Overview
Master Var’s cave is the final word in trollish cave design. The rough cave walls are mostly covered in fine (if disturbing) tapestries and much of the rest of the walls have been carved into fanciful designs. Unlike his more brutish relatives, Master Var is polite and well-spoken with such a breadth of knowledge that one could almost believe his claims that he saw the fall of Bergolast (38.28) with his own eyes.
It is here that he fashions the art that has grown popular with the elves of the Kingswood and he is a frequent sight at Olmsted Keep (31.04) where the haggles with the half-elven middlemen who live there. Some of his most recent works include a ship in a bottle fashioned out of human fingernails and a bowl of silver-inlaid puppy skulls. He is also something of an alchemist and has developed a substance from ochre jelly that makes his skin (mostly) fireproof.
However, for all his friendly manner, Master Var is still a troll and has a ferocious temper when roused. Recently he broke the peace of Lord Olmsted’s halls by tearing apart a group of goblins slaves during the lord’s name day feast. It is said that he smelled troll meat on their breath and it was later found that Deep Dwarf owners of the goblins had captured a troll and had carved off enough of its flesh to fill barrels with salted troll meat.
For the last several years, Master Var has employed a young human assistant named Laera. She cheerfully tells gruesome tales about how Master Var ate her parents but seemed to be loyal to her master. However, she has recently been kidnapped (rescued?) by a small band of mercenaries who had come to Olmsted Keep for Lord Olmsted’s nameday. Instead of the girl, Master Var now shares his home with the troll that he rescued from the dwarves and his slowly nursing her back to health after she suffered several serious burns in the chaos of her rescue.
Hooks
- What other art has Master Var created?
- Is he really old enough to have seen the fall of Bergolast?
- What’s the story with Laera?
