Old Sennet Marrow
Gnome, Hedge wizard, hermit
Wry, unhurried despite quick movements, treats mortality as a joke he's telling himself.
One Last Fix. He wants help gathering rare components for a final, correct ritual to lift the curse before he dies — he's certain this attempt will kill him either way.
A Death Witnessed. He wants someone present when he dies to make sure the ritual's backlash doesn't hurt anyone else, since he expects it to go wrong.
Appearance
Tiny and spry despite obvious age, eyes bright and quick, hands weathered but never trembling. Wears the same patched coat for what looks like forty years.
Secret
He is the reason the nearby village's land has failed to yield good harvests for two generations, a curse cast in youthful fury over a lost love, and his 'blessings' since have only deepened it.
Quirks
Talks to his familiar's empty collar, long since without the animal
Keeps a coffin he built himself as a plant bed
Personality traits
Mordantly funny about death
Out of his depth when it comes to undoing old magic
Ideal
A clean ending, on his own terms, is the last thing he can still control.
Bond
The village he cursed in a fit of rage forty years ago still suffers crop failures; he's spent decades trying quietly to fix it.
Flaw
His attempts at reversal are amateurish and keep making the curse worse, though he won't admit that's what's happening.