The characters in the campaign are as follows:
Jebat is a dark-skinned man from the warm jungles of the endless waste. He has skin the colour of ebony, with black hair and dark eyes. To natives of Semphar, he is obviously a foreigner, and one to be avoided by all but the bravest of rogues. He wears two broadswords, one on each hip, and a set of javelins strapped on his back. Underneath the imposing exterior is a warm heart, and a curiosity that led him from his jungle home to the 'civilised' lands of the Caliph.
Arriving in Dhantazar, Jebat had his first taste of city life, when a young rogue tried to steal his purse. Jebat's speed saved his coins, as he grabbed the purse from the thief before he had taken a single step. Seeing it was just a young boy, he gently cuffed the youth, and let him go. The boy had some friends however, and they tricked Jebat down a quiet alley, where two older rogues attacked him. The first was despatched easily, but the fighting drew the city watch. The surviving rogue slipped the watch a few coins, and left; Jebat was uncerimoniusly led to the Guard Tower. The guard Captain believed Jebat to be an honourable man, and gave him a choice- prison or conscription. Jebat chose conscription, and is now charged with the duty of finding the Caliph's lost son.
Vaclav, a burly half-orc, who has spent most of his life fighting for the Caliph of Semphar in the desert wastes. Vaclav stands over six-feet tall, with coarse black hair and small tusks, his appearance indicates his parentage. He was born of a human mother, raped by orcish raiders, and abandoned at birth. A wanderer in the wastes found the babe, killing the wild dogs that were about to make a meal of it. The wanderer was a ranger, and raised Vaclav to believe in the same principles that guided the hermit's decision to save the lost babe. When Vaclav came of age, he decided to see the cities of Semphar. His first morning in Dhantazar (the capital) was spent in a deserted alleyway, drugged, beaten and robbed. With no money and no friends, he did the only thing a warrior could; joined the army. Now, years later, he has 'retired', and is trying to find fame and fortune as an adventurer. A chance meeting with another half-orc (Rolf the Wolf) has led Vaclav to join the search for Bakr-Jan.
Meara Skandar, a beautiful young woman, seemingly out of place amongst so many burly warriors. In contrast to her armoured companions, she dresses in light robes for the desert heat. Her long black hair and dark skin make her look more like a courtesan than a freebooter, and her grace and beauty belie her trade.
Meara grew up on the dirty streets of Dhantazar's slums, a rose in a sea of thorns. Her quick mind (and quicker feet) kept her from being taken by one of the many flesh-pots, and she learned her cunning and guile as a lookout and information gatherer. Determined to make herself a better life, she spent her 'earnings' on respectable clothing and speech lessons, allowing her to enter middle-class society. Still plying her trade, she became attached to a merchant well-known in some circles as a fence and trafficker of information. She excelled under his guidance, and became a useful tool of the merchant's.
However, she was implicated in the disappearance of a rival merchant, and was prudently advised to leave the city. Laying low in a cheap inn, she witnessed a fight in an alley between a darkskinned foreigner (Jebat) and two thieves from a rival guild. Her curiosity piqued, she followed the foreigner, and his comission seemed as good a reason as any to leave the city.
Teschen Ong Kho joined the group when they arrived at Iliphanar, a fortified river town on the Golden Flow. Iliphanar is a merchant-run town, and is an important stopover for caravans travelling the Silk Road.
Teschen was asked to join the group by Guildmaster van Yusef, the head of the Iliphanar Mercantile Guild, to find out about the caravan raids that were occurring (and that the party was investigating) and also as a part-time spy. van Yusef did not overly trust the group's intentions, or believe the tale told him by Meara. Teschen is of nomad stock, with a Tuigan grandsire and father, and a Khazari mother. He was raised by his Grandsire and Mother, after his father was killed by the Shou in reprisal for nomad raids. He is an educated man, and a capable warrior. His investigative mind has allowed him to rise in the ranks of the Guild, and van Yusef knew he was the man to send as his emmissary.
The party is not aware of his secondary mission.
Calid Haarizan is the newest member of the party, after being 'rescued' from the stronghold of the Severed Tongue, a large tribe of orcs at the foot of Howling Gap.
Calid is the son of a well-to-do Dhantazar merchant, and was destined to become a wizard, sponsored by his father. He was apprenticed to a respectable mage, and appeared to do well at his studies, whilst managing part of the family business.
However, the lure of the gems Calid was handling became too much for his rather fragile morals, and he began to skim some of the profits out of the business. He began to learn some of the more seedier skills of the merchant, and was soon in way over his head. When he attempted to filch an ornamental dagger from a guest at one of his father's society parties, his days of masquerading as an 'honest' merchant were over. His father banished him from the household, and he was cast out onto the street.
In attempting to escape the city with a caravan, he was captured by slavers, and then stolen by the Severed Tongue. He was serving as a scribe for the tribe's shaman until the party liberated him.
The Graveyard
Sir Connal Ragnar, a paladin worshipping the Godess of healing, and in the service of the Knights of Light. Connal was born to humble beginnings, but lost his parents to raiding goblinoids. He was taken in by the local Baron, and was raised in his castle, and trained to be a soldier. After many battles, Connal began to despair the lot of a soldier, and was expelled from the Duke's forces.
Wandering around the country, looking for work, he became hopelessly lost. In his despair, he offered a prayer to the Godess of healing, that should he be saved, he would become a knight in her service. By coincidence or divine providence, Connal was found, and nursed back to health. He travelled on, selling his sword to merchants as a caravan guard on the Silk Road, raising enough money to sponsor himself into the Knights of Light, which he now serves faithfully. Connal has been sent by the Knights as a representative in the search for the Caliph's son.
Connal died as a result of wounds incurred during a battle with some orcs in the Semphar meadowlands. He tried to travel back to a farmhouse the party had visited, but was overcome by wild dogs during the journey.
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