Name: Egan "The Boot" Blackwood. (hm,f0, LN, judge)
Submitted By: Jade Williams
Description:
Egan is a tall (6"), thin, wiry man, with short gray-black hair and dark brown eyes. He usually wears black, dark gray, or dark blue clothes. He wears no jewelry, not even simple rings, and his robes are always plain, with a tied cloth belt. His house is moderately furnished. He prefers heavy wooden furniture, usually darkened with age. Many of his furnishings are from the local area, but there are items that stand out as being from such faraway places as Maztica (carved chairs), Zakhara (Egan's bed; a vast canopied affair), to Damara (a set of bloodstone figurines).
History:
This hawk-nosed man of 64 winters is a judge in Arylon. Egan grew up in Waterdeep. His mother was a festhall dancer who got pregnant by an adventurer. However his father disappeared into the Undermountain soon after. Egan grew up in the festhall and was taken care of by the other girls while his mother was occupied. His mother, Aspen, did not neglect him as he was growing. She taught him about city life, the various people and power groups of the city. Aspen hoped her teachings would influence Egan to become streetwise and she hoped he would work at the festhall to repay past kindness.
Unfortunately as he grew he remained thin and wiry. He lacked the frame for a bouncer and was unable to intimidate unruly customers. Egan also did not look favorably on the kind of work his mother was into, nor did he sympathize with the customers who frequented such places. Egan began harboring an enmity toward adventurers, a product of the many years he saw them come in and out of the city without thought for those they left behind. He was outraged by the amount of crime and danger that seemed to follow them, and after a festhall fight nearly cost the life of his mother he decided to do something about it. He spent seven years studying the Code Legal, and after three more spent scribing for the courts, he was appointed as a Magistrate (Black Robe).
Egan spent 35 years administering justice in the city. He got the nickname "The Boot" from the adventurers that ran into his unswerving justice. Some felt he was too strict on the adventurers that appeared in his court. As a matter of fact they did get heavier sentences than other city folk, but the Lords never revoked his judgments. His personal life during this time is something he doesn't talk about. The pay for being a Judge in Waterdeep meant he was well off, but he made no close friends, or acquaintances. His street contacts also lost track of him as he slowly stopped seeing them. One popular rumor is that he was once married to an adventuress, who was killed in a spell-battle, thus accounting for his fanatical pursuit in punishing them. During the past decade he has been seen dining at high class restaurants with various older members of the "in-crowd", but no-one has managed to dig up any more juicy gossip (despite attempts by at least three adventurers to do so).
In spring two years ago Egan suddenly resigned his post, left Waterdeep, and moved down to Arylon. Again the rumor mill started up, with everything from the Lords throwing him out, to his imminent marriage to a young socialite. Of course the adventuring community was glad to see him leave. He bought a house in Arylon, and now lives here alone except for his pet tressym. The tressym moved in with him about a year before he left Waterdeep. He quickly got back into the legal situation in Arylon, and after getting familiar with the City Code of Laws, he applied for and got a position in the courts.
Even with this occasional expense, it doesn't take disreputable types long to realize that he must have a large sum of money stashed somewhere, or quietly invested in other ventures. This has led him to improve security around his house; his doors and windows are all fitted with high quality locks and bolts. His front door has a catflap that has been magically sealed, so that only his Tressym, Duchess, can pass through. To all others it appears to be a solid door. The truth is Egan keeps little money in Arylon; just what he needs to get by day-to-day. Most of his money is kept safe in Waterdeep, in one of Mirt's establishments. Mirt is one of Egan's few friends.
Duchess (Tressym)
Mirt saw Egan growing old and alone and decided to set up some "company" for the old judge. When it seemed that he was not willing to participate in the match making efforts, another companion was set up for him. Duchess was an initiate in the church of Azuth. During her Transforming initiation the shape change spells went awry and she was left as a Tressym. Due to the Time of Troubles that occurred soon after, no effort was made to restore her to normal for several months, and by then normal dispel magic spells had no effect. Spells indicated she had high intelligence, but all attempts to communicate with her failed. She has adopted several people in the past, and remains a loyal pet to them until she decides it is time to move on. Then she suddenly disappears and seeks someone new.