Grakhuil Leadbraids

**Grakhuil Leadbraids** (or simply **Grak**) is the warder of Juniper Smith's party. He's a dwarf originally hailing from the largely parthenogenetic clan of dwarves in Darili Irid. He's spent most of his time trying to atone for the damage he caused to his clan.

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> “I had always found the dwarfhold too small, too ordered, too limited, even though I loved and honored Darili Irid. My position as most-pure put burdens on me. There were many duties to attend to. Learning the way of wards at Barriers was another one of those duties, one I had sought out because it was as much freedom as I had thought I would ever get in life. I wanted to try new things, do you understand?”
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> —Grak, Chapter 106: "The One-Hand Warder"
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## Appearance

Grak is about four feet tall, but with a wide muscular frame usually hidden beneath a fur cloak. His nose is crooked, and he has a thick beard with multiple braids, dyed grey. He always carries an axe decorated with hair-themed swirls in a leather sheath. Later, he has a functional wooden hand with a few gnarls and knots in it.

## Personality

Grak's flat demeanor can come across as dwarven stubbornness, but is hiding a deep depression and a death wish as a result of his past mistakes. Despite that, he cracks the occasional joke, and eventually comes to see the party as his family.

## Biography

Juniper and Fenn initially approached Grak to purchase his services as a warder in the rescue of Amaryllis from Aumann's tower. Greychapel

## References

1. ↑ He was about four feet tall, but with a wide frame and what looked like plenty of muscle beneath his fur cloak. He had an axe by his side, which was decorated with swirls that it took me a moment to recognize as hair. His thick beard had braids that were dyed grey, his nose was crooked, and his eyes were wary, moving around to take in the tavern.
—*Worth the Candle* Chapter 29: "Greychapel"
2. ↑ Grak hesitated, then unhooked his axe and pulled back the leather sheath that covered the head.
—*Worth the Candle* Chapter 32: "Be Still My Heart"
3. ↑ “I itch to have something to do,” said Grak. He glanced down at his wooden hand. It hadn’t seen combat yet. There were a few gnarls and knots in it, but it was tough as iron, with a few extra properties as well.
—*Worth the Candle* Chapter 107: "Name of the Beast"
4. ↑ I’d seen Grak injured a few times, some of them pretty serious. I’d always thought his flat reaction was just dwarven stubbornness in the face of injury, a gruff, manly response to getting hurt. That was sort of how I had seen him in general, a man unaffected by the world, stoic in the face of adversity. It hadn’t really occurred to me that he was depressed and waiting to die.
—*Worth the Candle* Chapter 106: "The One-Hand Warder"
5. ↑  Grak raised his warder’s monocle to his eye for a moment, then set it back down. “The building is magical,” he said. After a moment, Fenn began to laugh, and while I didn’t find it funny at all, a slight smile crossed Grak’s lips, so he must have meant it as a joke.
—*Worth the Candle* Chapter 57: "Place Your Figs"
6. ↑ “I didn’t like being told I was part of something,” said Grak, into the silence. “Back in Barren Jewel, when we met. I did not like it. You are like family to me.”
—*Worth the Candle* Chapter 74: "The Mouth of a Long River"