Zektauri Orubo

## Early Life

Zektauri was raised in a lizardfolk colony within the Onyxplains. Mavros' oppressive reach forced the lizardfolk to be extraordinarily crafty in order to survive, and many were often mistaken for enemies or thieves (which they often were) and slain by the military guarding the arcanite mines. Zektauri was especially astute and learned the guards' movement and shift patterns, which allowed him enough room to get into Mavros. He made deals with various vagabonds that he would trade his studies of the guards patterns in exchange for access to academia and the arcane. Once he gained access, he realized his situation was precarious at best. The vagabonds would eventually mess up and get caught, which would most likely result in him being given up. He put on a ruse with the school that was educating him to appear much less capable than he was and orchestrated that the vagabonds would be discovered before their next exchange and would have no evidence to pin on him with his cover at the school.

After completing the studies Mavros had to offer, he sought more intense training and proved his mental prowess in schools across Galinos, doing whatever he could to barter for access to their libraries and knowledge. The more he knew, the more powerful he was within the network of academics and the towns that he visited. People came for his advice, musings, and thoughts and were willing to pay. With this small profession, he eventually managed to save up enough for training in the arcane arts. However, not for lack of trying, the arcane arts did not suit him. He knew there was a purer magic out there than the vulgar and antiquated magic of the Weave. There had to be a purer form of magic available within the material, unbound by the Weave and the planes and the gods.

Then he met his mentor.

## Savant Apprenticeship

A mysterious figure, shrouded in heavy robes from head to toe, approached Zektauri after hours in his study at the Library of Vlin, who after getting word of his acumen had invited him to offer insights on arcane and planar research they had been conducting. The figure asked for help with a series of mysterious shapes and diagrams he had obtained, but gave no further information about. Despite his inclination to dismiss the figure for lack of a payment agreement, the diagrams caught Zektauri's eye. At first glance they were just mundane, but small scribblings and runes around edges and some mathematical values along shapes betrayed a deeper meaning. Zektauri agreed to study and interpret the diagrams and disappeared for nearly a week in study. The man returned every night and left when Zektauri would shake his head in agitation.

Finally, one night, the figure returned and Zektauri had pinned the diagrams in various positions around the room. His own notes, figures, and interpretations outnumbered the original papers ten-fold, if not more. The figure said nothing, but knew that Zektauri had discovered something.

"Where did you get these figures?" Zektauri asked accusingly. The figure said nothing and left the study, leaving Zektauri with the burden of his knowledge. Using just geometry, philosophical riddles, and physics, the man had broken Zektauri's mind down to a science and then forced Zektauri to pick it apart. The sheer amount of information that could be calculated about Zektauri's patterns, thoughts, movements, and behaviors from the root diagrams and figures provided was incomprehensible. The work was nothing more than that of a true Savant.

Zektauri rushed out of his study to chase the man down, but he was gone. Pinned to the door was one letter, informing Zektauri he had what he needed to continue on his own. With the secrets of a Savant at his ready, he decided that he must drop his work with Vlin and focus on his own research and studies. That would take him to Baldurra next. That night, Zek packed his bags and got on a boat headed to where he believed the answers he needed could be.

Despite all of his best calculations and plans, nothing could prevent the accident with the boat.

## Life in Rinasa

After this shipwreck and swimming to shore in Rinasa, Zektauri quickly realized he had to go back to step one and re-learn basic survival. The land was unknown, uncategorized, and untamed. This meant there was plenty to learn and teach. Seeing opportunity, Zektauri offered up his acumen and knowledge to the adventurers of Rinasa in exchange for information, money, and food. He has made friends with various adventurers after many deathly encounters and is helping all of the town to get a foothold in these wild lands.

### The Elven Ruins

Zektauri adventured with a party to explore the crater marked on the map in the tavern. The party encountered some wild animals and monsters, but eventually discovered a mysterious archway with engraved glyphs or runes and a swirling green mist. Some gems they had recovered from monsters earlier activated this archway, which turned out to be a portal to a dark, ancient elven burial tomb. The party navigated through the winding tunnels and rooms, fighting dangerous enemies, until they found one burial chamber with two coffins. After studying the words, which the party was unable to make out beyond "here... defenders of... noble fallen." One held a magical weapon, which was given to one of the members of the party. Shortly after, the party encountered a living armor and after felling it, decide to head back to Rinasa.

### The Farmhouse and the Talking Well

On a separate adventure, Zektauri adventured towards the Ruined Temple on the map in the tavern, knowing that the party would probably only make it to the river that runs alongside it, a few days outside of town.

On the adventure, the party encountered some pteradons and then a small farmhouse with a couple of scarecrows. A tunnel runs underground, disconnected from the house. The party discovers the door is unlocked and, despite it being an obvious trap, enter. Zektauri finds a book in a foreign language and, with approval from the party, tries his best to memorize the 25 pages of the book. As he starts and the rest of the party looks around the house, the scarecrows turn out to be alive and ambush the party. After felling the creatures, two very large insects burrow from the tunnel and attack as well. With the party very badly injured and nearly dead, they rest.

The next day, the party adventures further towards the river and discover a well. This well talks and it offers answers to any question at the cost of a coin. Very quickly, the well is revealed to be nothing more than a fraud giving out vague, nondescript answers. In retaliation and despite Zektauri's lack of interest, the party decides to harass the well by digging down under it and finding out what is making it talk. There was a magical stone at the bottom along with some coins that the party used to further harass this magical object. By picking out a coin, tossing it in and asking a question, and then fetching the coin again, the well answered (vaguely) numerous questions and vague threats. Eventually, the party takes the magical stone and push forward to reach the river.

