Reiter

Reiter is the owner of the Oasis Inn.

Reiter considered himself to be a practical man. When he didn't get his way with his family, he would reside in his study.

Biography
Reiter's father ran the Oasis Inn, situated in the town of Caldeum's Rest, and as a boy, Reiter worked for him in said inn. Lots of treasure hunters passed through their doors. Another group that passed their doors were a group of guards who spent their time in the common room drinking cheap swill. Reiter enjoyed their company. One of them, took it upon himself to teach Reiter "the ways of the world." Most of the conversation focused on how to get "any little pretty" to agree to a night of companionship.

The First Meeting
"Young love. So beautiful. Flowers blooming in spring. Desert roses and such. You know, there's nothing in the crusaders' oath that prevents you from&mdash;" "My oath? No. My sense of good taste? Yes."

- Anajinn and her apprentice discussing the latter's attraction to Reiter (or lack of it)

One month later, a Crusader came into the inn, accompanied by a much younger apprentice. The Crusader, whose name was Anajinn, was female, and he noticed that the girl she'd brought with her was about his own age. He found himself attracted to her. The elder Crusader asked whether Reiter's father leant out books to his patrons, which was true. Reiter was dumbfounded that these two would have trudged through a sandstorm simply looking for books. At his father's orders, Reiter fetched the newcomers water, and noticed (at least in his own mind) that the Crusader's apprentice appeared to like him as well. Anajinn went with Reiter's father to the inn's library (she wanted books pertaining to Ureh), while Reiter stayed with her apprentice as she cleaned her armor.

Reiter noticed that the symbols on her armor looked like Zakarum markings, which the girl confirmed they were. However, despite Reiter's first conclusions, she told him that she wasn't a Paladin, and nor was her master. Reiter pressed on, trying to flirt with the girl, but didn't have much luck&mdash;the advice the guard had given him a month prior wasn't paying off. Choking on his own words, he began scrubbing the girl's armor himself, which caused not only the bowl of water used for cleaning and its table to flip, but caused smoke smelling of blood and sulphur to fill the air. Reiter screamed while the girl took the armor and threw it outside, where a green flame consumed the armor in a flash. Reiter's father and Anajinn came upstairs, wanting to know what had happened.

The apprentice burst out laughing, explaining that Reiter had put water on dry demon's blood. Anajinn explained that they'd cleared out a nest of demons that had plauged Caldeum's caravans for the last few years, and that the creatures had an adverse reaction to water. Anajinn and her apprentice engaged in banter and jokes, at Reiter's expense. Humiliated, he fled the room, making it personal mission to avoid the two women for as long as they remained in the inn (about a week). In that, he was mostly successful, though the apprentice did find him to appologize for her remarks. Reiter barely listened, thinking that the pair seemed crazy anyway, what with all this talk of demon blood. When it came time to leave, Reiter and his father watched him go, as his father told him about what he knew of Anajinn. That he should have asked about it. Reiter murmured unenthusiastic agreement.

The Second Meeting
"She's the one, right? From years ago! I wish she had come up for a visit. I knew she had salt. She took proper care of that bastard, eh?"

- Reiter's father, in light of Anajinn's second departure

The years went on. Reiter married Bea (a girl he knew from the town he lived in) and took over running the inn as his father began to sucumb to age, which took its toll on both his body and mind. His marriage with Bea wasn't perfect either, as he noticed that she often made him "feel low for no reason." One day, he received a visitor. Anajinn, whom he hadn't seen for about eight or nine years. He noticed that she actually seemed younger, and she told him that she had not yet found an apprentice. Puzzled (hadn't she had one before?), he led her up to a room. After that, he led her to the library. It was here that he noticed something&mdash;the Anajinn he'd seen nearly a decade ago had brown hair, but this one had blonde hair. Just like the apprentice. It was the apprentice.

Not knowing of the Crusaders' conventions of apprentices taking the names of their masters, Reiter was dumbfounded by the girl's insistence that her name was Anajinn, and accused her of trying to trick him. To embarass him like she had all those years ago. She imparted that she took up her master's name and shield for herself, leaving the implication hanging in the air that her master was dead. Now, she was no longer seeking Ureh, but rather the lost memoirs of Tal Rasha. Reiter, still skeptical (and wondering if the girl was insane), left her to it, thinking it might be better to just sell the inn's books off.

Back in the common room, one of the patrons (a man with similar Zakarum symbols on his armor) asked Reiter about the woman he had shown to the library. He told him of the girl, how he had seen her all those years ago. Reiter felt ill at ease with the man's questions, and even more so when he accused him of sheltering a heretic. He called himself a Paladin of the Hand of Zakarum, and that the woman was not filled with the Light, but something else. If Reiter was loyal to the faith, he could not shelter such a person in his inn. He babbled, mentioning that the woman called herself a Crusader, which caught the Paladin's attention. He ordered Reiter to have the woman meet him outside the inn, so that he might examine her. The Paladin headed upstairs, and Reiter could hear him putting on his armor.

Reiter went to the library to tell Anajinn of this, but she appeared unfazed by the Paladin's threats. Losing patience, he demanded to know why a book would be more important than a man threatening to kill her, and why she'd come back to the inn. She told Reiter that she was looking for something to save the Zakarum faith. That the existence of the Crusade was kept secret from all but the most senior members of the Hand of Zakarum. Acknowledging that Reiter felt threatened, she stated that she would leave immediately. However, she asked if she could buy the book she was currently reading.

