful around me as well.
They’re quite a varied group, gotta say they don’t discriminate here I see Elves; city and dalish, Dwarves, Qunari and obviously humans; cards is a bloody mess when every race is in on it - The qunaris sits there with a face so still you’d think it was a stone carving, the dwarves have their twitchy fingers wrapped around a blade for when they lose and the elves don’t pay their debts - well some of them anyway.
Either way, they’ve made me feel at home with the new group, and that I appreciate very much.

We have a job coming up with my old group, gunna raid a caravan that's been escorted by some wankers called the “Bloodstone Warriors” - some fucking name I tell you, the targets are the Mercs escorting the goods rather than the caravan, but of course anything we loot is just a bonus, we are getting a decent pay for this job and it will be the last time I see anything of the group that’s got their grubby little fingers on my contract, that’s my intention anyway, I plan to kill everyone of the bastards sometime down the line; teach them to abuse a liberty.

Excerpt from Lieutenant Vrald Hoss’ journal - dated 18th of Solace 9:27 Dragon
So, today was beyond any form of strange that I’ve encountered as a mercenary, and I’ve encountered some fucked up shit in my time in Kirkwall, had to fight some of it too.
But today?
Yeah that's one for the records.

It was the beginning of the operation we were having with the group we got our new guy from - normally you can expect jobs after a transaction to almost always be ambushes or traps, especially from the very people who you just done a deal with - most of us in this line of work are backstabbing bastards who’d do anything for some sovereigns, especially early in the career; with age comes wisdom, I live by that, literally as it is my old age that is keeping me alive in this godforsaken world.
So, Our groups met up at the ambush point at dawn, Commanders shook hands and in quiet tones we spoke about the plan - seemed pretty simple, we’d wait for them to come by and jump them.
The terrain offered lots of cover and had plenty of spots we could place archers on the high ground - then there was the new guy, said he’d go in first, he was wearing some really odd armour, practically covered every inch of his left half of the body, but his right was fairly exposed, only had a few plates to keep his joints and body safe, talked to one of the other guys in the other Merc group, said I should watch first, judge later.
And so, we set up shop, and waited. And waited…. and waited.
We were contemplating a game of wicked grace to pass the time before one of our scouts came running - it was time to get ready for the ambush.
They got to the mid point, so they were covered from all sides by both us and the other merc group, a quick glance before the order was given showed a Caravan with about 20 guards, and a total of 5 wagons, so there should be some decent pickings there - but the fight would be a different matter.
The call to battle was sounded and the archers from both sides unleashed a volley down to caravan, claiming the lives of 6 guards and some of the caravan drivers.
The easiest part was over, and we should have really killed more in the opening we had, but either way both sides charged down from their spots and into the enemy - and before we were even half way I seen that the newbie kept his promise, straight into the fray; shield raised and the second he was in range of one of the enemy he hit the guys head so hard with that bulwark, that it snapped back at an impossible angle, he claimed his first of the battle.
The battle itself was extremely short lived; they were outnumbered and surrounded, we only lost a single guy in the fight and a few guys had some flesh wounds but nothing the healer couldn’t fix up.
This was the part where all of us expected the knife to come out and be planted firmly in our backs.
But the moment never came, the other commander said we could pick two of the caravans for us to take, and he’d do the same, then they’d flip a coin - heads got the last caravan, tails got all the loot from the bodies.
We got the the loot from the bodies and before we knew it we were on our merry way with shit load of loot.
Never known a more tense atmosphere of dread and anticipation over the group, they were just waiting for another ambush on the way back; but by the time we reached the outskirts of Kirkwall, we were shocked we had actually come across another Merc group who keeps their word, the mead flowed with abundance that night; the newbie was no longer regarded as such after the news broke that he had killed 6 of the guards by himself, 4 of them with nought but his shield.
Gotta say, that was the high point of the year for this outfit, made a lot of money, and nothing went wrong.
What more could you ask for; here’s hoping the rest of the year follows suit...

The mercenary group named the Veredium Blades held the contract for Gerith for a number of years, they became quite successful and started branching out to others areas in the Free Marches, it had some staples within the group that made it special, one of course being the frontline menace that was Gerith and his shield, used more for offence than it was defence - eventually Gerith asked the Commander to help him destroy his contract - so he could end his time being no more than an object sold to the highest bidder for his services.
Kristoph agreed after some deliberation; it was a move that freed one of their greatest assets, but equally it crippled the Merc group in doing so, it started a war with the very people whom had loaned them Gerith in the first place, they were professional and very well organised; not only that but they ties with the Antivan Crows; The commander knew the risks but felt that it was the least he could do to the Elf whom he respected a great deal, without a doubt his loyalties lied with Kristoph and the rest of the group, they were a family; if not a dysfunctional one, but a family none the less.
After a successful ambush of the Merc group, which was named the “Free March Hawks”, a clear and blatantly obvious attempt to try and be the next Antivan crows, or a better version.
Multiple strikes out to the bases of operations up and down the coast proved successful, but now that the element of surprise was no longer present, the real struggle began - the conflict lasted months, it was long, bloody and it resulted in several fights amongst the streets of Kirkwall until the day when the leader of the “Free march hawks” was finally confronted, Gerith was so close to acquiring the leash around his neck followed by his master's hand before he managed to escape.
Kristoph and the merc group simply lacked the strength and resources to chase him down.

It was this that caused a great time of uncertainty for both Gerith and the Merc group, years down the line fortunes haven’t really changed nor improved for either party.
Gerith started doing some extra work, to make up for the pain and damage his situation has caused the Mercs that he has grown to love.




Skills:

Shield Bash: The difference between most sheild users and Gerith is that his shield is his sword, and he uses it as such.

Challenge: Just try it - I dare you, many have thrown themselves at his shield all have met the same fate.

Charging Bull: There’s no better place to be on the field of battle, than the very front lines, and this is his ticket there, regardless of who is in front of him.

Overpower “Where’d his axe go?” Before you know it he’s on top of some poor git and using his shield turns their head into a pile of mush.

Mythals vengeance: The Silverite bulwark and monstrous shield that Gerith carries is no ordinary shield, the expensive and resilient metal it’s crafted from says that much, but it has a latent power in it, the reward; a personal one from the end of a job had a Blood mage enchant his sheild as a reward for saving his hide from two templars - after drawing upon the power infused within the metal, Gerith assumes a defensive position, all the pain and blood that he spills from damage over a set amount of time is absorbed by the shield and then after a battlecry. Gerith unleashes the power absorbed from the damage he took over that time, unleashing a powerful shockwave that can outright kill weakened enemies and stun others.

Like the shield wasn’t bad enough. Carries a war axe and a pouch filled with little throwing hatchets, can't see him behind the shield? Chances are he’s about to ram an axe in your thigh.