Name: Horatio Stallings
Class: Bard
Subclass: Archaeologist
Role: Face, Skills, Traps, can hold his own in combat.
Portrait
Background
The Stallings' were a minor noble family in Almas, during the Andoran People's Revolution. Despite being minor, the family possessed canny political acumen, and was able to sense that the way of the Aristocracy was nearing its end. Not much to lose in the way of their limited holdings, the family wisely relinquished them during the revolution and sided with the revolutionaries, in order to guarantee the family's continued existence. The family had actually been in decline over the previous decades - mostly due to stagnation - as the family did not want to endanger their holdings by venturing on risky endeavors. The loss of most of the holdings after the revolution actually brought out the best in the them, reinvigorating long forgotten talents such as risk taking and entrepreneurship, as the family pledged their remaining assets to House Vaylen to establish new ventures. Horatio was a student at the Almas University during the Revolution, and fought on the side of the Revolutionaries, both learning firsthand how to handle a blade, and securing his future after the Revolution. Under normal circumstances, as the youngest son, he would have at best been a minor noble without a hereditary title. However, after the Revolution, he found himself in an exciting environment where he could climb the social ladder through merit.
Horatio had entered into a contract with House Vaylen, who was the leading power in acquisition and exportation of artifacts and relics from exotic locations such as Arcadia and Mwangi Expanse, to pay off his tuition fees. He first used the knowledge he gained from his education to identify and catalogue these relics, and afterwards, lent his knowledge to expeditions for House Vaylen as an archaeologist, to pay off his debt.
During his tenure at House Vaylen, he was sent to Numeria to inquire into strange relics and metals unique to the region. While having little success in exporting these relics, Horatio nevertheless become fascinated with the technological devices he encountered, decided to stay in Numeria, learnt Kellid and become of devout follower of Brigh, all to further his knowledge about these artifacts. His travels took him to the town of Torch, where he encountered a kindred inquisitive soul by the name of Khonnir Baine, who taught him much about the metals and artifacts unique to Numeria, in return for Horatio's knowledge gained from his expeditions with House Vaylen.
Horatio is currently near Hajoth Hakados, sent by Khonnir Baine, scouting a potential unexplored site that might yield ancient artifacts.
Personality
Horatio is usually calm, well mannered and friendly, but he can get excited when talking about his line of work or outright delirious when he thinks he has made a discovery. He usually likes to plan meticulously before setting on a course of action, but may throw caution to the wind if he believes potential knowledge lies ahead.
Alternatives
In order to accommodate missing group roles, Horatio can easily switch to either an Archivist or a Studeous Librarian if necessary.