Tomas Palk is a plainly built human with a soft middle, untidy brown hair, and clothes that look borrowed from several different wardrobes. He always carries a dented brass bell on a fraying cord, supposedly a royal summons bell, though it has never successfully summoned anyone. The bell is polished smooth only where his thumb rubs it during arguments. Within a minute of meeting him, people notice that his eyes keep drifting toward the nearest doorway, low wall, or unattended chair, as if he is constantly evaluating escape routes and places to sit.

Tomas is mild, courteous, and almost offensively unhurried. He speaks as though every crisis is a committee meeting that has not yet become urgent. He is not brave, but he is remarkably comfortable being mistaken for someone with a plan. Beneath the laziness is a sharp instinct for noticing who is most likely to solve a problem, followed by a strong preference that they solve it without involving him.

Tomas Palk became king of the three-room kingdom of Brindlewick after a clerical error, a badly translated inheritance document, and the sudden disappearance of his uncle, who had been the only person in line before him. His reign lasted eleven days. During that time, Tomas issued one decree, postponing all other decrees until the kingdom had considered them properly. He spent most of his royal duties sitting behind the throne while advisors argued over grain taxes, border stones, and whether the royal goat counted as livestock or a state official. After Brindlewick was absorbed by a neighboring barony, Tomas kept the title because nobody had the energy to take it away. He now travels with adventurers, explaining that his role is strategic nonintervention. Tomas does not attack, heal, scout, carry heavy things, or even offer useful advice until the battle has become emotionally complicated. His unusual talent is making everyone around him angrier simply by remaining calm, untouched, and technically present. He insists this is a battlefield discipline. His former companions called it bait. Three of them are still looking for him.