Maud Stonefoot

Captain Maud Stonefoot is the worst appointment King Rennyn has ever made, and everyone knows it. Including Maud.

She earned her rank through forty years of distinguished service. She fought bandits in the hills, defended trade caravans, and rose through merit to command a garrison near the Pongo River. Competent, reliable, and a dwarf, which meant she hated water with the burning passion of her ancestors.

Then came the incident.

During a skirmish with river pirates, Maud fell overboard. Dwarves sink like stones, and this stretch of river ran through cursed fey lands. When her troops fished her out, something had changed. She was soaked. Completely, impossibly soaked. Water poured from her beard, her hair, her clothes. It never stopped. She dripped like a broken fountain, leaving puddles wherever she stood.

When the Silverleaf emissaries arrived warning of Mahkah Hemlig's devastation, King Rennyn looked at his available commanders. His favorite bard fought with Kaylia's fellowship, and he needed to send forces immediately. He appointed the cursed dwarf who left puddles everywhere she stood.

Maud protested. The king didn't listen. She was still a captain, and captains follow orders.

So Maud gathered the Lyverian forces and led them east. At night, she sits with the other dwarves around the fire, water pooling at her feet. They don't leave and they don't complain. Dwarves stand together, even when one of them never stops dripping.