Arturo diCalarno

**Arturo diCalarno** is human male sorcerer (originally warlock) played by James.

## Biography

### A Wayward Youth

Arturo was born in Vallanzik, the capital of Valliste, as the second child and only son of Ramiro and Urraca diCalarno. Arturo's elder sister, Isabella was a prodigy at a young age, and picked up the arcane arts with ease, studying on the master thaumaturge Salaphrim al'Hezron. Unfortunately Arturo never showed the same promise or drive, he was too comfortable with his privileged life and had an easy charm that allowed him to coast through life, pursuing a life of leisure rather than study. What little magical talent he demonstrated he rarely put to work at anything more substantial than pranks and being a nuisance.

His parents tried to instil discipline in him, sending him to the famed Goriinchian Academy for Wizards and then, like his sister, for private tutelage under Master Salaphrim, but to no avail. While studying in Qar Udel, Arturo read the tale of Ralur, the infamous mage who used the power of an efreeti to attain great power. When his father's patience was finally exhausted, and his easy life seemed under threat, Arturo put all his resources into replicating Ralur's feat.

Remarkably, he was successful in finding and freeing an efreeti, Nizaar al-Rasul, and making a mutual agreement with the entity. Having obtained some magical power and having little regard for what consequences freeing a noble efreeti on a revenge quest might entail, Arturo showed this to his parents but they were not impressed and cast him out of the family home until he can learn to appreciate the value of hard work.

### Finding his Feet

Upon hearing of the masque at Ashinana's Oasis, he decided that it might be a great opportunity to attempt to make some new high profile connections that could help him get back to the good life.

In 4E:28, he was an attendee of the masque at Vestang Manor, and one of the few to avoid being drugged and kidnapped. He would later form the Raiders of the Lost City with five others who avoided being drugged, and together they would journey to the Valley of Death, defeating the priestess Neheshru and rescuing the captives.

After a week of rest and recuperation their next mission was to the Sunless Citadel, to find out the fate of the missing Defenders of the Oasis. Here they encountered a tribe of kobolds and goblins at war, all under the control of a corrupted druid named Belak. They defeated him and destroyed the Gulthias Tree he controlled, but were unable to rescue the missing adventurers, having to return to the oasis with their corpses.

Upon their arrival in the oasis, however, they discovered a Qardleean raiding party had attacked the settlement, heavily damaging the smithy and escaping with stolen loot, including a valuable dragon scale shield. Pursuing the Qardleeans in the desert it was discovered the bandits were led by Turgut's brother, Firouz. Turgut tried to reason with his brother, but the confrontation escalated into violence, and Firouz's regrettable demise.

They returned to the oasis where they received a summoned from the Marquesa. She took them on as a sponsored group, instructing them to return to the Valley of Death and lost Cynidicea, and recover the crowns of King Alexander and Zenobia as well as escorting the archaeologist Vanessa Mackelroy. Once they reached the ruins they encountered the spellweaver superiors of Aravax there on a mission of their own, and after finding the reception frosty they were shocked to hear Vanessa's screams as she was abducted by goblins and dragged towards the Ziggurat of Cynidicea. Giving chase, the heroes discovered a secret entrance to the structure. Inside they encountered living Cynidiceans, first of in the person of the Brotherhood of Gorm.

The meeting with the Brotherhood turned violent, and though the Raiders were able to defeat the warriors, the leader, Kanadius, escaped down a trapdoor. The Raiders gave chase, probing deeper into the lower levels of the ziggurat. In the third tier, the Raiders of the Lost City encountered a Cynidicean priest named Theodeus and his acolytes. At first the Cynidiceans believed the Raiders to be demons, but they they were temporarily mollified by Salvador approaching them in an attempt to communicate.

Unfortunately for Salvador, Theodoeus and his followers tried to sacrifice Salvador to Zargon. Luckily, Salvador's companions were able to rescue him and Theodoeus was cut down and killed by Turgut. The group continued their exploration, and discovered the hidden tombs of Alexander and Zenobia. After defeating the tomb guardians, they recovered the crowns of the dead monarchs.

### Proving his Worth

Upon returning the crowns to the Marquesa on their return to the oasis, the group spent a week or so in downtime. During this period they encountered a group of Banu Zankar investigating the death of Firouz. Deftly avoiding responsibility they defused the situation, and heard rumours of a strange new black obelisk and a mysterious group of slavers. Their new acquaintance, Samuul, sent an Orschan mercenary named Charnos to investigate, and at first it seemed this was successful, with Charnos returning with a captured and trussed captive, but it turned out to be a trick.

A battle against three jackalweres ensued, and after the Raiders defeated them, they found their origin to be the Obsidian Obelisk that they had heard of. They travelled there, finding the Qardleean captives excavating the obelisk under the watchful eye of ten monks. Freeing the captives, the Raiders led them to rise up against the monks, killing them, and gaining access to the interior of the obelisk. They were confronted by Durakka, Hector's brother. After a bribe, Durakka let the group pass, abandoning his employers to their fate.

