| Jervis Stoot | |
|---|---|
| (Person) | |
| Alignment | Chaotic evil |
| Race/Species | Human |
| Gender | Male |
| Homeland | Sandpoint |
| Died | 4702 |
In 4687 AR, when Jervis Stoot made clear his intentions to build a home on the island just north of the Old Light, locals in Sandpoint paid him no mind. Jervis had already garnered something of a reputation as an eccentric for his one-man crusade to carve depictions of birds on every deserving building in town. Stoot never made a carving without securing permission, but his incredible skill made it a given that if Stoot picked your building as the site of his latest project, you seized the opportunity. Sporting a Stoot soon grew to be something of a bragging point, and Jervis eventually extended his talent to include ship figureheads and even carriages. Those who asked or tried to pay him for his skill were rebuffed, Stoot telling them, "There ain't no birds in that wood for me t'set free," and going on his way. Stoot often wandering the streets for days before noticing a hidden bird in a fencepost, lintel, steeple, or doorframe and securing permission to "release" it with his trusty carving knives.
Stoot's excuse for wanting to move to the isle seemed innocent enough—the place was a haven for local birdlife, and his claim of "Wantin' ta be with th' birds" seemed to make sense. So much, in fact, that the guild of carpenters (with whom Stoot had maintained a friendly competition for several years) volunteered to build a staircase, free of charge, along the southern cliff face so that Stoot could come and go from his new home with ease. For fifteen years, Stoot lived on the island. His trips into town grew less and less frequent, making it something of an event when he chose a building to host a new Stoot.[1]
Chopper
In 4702 AR, amid the terrible time that would come to be known as "the late unpleasantness", the town's local serial killer, called Chopper, took the life of the sheriff, Casp Avertin, in a dark alley. When the town guard found the sheriff dead with another victim several minutes later, they were able to follow the bloody trail left by the killer.
A trail that led straight to the stairs of Stoot's Rock.
At first, the town guard refused to believe the implications, and feared that Chopper had come to claim poor Jervis Stoot as his 26th victim. Yet what the guards found in the modest home atop the isle, and in the larger complex of rooms that had been carved into the bedrock below, left no room for doubt. Jervis Stoot and Chopper were the same, and the eyes and tongues of all 25 victims were found in a horrific altar to a birdlike demon[2] whose name none dared speak aloud. Stoot himself was found dead at the base of the altar, having plucked his own eyes and tongue loose for a final offering. The guards collapsed the entrance to the chambers, burned Stoot's house, tore down the stairs, and did their best to forget. Stoot himself was burned on the beach in a pyre, his ashes then blessed and then scattered in an attempt to stave off an unholy return of his evil spirit from beyond the grave. And in the months to follow, Sandpoint did its best to forget the terror, although even today, children who remember the dark times only six years ago sometimes wake with nightmare visions of Chopper hiding under their beds.[1]
Motivations
What the townspeople of Sandpoint do not know, however, is what led Stoot to commit such unspeakable crimes. In fact, Stoot's murderous rampage was caused by the very same thing which brought about the Sandpoint chapel fire and the death of Atsuii Kaijitsu. When Runelord Alaznist's Runewell of Wrath activated under Sandpoint, the resulting magical energies made most people only feel a brief anger. In Stoot, though, the wrath grew until he became a serial killer.[3]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 James Jacobs. (May 17, 2007). The Late Unpleasantness, Paizo Blog.
- ↑ Erik Mona et al. (2008). Campaign Setting, p. 175. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-112-1
- ↑ James Jacobs. (2007). Burnt Offerings. Burnt Offerings, p. 9. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-035-3