Orpheus & Erudyce

*For information about the battle with Orpheus and Erudyce, see The Sanctum.*

**Orpheus and Erudyce** are two central antagonists in *Barony*, serving as the reigning Archmagisters of the Magician’s Guild, as well as being the two liches fought at the end of the game. Orpheus specializes in melee combat and fire magic, while Erudyce specializes in ranged combat and ice magic.

## Description

The Archmagisters are a duo of two siblings Orpheus and Erudyce, both serving over the Magician’s Guild from the beginning of the story, interacting with Baron Herx before he was trapped. During Herx’s overthrow, the Archmagisters went into the Caves to begin their own plotting to gain power and overtake the realm.

They are well revered by their guild-mates, due to their covert nature of their plans and the general good faith they had generated within the guild. During their time in the Caves, their work towards attaining more power resulted in the creation of increasingly powerful demonic creatures. The Magician’s Guild had to seal away the caves in the meantime to protect Hamlet, unaware of what their leaders were doing.

Only when the player defeats Baron Herx or Baphomet are they able to break that barrier and begin making their way towards Orpheus and Erudyce, where the true colors of the siblings begin to show.

### Orpheus

Being the more assertive of the archmagisters, Orpheus is the “brawn” to his sister’s “brains” in their operations, often described in a similar manner by Magician Guild members.

Orpheus’s chatter throughout the caves and the citadel are often marred by a blunt and often rude tone, frequently degrading the player to commoner, servant, or outright nothing when first entering the caves. He also shares similar sentiments towards the other guild members, since it was his idea to exclude other guild members from their plans.

### Erudyce

Where Orpheus is the more brash and more open of the two siblings, Erudyce is very much a cunning and sly character in comparison. Like her brother, she sees most other living beings in both the guild and the player as beneath both her and her brother.

Erudyce demonstrates some basic compassion and patience in her messages at times, giving the Kobolds some leeway when Orpheus challenges their deals in the Caves, as well as suggesting to introduce themselves to the player once the barrier is opened. However, the likelihood of these messages being hollow and centered only towards furthering her own causes are high given how her character develops after proceeding to the end of the Citadel.

## Social Standings

### The Magician’s Guild

Orpheus and Erudyce are the leaders of the Magician’s Guild, commanding over its function and members. They are leaders from the beginning of the story, and remain as leaders until they are defeated by the player and their plot is destroyed.

While their work inside the Caves is mostly unknown to the Guild, a magical barrier was constructed by the Magician’s Guild to protect Hamlet from the monsters which were emerging from it. This barrier was helpful for the Archmagisters as well, since it prevented other guild members from entering the caves to disturb their plans.

In several segments of dialogue midway in the Citadel, it’s shown that Orpheus and Erudyce are heavily dismissive of their guild-mates, often exuding an air of superiority in their quips against them and their supposed lack of ambition and small minds.

### Baron Herx

As Archmagisters, Orpheus and Erudyce had some prior interactions with Baron Herx before his overturn and lich transformation. Their interactions were mostly at odds with each other, as both the archmagisters and the baron were out to gain power for themselves. While Herx made attempts to work with them by providing favors for the Guild and teaching them about demonic pacts, neither were inclined to share their rights for mining the Caves for its crystal.

Once Herx had been trapped, the Archmagisters made their move and went to the Caves to begin their plans. The eventual death of Baron Herx is a benefit to them, as his presence would only serve to interfere with their own plans.

### The Minotaur

Like Baron Herx’s power over Hamlet, the death of the baron grants all of his previous powers to the Archmagisters, including Herx’s pet Minotaur. When a Minotaur is scheduled to attack the player in the Caves or the Citadel, both Orpheus and Erudyce bemoan its presence, often complaining about its melancholy in the wake of Herx’s defeat.

While Erudyce is often at odds about the use of the minotaur and only wants it away from herself, Orpheus openly shows some amusement when the Minotaur is approaching the player. Once the minotaur does arrive however, both archmagisters will laugh maniacally at the expense of the player.