Rankin

Rankin
Rankin, from Ultima VII
Species:	human
Appearances
Ultima VII Location: Moonglow

Rankin is the Fellowship branch leader in Moonglow. He appears in Ultima VII

Description

Rankin was the head of the Fellowship's newest branch, and in his six years of tending it, he appeared to already have succumb to the corruption which characterized the organization's elite. After overhearing Rankin freely expressing his doubts about the society to a new recruit, Tolemac, his clerk, Balayna, became uncertain of his ability to perform his duties. She would go on to report her concerns to the Avatar hoping that the hero would carry them to Britain and presumably to Batlin.

Should the Avatar choose to inform Rankin of his underling's accusations, the man would resort to drastic measures to maintain his position. After assuring the hero that Balayna's fears were all a misunderstanding, the branch leader would send the Avatar back to his clerk with a present of exotic liqueur, which he claimed to have procured from the merchant, Addom.

Should the Avatar deliver the vial, Balayna would die within a few moments of opening it, revealing its contents to be a toxic inhalant. Rankin would go on to feign ignorance regarding his "gift," insinuating that Addom was responsible for Balayna's death. Under the auspices of the blackrock cube, however, he could be made to gloat as to the convenience of his troublesome aide's demise, revealing his instrumentality in her murder.

Lore

“

The branch here is fairly new, and our branch head even newer — not to imply Rankin is unqualified for his position. Actually, I believe he is performing his duties wonderfully. Every night we meet and have the opportunity to treasure his jewels of wisdom. Of course, Balayna — she is his clerk — is not quite so fond of him. At every meeting she takes careful notes during the sermon, but I get the feeling she is observing more than his words. – from Key to the Black Gate (Ultima VII)

Trivia

• Rankin will not disclose his suspicions regarding Addom in the course of an unmodified copy of Ultima VII due to a glitch which causes his dialogue regarding "liquor" to loop incorrectly. A fan-made patch exists which corrects this, and is available for download here.
• Should the Avatar refuse to deliver the liqueur to Balayna, Rankin will take action and kill her himself, hiding the body. If asked about his clerk's whereabouts, he will claim ignorance, although under the power of the Cube, he will admit that the woman has "conveniently stopped breathing."
• The Avatar cannot confront Addom with Rankin's suspicions, but should the hero kill the merchant, the Fellowship leader will offer congratulations for exacting revenge on Balayna's behalf.
• In the SNES-port of Ultima VII, Balayana's accusations regarding Rafkin lead the branch leader only to dismiss her as a liar and call her out as a troublemaker and he makes no visible machinations to orchestrate her death.