Calder Laiken

## **Basic Information**

**Full Name:** Calder Laiken

**Nickname:** Calder, Rainer

**Birthday:** June 6th 803

**Species:** Human

**Purity:** 100%

**Gender:** Male he/him

**Height:** 6’

**Sexuality:** Heterosexual

**Languages Spoken:** Standard

## **Personality**

**Likes:** Whiver, guns, traveling

**Dislikes:** Magic, Kodin

**Fears/Phobias:** Public backlash

Someone often in the wrong place at the right time. On the surface Calder seems calm, collected, and maybe even a bit cocky, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. He’s been torn away from his moral compass and is often stressed as a result. He’ll do anything in his power to do something, anything to get back on track, but his will is weak. At the end of the day Calder is the kind of person to forego his own beliefs and ideals for the sake of public appearance.

At his core Calder believes that good will prevail and evil should be stricken down. As someone of a higher status by birth (seeing as he’s Human) he believes his role in the world is to protect those considered “beneath” him. Whiver strike a particular coard. Calder absolutely loathes how people treat them and will do his best to stand up for them even when he won’t gain anything from it. If you manage to catch him while he’s left to his own devices he’s actually a pretty decent person.

Of course, given the situation he’s found himself in, Calder is anything but kind and just. Because of the looming threat of extermination by  The Order, Calder has been turned into a secretive and deceitful man. He’ll spout his ideology while actively going against it. Appearance matters more than intent, after all. So long as the public still views him as the kind bounty hunter from Pontyn he’s not against doing shady dealings in the background. He has to to keep himself alive, after all.

## **Abilities**

**Strengths:** Public image

**Weaknesses:** Weak will

**Weapons/Tools:** Pistol

For someone largely removed from the realm of Magic, Calder makes up for it with the mastery of his own field. He’s gotten pretty good at finding information, tracking people down, and apprehending people without harming himself. He’s a pretty sharp shooter as well, so keep your guard up if he ever has his pistol drawn.

## **Health**

**Addictions:** Alcohol (mild)

**Mental Illnesses:** None

**Physical Illnesses:** None

**Disabilities:** None

**Allergies:** Cats

## **Backstory**

Calder was born into a very prestigious family. For generations they've been obsessing over their Purity and doing their best to rid the family line of any and every “impure” trait. Naturally, Calder is the end result of all this. A highly standard Human without even the slightest hint of anything amyss.

Growing up his family’s image was everything. Given their high Purity and overall heavy involvement in the city’s politics, he was raised strictly. Any and every action he did would be in view of the public eye. Anything that reflected badly on the Laiken family would be called out almost immediately. He had to be quiet, well spoken, and extremely well behaved. It was a stressful upbringing, to say the least.

As much as Calder wanted to rebel like most kids do at some point there was always the looming thought that anything he did would be known by all. Any minor misstep would be seen by the public. If the public was anything like his parents were he figured it best to avoid trouble. His parents were bad enough; treating him as nothing but a tool they could exploit to gain public favour. He didn’t need any more people like that getting upset with him over the most minor infractions. So he complied. It was the only way to keep the peace.

Life went on like this for several years. Calder would be an accessory to his parents as they did their fundraisers or charity balls or whatever charitable act they decided to dip their toes into that week. It was all a drag, but there wasn’t much he could complain about. His family had more than they could ever need. Unlike many of the people his parents climbed to be “helping” with these events he never lacked food, water, shelter, clothing, etc. He didn’t have a right to complain. His life was good, right?

Slowly these events began to shape his mind, and not in the way his parents intended. Intentionally or not Calder began to view lesser purities as weak creatures. Ones in need of protection and support from people like his family. Where his family looked down upon lesser beings, only donating anything to their “cause” to look good in the public eye, Calder legitimately believed in what they were doing. So, when he eventually stumbled upon such a creature in need of help it was only natural he answer the call.

Calder was about fourteen when it happened. One day as he was making his way home from his classes he stumbled across a rather odd sight. A group of older Humans were unloading a caravan out behind one of the city’s warehouses. At first things seemed fine, until he noticed a small fluffy creature sneak out the back of the cart and begin running away. This creature had long buck teeth, little rounded ears, orange fluffy fur, and large bird like haunches. It was a Whiver! He’d never seen one firsthand like this, but he’d heard quite a bit about them.

