Bardler C17

Created by Eoin

C17 (a.k.a. Bardler, Bardler C17)

Bardler C17 is quite literally the gleaming ornament of the Inn, sitting by the hearth whirring contentedly. He has the worn and battered look of a humanoid constructed with an excessive amount of brass gears and pipes hissing gouts of steam. The soft glow from the minute furnace embedded in its stomach hardly visible in the harsh and flickering firelight that overshadows all else in the Inn. Over the long years it has sat in the Inn it has carved out its own little niche by the fireside, having acquired both an over-sized rocking chair and a fair amount of cup holders to accessorize it along the way, despite the fact that it neither needs rest nor drink--though he has taken up both as a habit.
The main source of entertainment however and the whole reason that he has been allowed to stay in his place by the bard's spot for all these long years, is the small device embedded in its neck. Having been constructed as a mining assistant for a mine now no more than the memory of a hole in the ground, it had been equipped with a recording device of strangely good quality, to record the last wishes and testaments of miners if they ever got trapped in the deep bowels of the earth with no chance of rescue. The recording device, better known as a testament vault, would later be recovered. A last message to the outside world from spirits long passed from this world. When C17 was found, lying buried beneath a suffocating layer of rocks and rotted wood, it had been years and years since he had taken the testimony of those who were buried there with him--skeletons more part of the stone than the surface now. Their families had long since died and their memories gone with the passing of many seasons. The testimonies have never been spoken--their last words sealed behind clockwork eyes. Useless and defect someone had dragged the brass corpse to the inn to sell the parts later on the market. The night dragged on, they had gotten drunk and C17 was left as a forgotten relic propped up in a corner. It might have been a drink--spilled on him as someone walked by shakily with more alcohol in their blood than in their tankards--or someone thumping the inanimate body in jest, but what everyone agrees on is that at some point in the days that followed, C17 had stood up, walked to the fireplace and settled there. A soft whirring and creaking to accompany him. He sat there for a few minutes, then from his neck came an exact replica of the story the animated woman next to him had just finished. Her voice perfectly replicated along with the many hand gestures that had accompanied the tale.
From that day on C17’s repertoire kept expanding and it became well known that a story told by the warm fireside of the World’s End Inn would be immortalized forever. Even if the one who had originally told it had long since passed away or continued on their travels to far lands. He gained the nickname ‘Bardler’ and though he never talked words of his own he seemed to develop the personality of a kindly old storyteller with a tired smile and remembering eyes. A secret hidden deep within their glowing depths. To this day, if you go to the World’s End Inn, remember to look for the gleaming brass figure sitting by a roaring hearth, surrounded by all those who would listen, and ask him for a story.

Current Location

Worlds' End Inn

Gender

Automaton for Assistance and Testimony for the purpose of excavation.

Appears in...

• The Soldier and the Stag