Alchemical Equipmentsoothe syrup* - 25 gp - .5 lbs (+5 alch vs. nauseated or sickened for 1 hr.) (4), twitch tonic* - 45 gp - 0 lbs (+2 alch vs. paralysis, sleep & staggered for 1 hr) (2), sunrod* - 2 gp - 1 lbs (5) tindertwig* - 1 gp - 0 lbs (10), cold iron weapon blanch* - 20gp - .5 lbs (2), alchemist’s fire* - 20 gp - 1 lbs (10), holy water - 25 gp - 1 lbs (4)
(22 lbs)
Spellbook 0th - acid splash, arcane mark, dancing lights, detect magic, detect poison, flare, ghost sound, light, mage hand, mending, message, open/close, prestidigitation, ray of frost, read magic, resistance, spark 1st - burning hands, charm person, color spray, comprehend languages, crafter’s fortune, disguise self, ear-piercing scream, enlarge person, expeditious retreat, feather fall, grease, mage armor, magic missile, magic weapon, obscuring mist, protection from evil, shield, silent image, true strike, unseen servant, vanish 2nd - alter self, bear’s endurance, burning gaze, create pit, communal mount, detect thoughts, fog cloud, glitterdust, gust of wind, invisibility, levitate, mirror image, pyrotechnics, resist energy, rope trick, stone call, see invisibility, web 3rd - ablative sphere, aqueous orb, arcane sight, clairaudience/clairvoyance, communal darkvision, dispel magic, fly, haste, invisibility sphere, phantom steed, protection from energy, shrink item, sleet storm, slow, spiked pit, stinking cloud, summon monster III, wind wall 4th - arcane eye, black tentacles, dimension door, elemental body I, emergency force sphere, ice storm, paragon surge, scrying, share senses, stone shape, summon monster IV 5th - break enchantment, cloudkill, contact other plane, major creation, overland flight, permanency, prying eyes, summon monster V, telekinesis, teleport, wall of force, wall of stone
Appearance:
A gruff, stocky, half elf with light brown hair and beard, turning to grey. Laugh lines and crows feet mar his skin, which is by turns ruddy from the elements or pale from long study. Merton typically wears buff colored breeches and shirts under richly dyed tunics of red, grey and gold. His hair and beard are long and full, but well groomed. Numerous scrolls usually hang from his belt, and a small, red dragon typically perches on his shoulder telepathically asking overly personal questions to passerby.
Backstory:
Merton was raised in shadow of the heavy woods of Darkmoon Vale in Andoran by half-elven parents. He studied the arcane arts in Korvosa and Magnimar, always more concerned with knowledge, wealth and prestige than the causes which captivated his fellow countrymen. As he progressed in skill, he began to hire himself out to merchants, nobles, and even adventurers, funding his further studies by serving as an interpreter, tutor and “field leveler” to his employers. Many times he scryed and spied on the rivals of this Chelaxian gentleman or that Taldan lord, always committing his contracts to writing and leaving satisfied customers until he chanced to spy the beautiful consort of a Qadiran merchant prince. Merten was immediately smitten by her beauty, and arranged to meet with her. While he had minimal interactions with the fairer sex prior to this encounter, Griselle seemed to hang on his every word, and was soon whispering tantalizing promises into his pointed ears. Merten broke his contract, divulged his employer’s secrets and fled north with his paramour. They shared two dizzying weeks together before the mage awoke, naked in a roadside inn, his spellbooks, his coin, his enchanted goods, and even his clothing gone.
With his reputation ruined, he could not return south. He managed to feed and clothe himself by the sweat of his brow and a few well placed cantrips, and began the long, arduous process of rebuilding his spellbook. As soon as he could, he tried to find Griselle, but no matter the spell, no matter the coin, she seemed to have disappeared from all of creation. Merten migrated further and further north, eventually taking up work as a mage-for-hire with all manner of unsavory sorts in the River Kingdoms He worked hard, kept his head down and his mouth shut, and traded spells with every other mage he encountered for seventy-five years. As the years passed, he developed a reputation as a competent and no nonsense, if expensive, addition to any group that sought to carve out a space for itself among the warring lands.
However, all that came to an end recently. Merten’s most recent employer hid his foul deeds behind fair words, and it was only through the use of his divination magics that Merten was able to discover the atrocities that the self-styled bandit-king had committed in his quest for power. Merten separated his employer from his band and left him in the tender care of a band of particularly nasty Quicklings before striking out on his own, seeking for a group where he could be an equal partner and build something lasting instead of a hired mage who only left destruction in his wake.
Merten’s goal is to found a settlement that can withstand the chaos of the riverlands and thrive on its own. A place where others can freely trade and learn and live in these fertile lands. He would like to found a wizard's college of his own, and pass on what he has learned about life and arcana to some promising young minds.He still thinks of Griselle from time to time, wondering where she has gone, and if there was ever anything more to their dalliance than relieving him of his goods and good name.
Merten prefers to study, analyze, and then attack, and has become wary and suspicious as he approaches middle age. However, he has a soft spot for those who have suffered through no fault of their own, and will often go out of his way to aid widows, orphans, and those who have come to harm through no fault of their own.
