Bert
Bertrand "Bert" Pasteur de Sud-Crogbon
 | |
| Level | 3 |
| Race | Human(var) |
| Class | Arcane Forge Adept Artificer |
| Armor | scale armor and shield (magically infused +1) |
| Weapon(s) | Spear (magically infused +1/return) |
| Hometown | born in some abandoned farm community, he's lived in Erith long enough to consider it home |
Appearance
Probably closer to 30 than 20. Long hair and mustache but otherwise rather average and nondescript in size and appearance other than a number of scars and burns along his hands and arms from years of working with forges and smelters. Bert's clothing and armor are likely cheap and unadorned but all clothing he owns unless he has an assigned uniform is dyed in some combination of Purple, Black or White, the colors of the University. Unlike the usual poor state of his clothing and other gear his spear and shield both are clearly well-made and cared for and are covered in finely carved runes and magical symbols. Bert frequently casts spells through his spear but is also able to do so through less conspicuous methods using tools similar to a wand and writing his magic directly into the air rather than carving it into a weapon.
Background
Early Life
Bert comes from a family of multi-generational refugees, descended from pastoral working families that fled from the northern pasture lands near Ubrekt and the Crogbon Swamp during the Calamity of the 1400s to more southern cousins only to have to continue to do so several more times to ever more distant relations or cities over the last century. He was born and spent his early childhood in a small farming village north of Erith on the edge of what could still be considered Flannary-controlled lands. When the Long Winter came 11-13 years ago his remaining family again fled as the precarious edge of "civilization" community collapsed. Over the next year of desperation and struggle through the Haze Bert saw many deaths including nearly all of his family. Eventually a small band of refugees including Bert and his remaining family which by this point was only his uncle Alfonse, and cousin Beltrice made it the relative security of Sibnir Smelter, a small and rough outpost along the still barely functioning Silver Road trade routes just a day or 2 ride out of Erith.
Late childhood in the Smelter (~11 ya)
Sibnir Smelter was built along an easily defensible gap in the rolling hills with a solid gate and walls and a clean fresh water spring. The most remarkable feature though was a small enclave of Dwarves, the Kezargor clan, who maintained a very long-term by human standards contract in the area. The hills nearby had several mines which had been abandoned or exhausted for decades but the Dwarves remained and continued to operate their forges and smelters and they repurposed some of the closest mines into mushroom farms which provided food even when trade was slow. While technically in Flannari territory, the Kezargors were the sole power and rulers of the outpost and nearby area. Their crossbows defended the walls and they determined who could stay or pass through. As bad as things got during the Long Winter, Sibnir Smelter's defenses held and the smelter stayed in operation which kept some amount of food and wealth passing through as well as providing opportunities to work for the scraps of those. Sibnir Smelter became known both as safe place to stop for supplies and repair for the few trade caravans that still made the dangerous international trips as well as a place that would pay for scavenged scrap metals. Part of this renown was that they were willing to buy these metals or for the caravans were able to melt these often-looted metals down into nondescript bars and ingots with pretty much no questions asked for easier trade in the city. Many desperate scavengers came from miles around to sell looted metals and grave goods just for dried mushrooms or clean water. The Dwarves were especially interested in any "silver" goods from the Ulan and on occasion were not above making sure the best of those goods didn't leave their territory through less savory means.
Bert and his family were allowed in as laborers to work the walls, mushroom farms, and bellows in exchange for food and shelter. Even within the outpost things were never truly safe; Uncle Alfonse died from Orc raiders' arrows while guarding the walls just a few months after they arrived and Cousin Beltrice was one of several mushroom pickers eaten by hook horrors who made their way up from the depth of the mines just a little over a year later. As a child Bert most often fed the coal hoppers and worked the bellows in the smelters and forges and whenever possible tried to follow and understand the processes involved. While never the strongest or most sure-footed laborer, he was very quick-witted and showed true skill bordering on prodigy with metal-working, blacksmithing, and fine detail work which led to more work directly with the Dwarves. Some of the Kezargors were friendlier than others or more willing to teach rather than simply order others around, but the Dwarves were definitely not a charity and there was a clear line between the enclave and the "help" they used. Any among the non-Dwarf refugees who could not be productive and work were thrown out into the wilderness and on a few occasions trouble-makers or rabble-rousers would just disappear completely. Even the most productive and trusted workers received little besides the basic food and shelter, though on a few occasions Bert did receive tools of his own or barely-drinkable Gilden booze, but his most-prized possessions were the few books he was able to collect over the years. Bert learned their language and became known as a reliable and skilled worker who was able to read and write in multiple languages and who could follow and eventually even draft complex plans including magical scroll work, but it also became clear he would never be seen as anything more among the enclave. While Bert is fluent in Dwarven and spent many years around them he does not think any human could ever be able to really understand the Gilden.
