Rufus the Just

The long suffering Champion of Hintila, Rufus the Just (or Just Rufus) is a masterful Fighter and reluctant leader of a band of misfits who inevitably find themselves drawn into the problems of the city.

Personality
Easily flustered, Rufus is defined more by social anxieties than graces. Straightforward to a fault, he approaches problems with a simple, at times brutal mindset. If there is a problem, it must be solved, often taking the burden upon himself in doing so. This has caused him issues in Hintila, as he is often run ragged by his duties. However, that doggedness has proven an asset all the same, punching through the lies in a city of masks and schemes. Despite his exasperation and discomfort at his station, he puts his head down and does his best, often willing to vouch for others in the process.

In combat, Rufus is another matter altogether. Violence is his first and only language, a brutal approach that cascades through all obstacles, and his demeanor changes to match it. The anxiety, fear, uncertainty all fade before the violent intent he wields, overwhelming all in his path.

Backstory
A battlefield orphan, Rufus's first memory was among the chaos of conflict. Whatever his parentage, he remains ignorant of it to this day, though his heritage is apparent in the tips of his ears. He lived a brutal, cruel life at the hands of whatever mercenary company he could find work with until he reached adolescence, wherein the company he served with found themselves in the employment of Frederic the Great, the rebellious King of Quames. There, Rufus remained for a number of years, until the end of the Third Quamic War. In the aftermath, he departed, eventually coming to Hintila.

Once there, he found himself in need of coin and was contacted by a Mister Morris Kipling to take part in a job alongside two others. Attend the Limter Masquerade, gather intelligence, and don't let anything too terrible happen. Things did not go as planned, as they rarely do.

As the Masquerade ended, Rufus was hailed as largely responsible for saving the nobility of Hintila from the betrayal of the Late Lord Limter, and he was installed as the Champion of the City, a largely ceremonial post that had not been occupied in some decades.

Over the next few months, he found himself a magnet for other strange individuals, including those he attended the Masquerade with. Granted residence at the abandoned Sirion Estate, Rufus has found himself at the eye of the storm as events continue to transpire around him.

And so, he grits his teeth and does what he can. It's all he's ever done.

History (In game)
||This section contains spoilers for the podcast!||

Before the Noose

Rufus appears briefly at the end of Before the Noose with Kka-Lo, Delia Quickstep, and Tali Twelve-Cursed, helping to clear the assassins out of the von Teppler estate.

A Stranger Comes Knocking

Rufus briefly appears again at the end of this arc to first complain about, then offer a new home to the Brika Chargers.

That Which is Buried

Rufus receives an invitation to a private dinner affair at the Goring Manor. Anxious to a fault, he asks the Residents who among them would accompany him. He is surprised that Reagan volunteers, as does Monty and Brika, and they attend the dinner together. While there, Rufus is mostly resigned to eating shrimp, outside of an awkward conversation with Lady Sayeeah Khaam, who seems to share some connection with him, much to his discomfort.

The party one by one slipped away during dinner to speak with Lord Goring on the matter of Elizabeth Khiham, Reagan's sister who was apparently going by the name Cynthia Goring. Agreeing to handle a problem in the basement, Rufus accompanies the others, revealing his involvement and actions in the Limter Masquerade almost a year prior, including saving Lynne from a vampire. By the time they arrived at the basement, he had hinted as pieces of his past best left buried.

In the basement, Rufus assisted first against the strange shadow creature, and then against the villainous butler, Gyles. Managing to push through Gyles' circles of protection, he reached Monty before the orc could land the killing blow. Rufus pulped the upper body of his foe, before falling to his knees in a panic attack. He was brought back to his senses by Reagan, and followed the party the rest of the night, though notably did not promise friendship or alliance with Julius Goring.

Odd Overtures

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