The fact this Whiver was running the way it was struck Calder as odd. It wasn’t dressed the same way the people in the caravan were. It looked dirty and scrappy. Something was definitely wrong, so he began to follow after it before it got too far away; not even mentioning the event to the people on the cart. It took quite awhile but eventually Calder caught up with this Whiver. Not only was it extremely fast, but when it noticed Calder following it only ran faster. Clearly it was trying to get away. Once he finally caught up with it he made it clear he wasn’t a threat in any way. It took awhile, but eventually the Whiver began to open up.

Her name was Ginger. She was an older Whiver from the country of Spracot. Older as in late 30’s where most Whiver lived to be about 40 or 45. From what Calder was able to gather it seemed the people housing her had “bought” her alongside a bunch of her friends and had brought them to Pontyn in order to re-sell them all for a profit. It didn’t make sense, though. You can’t buy a person! Whiver may be lower on the Purity scale but they’re still “people” as far as the scale is concerned. Nothing she said made any sense!

While he couldn’t fully grasp the gravity of the situation Calder could understand that Ginger needed help. She was dirty, thin, and a bit sickly. Given all the things his parents had drilled into his head about his family’s image he couldn’t just leave her in the streets to rot. The Laiken family not helping someone in need? It’d be blasphemy! His parents would be furious! The city would be furious!

It didn’t take much coaxing to get ginger to follow along. All he had to do was offer the promise of a good meal and she clung to his side like a lost puppy. Soon enough they were back home in his parents' manor getting her cleaned and fed. Only after cleaning and brushing her fur out did Calder see the full extent of her condition. Ginger’s fur was thin and patchy, and the mats and dirt hid a lot of open sores and wounds. Not to worry, though. His family could easily afford to patch her up!

Later that evening Calder’s parents finally returned. Returned to the sight of their son playing dress up with a lowly rat! He was in the process of helping Ginger find a better set of clothing to wear when they walked in. Needless to say, they weren’t pleased with him. Almost immediately they began to berate him for “bringing home strays” and “letting that animal in the house”, among other things. It was all so out of left field. Calder was under the impression his parents would be pleased with all this. With how much they donate to causes like this wouldn’t they want situations like this to play out? What were they advocating for if they weren’t down to make a change when the opportunity presented itself?

Calder tried to explain. He explained how he’d found Ginger and what the situation was. Even then they dismissed him and demanded he return the “rat” to it’s rightful owners. This really struck a nerve. So, for the very first time in his life, Calder did something to go actively against his parents' wishes. Not only that, but he used his parents' philosophy against them. What would the town think if they knew the Laiken family found and rescued a slave only to return her a day later on the grounds of Purity? It’d be horrible for their PR team, that’s for sure. He wasn’t going to budge on the issue and his parents knew it. So, reluctantly, Ginger was allowed to stay.

It took a few months for Ginger to fully open up. Until now all she’d really mentioned was the fact she’d been bought and was on her way to be sold somewhere in town. She never said what she was being sold for or where she came from in the first place. As time went on and she began to realise her stay at the Laiken house was going to be more permanent than she thought she eventually began to confide in Calder. He was the only one here who actually seemed to care. Even she could see his parents were only allowing her to stay to boost their public image.

Ginger eventually went into detail on the situation. Back in her home country of Spracot the “government” was actually a group of six individual mill owners. These “mills” were akin to puppy mills. Whiver were bred there in mass in order to be sold into the slave trade. Ginger was among these Whiver. Her early life was spent raising children, only to have them taken away when they were old enough to learn to walk. With Whiver that was only about three months. When she got too old to have any more children the mill was done with her, but before she was finally set free into the jungles of Spracot a group of people came by and bought a large group of them in mass. Ginger included.

