Grendel (The Wolf Among Us)

Grendel, also called "Gren", is a character in the video game The Wolf Among Us, which is based of the popular comics series Fables. Grendel is a Fable and is best known for attacking and terrorizing mead halls and kingdoms throughout the Fable homelands. He was eventually defeated by the hero Beowulf, who tore Grendel's arm off and sent him back to his lair.

Eventually a monstrous entity known only as "The Adversary" appears and ravages the Fairy tale homelands. Grendel is forced to go into hiding in Fabletown which is located in New York City of the Mundane world. Grendel is one of the many Fables that has not taken well to living in the normal world, he has been described as hating the noise and business of the city, which is the same thing that drove him to attack Beowulf in his homeland. He is disenchanted with the system that was put in place originally to meet the needs of all the residents of Fabletown, but due to corruption and an overload of problems in Fabletown, many of their needs have fallen on deaf ears. Because of the failures he sees within the Fabletown government he has great animosity towards it's sheriff, Bigby Wolf.

Grendel serves as an antagonist in the first episode of The Wolf Among Us.

Episode One: "Faith"
Gren is first encountered waiting in line outside of Ichabod Crane's office, there to inquire about help finding his friend Holly's missing sister,  when Bigby walks by for a meeting with Crane and Snow White, Gren confronts him and insults him for seemingly not caring for the well being of his fellow Fables. Bigby however, simply ignores his insults, further adding to Gren's hatred of the sheriff. Later Grendel encounters Bigby at Holly's bar, The Trip Trap, who is looking for the Woodsman in connection to a murder of a Fable. Grendel does not take kindly to Bigby wanting to question his friend, confronts him once again this time insulting Snow White, who Bigby happens to be in love with. After trading insults and Bigby possibly throwing a sucker punch, because of Gren's disrespectful remarks towards Snow (this depends on the player's choice), Gren sheds his glamour spell and attacks Bigby in his true form.

The two fight with Grendel at first having the upper hand, violently throwing Bigby across the room several times, however Bigby allows the wolf inside come out and he once again engages Grendel. Bigby, now in wolf form, slashes Grendel several times in his chest and neck before finally stabbing a pool cue through his back and breaking his leg, which effectively ends Grendel as a threat. Bigby can then choose to rip Grendel's arm off (the same arm that was once torn off by Beowulf, but has since been reattached), and throws it across the room which leaves Grendel laying on the floor moaning in pain.

Episode Two: Smoke and Mirrors
Grendel appears once again in the Trip Trap talking with Holly, and Jack Horner from the Jack and the beanstalk Fable, when Bigby walks through the door once again, only this time to inform Holly of her missing sister Lily being found dead, the newest victim of the Fabletown serial killer. Gren is at first timid and unwilling to provoke Bigby again after their last encounter, but upon learning of the death of Holly's sister he becomes enraged that nothing was done to find her and bring her back safely. He eventually calms down and is asked to leave the bar by Holly for a moment alone with Bigby and Snow in order to discuss what she knew about her sister's activities before her death, Gren reluctantly respects Holly's wishes and leaves the bar along with Jack.

Episode 3: A Crooked Mile
Grendel is in attendance at Lily's funeral and is upset when Bigby interrupts. He asks the true reason for his being there, believing Bigby has no interest in Lily's death. Later, when Bigby is being held at gunpoint by the Tweedle Twins, he is furious that they are interrupting her funeral service. He abandons his glamour along with Holly and after Dee insults Lily by calling her a whore, he screams that he'll kill him. When Holly is shot after charging at Dee, Grendel knocks Dum's gun away and pins him to the ground. Dum is able to retrieve his gun when Grendel is distracted and shoots him.

When Bigby goes to the Trip Trap hoping to look through Holly's belongings for a lead on Crane's whereabouts, Grendel is there to answer the door. He is in a strangely good mood and happily invites him inside. He says that the medicine given to him by Doctor Swineheart will give him a pleasant high if he resists the sleep it induces. The Woodsman constantly warns him not to drink any alcohol and that he should rest, but he insists on having a round of drinks before he helps Bigby with the investigation. After the Woodsman again tells him to not drink, Grendel lashes out and the two engage in a brief struggle. Grendel then tells Bigby that Holly discovered The Woodsman was paying Lily to have sex with him and kept it hidden from them, knowing she would object. After the Woodsman storms out, Bigby again tries to ask Grendel for help, but he instead passes out from the sleep inducing medication.