Leaving for Erith (~5 ya)
One day a Gnome book and scroll seller who had passed through the Smelter a few times with different trade caravans back and forth between Hakan and Erith talked with Bert a while and offered him a chance to buy his way on to the current caravan to Erith in exchange for slightly more than his entire meager worth. The Gnome cajoled Bert with praise and promises they'd be able to get him a job with a book merchant/scriptorium they worked with in the city as they had need of scribes and anyone with Bert's "clearly genius-level" multiple language abilities and "magical gifts" and intelligence would be able to live well in the city rather than wasting his life working in some hellish scrap metal smelter.
Bert's smart enough to be suspicious but so sure that his own intelligence will be enough to keep him from being scammed. He's also desperate enough for recognition and praise and to leave the Smelter that he takes the offer and with no notice/goodbyes sells pretty much all his meager possessions and maybe some borrowed goods and rides with the caravan with little besides the clothes on his back, burning bridges and probably already in debt before they even reach Erith.
The bookseller sort of tells the truth and did get Bert a job with Hadrian's Quill, a sprawling and prosperous operation owned by an Ubrketi man named Hadrian Corvinus. The work copying books, scribing scrolls, and brewing potions turned out to be much harder and stricter than promised and conditions, in a repeat of the Smelter, was more like a sweatshop attached to a high rent flophouse with immediate demands to work off debt. Again Bert not only works and survives but he also picks up new skills through both the grueling work and studying things of interest on his own in what little free time his job allows him. Hadrian's Quill and the flophouse Bert stayed in are located near the University and has many faculty and student clients and over the next several months he interacted with most of the various other book/scroll sellers and libraries. Hakani fluency was somewhat easier to learn by already knowing the Dwarven alphabet, and the nearby Circus Librorum branch offered training in exchange for off-hours book copying work.
After several months and working enough to be trusted on solo deliveries Bert is tasked to deliver a large special order of copied books and papers to an estate of a retired Baron, Henri Tourterelle, and warned to do so quickly and politely as the old Baron was a valued customer from a very important and still powerful family with many well-connected relatives among the university faculty and other city old nobility. Baron Tourterelle is also vaguely infamous as an eccentric and ancient shut-in and weirdo. Bert is let in to some Havisham-style residence to deliver the package by some ancient and silent butler and led a library where an even more ancient and decrepit noble sits behind a large table covered in books and questionable arcane apparatuses. Baron Tourterelle quickly checks the delivered items and asks a few questions about the translations and copying which Bert was able to answer as he had worked on them. He is then dismissed and let back out by the butler (no tip). A few weeks later another delivery there is much the same except the Baron asked Bert about some of the specific arcane theories in one of the papers and Bert offered his opinions of it. A few days after that 2nd meeting Bert receives a letter from the Baron directly, encouraging Bert to apply to the University and lays out detailed instructions on how to do so under whatever vague test-in options exist for poor peasants and landless refugees of promise. The Baron even indicates he would also send a formal letter of recommendation to one of his grand-nieces who was involved in the University admittance process. Despite Bert's doubts the admission process works and he is indeed accepted to the class of (1 ya) and finally leaves the flophouse he had stayed in since coming to the city. His "thank you" letter to the Baron is never answered and Bert never meets him again. He later learns the Baron died of old age during his first year of studies.
The University (~4 ya)
Once enrolled in the University Bert continued some work with his existing contacts to make money doing magic or scribing scrolls for hire, even occasionally working a forge for hire. Bert focused on the classes and projects he enjoyed (Arcana and History were his main focus) while trying to avoid the rich assholes and less interesting classes (especially religious courses as he had only limited exposure to Church practices and probably some vaguely heretical ideas about divine magic).
Bert picked up on magical studies quickly but first ran up against issues with religious classes when he produced an improved version of the standard Alexandrian Guidance prayer. Rather than the standard and well-known 68-syllable Ubrekti chant, Bert proved that the actual verbal components of the spell could instead be compacted to only 22 syllables but the resulting recitation ended with a homophone for a Flannari profanity. His so-called Profane Guidance cantrip was immediately banned but was spread pretty widely by his classmates and likely still exists among current University students. Bert learned from the official reprimand to hold his tongue and avoid offending but likely has an even poorer opinion of the church/clerics as a result.
