Artides

Artides the Finder was a rock gnome historian and collector.

History
Artides from his early years was fascinated by tales of ancient battles and as a child he explored ancient ruins. As a teenager, he studied as an apprentice of Delitar the Slow of Westgate and during this time Artides started studying the history of Shanatar and its successor kingdoms. In maturity, he settled in Waterdeep, living among priests of Deneir and Oghma.

Here, in 1370 DR, for the first time he found hints about the Knights of the Crescent Moon. Following this clue, he went first to Candlekeep, where he found the location of the order's headquarters and gained a companion in the Calishite scholar Reft al-Fohjin. Together they went to Tethyr and with the king's permission Artides went alone to Saradush. On Eleint 1, he found the last clue to the exact location of the order's headquarters.

He hired some mercenaries to protect him and went to the Omlarandin Mountains. However, the beholder Vaxall had noticed his studies and sent his helmed horrors to capture him. The helmed horrors killed all the mercenaries but Artides managed to escape and decided to continue his search alone, believing the ambush to be only the actions of common bandits.

Personality
Artides was exuberant and outgoing, always indulging in theatrical flourishes and exaggerated gestures. He was truly an expert in his field, the military history of early southwest Faerûn, and had a bardic talent to explain his study without annoying others. Artides had a good memory and was well-cultured.