At the riverside, the party spots a group of fish-like humanoids swimming in the waters bearing weapons. Zek is able to study them and discover that while they are not extremely powerful, their numbers and possible magical capabilities could prove troublesome. The party decides to return to town to discover what they found, but first they put the magical stone from the well into a hole in a tree and leave it there. It is unclear whether this is a punishment or a reward, but the stone is happy to be rid of the party.

### The Wizard Tower

Zektauri joined a party adventuring the southeast of Rinasa following his previous two adventures, driven by a desire to learn all that lies around Rinasa that could be threatening to their livelihood. A little over a day outside of Rinasa stands a lonely wizard tower. Zektauri was able to scout out a rune of warding on the threshold. As they knocked on the door, they were invited in by a disembodied voice asking for assistance with a spell. Driven by curiosity, Zektauri agreed and the party joined him. After much study of the environments, much doubt, and some argument with the wizard/warlock residing within the tower, the party agrees to test the spell. Following the warlock downstairs, Zektauri and his companions lie down in beds as instructed next to a giant pit containing a formless, black entity with multiple eyes and tendrils or tentacles of some sort. It is bound there by some magic. As the party gets comfortable in bed, the entity reaches out with its tentacles and puts them into a dream-like trance.

Within this trance, Zektauri and his companions relive memories of the warlock, including the ambush of a different party where one young girl escapes. After very deadly encounters, the party eventually escapes by jumping into a portal in a pit with an entity that looked very similar to the one back in the basement of the tower in the real world, except very bright instead of dark.

When they awaken, the entity bargains with them to kill the still-slumbering warlock and free it from the basement it is imprisoned in. After much debate and arguing with each other and the entity, the party agrees to free it as long as they and Rinasa are spared from any harm and they receive all the gold promised them by the warlock originally. Upon shattering the orb that was controlling the entity, the party is escorted to the tower again. Zektauri is asked to remove the rune at the threshold that is keeping the entity bound. In an attempt to outwit the entity, Zektauri alters the rune to attempt to create a new effect. In a stroke of luck, the new effect banishes the entity elsewhere. While it is gone, the party rushes out of the tower and Zek attempts to undo his rune alteration, but fails. The entity returns, but is now bound to the tower instead of the basement, giving it slightly more access and making the tower more dangerous than it was previously. However, with it still bound, the party cut their losses and returned to Rinasa.

### The Elder Woods

Zektauri formed a party with Maldo, Bean, and Jay to hunt down and slay a plant creature for his studies. Shortly after leaving Rinasa, an hour's travel south of Rinasa, the party encountered a mounted knight running across the party's path. Hesitant to start unnecessary conflict, Zektauri asked the knight to halt which he did. He then asked for 40gp or he would attack. Zektauri did not like this and fired a shot. The party slayed the knight; in the middle of the combat, the knight's mount turned on the knight and was slain immediately for such treachery. After this conflict, the party continued to a forest path. Bean, in an already precarious condition from the first battle, is attacked by a small group of thugs and a scout. Bean fell unconscious for a second but jumped right back up and returned to fighting. The party defeated the small group and begin to search their bodies and rest, but soon hear another mounted knight approaching and hide. Unfortunately, he found the bodies they were looting. Bean and Zek lead a surprise attack against the knight and mount, and barely manage to take them out without losing a party member. Zek finds a map with trails/marks leading out from the native village to various areas on the map that our tavern map shared. He collects it and continues. Due to their wounds, the party decides to rest in the woods. The watch was interrupted very early in the AM during Zektauri's watch by an old woman surprising him and offering pie. Zektauri, wary of the woman, shooed her away, studying her to try and determine if she was what she appeared. She did not like Zek's staring and, after some words and a misplaced kick of a piece of pie, the old woman charges Zek who deftly deflects her hit and clubbed her skull in with a single blow. He hid the body and then went to switch watches. Bean finds the body and Zek explains that he felt she was a threat, she attacked him, and he dealt with it. Didn't need to alert anyone or disrupt the rest. After leaving the resting grounds, the party encounters a man looking for his mother, who he describes as exactly the woman Zek killed. The party convinces and distracts him enough that he doesn't suspect the party of any foul and he leaves. After some more walking, the group finds a clearing with a gigantic tree and two dryads. Jay peacefully approaches and meets them diplomatically, allowing Zek a chance to explain his purpose. They do not seem to find it agreeable and, after a meal, shoo us along. We push forward hunting a plant creature for ourselves outside the dryad grounds, to avoid conflict with a group of peoples. We stumble upon a cave bear atop a large hill. We slay it quickly and collect it for meat. We decide to take a rest since we had traveled quite a bit that day, and during second watch, Maldo lets two men take refuge at our camp. During third watch, six panthers ambush the party. Taking these out is a bit of a mess but the party succeeds. At sunrise, the group spots a caravan heading right near them and hides. The caravan wakes the one man that did not die and offers to take him along. Finally, after some more wandering, Zek finds some mushrooms in a cave. After taking a clipping, he notices the cave is reactive to his disturbance. The party fights several moldy zombies, and Zek gets the sample he needs. Then, Jay discovers there is a slumbering red dragon deep in the cave. The party then returns to Rinasa.