He loved the access to the libraries and facilities and made the usual friends (mostly other fucked up arcane and crafting nerds, a few Magicians "Physical Kids"-style friendships if nothing else) and rivals (rich assholes, etc). For his senior project (~1 ya) Bert wrote a paper disputing part of paper written a few years earlier by the current Royal Magus, Elodie Monceau (class of ???? 10-50 ya). Bert wrote the Royal Magus directly, arguing against her theoretical methods with examples from those papers which Bert personally translated and attempted to model with some over-leveled scrolls purchased from his old contacts at Hadrian's Quill. Bert's small-scale project model favored the Hakani results rather than the Magus's predictions but proved to be a bit unstable and led to some minor structural damage in a university lab. The experiment and results were way out in the weeds, major Arcana nerd shit but led to some degree of notoriety and after a brief correspondence a direct presentation before the Magus and several high level professors led to a job offer upon graduation.
The Department of the Royal Magus (~1 ya)
Bert graduates with distinction in Arcana courses but more than a few borderline grades as well. Despite the parts he disliked, the University is extremely important to Bert and he will mention it often and pretty much immediately in conversation. (As per the classic joke of "how do you know someone went to Harvard?"). As the newest and lowest-ranking employee of the Department of the Magus who also is a landless peasant with no meaningful connections or protectors, Bert new job has offered nothing besides setting up or cleaning up magical facilities or hunched over a desk copying or translating and probably at least some hazing and utterly meaningless make-work. Bert is unsure if he is being punished or tested or if this is just normal for starting out, but it's a job and as always he keeps learning and continues his own projects on the side whenever possible and of course keeps reading all the important magical papers.
Some of Bert's reports received replies from the Magus and other other supervisors, and after a few months Bert was asked to report to the Magus's office for re-assignment. Bert is seconded out of the Department of the Magus to the Chamberlain as a low-level but certified trained arcane investigator for a 1-3 year assignment. The Magus predicts Bert should do well in the secondment and specifically reminds Bert to continues to always keep keep meticulous and very thorough notes during this transfer.
Royal Vaults (a few months ago)
Bert is seconded out to to the Royal Vaults division of the Department of the Chamberlain. His new job is the cataloging and testing a backlog of poorly documented magical items that have piled up over the years in the royal vaults. Chamberlain Edmond Élysée makes it immediately clear he does not want to be bothered unless Bert and his associates have thoroughly exhausted all debates first. Bert works directly in this job with a newly ordained cleric, Alain Vaugirard, 6th son of a cousin to the current Hadriarch. Alain was another Arcana nerd a couple years behind Bert in the College d'Argent Plume but on the Cleric path and like Bert is on a secondment from the Church to the Chamberlain Vault Division to thoroughly examine, magically vet, and test these objects and determine if they are safe to leave in royal hands or should be transferred to either the Magus's or Hadriarch's vaults instead. Bert and Alain both know their jobs are to keep the best objects for their respective Departments and thoroughly document everything they aren't able to keep or is claimed by the Chamberlain for the royal vault. They have frequent loud yelling matches but also count on each other to carefully monitor arcane tests and react with casting Remove Curse, Healing Word, etc when needed in the testing process. Like opposing lawyers or politicians their disagreements are mostly in who benefits while maintaining a day to day agreeable working environment. After they have concluded their study of an object they report to the Keeper of the Vaults and she makes the final determination about where a given item should be stored long term, and only in the case of extended arguments is the Chamberlain directly involved. Most of the work could be done much quicker but both Bert from the Magus and Alain from the Hadriarch have been specifically told to take their time and thoroughly test and document every step and both have done so without formal agreement with each other leading to days to weeks of study for every object they have studied and very slow progress. Bert often works on personal projects using the equipment they have setup in the small basement rooms near the actual vaults that they have been provided as testing areas, and it is not unusual for Bert to spend the night in one of the "labs" after working late into the night.
Celebration of the Infanta (~4 months ago)
As the vaults and lower levels of the palace would be locked down and Bert was explicitly told to leave his work for a while, he went to a few of his old haunts near the University. On a whim he purchased mushrooms from a halfling band at his favorite University bar then proceeded to have a very bad night. Freaking out during a show let to hours? of running around and hiding in soiled alleys. Bert has clear memories of a thunderstorm (though official reports list no rain or thunder that evening), at one point in his visions he was able to catch lightning bolts and refocus their energy. Most of the things he saw he is willing to admit were drug-induced hallucinations, but he is currently somewhat obsessed with trying to setup a situation where he can be hit with lightning.
SPOILER Bert's Character Sheet SPOILER