Apparently this illegal trade wasn’t confined to just Spracot. It was no coincidence they ended up in Pontyn. Many big businesses used Whiver as “invisible servants”. The warehouse they were being brought to had a basement area for them to sleep in. During the day she was going to be counting and organizing stock and by night she was to live in the basement and keep out of sight. Ginger couldn’t stand being stuck in a cage anymore. She was old anyway. Chances were she wasn’t going to live much longer in those conditions so she figured she might as well have a shot at freedom. All of that culminated in her meeting Calder, which was where she was now.

Calder was outraged by all of this. The thought that there were people out there who could do something like this, sing their higher status to take advantage of lesser creatures. It enraged him. He felt like he had to do something about it, but what that was escaped him. He had to make things right. Protect the weak and innocent, just like his parents taught him to, but he didn’t know where to start. Eventually his anger boiled over. If he couldn’t put a stop to this himself, the least he could do was bring this to the public eye. Perhaps making the issue known to the people of Pontyn would lead to somebody taking action.

With the help of Ginger Calder created a plot to expose this illegal trade of Whiver to the general public. He was going to head over to the local warehouse with Ginger and someone from the local bounty hunting guild, claim they found one of their lost Whiver, then bring up essentially everything Ginger had told him in an attempt to get them to confess. The only real issue with the plan was finding the right bounty hunter to help them out. Many of them brushed Calder’s concerns aside, claiming this was “just the way things were”. Eventually, though, he found a guild willing to help him out.

It was a guild located just outside of his home city known as the Stormcrest guild. They found Calder’s concerns entertaining and his enthusiasm even more so. If anything they only got involved just to humor him, but it’d end up spiraling into something bigger than they could ever have imagined. Not surprisingly, people actively doing something against the law don’t take too kindly to a bunch of bounty hunters storming in and demanding answers. Stormcrest expected this to be a simple misunderstanding but it turned out that this illegal trade wasn’t just Whiver. Nearly every worker in the warehouse was bought and paid for. It wasn’t just this warehouse, either.

This warehouse was a part of the local lumber mills. As it turned out, the mill owner and most of the legitimate workers there had been employing the help of slaves to travel up into the deep mountains and fend off  demons so the millers could chop down the trees much higher in the mountains. Not only was this illegal in and of itself, as the mountains were off limits, but the myriad of illegal slaves brought to light only amplified the matter. This whole event was huge news to the country as a whole and none of this would have come to light without Calder.

Given the scale of this operation it wasn’t going to go away overnight. This whole debacle would continue on for years, but Calder wasn’t going to stay around to see the end of it. Once this had hit the news the Stormcrest guild took Calder on as one of their own. His parents didn’t approve of it, but given the positive outcome of it all they couldn't say anything against it without being hypocritical in the public eye. Calder had finally rebelled against his parents and made some headway in the world. Things were starting to look up for him.

Early guild work for Calder was difficult. He was still a teenager so his work with the guild had to be split between his time at school and his work with his parents. For awhile he was stretched pretty thin, but he wasn’t wont to buckle under pressure. He had to keep up his public appearance, after all. If he let the stress get to him he’d be looked down upon. Still, even with all the added stress it didn’t stop Calder from doing what he thought was the right thing to do.

EVentually Calder finished school and was able to devote far more of him time to the guild than before. His career only blossomed from there. After a year or so of full time work the guild decided to let him start taking his own jobs. Before he’d just taken whatever job the guildmaster gave him, but now he had the freedom to pick and choose whatever jobs he pleased. Given all of this started because of his drive to help those less fortunate he decided it’d be best to continue working towards that goal.

Ginger had long since passed by this point, but the things she told Calder had stuck with him throughout the years. The thought of these mills in Spracot kept popping in his head, and no matter what he did he couldn’t get them to go away. Now that he was a full blown bounty hunter, though, he may finally have a chance to finally do something about it.

While doing a few minor jobs here and there to save up for the trip Calder began planning an expedition out to Spracto in an attempt to shine a light on these mills and bring them to the public eye. Like before, he figured if they knew about this more people would be able to band together to make a change. Surprisingly it didn’t take long to locate one of the six mills of Spracot, and soon enough he was off to Spracot to take down these mills once and for all.

