Guntile

Guntile is a half-orc mercenary hired for Alex Roth’s infiltration of Cretalikon. Her extraordinary throwing accuracy and explosive stones make her one of the party’s heaviest ranged attackers, while her final act lets her strike back even as she dies.

Biography

The Cretalikon mission and final stand

Guntile demonstrates her skill before accepting the job by striking five airborne pieces of flint with a blizzard of thrown stones in under two heartbeats. Once Alex confirms payment, contingency plans, and looting rights, she commits to the disguised troupe and takes the rear-guard position during the approach. In Cretalikon, she maintains the performance cover with pyrotechnics, then turns the same stones on demon monkeys and guards, blasting apart groups before they can close on her companions. (Chapters 511–518)

When Kaz-Mowang traps the party near its escape portal, Guntile keeps hurling detonating stones through the demon army and wounds the greater demon himself. A bone spear severs her forearm, causing the stones in her fallen hand to ignite. Rather than spend her last moment trying to save herself, she throws her entire remaining pouch at Kaz-Mowang and gives him an obscene gesture; the explosion kills her and nearby demons, while the pouch’s detonation lands one final blow. Her companions return with only a scrap of the pouch and remember that she died protecting them. (Chapters 524–526)

Guntile’s later presence is posthumous. When the surviving mercenaries consider another enormous battle, Ezerak points to the deaths of Guntile and Celsus as the clearest warning that such adventures carry real costs. Her absence shapes their risk assessment: courage and promised treasure remain attractive, but the prior company’s losses cannot be treated as a harmless story. (Chapter 836)

Appearance and personality

Guntile is a broad-toothed, tusked half-orc woman who carries a pouch of stones and later wears a bright red, multicoloured sequined costume as part of the troupe disguise. She is cheerful, direct about pay and loot, confident in her abilities, and professionally alert. Even when frightened by Kaz-Mowang’s army, she answers intimidation with defiance and violence. (Chapters 511, 515, and 524–526)

Magic, abilities, and skills

Guntile throws stones with exceptional speed, force, and accuracy, striking multiple airborne targets almost instantly. Her prepared stones produce different explosive effects—light, thunder, flame, force, and coloured smoke—allowing her to kill clustered demons, disrupt large foes, and contribute to a theatrical disguise. The source presents the stones as magical ammunition rather than spells she casts in the moment. (Chapters 511 and 516–518)

Her ammunition can be dangerous to her as well as her enemies. When dropped and cracked after her arm is severed, the stones begin detonating at her feet; her only remaining control is to turn the pouch into a final projectile. Fast opponents can dodge an individual pebble, and sustained fighting consumes a finite carried supply. (Chapters 512 and 524–526)

Relationships

• Ezerak: Mercenary leader and longtime comrade who later invokes her death when weighing another expedition.
• Alex Roth: Employer whose party she protects through the Cretalikon mission.
• Ripp: Fellow mercenary who cries out when Guntile dies.
• Kyembe: Fellow member of the disguised troupe and surviving comrade.

Items

Guntile’s pouch and magical stones define her fighting style, but neither is identified as a separately catalogued notable item.