Inside the obelisk they encountered the figures known as Harbinger, posing as worshippers of Zargon before ambushing and defeating him. They descended to the lower levels of the obelisk, meeting Mio the Scorpion, also convincing her of their allegiance to Zargon. They penetrated the final level, retrieved the Obsidian Eye and defeated its guardian, a giant crocodile. The obelisk crumbled around them, and they barely escaped with their lives.

After rest and recuperation at the oasis, the group next set out in search of the treasure of Salamanca, following a partially completed map they had acquired in their travels. After being ambushed by a group of bandits led by Tonja, they arrived at the besieged town of Valencia, Salvador's childhood home. In exchange for information leading to the rest of the treasure map, they agreed to help Padre Juan Silva drive off the bandits that held the town in thrall.

After discovering that the bandits were led by Durakka, they offered the bandits a hefty bribe to leave Valencia in peace. From there they followed Padre's information to the Escudor Territorial Prison, where, disguising themselves as guards, they infiltrated it in an attempt to find the third piece of map. A battle ensued, and they were nearly killed by the prison's formidable warden Ramirez.

Though they defeated him, the prison was still swarming with guards, but they made their escape after recovering the map piece. From their they went to the city of Puerto Mia, via Valencia, hoping to recover the final map piece, which they surmised to be in the possession of Count Misael Castillo. Shortly after their arrival the town held a festival, with a private party at the Count's villa. Many notable guests were invited, include Arturo's parents, Count Ramiro and Countess Urraca diCalarno. Ingratiating himself back into his parents good graces, Arturo and his companions used the festivities as an opportunity to enter the villa, and abscond with the Sablium Falcon and the final piece of the map. They uncovered the treasure of Salamanca, including the Crook of San Hector and returned to Ashinana's Oasis, where the Marquesa made good on her promise, and named Hector Bishop of Cynidicea.

Once the formalities were complete, the group departed the oasis on another expedition to Cynidicea, hoping to discover the fate of both Vanessa Mackelroy and Aravax's superior, Miramyar. Within the ziggurat they were ambushed by Mio the Scorpion, who attacked them backed up by Cynidicean allies. They overcame her and continued their descent. During their explorations they experienced a strange vision of a man in red who called himself San Nicolas. He congratuled them on their progress so far, and gifted them with magic items before disappearing.

They reached the fifth tier of the ziggurat, and encountered the spirit of a Cynidicean priest named Demetrius. Taking intermittent control of Hector's body, the spirit urged them to defeat his Zargon-worshipping brother, Darius, pushing the Raiders of the Lost City forward until they encountered the evil cleric. Darius had the lost archaeologist Vanessa Mackleroy imprisoned, and once the Raiders defeated him they liberated her and rushed her to the surface, hoping to return her to the oasis. In the ruins of the city they were ambushed by a large force of Orschans and a tremendous battle ensued, in which the Raiders were victorious - but only just.

### Rendezvous with a Princess

After making the journey home, they returned Mackleroy to the Marquesa and then set out for the distant city of Qar Arrid. The merchant Samuul had arranged a rendezvous between Arturo and the Qardleean Princess Yasmin. On their way they encountered the tribesmen of the Banu Zankar, who explained that a diplomatic meeting between the Qardleeans and the desert elves had gone awry, and there was evidence of foul play. With no of the participants returning alive except Valanthe Dunewalker, the Banu Zankar had assumed her guilt, and scheduled her for execution. When the Raiders of the Lost City objected, the Sheikh of the Banu Zankar gave them five days to collect evidence of her innocence, and directed them to the ruins of Telar.

The group explored the ruins, uncovering secret passages underneath Telar's sphinx, and also delving into the remains of Telar's palace. It was here that Aravax lost his life, pummelled to death by a dozen animated statues. The group's resources were so depleted that resurrecting Aravax was impossible. While still coming to terms with their friend's demise, the party heard a voice crying for help nearby. Following the sound, they discovered a number of prison cells. As well as a desert elf and Banu Zankar tribesman they discovered the kobold Meepo, who they had met in the Sunless Citadel. He had cut his ties with his former tribe and set out on his own. Freeing him they let him join their group, where he soon proved his mettle in battle against an annis hag named Scrofula and an earth elemental.

Deep beneath the ruins they discovered the true evil lurking in the ruins - the efreet Nizaar al-Rasul, Arturo's warlock patron, who they inadvertently freed and let escape, but not before he turned the surviving members of the diplomatic mission into horrid oozing whelps of Zargon. The Raiders of the Lost City were able to save the life of Turgut's brother, but Karalis Dunewalker, Abbad's grandfather, was left behind in the ruins in his cursed shape as the desert sands reclaimed the place.

The group returned to camp, where Abbad's mother was set free and Arturo broke his pact with the efreet, choosing instead to look inside himself for the power he always hoped was there. The Raiders of the Lost City continued on their journey, and arrived in Qar Arrid without further incident.

