Thelbaerone Shadowdark

Lady Thelbaerone Shadowdark was a human wizard who was the proprietress of Shadowdark House, a magic shop in Daerlun, circa the Year of Wild Magic, 1372 DR. Those that disliked her or feared her gave her the nickname "the Old Vulture".

Description
Thelbaerone was past middle age and what little hair she had left was wispy and glossy white. She had an aquiline nose, a jutting chin, and intense green eyes that flashed with authority. She typically wore sturdy, high-heeled boots.

Personality
Lady Shadowdark had a fearless manner and spoke brusquely, her temper never far from the surface. She was a bit of a curmudgeon. She slept in whatever chair was handy.

Abilities
She had a well-rounded knowledge of the arcane and could appraise and identify magic items or enchantments. She was a talented alchemist and could brew potions, create scrolls, and craft wands and similar items. She also was a skilled teacher and could help wizards and sorcerers with their spell research, correcting their work or suggesting a different approach. She had the ability to touch a person and give them a brief vision from her mind. She used this to convey the proper somatic component of a spell, or to assist in visualizing a spell effect.

Possessions
Thelbaerone owned Shadowdark House, which was a three-story shop filled with miscellaneous magic items. It was safe to say she was wealthy, but it was unknown how much of her wealth was tied up in her inventory, which varied constantly. She was known to have a quarterstaff, two masterwork daggers, a cloak of resistance, bracers of armor, a ring of protection, a ring of spell storing, a wand of magic missiles, a wand of lightning bolt, a potion of haste, and scrolls of teleport, fireball, and flesh to stone.

In her shop, she had a small animated object in the form of a floating candelabra. Its centerpiece appeared to be a scaly, clawed fist with twisted cords extending from the wrist or forearm to hold the candles. The base was hollow and held a measure of carrion crawler brain fluid. The light source moved where she commanded it and it could engage in combat and/or release the brain fluid which caused paralysis. She also had a rod of flame extinguishing that she kept in the shop in case of "accidents", and a crystal ball.

Relationships
Something that Lady Shadowdark knew, but never talked about, was that Mystra, the goddess of magic, occasionally worked through her. She had no warning or control over these incidents, but it was clear to her that sometimes when she crafted or repaired an item, it took on additional powers and/or gained more charges, features that were beyond her preparation or capability. Only the Lady of Mysteries knew what they were and under what conditions they would be revealed.

History
By the Year of Wild Magic, 1372 DR, Thelbaerone had been in business for over forty years. Those with long memories knew she'd lived in that same location for at least twenty years before converting it to a shop.

Rumors & Legends
Rumors and vague memories said she was a beauty in her youth and had many exciting adventures before settling down.