There was one problem with his plan, though. Unlike the warehouse and lumber mill of Pontyn, Spracot was a lawless land. The mill owners ran the show there and their only goal was to prevent any laws from getting put in place that’d stop them from continuing with their operation. Other than that feral Whiver ran free and crime ran rampant. The only reason Calder was able to succeed in Pontyn was because of the stable and commonly followed laws in place there. Spracot, though? There was nothing preventing hum from getting himself killed for pissing off the wrong person.

Calder entered the Spracot mills under the guise of a standard customer. He lied to the mill owners in order to get a tour of the place and made sure to document everything about the place he could. He made sure to see all the Whiver they had to offer and took note of what each of their rolls in the mill were. Some only existed as breeders, some were mill workers themselves, some were fodder, etc. it was a horrible sight to see and the conditions of the place were deplorable.

It wasn’t long until Calder realised the full extent of the situation he’d gotten himself into. He wasn’t being subtle by any means. Not enough to fly under the radar of the mill owners. Soon enough he’d asked one too many suspicious questions and was being held more or less hostage at the mill himself. They knew what he was up to and they were just about ready to kill him for it. There was nothing stopping them. The seemingly endless expanse of jungle made hiding a body childs play. They could quite literally make Calder disappear and they wouldn’t face the slightest of consequences over it.

He came here with the intention of saving all these Whiver, but if they killed him he’d never be able to do so. So, in order to “prove” his innocence and save his own skin he took the remainder of his savings and purchased quite a few Whiver from the mill. He may not have been able to save them all, not this time, but he could at least save a few of them while also saving himself. Calder bought a total of twelve Whiver while at the mills. He feared if he didn’t make the purchase worth the mill owner's time they’d just kill him anyway. It was the only way out he could think of.

All of these Whiver were odd, to say the least. They were scared of just about everything and viewed Calder as their “master” no matter how many times he explained he wasn’t. They seemingly didn’t understand the concept of freedom. The whole trip back to Pontyn Calder tried to run the message home but they just couldn’t grasp it. At least, most of them couldn’t. There were a couple of them, however, who seemed a bit different from the rest.

One of these Whiver was named  Alcieor. He seemed to have a very similar personality to Calder. A natural born protector who managed to hold on to his sanity by taking care of the other Whiver in the mill. He found Calder’s attempt at freeing them Admirable despite its obvious failure. He even offered suggestions as to how to approach things moving forwards if he ever wanted to attempt something like this again. Calder hadn’t bought any of these Whiver to be his workers, but  Alcieor seemed to genuinely want to help out. So, Calder and  Alcieor worked out a more fair partnership and decided they’d work together moving forwards for the good of all Whiver.

   Eventually the group returned to Pontyn where Calder was praised for his heroism. While this entire effort had been a definitive failure, Calder conveniently left out the fact that he'd purchased all these Whiver to keep up his image. The Whiver were poor unfortunate victims and he was the noble hero who’d saved them. Not only that, but he even helped all the Whiver he saved find a new place to settle themselves in their new home. The country viewed him as a saint, and that only fed into his ego. This was about the time he met the other Whiver of interest in his group.

Because Calder had publicly made his new partnership with  Alcieor known, the people around him viewed  Alcieor as a brave and valiant survivor. Where the other Whiver were victims, Alceor had risen above them all and decided to do some good for his species despite his unfortunate start at life. The majority of the others were fine being victims. They didn’t care about their own image so long as they were free and safe in Pontyn, but there was one Whiver who cared about her own image just as much as Calder did.

Her name was  Mari. She made it very clear she wasn’t going to go down in history as a “poor unfortunate Whiver” saved by the “great hero Calder”. She wanted to be a valiant hero as well. She wanted people to look up to her the same way they looked at him, so she decided to approach Calder and try and get the same deal  Alcieor had. Cader saw no issue with this. Sure, her motives were different than  Alcieor’s were, but he understood her need for good PR. Public image was something he valued, after all. So, despite the objections from  Alcieor, the three of them teamed up and began their journey as a bounty hunting trio.

At first their work was more of the same; taking smaller jobs to save up enough to return to Spracot for another undercover operation. Each time they headed back they attempted a new way in, but every time they had to leave, Calder buying the freedom of more Whiver. It wasn’t ideal, but Calder still felt he was making a difference. Not only that, but with each trip there he returned with more Whiver like Alceir and  Mari. Whiver who wanted to make a difference as well. It wasn’t long until Calder had Whiver enough to break free of the guild and become a freestanding bounty hunter.

