Barnaby is a diminutive goblin with skin the color of a bruised lime. His large ears are notched from various scuffles and he wears oversized, salt-crusted robes cinched with thick hempen rope. He constantly smells of low tide and old parchment. He carries his spellbook in a specialized waterproof leather pouch strapped tightly to his chest. His eyes are wide and amber, always darting toward the nearest exit.

Barnaby is perpetually nervous, behaving as though the very ground beneath him might liquefy into the sea at any moment. He is extremely methodical, checking the stability of any chair before sitting and always calculating the distance to the highest ground in a room. Despite his anxiety, he is fiercely loyal to those he considers his 'crew,' often over-explaining the physics of his defensive spells to keep them calm.

For years, Barnaby served as the 'Ward-Waver' for the Salty Gizzard, a goblin-run trading junk that navigated the rocky coastlines. While his kin focused on looting, Barnaby was fascinated by the way arcane geometry could repel waves and reinforce hulls. He taught himself magic by studying discarded scrolls recovered from the sea, eventually becoming the ship's most vital navigator. He spent his days calculating tides and his nights weaving abjuration fields around the rotting timbers to keep the vessel afloat. Disaster struck during a freak magical tempest known as the Glass Gale. A single crystalline wave shattered the Salty Gizzard in seconds. Barnaby watched his friends vanish into the churning black water while his own protective wards could only save himself. He woke up days later on a sandy shore, clutching his waterproof spellbook and a single rusted anchor charm. Since then, he has refused to return to the sea, fearing the depth and the guilt of being the only survivor. Now, he roams the inland towns as a freelance specialist, using his protective magic to earn a living. He avoids rivers and lakes, treating the dry, solid earth with a mixture of reverence and suspicion. He hopes that by perfecting his defensive spells, he will one day feel safe enough to never have to swim again.