Burne

Burne (Human, Male), "His Most Worshipful Mage of Hommlet," is a goodhearted wizard, clever, but a trifle on the greedy side. He had arranged, along with his long-time adventuring partner Rufus, a charter to protect the Village of Hommlet from the Viscount of Verbobonc. Under his supervision a Tower was constructed and at the time of the second rising of the Temple of Elemental Evil the early stages of a small keep was being built on the outskirts of town. He is the founder of his own troupe of mercenaries called "Burne's Badgers" which he used as security for the town of Hommlet, a fact that did not endear him to the local populace. Burne further harmed his popularity after issuing a tax on the population of Hommlet to help cover the costs of the new construction of the keep.

Early Life

As a child, Burne was from a village called Humming's End which was attacked by a sect of Eternal Flame cultists in the year 554 CY. Burne's parents were slain and he along with the other children of the village were taken prisoner to be indoctrinated into the ways of the cult. Burne's natural talent for magic was identified and he was placed as an apprentice to a mage named Kell the Eldest. Kell arrived to the area near Hommlet the day before the Battle of Emridy Meadows to lead Zuggtmoy's forces but was ambushed by agents of the Righteous Host. Burne was taken from the cult and taken to the City of Greyhawk to be placed in the care of the magi there to continue his magical studies free from the perversion of the cult.

Rise to Fame

Burne learned the magical arts from the Greyhawk Guild of Wizardry, based in the City of Greyhawk. During his time in the city he came to meet his adventuring partner Rufus and the two became quick friends. While Rufus was the face of the duo and had a position of power with the nobility of Verbobonc, Burne brought an entrepreneurial spirit and business sense to their venture. The two took a contract in the area of Hommlet to dispatch of many of the remnant bandits that remained in the area after the Battle of Emridy Meadows. The gnomes of the Free Assembly of the Kron Hills reached out to the two of them to assist with a green dragon which had been preying upon them. Burne and Rufus were able to slay the dragon and this propelled them into the position of being local heroes.
Around 591CY, Burne and Rufus were granted funds to build a small castle to secure Hommlet and take control of security in the region. Burne established a mercenary company known as Burne's Badgers who were hired on to supercede the unprofessional local militia. Burne's poor political decision making was frequently a cause for a number of the villagers to begin to conspire against the duo.

Assassination Attempt

After being shown evidence of a renewed threat of the Temple of Elemental Evil in the form of a dagger recovered by Absalom, Burne began to leave town at night to meet with some of the members of the Eternal Flame Cult in secret. Burne pretended to be a spy for them in Hommlet in hopes of getting information. The Cult of the Black Earth learned of these meetings and though they had an alliance with the Eternal Flame cultists, they wished to undermine their strength. Using two agents named Turuko and Kobort, Burne's tower was infiltrated and he was attacked with a magical dagger which petrified him. He was later healed of this petrification by adventurers who developed a magical oil derived from the tears of a basilisk.

Present Time

With Rufus deceased, Burne advised the Viscount to recognize Hommlet's favorite son Elmo to become a lord and resume construction of the castle. Burne still hires on adventurers for random tasks or to acquire obscurities for him to this day. He has ceased maintaining the mercenary company of Burne's Badgers and the security of Hommlet is now Elmo's charge. Burne acquiesced and mentored Spugnoir for a time after the events of the Temple of Elemental Evil but ultimately deemed him too dangerous to teach higher level magic; Burne instead steered him towards the caring and training of magical beasts.
After adventurers made discoveries at the The Old Moathouse that cultists had unearthed ancient Suel weapons, Burne began to send out messages to the former heroes of Hommlet to return to deal with the new threat. When evidence that Lareth the Beautiful once again lived and had traveled in the direction of the village of Rastor, Burne assembled a new band of Badgers to hunt down and search for evidence of cult activities near the Lortmil Mountains.