Lord Barnabas of the Crossing

Lord Barnabas is the Count of the Crossing, the head of the House of the Crossing, and a vassal to King Agnen III. He is married to Lady Gertrude of the Crossing, who was common-born like her husband. They have one son and heir, named Barney.

Lord Barnabas supports his house by charging a toll to pass across the bridge that makes up the majority of his land. The Carters, an Allasian family of merchants who live nearby on the lands of Lord Bannen, are his most frequent guests, despite their mutual disdain for one another.

The County of the Crossing was created by King Agnen II and bestowed upon Barnabas in recognition of his service to the Crown in safely bridging the dangerous Roaring River so that the royal host could cross. Despite his deeply unpleasant personality and crude nature unbecoming of a noble, Count Barnabas is a spectacularly talented bridge-builder and his hall - meager in size as it is - is impressively integrated into the architecture of the bridge itself.

Current Events

 * 11th of Secondsow, 796 OTK: Lord Barnabas allows a company of Red Courser troops to pass the Crossing in exchange for barley stolen from farmers in the lands of Lord Titus Elgen, Baron of Woodhill.
 * 14th of Secondsow, 796 OTK: Alrick Carter defaces the shrine of Gudrun standing at the fork in the road by the east end of the Crossing bridge, angered by Barnabas' collusion with the Red Coursers, acting on centuries of religious tension between the local Fehrs and Allasians. He hews off the sacred flame in Gudrun's left hand and tosses it into the ravine that is said to be home to the Beast of the Crossing.
 * 16th of Secondsow, 796 OTK: Realizing that the Fehr shrine has been defaced and guessing at the culprit, Barnabas closes the Crossing to all, hoping to drive the Carters to ruin.
 * 5th of Fall-Leaf, 796 OTK: Seeking passage across the bridge, a party in the service of Lord Malcolm Daray, Baron of Stonecape, kill the Beast of the Crossing and return the sacred flame to the Gudrun statue, causing Barnabas to reopen the Crossing.