By this point Calder had gathered quite the reputation in Pontyn. He was well known for his work overthrowing the mills, despite the fact he’d made no real tangible progress in the endeavour. That didn’t really matter, though. So long as people thought they were making progress. At the very least they were bringing hope to those who lacked it.

It was around this time Calder was approached by members of another guild over in Vertgate. They’d caught wind of everything Calder had accomplished and wanted to employ his help in apprehending one of Vertgates most elusive criminals. A horrid Kodin by the name of  Jack Lexean who’d been tormenting the masses for several years now. He and his group known as the “Order of the Third Eye” has been responsible for a myriad of fire and thefts and the country was on its wits end. They hopde with Calder’s help they may finally be able to put a stop to him.

 Alcieor was adamantly against this. They’d never actually taken a real “big” job like this. As far as the public was concerned his “big” job was his work in Spracot while the work he did back in Pontyn was all smaller jobs he took out of the kindness of his heart. In reality the smaller jobs were all they’d ever really been good at and the Spracot thing was a sham.

 Mari, on the other hand, took a different approach to all of this. She kept going on about how this was a golden opportunity to dip their toes in the realm of high level bounties. If they could manage a job like this they’d be able to take more “big” jobs and become greater than the public could have ever imagined! It was too tempting to pass up. Besides, not only had Calder’s group expanded since their first few jobs but they’d also have the assistance of the guild in Vertgate. There was no way a little gang of Kodin could overpower them all, right?

Things seemed to be going well at first. Calder got along well with the bounty hunters in Vertgate. All the prep work went off without a hitch. They already knew where  Jack’s base of operations was so all they had to do was actually pin something on him. That wouldn’t be difficult either, as they’d soon find out.

As it turned out  The Order was planning on sabotaging a local celebration. Their plan was to rig a firework display to shoot off and set fire to the nearby buildings. Unfortunately for  The Order, the display was triggered early and that ended up alerting the local patrolling guards, who in turn alerted the guild. The entire group quickly rushed over in time to apprehend the lot of them,  Jack Lexan included.

The process of convicting  Jack was far more convoluted than Calder would have expected. Vertgate’s laws were far different than the ones in Pontyn, and it seemed  Jack himself was a touchy issue to begin with. While the guards all knew he was guilty as sin he’d done such a good job keeping his hands clean there was nothing they could really convict him on. Even the firework mishap he managed to talk his way out of. The man had a silver tongue. Because of this the local Guild asked Calder to remain in Vertgate for the time being just in case they needed help with anything else. With  Jack imprisoned there was no telling what  The Order would do.

The first several months of aiding the guild in Vertgate went off without a hitch, but there was a sense of unease in the area. People kept getting sick with these horrible rashes and coughs which caused their skin to turn black and necrose. It was a telltale sign of Blight, but none of the group abused Magic. No one could figure out what was up, and slowly things got worse and worse.

The guild was right about  The Order. After apprehending  Jack they were relentless. Calder found himself running all across Vertgate, putting out both figurative and literal fires caused by the group. With the ever looming threat of another attack and the constant wave of blight spreading across the guild it was only a matter of time before they got worn down. About a year into his stay in Vertgate things took a turn for the worse.

It was late at night. The day was mostly uneventful and Calder and his group had been put in charge of managing the jailhouse as a bit of a break from the action. Things were going well at first, but a few of his assistants began to complain about the heat. It was unnaturally hot inside the building and no one could figure out why. The heat began to build and build until suddenly there was a loud explosion and a plume of smoke shooting out of one of the cells. Immediately Calder and his entire group were on alert. They managed to get to the cell in question just in time to see  Jack making his way out of a freshly blown hole in the wall.

 Jack was making a break for it. Calder followed closely behind with his Whiver alongside him. This event would be exactly what they needed to finally lock down  Jack permanently. As clean as his record was, a breakout like that was enough to convict him. The hunt was relentless, but they managed to corner the rogue Kodin.  Jack took a wrong turn and ended up cornering himself in an alleyway. Or at least, that’s what Calder thought. Apparently his communication with the rest of  The Order wasn’t as restricted as they first thought.

