Auldwell Farewel was once a respected merchantman in Friedport, founding an auction-house, starting and running a tavern and inn called Auldwell’s Inn, and then also starting up a second tavern in the Philosophiastreet part of Crabraven. The tavern was known by many locals as a safe haven for worshipping Titans in secret, offering up shrines to them in the rooms of those who requested it subtly. After standing as a witness in the HGA v. Bande Aparte, it turned out he’d attempted to frame Bande Aparte, and he was revealed to be a secret Crusader leader conspiring against the city.
Secrets ahead!
While anyone is free to read what’s ahead, everything else in this article is privileged knowledge only known to a few specific people in the world of Vendrith. Take particular caution to not assume your character knows these things, or avoid it entirely if you’re worried about keeping your own and your characters’ knowledge separate!
Head of the Blackout Crusaders
Auldwell Fareawel grew up as Aldting Fritz d’Yumur, part of the extended royal family of the Yumuri Kingdom of western Mogxa. His family had amassed wealth, as well as a number of invaluable artefacts, over the years while retreating from politics after the main lands of Yumur were handed over to the Sanitorium. Young Fritz took an interest in the various artefacts the family had, but resented his family otherwise - especially around how they self-censored themselves and him regarding discussing the artefact’s connections to Titans and Religion. After a ferocious Crusader Pirate ship supposedly had raided a nearby monastery-turned-lookout fortress, Fritz planned to run away. He collected a number of artefacts and left his family for good, finding where the crusaders had docked in the darkness and threw them a bag of gold, silver and religious artefacts while asking to join. Taken in, Fritz learned the ways of common folk and struggle at sea, and grew increasingly favourable to the Crusader cause.
After the captain took issue with Fritz and a number of other sailors who’d made “too much of a fuzz” about “handling the booty” (for Fritz, items of invaluable historical and religious meaning), him and some others were left at shore and ended up wandering Canath. They eventually went to Kallea, where Fritz honed in on a number of important relics, amongst them the Vestitur relics, being “selfishly” kept by local aristocrats instead of being used for the Crusader cause. He prepared a heist with his own men, as well as some outsiders who could do the risky work of entering the compound. This was that of Bande Aparte and Goldsheen, whom needed money but also saw it as a valid target due to agreeing with Fritz. Unbeknownst to them however, he had been presenting only under the false identity of “Perkle d’Ritz” to them - because he had planned to betray them from the start. Most everything going to Fritz’ plan, Goldsheen ended up dead and unable to tell any tales due to poison Fritz had had smuggled in ahead of time. Bande Aparte too was taken by the betrayal, and lost the artefacts to Fritz’ gang. Despite Fritz’ orders, Bande Aparte did not end up dead however, a fact that would come back to haunt him one day.
Having earned a great resource with the heist, Fritz moved on to avoid the law and began to see to a greater ambition. Learning about and joining the to-be Blackout Crusaders organised by General Architrave, Fritz would soon go to Horiza, and more specifically, Friedport. For this next chapter Fritz had set up a new identity - that of Auldwell Fareawel, a businessman with a passing interest in relics for their sale values. He first established an auctionhouse in Friedport, but also decided to start a tavern and inn he could run himself as a better cover (The Auldwell Tavern). At the same time, Auldwell had manoeuvred politically at the Blackout Crusader camp, and after leadership began to slip from Architrave’s brother, Hallan Aerf, Auldwell seized the opportunity and became the real leader. Karvi, having been essentially promised the role by Hallan, was furious, but was kept in check by the dirt Auldwell had on him, as well as his strategic emotional manipulation. Auldwell kept a diary with notes on the psychological profiles of each of the Blackout Crusaders. He’d also started to lose the support of The Architect and the Hand of the Architect, which had otherwise put their trust in him as a strategic genius.
CW: suicide, choosing that over imprisonment.
After the arrival of the The Landcrab Plot, Auldwell recognised Bande Aparte and realised he could threaten his false identity (though Bande Aparte hadn’t had a good enough look or listen to Perkle d’Ritz to recognise him, on first contact, at least). Having recently pawned off the Vestitur Relics through the Shadow of Friedport, Auldwell intended to have Bande Aparte take the blame for that to kill two birds with one stone. He set up a situation in which Bande Aparte was framed for the sale, as well as the murder of a halfling involved in it. This started the trial of HGA v. Bande Aparte, of which Auldwell eventually needed to be a witness to. In it, the defence team unravelled the framing and eventually honed in on Auldwell as involved due to the importance of the second tavern of his the crime had taken place outside of. The team finally correctly deduced that something was still in the tavern, confirmed after finding his secret safe behind a painting. With his identity inevitable going to be revealed, he activated his plan B of having the courtroom boat bombed (with a bomb smuggled in hiding as a piece of evidence), and some Crusader to attack in the hopes of extracting Auldwell in the chaos. With the Newcomers fighting back against the Crusaders however, Auldwell realised he’d be re-captured and chose to end his own life.
Even after death however, Auldwell’s spirit was not content. He remained in the world as a Ghost bound to the Blackout Crusader camp - sworn to carry out the plan at all costs. From this strange position, retained a form of leadership the camp was uneasy with. This wouldn’t last too long however, as the Newcomers discovered and attacked the camp. Here they would also meet and face in battle the Old Crone, which had been collaborating with Audlwell. In the end, Auldwells’ ghost was put down by the Newcomers, as well as the Architect Twins, whom had finally lost their belief in Auldwell. With nobody left at camp who saw him as a capable leader, his spirit’s connection to the world was severed for good. The camp was set fire to as an attempt to cover up and relocate by the Crusaders, which really just symbolised the entire plan had turned to ashes.