# Ignominious Archivist, Mayola

From budding academic to tender of records, so goes the arc of Mayola Ekris' life. People always said the young tiefling would do great things, and her admission into one of the top magic school of Waterdeep, the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors, seemed to poise her to fulfill all those lofty expectation. The study of planetouched--- not just beings affected by extraplanar contact, but plants, animals, objects--- always fascinated her, but as the work grew more strenuous and its concomitant obligations more demanding, Mayola had less and less patience for the wearying responsibilities of course. She couldn't find it in her to do things like showing up to meetings, collaborating with other departments, and spending her research grants according to their proposals. She wasn't surprised when the board fired her.

Five years later, and on the other side of an existential crisis to make any philosopher quake in his slippers, Mayola returned to Waterdeep and the Watchful Order, using her credentials and few remaining connections to get a position as a junior archivist in the repository there. In the order and routine of a position that demanded not high-pressure meetings nor stringent deadlines nor bearing accusations that she was carelessly misappropriating funds, Mayola flourished--- when the former Head Archivist retired just a few years later, the tiefling was a shoo-in.

Now, with two and a half decades behind her working diligently to catalogue and classify the many strange artifacts and items that pass through the Order's doors and into her repository, the archivist makes an enjoyable, low stress, and low-profile life from her well maintained but badly decorated apartments in the upper Trades Ward. Sometimes, her more active colleagues ask her why she doesn't come back to researching the planetouched in her old department, but she's quite happy keeping that sort of thing to her leisure, thank you very much--- she would swear they'd forgotten how well it all went last time...

For a bit of spice and adventure, in those rare times she feels bored by stability, Mayola Ekris helps adventurers in need of extraplanar expertise. She's not always up to date on whatever newfangled theory is being worked on _this_ year, but the clients don't seem to mind. She takes a special liking to a little paladin outfit called the "[Unblinking Patrol](https://acl.cool/writings/gottlob/)"--- just about her speed, that lot.

