Shmed

Shmed was a Knight of Monitor, a city on the Serpent Isle.

Although he was a Knight and a Member of the Wolf Command, Shmed was by all accounts a coward and a reprobate. Cantra, a fourteen year old girl of the city, confessed that Shmed made her uncomfortable by leering at her sometimes. Aware of his nature, the city put him in charge of administering the Knight's Test to prospective Knights to spare him the humiliation on the List Field or the battlefield. Shmed took the position even though it meant spending a lot of time alone outside the city's walls.

Just prior to the arrival of the Avatar, Shmed was seduced by Lydia (who had secretly come to work for the sage Batlin). Lydia convinced Shmed to rig the Knight's Test with magical creatures to ensure that the Avatar would fail. He also allowed for a pikeman with a spell of Invisibility to lie in wait in the midst of the test. Despite the new traps, the Avatar succeeded. Panicking, Shmed proceeded to attack the Avatar just as s/he was completing the test, but was defeated and killed.

Although there were rumors of a traitor among the Knights of Monitor (one who had sold valuable military secrets to the Goblins), none of the people there seriously considered Shmed to be the one, even after his attempt on the Avatar's life due to him being terrified of Goblins.