Stanford Botwrighte

Stanford wears a smile like a thief wears a disguise—to project an image that he hopes others will believe in. Maybe he can convince himself at the same time? He never had the athleticism to be a hardcore fighter. In fact, he feels like a person with marginal abilities across the board, but it’s surprising how much confidence a smile can inspire. He charmed them at the Temple of the Dire Wolf to get this clerical position—and the spells finally seem to be working now. And then there were the lunkheads hanging around the catacombs that were only too pleased to bring someone on who might help protect them from the skeletons. But at his core, he is terrified. He doesn’t want to die, but he doesn’t want to disappoint either; his Papa's obvious pride in him only makes things worse. His sister Leopoldine (page 21) has yet to see him fail and probably assumes that it comes easily to him to play the role of hero. In reality, he feels like a hostage of his own reputation. His remove fear spell is oftentimes for himself because the smile doesn’t always work. He knows it’s fake.