What Calder hadn’t realised was that this was all a planned attack. As he and his Whiver were on the chase other members of  The Order had been picking them off. By the time they’d gotten to the alleyway it was just him,  Mari, and  Alcieor. The three were vastly outnumbered and underprepared for an attack like this. It seemed like there was no way out. This was how they were going to die. Surrounded in an alleyway getting burned to death by an insane arsonist.

Perhaps things would have been better that way, but  Jack had other ideas. He didn’t want Calder dead. Far from it, actually. He’d been keeping a close eye on Calder ever since he’d arrived and  Jack liked what he saw. While the others viewed him as a brave and noble bounty hunter,  Jack could see right through the facade. He saw him as he truly was. A weak willed man willing to do anything to keep the public happy. Just the kind of person he needed.

Calder, being tied to the local guild, had gotten access to a myriad of restricted information vital to  Jack’s cause. He’d been entrusted with the location of certain historical documents under the guise that  The Order would be after them. He was told this information in order to keep these things safe.  Jack made Calder a deal. If he told him everything the local guards knew about his Order and their plans he’d be allowed to live. If not, well. Today would be his last day.

He didn’t want to, but just like before Calder figured it he died now any good he’d done for the world died with him. He’d never be able to finally free the Whiver of Spracot and everything they’d done would have been for nothing. He really didn’t want to, but he wound up accepting  Jack’s deal. There was no other way.

Calder figured this would be a one and done deal. They tell him the location of these historical documents and they’re let go. That wasn’t the case, however.  Jack wasn’t stupid. He knew Calder would immediately go back to the guild and tell them everything, so  Jack set up an extra layer of precaution.  Jack grabbed Calder by the face, cutting deep into his jawline with his dagger-like claws. Once he’d gotten a fair bit of blood on his hands he used that to set up a link between the two. A curse, in a way.

The blood of an individual was a very powerful spell component. Among other things it could ensure a spell targeted them specifically even if they were vast distances away from each other.  Jack used this to accomplish two things. The first was a line of communication with Calder so he could ensure he didn’t run his mouth, and the second was a failsafe that’d ensure Calder wouldn’t survive if he did. He set this same link up with  Alcieor and  Mari as well. Given how tightly knit the three were it’d be highly suspect if the two suddenly went missing and left Calder all alone.

The information Calder gave  Jack ended up snowballing. The day after his escape a nearby church was set ablaze. Shortly after that the demand for more information came through. Calder was sent on a wild goose chase around the city gathering needed information under the guise of “protection”. These documents were putting the buildings that stored them “at risk”, and he was ordered to take them to a “safehouse”. It was extremely stressful and Calder didn’t quite know how to deal with it all. For awhile he was sure everyone knew. Everyone knew what he was doing and he was going to be found out. Oddly enough, that never happened. Calder continued doing exactly what  Jack told him to and, surprisingly, it actually worked. No wonder  Jack had managed to keep his records clean after all this time.

This partnership would end up continuing pretty much indefinitely, much to Calder’s dismay. From the very beginning he knew too much and with every task he completed he was only digging himself into a deeper hole.  Jack has his life in the palm of his hands and Calder couldn’t do anything to weasel his way out. The best he could do was remain civil. So long as he stayed on  Jack’s good side they’d be fine. Plus, if they could stay on his good side they may one day be able to break things off amicably.

Eventually Calder’s stay in Vertgate came to a close, but his relationship with  Jack was just beginning. As it turned out,  Jack was after all these historical documents in an attempt to revive someone he viewed as “his  God”. Now that he had these documents he was able to go to and from places said  God laid claim to on the hunt for any way to bring him back. Calder, of course, was roped in to help with this. The next several years were spent escorting  The Order around the Vertgate allied countries on the hunt for relics and other clues to revive this  God.

