Gruman
| Gruman | |||||||||||||||||
 Gruman, from Ultima V: Lazarus | |||||||||||||||||
| Species: | human | ||||||||||||||||
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Gruman is a knight of Trinsic during the events of Ultima V.
Description[edit]
When the Avatar met him, Gruman spoke of how he kept up the order in Trinsic while waiting for a sign of their true ruler, Lord British. If the Avatar asked Gruman for the mantra of Honor, Gruman would reveal the mantra to be SUMM if the hero had sufficiently high karma.[1]
Gruman would also test the Avatar's Honor on the hero's second visit by asking if the hero's blade had tasted blood. If the Avatar said yes, Gruman asked if it had been for a just and honorable cause. This would cause Gruman to give the mantra of Honor to the Avatar if the hero's karma was sufficient.
Ultima V: Lazarus[edit]
This is an Ultima V: Lazarus-related article or section. The information within may not apply to Ultima V or other Ultima games.
In Ultima V: Lazarus, Gruman told the Avatar that he had served the mayor of Trinsic for nine years as the Captain of the Guard. Having served Sir Simon before Trinsic's overthrow by Blackthorn’s forces, he now served Mayor Ellison in the same function. The paladin felt that Sir Simon had been a good mayor who served the city well, having taken the position shortly after the Quest of the Avatar. Gruman jokingly suggested that there were some who felt that Mayor Ellison was a useless fool who was unfit to rule Trinsic, but since he had sworn an oath to serve the mayor, clearly he must not be one of them. The guard captain felt that Lord British would someday return to rule Britannia, and that the current mayor dishonored the city's residents by doubting their oath to not actively work against Blackthorn after the fall of Trinsic.[2]
The paladin further regaled the hero of how the city of Trinsic fell, telling the hero how Blackthorn had used a mage to smash open the northern gate of the city, which made their defeat inevitable. They were unable to counter such magic because the city's mage, Sindar, was preoccupied with a magical affliction that kept him constantly asleep. The paladins were unable to hold the smashed gates, and were forced back into the city. When the Standard of Honor finally fell, the citizens of Trinsic surrendered, and Blackthorn chose to spare their lives.
If the Avatar agreed with Gruman that surrender against superior forces to save the lives of innocents was an honorable act, the paladin was willing to supply the hero with the Mantra of Honor, SUMM. If the hero further supplied the password for the Resistance, DAWN, Gruman told the Avatar how Hettar was actively working to oppose Blackthorn. Gruman also chronicled how when Anniel had been besieged by a Shadowlord in Trinsic, the knight Greymarch had tried to rescue her. Greymarch's arrest after this was proof to Gruman of the Oppression’s association with the Shadowlords. When Greymarch's son Froed opposed his father's arrest, Gruman was ordered to also arrest the boy, who fled with the knight Rowenie. Gruman instead allowed Rowenie and Froed to flee, but was unaware of their current location.