"Oh, you might say I've been around a bit."
- —Tracas Quendalmanliye[1a]
Trancas Quendalmanlïye
Tracas Quendalmanliye is a Wood Elf illusionist and the owner and operator of the Three of a Kind cabaret and casino.[1a]
A Wood Elf in early middle age (he's 126), Trancas shows the world a sophisticated, daredevil, almost flippant face. He steeples his hands when talking business, and frequently arches the brows of his hazel eyes in a look of arrogant amusement. His blond hair is tied in a ponytail and he talks with a friendly, breezy manner that hardens only when he is angered. His dress is always smart and debonair, and more than one human woman has pleaded undying love to his uninterested heart.[1a][1b]
Trancas is unusual for a Wood Elf - he has completely rejected his past and has chosen to live among humans. In fact, he likes humans. His easy manner hides a deeply scarred soul: his family and village in the Laurelorn Forest were destroyed by Orcs in his childhood. Since then, he has wandered the Empire and Bretonnia before making his fortune and settling in Marienburg. Insatiably curious, over the last few years he has become the biggest information broker in Marienburg, with contacts at all levels of society. For a price, a buyer can find almost anything out. For a higher price, Trancas will try to find something out if he doesn't already know it. His abiding goal is to destroy a ring of child-snatchers whose activities he has traced for years through the Reik Valley and northern Bretonnia. He is convinced the gang is based in Marienburg, but he has yet to find any solid leads.[1b]
When he has drunk too much, Trancas will sometimes mutter to himself, "It's a good thing for us Elves that we live so long, and that men have such short memories." He has never explained this comment, not even to his lover, Morgaine.[1b]
The fact is that Trancas is wanted for murder in Carroburg, the capital of Middenland and seat of the von Bildhofen family. It was not an ordinary killing, either - seventy-five years ago he killed the heir to the Grand Ducal throne, Hans-Dietrich von Bildhofen, grand-uncle to the current Grand Duke, Leopold. The elder von Bildhofen wanted forest lands near his estates that were occupied by the small Wood Elf village in which Trancas lived. When Orcs invaded Middenland from the Middle Mountains, Hans-Dietrich bribed them through agents to attack the Laurelorn Forest instead. The Wood Elves drove off the Orcs, but not before the rest of the village was massacred. Trancas was the only survivor.[1b]
Upon learning the truth, he stalked von Bildhofen and slew him in his study, escaping as the family guards were breaking down the door. Though the wanted posters have yellowed and almost anyone who could be a witness is dead or senile, there is still a 2000-crown reward for his capture, dead or alive.[1b]
He is fast friends with Freddie, to whom he leaves the day-to-day running of Three of a Kind. His lover is Morgaine, an ex-mercenary sergeant who is also co-owner of the inn. Trancas has regular dealings with both the Exarch and the Steward of the Palace, head of the Fog Walkers. He pretends to be a rogue of the worst sort, hoping to pump information from Adalbert Henschmann and his cronies. He is a regular visitor at Hieronymous Deecksburg's studio and the two are close friends.[1b]