The Limper
From Glen Cook Wiki
The Limper is one of the Ten Who Were Taken, a powerful sorcerer enslaved by the Dominator. He is physically unimpressive, a relatively small man dressed in brown with a limp. He wears a brown leather mask most of the time, from which protrude tangled threads of hair, grey peppered with black. When the mask slips, it's apparent that his face is showing signs of actual decay, including a missing square of flesh over part of his mouth, leaving a perpetually exposed grin. A scar runs down his forehead and left cheek, supposedly continuing down to his chest; the blow was allegedly struck by the original White Rose. Croaker theorizes that "the years in the grave weren't kind to him" (meaning Limper's imprisonment in the Barrowland); but as Limper was interred alive, like the rest of the Taken, and the other Taken don't show similar signs of decay, it seems likely that Limper wasn't in good shape before he went into the Barrow.
The Limper is the Black Company's principal antagonist among the Taken, and a personal foe of Raven. Despite Limper's evident magical prowess - he is able to use killing spells equivalent to large bombs - he is not that clever and is frequently outmaneuvered. He is, however, incredibly driven, and in the end he is utterly consumed by a burning desire for revenge on all those who did him wrong.
History
In the early days of the Domination, Limper was apparently very social and active in the court scene, with an historical and linguistic expertise that makes him a valuable aid in translating a cache of Domination-era documents. As a servant of The Lady following his resurrection, he is a ruthless warlord, fostering cruel and pointless political machinations (as he does in Opal when he helps Raven's wife steal his titles) and allowing his troops to pursue a scorched-earth approach in pursuit of the Rebels. However, he is not a great tactician, and has a poor military record. He has poor judgment, at one time leaving his troops to pursue a personal vendetta against Soulcatcher, with the result that his army is routed in his absence.
Limper betrays the Lady and colludes with the Rebels, apparently on his own initiative (rather than the female Taken who are secretly working to restore the Dominator). Lady has Soulcatcher arrange for Croaker and Raven to capture the Rebel general Whisper and Limper. Limper is tortured terribly, and Lady implies that he will be killed for his betrayal; but later at Charm it is revealed that Limper has been 'rehabilitated' and works for Lady once more.
He suffers his worst defeat at the hands of the Company, after they switch allegiance to the White Rose. They lure Limper into an ambush and literally hack him to bits, hanging his mutilated body from a tree as a message to Lady. However Limper survives somehow, and later he is seen as a frail wreck who must use a small floating magic carpet to get around. At the final Barrowland battle he attempts to kill Lady, thinking he has uncovered her true name; he fails, using the wrong name, and is decapitated, his body destroyed.
Second (or third) resurrection
His head survives, lost in the mud after the battle. It is rescued by the demon Toadkiller Dog, who helps round up local shamans to build a wicker body for Limper's head. Limper gradually gathers an army, building his strength and pursuing Lady and the Black Company south in an insane drive for revenge. His power has not diminished, and he levels city after city in an orgy of wanton destruction as he pursues his unwitting targets. Before he reaches them, however, he learns that the Silver Spike, a powerful talisman full of the evil drive and power of the Dominator, is loose in the world. He heads north again to retrieve it, harried by the servants of the Empire but too powerful to stop, with a new enchanted clay body that gives his powers full rein. He is halted before the gates of Oar by imperial forces and shredded by a windwhale, which tears him to bits and tosses him in a giant pressure cooker to destroy his remains. His insane drive nonetheless persists, animating the mass of limbs and other bodies in the pot into a horrible protean monster. The wizards Bomanz and Silent sacrifice themselves in a desperate magical attack; later, the Limper's boiled remains are sealed in a chest and dropped in a void "between dimensions" where, with the silver spike, they are lost forever.
