Banys Cindershield

**Banys Cindershield** was a dwarven inquisitor originally hailing from the empire of Traewyn. In 5E.1521, he served alongside Dame Solveig from the Broken Sword sanctuary in Bregate, hunting down members of the Infernal Pact lurking among its populace. Banys Cindershield posed as innkeeper of the Broken Sword Tavern when not working as an inquisitor, a job he did not do particularly well at, seeing as he threatened the Heroes of Blackbridge with a crossbow when they first appeared at the sanctuary, but the dwarf soon grew fond of the adventurers, showing an amiable side to the militaristic inquisitor.

After the Heroes of Blackbridge slew Farquhar Thorne, Banys and Lord-Inquisitor Judicaël helped to secure the hostages, including Aeron Cyrill, and to pilfer the depths of the Thorne Estate, which included the duty of cleaning up the corpse-filled, bloodied dungeon. Although Banys and Solveig tried their best to help the Heroes, they soon fell apart after Peredur Gower departed wordlessly following their failure to save the Lady Dulcinea Gardner. When Solveig returned to the White Rose, Banys returned to the Inquisition in Bregate, joining Master-Inquisitor Roland at St. Cadogan's Cathedral. He continued the fight against the Infernal Pact, earning several accolades in the war, fighting alongside the Fifth Crusade.

In 5E.1522, when word reached Bregate that the Dawn's Herald were in Lagarde, supposedly holding Princess Calanthe Arvendon and Lady Eleanor Rayne hostage, Roland sent Banys with a platoon of Goldsworn to bring the Church's justice upon the apparent rogue knights. Banys Cindershield arrived at the outskirts of Pont de Fleur seeking justice and the release of the Dawn's Herald's beautiful "hostages" - the ladies Calanthe and Eleanor. He attempted to appeal to an old friendship with Lemuel from the days of the Broken Sword, yet warned about the looming Fifth Crusade, who at the time numbered three thousand knights camped outside Bregate. The knights denied holding the women against their will and invited the inquisitors to spend the night at Castle Antenor; Banys and his men conducted a search and confirmed personally with the ladies that they were not prisoners but there by their own will.

The inquisitors peaceably left the following morning, gravely warning the knights again about the Crusade although confiding in Knight-Commander Lemuel his hope that his report would at least somewhat affect the following proceedings. Unfortunately, the following night, a member of the Dawn's Herald contracted the Rasping Pox, likely from contact with a member of the Inquisition carrying the infection. Banys safely returned to Bregate, and it was unknown whether his report had any effect; the Fall of Lagarde occurred not long after, along with the Sunscourge Heresy. Banys joined Roland, Judicaël, and Malakai at the final battle in Agrawel, yet Banys was turned back at Carmarthen while Roland, Judicaël, and Malakai fought Yorath and died together. The dwarven inquisitor ultimately survived the Fall of Agrawel, along with Celwin and Jasgram, and lead the rest of the surviving Inquisitors to the Last Kingdom, where House Arvendon made their last stand.