Caius

**Caius**, better known by his former title **Inquisitor Caius** was a member of Thane Kain Kallistratos II and Thane Nilos Kallistratos II's retinue as his inquisitor, the intelligence advisor. Caius' specialty is information, and he operates a network of informants referred to as the "flames".

Caius is a primary NPC in *The Crimson Mountains* campaign.

Caius held an office in the Iron Keep's rookery, where he handled the reception and delivery of the kingdom-wide owl delivery service.

Inquisitor Caius is notable for being a lowborn without his own noble house, unusual for a man of his stature and position. However, he earned his way through the ranks via the sponsorship of the landed knight Ser Volkar, and is a graduate of the University of Marinas, the premiere center of learning in Tirrenor.

After the Battle of Stoneshade, Caius stepped down as Inquisitor for Thane Nilos, and headed south, saying he had important business to attend to. He recommended Pierre, a young prodigy in his employ, as his successor. His current whereabouts are unknown.

## Backstory

Having been peasant born in Sea March, Caius was taken as a hostage of the rampaging knight Ser Volkar after Volkar murdered Caius' parents. After Caius escaped Volkar's custody, he became a thief, finding a strong position within the thieves' guild in the city of Marinas. He was eventually caught and detained for petty thievery, and nearly hanged before Volkar championed for him and saved him from certain death. Caius became Volkar's squire, and later, the knight put Caius through the University of Marinas. There, Caius honed his spying and intelligence abilities. He became friends with noble lady Dalia of House Nereus, who later recommended her husband Kain Kallistratos II to employ Caius as inquisitor.

## Activities in *The Crimson Mountains*

### Episode 1

Inquisitor Caius allied with Nilos Kallistratos and advocated for peaceful resolution of the refugee situation, being empathetic toward the poor's plight. Caius escorted Nilos to the foreign quarter where the pair interacted with the Bruxian Sagess named Hilde.

### Episode 2

Caius had a prominent role in Episode 2, having major interactions with Nilos and Ser Darius. At the council meeting, Caius stuck up for Nilos' actions in the foreign quarter, and informed the Thane of the barbarian attack on Ironside Village.

Later, Nilos met with Caius in the rookery, asking him about the equipment they confiscated from Suleiman in the foreign quarter. Nilos wanted to learn more about the alchemy and its power, and Caius agreed it was a smart idea, sending an owl to Discord to seek professional help from an old contact. The two then when on a great philosophical tangeant about fear, in which Nilos revealed more of his backstory, having survived an outburst of plague in his youth.

Caius later requested the presence of Ser Darius Straton, whom he offered an important job. Caius ordered Ser Darius to enter the Sons of Aquinas mercenary group, and to work up their ranks and earn the trust of Rhys Sighard in the process. This way, Caius would have a powerful and trustworthy informant to keep tabs on the SOA's activities and ensure they carried out their job for the Thane. Caius then revealed to Darius that he knew the identity of his deceased lover Jane, and thier bastard daughter Eliza. Caius told Darius he would take Eliza under his care and house her in the Iron Keep as a servant as long as Darius saw the SOA job through.