From the safety of the inn, Reiter and Bea watched Anajinn and the Paladin duel in the street. It didn't last long, as Anajinn called upon the powers of the Light and reduced the Paladin to his separate body parts. The couple watched as Anajinn headed off down the street.

Intervening Years
In the intervening years, Bea gave birth to their daughter, Lilsa. When bandits attacked Caldeum's Rest, they managed to hide from them by using the inn's storeroom.

The Third Meeting
"I am not a heretic. I've walked in the faith my entire life. I am but a humble servant who hopes to live by the words of the wise prophet Akarat. I'm sure I stumble from time to time, but I-" "That is precisely our concern. You seem to have stumbled. You knowingly gave shelter to an enemy of the faith, and one of the righteous died trying to rectify that. One of our brothers."

- Reiter and a Paladin

Years after Anajinn's confrontation with the Paladin, Reiter was again confronted by warriors of the Zakarum faith&mdash;three of them. They tortured him for information concerning the death of their fellow Paladin, and Reiter told them all he knew. He gave them the name "Anajinn," which was more than they had before. The Paladins eventually relented, but told him that if the Crusader ever entered his inn again, he must tell them immediately. These were terms that Reiter hastily agreed to, and the Paladins departed, leaving him a sobbing wreck. He was approached by his Lilsa who didn't buy her father's explanation that the "nice men" had found somewhere else to stay in Caldeum's Rest. When he asked about Bea, Lilsa said that she was "out back with the nice ladies wearing the shiny metal."

It didn't take Reiter long to realize who Lilsa was talking about. It only took him slightly longer to head outside and find his wife treating a pair of Crusaders. One of them was Anajinn, the other a young girl. Anajinn had been injured by a demon's blade, and Bea was treating her wound. Reiter was furious at first, but softened his demenor after he heard what had happened. However, the Paladins' visit fresh in his mind, he still demanded that they leave. Bea objected, but he held firm&mdash;he had a daughter, a pregnant wife, and an inn to protect. To his surprise, Anajinn agreed, but Bea interjected, stating that the Crusaders could stay in the inn. They could stay in the storeroom, and as they'd not used the desert road, no-one would know they'd arrived. Anajinn explained that due to the destruction of Travincal, the Paladins would be in a vengeful mood, and might take out their anger on the town. As such, everyone in Caldeum's Rest was potentially in danger.

Bea let them stay in the storerooms while she had words with her husband. The two disagreed on the right course of action, and in the process, Bea brought up Reiter's now-deceased father, claiming that he would have been ashamed of his son. The words cut deep, and Reiter was left alone to consider the situation. He thought back to when Anajinn had defeated the Paladin all those years ago, but not only was she outnumbered this time, but she was wounded. If just one Paladin survived a battle with her, that could mean disastrous consequences for her family. With some amount of rationalization, he set off to find the Paladins, to inform them of Anajinn's presence.

Reiter found the lead Paladin, currently in the midst of torturing a blacksmith for information. The Paladin was acting irrationally by now, and bound Reiter with bands of Light, along with blinding him, his eyes turning pure white. He was marched through the streets, and could only silently pray for the Paladins to spare his family. He heard Anajinn emerge to face the Paladins, stating that she would do what was necessary to spare his family. He noticed that her voice was laced not with incrimination, but with sadness. Anajinn engaged in battle with the Paladins while her apprentice led Reiter away. While he couldn't see the fight, he could hear it, and could hear his inn taking a lot of collateral damage. The apprentice led him down an alley to Bea, who told her to go help Anajinn.

Anajinn, wounded, returned to the pair while her apprentice continued to fight. She told them to hide, that if the Paladins found them, they would not be merciful. Bea ran off to get Lilsa. They returned and moved with Reiter, but one of the Paladins caught up with them, taking Bea and Lilsa hostage. The Paladin demanded that Anajinn cast her weapons and armor aside, or he would kill them. Reiter begged for mercy, but the Paladin wasn't listening. Anajinn thus caved in to his demands. After that, the Paladin killed her. However, Anajinn's apprentice avenged her moments later. The apprentice, who immediately took the name of her deceased master, used the powers of the Light to restore Reiter's sight, leaving his vision blurry, but functional. Reiter could only make out her armor, and said that Anajinn sounded different, not realizing that the former apprentice's master was dead.

Rebuilding
Not long after the battle, Reiter's inn was rebuilt. He had to sell half his land to procure the required funds, and the structure's walls were less sturdy than before.

The Fourth Meeting
"Father. I have something important to tell you." "I suppose you do."

- Lilsa and Reiter

Nearly twenty years after the battle with the Paladins, Reiter, now an older man, with creaking joints and gnarled hands, was visited by Anajinn again. Lilsa was pleased to see her and they spent days in conversation. Finally, the point came where Lilsa asked to join (or was asked by Anajinn to join) the ranks of the Crusaders as her apprentice. Reiter listened in, aggrieved at the thought of his daughter leaving him. Anajinn told Lilsa of her plans to head to New Tristram in light of a falling star seen in the skies. The Crusader and her new apprentice entered the library to tell Reiter, who tried to make it look like he hadn't been evesdropping. A thousand words fluttered through his thoughts, forming admonitions, warnings, refusals, ultimatums. Anything that would make Lilsa change her mind, make her see reason. None of which, he knew, he would ever have the courage to say.

Lilsa spoke first. She had something to tell him...