Paria Parvus Pater Pelius Philipus Phinias
Former Priestess of Crescens and Queen of Rostilla. Wife of King Errans Roster. Mother of King Albanus Roster. Dead.
Person mentioned in the letters from the Temple of Lil.
What you know: 1) His name is masculine. 2) Maior says that he's a blind fool and suspects nothing.
Person mentioned in the letters from the Temple of Lil.
What you know: 1) His name is masculine. 2) He told Vermis to watch Discipulus and test his abilities. Vermis was then to report his findings to Amicus. 3) He appears to be Vermis' superior, and gives him orders. 4) He refers to Maior as his patron.
Knight of Tillaford. Friend and servant of Magnus Tillaford.
Sir Pelius is a big, ugly brute of a man. His father was a knight of Tillaford, and so as a child he was one of the playmate's of Magnus Tillaford. Even then, he served his future lord dutifully, beating up any of the children or servants who displeased him. Today Pelius is the future count's right-hand man. He has a timid, mouse-like wife and four sons. Three look to be great bruisers like him. The youngest is a slender, delicate youngster. Occasionally, when he's drunk, Pelius beats his wife up and tries to force her to tell him who the boy's "real" father is. No whelp of his, he insists, would ever be so puling.
Description: Huge, muscle-bound, and mean. Round porcine face, beady eyes, bristly short brown hair -- probably couldn't smile if his life depended on it. Loathes foreigners (especially Viridians) and frequently picks fights with foreign sailors at the taverns down by Tillaford's docks. An infamous bully who takes great advantage of a knight's privileges. Count Robertus Tillaford doesn't like Pelius at all, but tolerates him because his son Magnus is so fond of the monster.
Former bandit. Servant of Marius.
Philipus grew up in the hills on Surrexus' borders. His father was a small farmer and there was always way too much work to be done. Hard, exhausting, boring work. So when one of the village thugs suggested that there was a much easier way of making a living, Philipus decided to give it a shot.
He didn't really think about the morality of banditry. His band did most of their raiding in Bendigroth, and, well, Bendigrothi aren't exactly Rostillans, are they? It was a bit more disturbing when the band's leader began to do work for Sir Terrens, inside of Surrexus. But with a little effort, Philipus could avoid thinking about that, too. By the time things had gotten really awful, and they were lurking in the woods waiting to kill the heirs of Surrexus, it was way too late to start thinking.
Then the heirs ambushed them. And a lot of the bandits died. And Philipus found himself swinging on a paladin, of all people. Who nearly gutted him with one swipe.
And so Philipus found himself with a lot to think about as he straggled up the mountain with the surviving bandits, trying desperately to hold in his guts. No one helped him. No one cared about his injury. And when he could go no further, no one hesitated to leave him to die under a bush.
Only he didn't die. He woke up hours later to find that the people he'd been trying to kill had saved his life. They let him ride a horse, since he couldn't walk. Marius plied him with pious advice, and genuinely seemed to care about the mess Phlipus had made of his life.
Philipus isn't a smart man. You can almost hear rusty gears grinding when he tries to think. But when they camped that night, things were laid out plain for him. On one side of the camp were his former comrades, the bandits. The people who didn't give a rat's ass when he was dying. On the other were the Surrexi. The people who saved him and told him he could be something better if he put his mind to it. And Philipus knew which side he wanted to be on.
Description: Philipus is a short, stocky man with ragged brown hair. A broad face, half-squashed nose, snaggly teeth. A few ancient pox-marks scar his right cheek and neck. Broad hands, thick fingers that are totally unsuited for fine work.
Pontifex Supremus of the Temple of Legis in Rostilla.
Elderly and sweet, Phinias is quite popular at court. He always has a kind word or snippet of advice for young people. He's passionately fond of children and spends much of his time tending the young wards of Rostilla's orphanages. Rostilla's upper class finds Phinias' gentle tolerance to be one of his most endearing traits. For a priest of Legis, he's remarkably open-minded. He never chastises people, or thunders about their sins and shortcomings. Phinias is much more likely to arrange a private chat with a wrong-doer and give them some quiet words of advice.
The party believes, however, that the reason Phinias is so "tolerant" is that he's thoroughly corrupt himself. God knows what those "private words of advice" really are. When he spoke to General Martialis, he encouraged him to seek unclean communication with his dead wife. Under Phinias' guidance, the general was well on his way to becoming nefas.
Description: A tiny, frail old man, in his late 80s. Tufty white hair, a small wizened face continually crinkled up into a cheerful smile. Phinias often uses a staff when he walks.