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One of the Nathelian legends during the Storm Wars was that of Spencer. A hired mercenary from some Northern land, Spencer's precision and range with the bow mad him a fearsome opponent on the battlefield. It was after several years, during the decisive Battle of Vodel, that Spencer met his match. The Karatikan bowman Histhaus proved as deadly to the Nathelians as Spencer was to the Karatikans. As the battle raged on, Spencer and Histhaus began to fire on one another. Both men lost shieldmen and shield bearers by the dozen, but Histhaus finally began to edge out.
Spencer was furious, for it was Histhaus' bow, and not his skill, that made him so good. Whatever his secret, it was lost as the Nathelian priests rained red lightning down upon the Karatikan bowman. Spencer himself was later wounded at the Battle of Vodel. After recovering from his injuries, the archer set about on a personal quest to become a good bowmaker, and fashion his own magical bow. Spencer proved incabable of learning even the basics of bowyer-fletchery. Frustrated, he hired several mercenaries to journey with him to Karmen. There, he found the sage Almistat, and asked the master of weaponsmithing for the secret to magical bows. Working off of legends and insight, Almistat had but one reccomendation: mimic gut for a bowstring. The archer set out for distant Lamental, for the wizard there knew how to create mimics. The wizard, not keen on sacrificing one of his creations, drove a hard bargain, receiving in trade one of the rarer Nathelian gems. Spencer slew the mimic with ease (much to the wizard's disappointment), and gutted the monster. The mimic gut proved to be a good string, both strong and elastic. But it wasn't enough. From there, Spencer and his band travelled to the Citadel of Whalin in the far North. The ruined citadel still had within its bowels the legendary healing springs of Whalin -- corrupted by the antipaladins of Nathel that had destroyed the citadel. Frustrated again -- for he needed the healing waters intact -- Spencer turned against Nabrol, Nathel's successor. Spencer's anger and depression fueled the mimic gut string, as he killed Nabrolian antipaladins left and right. After his death at the hands of one antipaladin, his body and his broken bow were buried in the mountains east of Lamental. When Lake Kiriath blew, his remains were scattered over twenty square miles. The bowstring was caught around the horns of a minotaur lizard. The lizard was later summoned to Rakore, where it had the bowstring removed by its summoner. The bowstring was later found by the ranger Daneledae Silverstance. The bowstring propels arrows twice as far as they would normally fly. In addition, it adds a non-magical +1 to the damage rolls associated with arrows shot with the bowstring. Spencer's bowstring glows faintly of conjuration/summoning and necromatic energy when detect magic is cast upon it, mainly from the mimic gut and the antipaladin blood on it.
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