Tarts McGillicuddy

Owner and proprietor of Boutiqua Obscura in Lakeshore, Tarts McGillicuddy (admittedly not his real name) professes to be an apostate of Anthur-Ro. He was insistent upon not getting involved with The Ladies' Hiking Club or any of their concerns, having deliberately stayed in Lakeshore for the calming benefit of the Charm Stone. After seeing Clytemnestra "Fanny" Glitters through Bik's Spyglass, however, and recognizing the latter as a detection device for interplanar aether or the "Green Dream", he reluctantly changed course and offered them what assistance he could in discounted or free goods and advice.

Fuck me. Tell me everything,
- Tarts McGillicuddy

Having had little to supply Vega Spritzer, Tarts provided her with a crystal taper, telling her it would be important if she ever got to Anthur-Ro.
Two standout items from the shop that were not taken away by the Hiking Club were a carefully locked-up Hellfire Sword and a framed Fey IOU. Tarts did not know much about the origins of the former and the Club did not inquire about the latter.
The evening after meeting the Hiking Club, Tarts was visited by mages of Anthur-Ro who seemed as though they were inquiring as to whom he had been speaking earlier that day. Using a spell normally used to eavesdrop on a distant conversation in reverse, he alerted the ladies to their presence and, speaking in coded language, encouraged them to escape Lakeshore through the Western path, away from the main road.
Tarts stalled the delegation as the Ladies made their getaway. While it is not yet known what happened next, in the end the delegation placed Tarts under arrest for treason (presumably for interfering with their recovery of Fanny) and carted him back to Anthur-Ro. He was imprisoned in the floating-cell oubliette there for at least a month, and was not anticipating an actual trial.
The Ladies broke Tarts out in the course of The Assault on Anthur-Ro, eliminating "Bob" along the way. Tarts was overjoyed to see them and assisted them in using the cog obtained from Tara Thessaly to access restricted library materials reserved for them by the Inside Team.

True Identity

When Vega used the crystal taper Tarts provided to access the TED-E lift, it referred to her as "Master Sturges". The iron golems in the library used the same name to refer to him.

Death

Tarts met his end during the escape from Anthur-Ro.  He hitched a ride as Vega's passenger as she slid down the treacherous surface of the spire on her shield.  The velocity was more than either of them expected, and when the ride came to an abrupt geological stop, Vega was able to clutch on to a handhold but the master mage was not.  After a few ricochets down the mountain, Tarts fell approximately another 200 feet into a crevasse.  He was killed immediately upon impact.  Vega later reached out to Eldath to confirm that he was not alive and that a rescue effort would be in vain.  The nature goddess confirmed that Tarts, whose birth name was Gilchrist, never knew peace in life but had come into some much-needed respite in the afterlife.  The group was shaken by the loss.