Not long after their meeting with Samuul's contact Ali, the group was ambushed by assassins. Though they survived the incident, they were duly shaken, and no wiser as to who wanted them dead. They found an inn to rest and recuperate before attempting to infiltrate the harem the next evening. Attempting subterfuge, the situation descended into chaos when a group of gargoyles arrived, seemingly intent on kidnapped Yasmin for their own purposes. Their master was identified only as Firouz al'Algarin, an individual sharing a name with a long dead Caliph. With the distraction provided by the attempt to kidnap Yasmin, another group of gargoyles broke into the harem and absconded with Salima, the youngest and favourite wife of the Emir.

Despite the efforts of the Raiders in foiling the first kidnapping attempt, the abduction of Salima meant the group was hauled before the Emir. Using a cunningly disguised poison, he successfully blackmailed the group into pursuing the fugitive gargoyles into a ruined palace in the desert.

They discovered that Salima's kidnapper was indeed the former Caliph Firouz, and that he had been cursed by the wizard Nazir al'Azrad and transformed into a beholder, his mind twisted. Aided by the ghost of his personal scribe, the Raiders were able to brew a potion that cured his madness (but did not restore his form) and then assisted him in travelling to track down Nazir and lift the curse for good. Once they defeated him, the curse on Firouz was lifted, and the Raiders of the Lost City were able to return Salima to the Emir and receive the antidotes to the poison.

### Return to the Sunless Citadel

Upon the group's return to the oasis, Salvador fulfilled his promise and married Kella. At the same time the oasis was host to a group of kobolds recently expelled from the Sunless Citadel. Upon hearing that Orschans and Cynidiceans had taken control of those ruins, and that the wyrmling Degalla had been kidnapped, the Raiders of the Lost City quickly hastened to the Sunless Citadel to investigate.

They defeated the high priestess Zaranna in battle, but Degalla had already been taken away to Deep Cynidicea. They followed the trail there, through the Lower Caverns and then, infiltrating the Temple of Zargon, rescued Degalla from beneath the nose of Danacretes. Hector used the Flail of the Desert Kings to transport them all to distant Macrodonia.

The group found themselves at the ruins of Khamsa's Temple, and within the ancient structure was the petrified remains of the ancient king Khamsa, guarded by a medusa and her family. In the ensuing battle, the Raiders of the Lost City defeated their enemies, but a newcomer arrived: Paphoset, a worshipper of Zargon. Paphoset tried to escape with the Flail of Desert Kings and the Circlet of the Adder, but the Raiders saw through his deception, and defeated him and destroyed the circlet. After acquiring any treasure remaining in the ruins, the Raiders headed off to nearby Akharin Sangar.

After a week in the city, the Raiders experienced the festival of Shabe Taabaan, where the moon at night shone with the radiance of the sun at noon. A group of anarchists known as the Ashen Heirs disrupted the festivities, inciting a purple worm to attack one of Ahkarin's Sangar's marketplaces. The Raiders helped dispatched the beast, and as a consequence were recruited by
Artavazda, the angelic leader of the Brightguard. After a chase of suspected Ashen Heir members, the Raiders were contacted by Laleh Ghorbani, Abbad's aunt. According to Laleh, the Brightguard was using the Ashen Heirs as an excuse to crack down all dissent in the city, and after the Raiders dealt with the Ashen Heirs they assisted Laleh in rescuing her sister from the Brightguard prison. Pursued by Artavazda and his soldiers, the Raiders managed to escape with the assistance of their acquaintance Kap via a magic portal to Ashinana's Oasis.

The oasis was under attack by a force of goblinoids led by Konkar, an aggressive warrior chieftain mounted on a mammoth. Most of the settlement was in flames, with the survivors holed up in Vestang Manor. The Raider killed Konkar and drove off the goblins, saving most of the townsfolk.

### New Responsibilities

Three months later, the oasis hosted the Festival of St. Hector, which included the annual Challenge of Champions competition, arena fighting, and a grand feast attended by King Fernando diValliste and the royal court. This feast was interrupted with an attack by animated suits of armour as well as a mind flayer. In the heated melee, the mind flayer cornered Turgut, and devoured his brain, killing the warrior instantly. This loss, coupled with his father falling to one of suits of armour, led Arturo to depart the Raiders of the Lost City with his mother, ready to take up his responsibilities as Count of Calarno.

Weeks later, as the Raiders prepared for their final battle against the forces of Zargon, Arturo returned to the oasis, with a small force of soldiers, ready to assist. After a ferocious final battle against Orschans, Cynidiceans and aberrations, the Raiders were victorious, and Zargon was sealed away beneath the church. Victory at last.

### After Zargon's Fall

Arturo returned to his duties in Calarno. This time he was reunited with Anna Maria Castillo, and they rekindled their relationship eventually marrying. He also took Princess Yasmin bint Yazid as a sometime lover, though the Qardleean was too much of a free spirit to be tied down.