Riiko Woodbalm was a vanara outlander from the mountains of Osugbo who briefly crossed paths with The Best Around before being killed by Reesec.
About[edit | edit source]
Riiko was born near the Fang-fu Monastery many years before. His parents, hearing of the rise of the Church of Kragnux, decided to flee for a hidden city to live with other Vanara when he was just an infant. Riiko and his parents lived for thirteen years in relative bliss, moving infrequently and having a safe existence. One night, however, Riiko awoke to the sound of wood burning and screaming. He left his room to see a mission from the Church of Kragnux viciously murdering his friends and burning his city. His mother, trying to encourage him to leave, pushed him into the brush, just before a missionary planted a handaxe into her skull. His father escaped into the wild, leaving him alone to fend for himself.
Riiko managed to make it back to the Fang-fu Monastery, seeking asylum. As he clambered over the wall, however, he saw the hanging body of his father and heard a loud voice declaring that he was hanged for “hiding a fugitive dragonborn.” He fled into the woods, killing several human guards along the way and taking one of their knives. He returned to the ruins of his old home and, brandishing the axe used to kill his mother, swore to take down the Church of Kragnux.
For some time, Riiko was a rogue, living in the woods and gradually gaining the skills to become a druid. He stayed at a Siksta Oposs Monastery briefly, where he developed a relationship with a beautiful young Vanara woman. However, remembering the tragedy that befell him years ago, he fled the city and continued life as a hermit, plotting and scheming. Despite several attempts to take down the Church, he has been relatively calm, instead focusing on training and preparing. When he is around any characters who he suspects have an affiliation to the Church, he does not speak, with the exception of Vanaras. His silence makes some believe he doesn’t speak Common, but he understands perfectly and saves the information. It takes him a long time to trust and that trust can be lost in a second.
His downfall came in the form of a young Vanara orphan named Atman. Atman bore a striking resemblance to his lost love and he swore he would do anything to protect her. Fearing for her safety, he took off with a party of adventurers; his complete focus on her and his distrust of all others cost him his life.
Riiko would die following Atman on her journeys. He got tossed off a bridge by Reesec.
