Shalene “Shale” Silverstream
Shalene Silverstream was not dropped on her head as a child: if she had been, she’d have put a second gorge under Mithral Hall to rival the one named after the first and ninth king! No, Shale is a strong, sturdy dwarf lass—even if it is impossible to grow her beard in evenly after that incident with the flaming bucket of pitch—and the hardness of her head is a benefit to her chosen profession: she aspires to join the legendary Gutbuster Brigade, the squad of battleragers founded by Thibbledorf Pwent, the shield-dwarf of King Bruenor Battlehammer himself. In order to secure such an appointment, she must first commit a deed spectacular enough to earn her a spot.
Getting there hasn’t been easy, though: while she killed her first orc during the War of the Silver Marches, she did so by tripping over a goblin’s corpse and accidentally throwing her axe into the chest of the orc charging her position. When she pulled her axe out of its chest and turned about, she collided with a startled goblin and inadvertently stabbed it through the eye with her shield spike. But her role in that fight soon ended, for even a head as hard as hers needed a nap after a glancing blow from a frost-giant-hurled boulder. Unconscious as she was, she didn’t get to join the march for Gauntlgrym and glory, but as soon as she was awake and acting too ornery for the clerics to keep abed, she signed up to guard a caravan heading west for Neverwinter, only to find the foothills around Mount Hotenow crawling with demons!
Since then, she’s served as guard for many other merchants, but she’s finally back to the Sword Coast and ready to try her luck again at impressing King Bruenor enough to win a coveted spot on the Gutbuster Brigade…
Traits
“I’m a simple dwarf: good food, good booze, an’ good company are all I need to be content. I ain’t one for fancy words, but I sure do love a good dancin’ tune!”
Ideals
“Point me at the enemy an’ turn me loose: I’ll make ‘em regret knocking heads with a dwarf.”
Bonds
“I grew up hearin’ stories ‘bout the Gutbuster Brigade and me dream is to be one of their proud number.”
Flaws
“Some’ve said I never look afore I leap, but I’d rather charge ahead like a rushin’ bull than leap anywhere!”
“I Know a Guy”
Shale’s uncle Stokely Silverstream is the leader of the Battlehammer dwarves in Icewind Dale, having stayed behind a century ago when King Bruenor returned to be the tenth King of Mithral Hall. Uncle Stokely reportedly came to Gauntlgrym to see visit his friend and king, but Shale hasn’t been to Gauntlgrym herself yet.
Friends & Enemies
Even with her literally and figuratively hard head, Shale possesses a cheery can-do attitude that has won her friends among the guards in many of the trading costers of western Faerûn, and a few of the caravan masters have even asked for her by name.