Antoine Le Mere
Antoine Le Mere was always an odd child. Throughout his formative years, he displayed a remarkable intellect, a great capacity to absorb languages, and an insatiable curiosity about antiquities. Raised in a wealthy, insular family, Antoine was allowed to pursue his passions with little interference. His interest in odd, disturbing topics made him more than a bit antisocial, so he never developed any close friendships.
After his parents died in a mysterious accident, Antoine inherited the family fortune and estate. While combing his ancestral home for legal documents, he discovered an ancient tome that his father, who was well versed in ancient cultures, had hidden away. The wealth of arcane lore between its covers instantly fascinated Antoine, who devoted his every waking moment over the next several months to learning its secrets.
Over time, Antoine became a capable Mage. As he continued to plumb the information within the book, he began to learn dark, powerful spells, some of which could even give a semblance of life to dead tissue. Pushed beyond the brink of sanity by the book’s corrupting content, Antoine decided to put his new knowledge to use by constructing a flesh golem. The project would require a variety of unusual supplies, including several fresh corpses.
After considerable research, Antoine found the perfect source—Dr. John Baker, an elderly coroner at the Old County Morgue who was down on his luck and low on scruples. Through bribes, threats, and intimidation, Antoine eventually convinced the coroner to provide him with the body parts he required for his project.
Eventually, however, LeMere decided that the corpses of those who ended up at the Old County Morgue were not always of sufficient quality to provide the parts he required, so he began augmenting his supply via murder. The corpses of LeMere’s victims began to arrive at the morgue, missing various body parts. Over and over, Dr. Baker concealed forensic evidence that could have led the police to LeMere. Eventually, the coroner’s psyche crumbled under the burden of covering up all these illegal and unethical acts, and he became nearly as delusional as his patron.
LeMere decided to ensure his privacy during the lengthy period it would take to assemble the golem by creating his own arcane “watchdogs” via another ritual described in his book. To that end, he began severing the hands of his victims before leaving the scenes of his crimes, and he convinced Dr. Baker to do the same with the corpses that came to the morgue. Once he had a large supply of these grisly trophies, Antoine used a spell from his book to turn them into twisted constructs known as crawling claws. These unspeakable creatures now roam his home, protecting his inner sanctum from intruders.
Because Antoine’s victims are always missing their hands, the police have deduced that they are dealing with one or more ritual killers who mutilate the corpses of their victims in this way because of some demented psychological need or to meet the requirements of some dark and depraved religion. The authorities so far have no idea that the corpses of some indigents and elderly people are often missing their hands and other parts as well by the time the coroner has finished with them. Closed casket funerals or cremations are always recommended in such cases, and so far the families (if any) have always complied.
LeMere recently completed one flesh golem, which he named Khaiba. It has been aiding him in his murder spree to gain body parts for others.
Date of Death
8/10/2145
Children
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