Shendelekos, Balican Scribe

Shendelekos (NG hm Bard 7/ Exp 6)

From his comfortable home in northern Balic, Shendelekos the sage dispenses wisdom from his many travels across the Tablelands and beyond. In his younger days, he adventured with several groups that explored the dangerous wilds of Athas and delving into its past, braving creatures from the Gray, wild beasts, and cruel slavers. Though many of his companions did not survive, Shendelekos did, and after a particular harrowing encounter in the Dead Lands that left him one of two survivors from a company of seven, and with a permanent limp, he decided to retire from active adventuring and use his wealth to research.

The jovial Shendelekos is much different than the sour, calculating man of his youth. The bard discovered many things on his journeys, but the harshness of Athas and the loss of many friends led him to become more thankful for the simple fact that he had survived so many dangers, a luxury many of his compatriots did not enjoy. His livelihood and his wonderful tales of adventure make him a popular guest at social functions in the city, and he has many connections among the nobles and merchant Houses in Balic.

The three storey town home that Shendelekos occupies is a frequent stop for those seeking knowledge and the opinion of the scholar. The first floor is devoted to entertaining, containing a sitting area, dining room, and kitchen. The second floor contains the owners suite as well as the sleeping quarters of his live-in servant Peldoses, a polite and thorough butler. The third floor contains Shendelekos's library and storage area. Items from his adventures and research trips decorate the house, and he frequently changes the objects displayed - they make excellent conversation pieces for his visitors.

Over the past six months, Shendelekos has become increasingly confident that he has discovered the location of the Ivory Windrider, a legendary silt schooner that sank in the Silt Sea southeast of Balic one hundred twenty years ago. The mission for which the schooner was dispatched remains a mystery, but several powerful servants of Andropinis were sent along with the crew, and recovery efforts were unsuccessful, with several of these expeditions disappearing as well. He feels confident that he has collected enough information to locate the wreckage, especially with his latest find, the distinctive stone raptor-shaped sconce that held the navigation orb. He will surely need adventures to assist him in his exploration and deal with any threats that may come.

Unknown to the scholar is that Nemenia (CN hf Ftr 5/Rog 2), the only other surviving member of the ill-fated journey into the Dead Lands, has not had such a prosperous life after they parted. She worked several years as a caravan guard before being captured by raiders and sold into slavery. Years as a slave performing difficult labor nearly broke her several times, but she survived. An assault on the noble house that had enslaved her by an elven tribe once more threw her life into turmoil. Leaving her for dead, as they did with everyone else after they had stolen all they could carry, the elves departed. Nemenia fled the family that had held her in bondage and she eventually found her way to Balic. She discovered Shendelekos still lived, and in fact was prospering. Her years of torment and bitterness led her to seek revenge on her former companion, and she is trying to foment a plan that will allow her to bring down the scholar.