Murdoc Baynard

## Disgraced Blackguard

Murdoc Baynard is a sellsword mercenary who began following Connor Magnusson after the man rescued him from a cuckolded merchant named Abner and the man's goons who planned to murder Murdoc. Connor convinced him to join him in confronting a sorceress in the woods for information she might have for him. Following Connor on a whim perhaps to seek a more honorable death because due to his personal ethics he could not commit suicide.

Murdoc is a former Blackguard. Often tales of black guard told of magicless heroes who saved the common folk from those who used magic to take what wasn’t theirs. The tales of towns liberated, farms saved, and Villains dispatched in the night. Unfortunately for Murdoc his career as a Blackguard ended in tragedy. It should have been a simple mission but things went horribly wrong.

*“Inked at fourteen, if you’d believe it. Never been prouder. Worked my way up to Second Lieutenant and was given a new unit. Our first two missions were easy. They went fine. But the third sent us to a town up the northern road called Norbury. We had to dispatch a sheriff who’d gotten greedy. Taxing people to starvation and only giving a portion to the crown. Raiding homes. People going missing in the night. The town was dying, and the king didn’t care... My unit was young, a lot of sons and nephews of the higher ranks. All of us were eager to prove ourselves. We were the chosen, the next generation of Blackguards setting out to show that we were ready to take the helm. All by the brave men and women who wore the mark of the Blackguard—a sword beside a shield, its blade aimed toward the sky... When we got to Norbury, the governor had a necromancer for a bodyguard. One of your lot.” He pointed a finger at Sophia, who frowned. “An elite. He was a bitch to kill, but we managed. We did what we’d set out to do, and we hadn’t even lost a single man. A few lost an eye or a hand, but that comes with the job.”*

Nyx Osana, leader of the necromancers could not let such an insult stand. She sent 40 elite necromancers. It was a slaughter.

*"One by one, I watched my men die. Burned to death. Cut in half from head to toe. Frozen with—”*

Murdoc was spared as a warning to others not to interfere in necromancer affairs. For weeks following the slaughter boxes with the heads of the fallen Blackguards arrived at their relatives houses. *“The general blamed me, that’s why. They all did. A leader should’ve known to call in reinforcements, they said. To shift focus. They said I could’ve saved lives if I’d been better prepared. If I’d called off the attack. If I’d abandoned the people who needed me and let the town die, their sons would still be alive.”*

Murdoc carried the weight of survivors guilt. He walked through life lackadaisically, hoping to find his end so he could join his brother in arm in death. An honorable death would be preferable but he'd take whatever death found him. In his mind, he deserved it. He had a death wish. Until Connor recruited him.

*“Take me with you. Let me find my good death. You saw what I could do back in that tavern. Out here, against her, I didn’t run when most men would have. Whatever comes, I’ll fight to the end.” -*Murdoc Baynard. *“Back in Bradford, you asked if I have a death wish... I do. There’s dignity in a good death. In a final breath earned at the hand of someone better than me. I can’t give up, and I can’t kill myself. The only way out is in a battle. That’s the Blackguard way, and I can’t leave this world through any other means.”*

## Appearance

* Is a former Blackguard, now disgraced.
* Murdoc has a strong sense of loyalty.
* Pledges himself to serve his new captain, Connor Magnuson.
* Has an intense attraction to the necromancer, Sophia Auclair.
* Cannot use magic and is allergic to magic.