Lindavar was a human mage and a member of the War Wizards of Cormyr in the mid–14th century DR.[1]
Personality[]
He was a bookish and unpretentious sort, was shy and would say little to strangers, but he was curious and willing to investigate in a muddy swamp where others feared to tread. He was also the type to load his own baggage and sit in the front of a carriage with the driver than alone in the back.[3] He enjoyed drinking clarry[1] and was known to have read the Camber Fosrick detective stories, and even quoted them to others.[2]
Description[]
He was of average height and had a thin build, and wore a slouch hat and a dusty brown cloak whilst traveling.[3] He snored.[4]
Relationships[]
He was a close acquaintance of the retired War Wizard Benelaius, who mentored Lindavar and chose him as his successor within the College of War Wizards. They communicated extensively by mail, with sizeable letters exchanged almost weekly.[1]
Abilities[]
He was skilled in alchemy and could identify poisons.[5] He was also adept at using his wits and ratiocinative ability to analyze and deduce, rather than relying on magic.[6]
History[]
In Eleint of the Year of the Shield, 1367 DR, the young War Wizard was having "problems of a professional nature" as Benelaius put it. For help resolving these, Lindavar visited his mentor at his cottage in Ghars, the first time he had done so. Benelaius had his servant Jasper purchase some clarry for his stay.[1] Lindavar came via overnight coach and arrived in Ghars early in the morning of Eleint 17 and waited at the Sheaf of Wheat until Jasper met him to take on a carriage to Benelaius's house by the Vast Swamp. En route, however, Lindavar spotted a body near the road and, despite Jasper's fears, went to investigate. They found it to be local blacksmith's assistant Dovo, dressed up as the ghost of the bandit chieftain Fastred and decapitated.[3] Lindavar took the carriage to fetch Benelaius, leaving Jasper to guard the scene and begin searching for clues, and returned with the former War Wizard, who in turn had summoned Captain Flim of the local Purple Dragons garrison, Mayor Tobald, and Doctor Braum. The group examined the scene of the crime and, at Benelaius's suggestion, Tobald appointed him, Lindavar, and Jasper as honorary magistrates to investigate the murder.[2] Thereafter, however, Lindavar remained at Benelaius's cottage aiding in his research while Jasper conducted interviews and investigations in town. The pair of them met Jasper with concern after he was chased by a monster late that night.[7]
Over breakfast the following day, they discussed the case, including the accounts book stolen from the Bold Bard tavern and the times of ghost sightings collected by Jasper, and they all shared theories and findings. They were interrupted by news from Flim, Tobald, and the gnome Darvik of another murder, that of royal envoy Grodoveth.[4] Subsequently, Darvik guided Lindavar, Flim, and Jasper through the Vast Swamp to open tomb, wherein lay Grodoveth's body. They investigated the scene of the crime and Lindavar discovered it to be the legendary hidden tomb of Fastred himself. Afterward, Darvik led them out and headed back to his holding, though they had to evade a thornslinger tree on the way.[8] Back at the cottage, Lindavar, Benelaius, and Jasper discussed their findings. At his mentor's request, Lindavar analyzed a sample he'd taken from Tobald during a medical examination and confirmed it to be the lethal blackweed poison.[5] Late that evening, Lindavar and Benelaius met Jasper as he returned with Kendra, who'd been injured in a hydra attack. Lindavar helped her into the cottage and aided Benelaius in treating her wound. Afterward, they received a message from Vangerdahast ordering them to investigate Grodoveth's murder and the swift execution of the killer by Captain Flim.[9] Lindavar was concerned at the lack of a formal arrest and trial, but accepted Benelaius's explanation of the need to avoid controversy because of Grodoveth's familial relation to King Azoun IV.[10]
Finally, at midnight on Eleint 20, Benelaius had all the suspects assembled at his cottage by Flim and the Purple Dragons. He credited Lindavar with solving much of the case and bade him to lead events and provide exposition. They revealed that Mayor Tobald and Dovo were spies for the Iron Throne and absolved Grodoveth. Furthermore, they exposed a plot to poison the whole town and thereby assassinate the visiting Grand Council of the Merchants' Guild. The guilty Tobald escaped into the Vast Swamp and Lindavar fetched a hooded lantern so Flim could pursue, but it was too late—the real ghost of Fastred scared Tobald into a bog, where he drowned.[11] Afterward, Benelaius let Lindavar take the credit and the merchant Barthelm Meadowbrock promised to sing his praises, so the young War Wizard's standing amongst his peers was set to improve, as well as his own self-esteem. On the way back to Ghars and then Suzail the following morning, Lindavar encouraged Jasper to look after Benelaius. In fact, unbeknownst to Lindavar, the version of events he presented was not entirely true.[6][12]
Appendix[]
Appearances[]
Novels & Short Stories
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Chet Williamson (July 1998). Murder in Cormyr. (TSR, Inc.), chap. 5, pp. 24–25. ISBN 0-7869-0486-0.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Chet Williamson (July 1998). Murder in Cormyr. (TSR, Inc.), chaps. 10–12, pp. 55–71. ISBN 0-7869-0486-0.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Chet Williamson (July 1998). Murder in Cormyr. (TSR, Inc.), chap. 9, pp. 52–54. ISBN 0-7869-0486-0.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Chet Williamson (July 1998). Murder in Cormyr. (TSR, Inc.), chaps. 18, 19, pp. 109–122. ISBN 0-7869-0486-0.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Chet Williamson (July 1998). Murder in Cormyr. (TSR, Inc.), chap. 22, pp. 136–142. ISBN 0-7869-0486-0.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Chet Williamson (July 1998). Murder in Cormyr. (TSR, Inc.), chap. 33, pp. 216–220. ISBN 0-7869-0486-0.
- ↑ Chet Williamson (July 1998). Murder in Cormyr. (TSR, Inc.), chap. 17, pp. 104–106. ISBN 0-7869-0486-0.
- ↑ Chet Williamson (July 1998). Murder in Cormyr. (TSR, Inc.), chaps. 20, 21, p. 123–135. ISBN 0-7869-0486-0.
- ↑ Chet Williamson (July 1998). Murder in Cormyr. (TSR, Inc.), chap. 26, pp. 164–169. ISBN 0-7869-0486-0.
- ↑ Chet Williamson (July 1998). Murder in Cormyr. (TSR, Inc.), chap. 27, pp. 170–171. ISBN 0-7869-0486-0.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Chet Williamson (July 1998). Murder in Cormyr. (TSR, Inc.), chaps. 30–32, pp. 191–215. ISBN 0-7869-0486-0.
- ↑ Chet Williamson (July 1998). Murder in Cormyr. (TSR, Inc.), chap. 37, p. 246. ISBN 0-7869-0486-0.