Of course, Calder had to be given a reason to do all of this. He couldn’t just travel the world o a whim, he had to have a reason. So, whenever  Jack needed Calder’s services he’d call him to action under the guise of a job.  Jack went out and found real bounties for Calder to claim, and Calder would take  The Order along with him to carry out these jobs. Not only would this be the perfect cover, but everyone would be so focused on the great and valiant Calder they wouldn’t even notice  The Order snooping around in the background.

Eventually his work with  The Order became white noise. Bringing a Kodin or two alongside all his other workers wasn’t really a big deal, and if anyone questioned it he could simply tell them the truth. He was giving them a ride.  The Order faded into the background and Calder’s life slowly returned to normal. Mostly normal, anyway.

It was no secret this deal put a lot of strain on  Alcieor and  Mari as well.  Alcieor hated the arrangement from the very beginning, but he stuck around in the hopes of being a voice of reason. If  Alcieor hadn’t stayed with Calder he would have been sucked far deeper into  The Order’s plans than he already was.  Mari was no help either. Even Calder could see she’d been sucked right into  Jack’s charm. Every job they took, his goons taught her the basics of their Magic. Calder didn’t approve of this, but having a mage on his team did prove to be quite useful.

Life continued on this way for quite some time. The jobs Calder was taking did end up expanding his skills to the point where he was able to take higher-ranking jobs on his own time as well. He was making a considerable amount of money and overall forged a pretty good life for himself despite it all. Eventually, though, Calder’s skills really got put to the test.

It’d been quite some time since  The Order had made use of his services. Nearly a full year of no contact. The group was finally beginning to think they’d been let off the hook when they got a letter in the mail.  Jack needed transportation to a country known as Barrowford, but there was an issue. Barrowford was a highly restricted country. They were isolated from the rest of the world and as a result  Jack couldn’t find any job for Calder in order to get him there. He didn’t bother questioning why they needed to get there in the first place. It’d stopped mattering to him at this point. Calder was tasked with finding an excuse to get there and they were to proceed as usual.

That’s when Calder learned about Wicker’s Crew. It was clear any local criminals were out of the question. Barrowford didn’t really have much crime, as far as they could find, so anything local would undoubtedly be handled by Barrowford’s guilds. He was on the hunt for a more internationally renowned band of criminals. Perhaps not ones that were in Barrowford, but ones that might plan on going there. Wicker’s Crew was a  Godsend. A band of  demons using  Mirrors to travel the world? They could be anywhere at any time! Who’s to say they wouldn’t make a pit stop in Barrowford?

So, with the help of  The Order, Calder fabricated rumors that Wicker’s Crew was headed to Barrowford and put himself on the case. From there things went off without a hitch. They managed to get into contact with Barrowford locals and got everything arranged to travel there under the guise of apprehending this band of rogue  demons. From what  Jack said this was going to be their last job. The group had just about everything they needed to revive their  God. Everything except whatever lied within Barrowfords borders. But that was of no concern to him. Once they finished this job they’d finally be free from  Jack. They’d just have to hold on a little bit longer...

## **Relationships**

 **Alcieor Tann:** A trusted friend and one of Calder’s closest allies.  Alcieor has always been the voice of reason in their little group. Where Calder is swayed by public opinion  Alcieor isn’t. His goals and ideals are set in stone, so whenever Calder begins to falter  Alcieor is right there to keep him back on track. While they are close, their relationship would be a hell of a lot better without the constant looming threats of  The Order.  Alcieor has always resented Calder for accepting  Jack’s deal, even if it was to spare their lives. He always figured there was another way out.

 **Mari Vadove:** Calder and  Mari’s relationship is odd, to say the least. Calder views  Mari as the sensible one of the group. Her suggestions are always in favour of their own lives and their public image. That being said, as much as he agrees with her suggestions even he can see she takes things too far. She’s too hard to read, but seeing how valuable of an asset she’s been over the years he lets her odd behaviours slide to keep the peace.

 **Jack Lexan:** Calder and  Jack’s relationship was built on a threat that only spiraled out of control. Calder is absolutely terrified of  Jack and won’t dare say anything against him even after learning the true extent of their link. He doesn’t want any trouble with  Jack, so he’ll play along with whatever he wants to long as he doesn’t have to talk to him face to face.