Elgard Sweetvale

"I truly believe no greater drive exists than that which motivates those to protect their child or ward. Tal, I genuinely hope you never have to know what your parents would do for you.”

~Mayor Elgard, to Tal Bonecrusher

Elgard Sweetvale was the mayor of Haven, a quaint town encircled by a wall of fog that prevented travelers who visited from leaving. In his youth, he was acquainted with an infamous rogue, Silvertongue, who established the towns of Judgment and Haven. Mayor Elgard is a cleric of the Necropolis Domain.

Early Life
Little is know of Elgard's youth, save that he entered the company of Silvertongue, a nefarious rogue known for impersonating Felwyn officials utilizing information and personal documents grifted by his band of doppelgangers in the town of Judgment. Enamored by Silvertongue’s care for the lost and strange, Elgard accepted the position as mayor of the town of Haven, a decoy meant to confuse Felwyn soldiers, and moved there with his young daughter, Dagny. Just as the war grew closer and closer to Haven, however, Elgard grew closer and closer to his village, until he could no longer bear Haven’s precarious position: he sold out Judgment to Felwyn. Felwyn's army, however, assaulted both towns, leaving Judgment in ruin and Haven's citizenry decimated. When the dust cleared and the Fog thickened, Elgard used his abilities to attach the souls of his lost villagers to abandoned bodies of Judgment’s doppelgangers. He has led Haven, now named "Judgment" after its twin, as mayor ever since, dedicating himself to the undead townsfolk and their memory.

The Second Fall of Haven
Shortly after the adventurers arrived in Judgment, the town discovered the murder of Gladys, the local sweetshop owner and a dear friend of Mayor Elgard. Due to the disturbing nature of the murder and the revelation of Gladys as a doppelganger, the Mayor asked the adventurers to investigate, citing the fog's erratic state as a particular cause for concern. During their investigation of mysterious livestock theft in the town, the players On their return from finding and exploring the true and ruined town of Judgment, the players encounter the Mayor, Quinn, Dagny, and a mob of villagers near the body of Taylor, the town's tailor. Having lost control of his villagers, Elgard chose not to prevent the mob from hunting down Bogdan Croke, whom evidence at the crime scene implicated some involvement.

After Badu and Quinn broke into the magically sealed church of Haven and discover the source of the Fog, they discover the Mayor and Dagny among the pews, musing over the town's sad state and confirming his past involvement with Silvertongue. Tal, Arcene, and Marty returned from the mimic church after stabilizing the Fog to explore the Haven church and hopefully shut down the defense system, prompting Mayor Elgard to offer the group a chance to leave Haven through the now permeable Fog with his blessing. Marty, however, was able to steal Elgard's knowledge of the Fog's mechanism: offering the system the changeling body of Mavis, Silvertongue's child, whose soul was trapped beneath the church after she activated the Fog.

When the adventurers discovered that the Mayor's daughter Dagny in fact possessed Mavis' body, Arcene cast Charm Person on Dagny, but failed to enchant her. The Mayor, patience worn thin, summoned the spirits of his lost citizens to do battle against the adventurers. Though the spirts of Ardis and Jack and the arcane prowess of the Mayor himself appeared indomitable, due to Badu's well-timed Invisibility spell and Arcene's surprising kidnapping abilities, the adventurers were able to return Mavis' body to Haven's crypt, reuniting it with her spirit while setting Dagny's spirit free. The Mayor, despondent, surrendered.

Despite Elgard's crimes, or in light of his recent loss, Tal asked him to consider remaining mayor to the many visiting residents of Haven. While the Mayor did not outright agree, his grief and regret seemed to subsume his anger, and he quietly returned to his manor.

Trivia

 * Elgard's name is a corruption of "the old guard," which refers to a long-standing member of a group or organization who acts to protect or retain the original beliefs, traditions, or practices of that group or organization.