Lysle Rigger is an agent of the Upright Man in Betrayal at Krondor. He can be encountered in Chapter 2. In the novelization, Krondor: The Betrayal, his name is Lysle Riggers.
Background
Lysle Rigger was born in Tulan and has recently been operating in the southern part of the Kingdom of the Isles. He has a positive relationship with old Petrumh, who considers him a wily rascal full of tricks and masquerades and fondly recounts how he chewed soap while begging in Malac's Cross, making good money by pretending to be ill. He also trusts Ivan Skaald, telling him about his hiding place in Darkmoor. He resembles Seigneur James strongly enough that the two could be twins.
Three years ago, the Upright Man sent for him and he came to Krondor. At some point, he was dispatched to Kesh as one of the Upright Man's agents there, and was later called to return and investigate the group of thieves operating in Silden.
Among other things, he tried to learn who was providing magical training to the Crawler's agents. Hearing that someone in Lyton wanted to purchase Glory Hands, he went to the graveyard near Sethanon to dig up a dead hand, hoping that if magicians were involved, the trick would be spotted and give him a lead. Finding "some old ghoul" dragging a corpse toward the graveyard, he waited until the body was briefly left alone, could not completely sever the hand in time, but returned the next day and found that it had dropped off anyway behind a nearby house. However, the purchaser in Lyton proved uninvolved with the Crawler's plots, and Rigger was recognized by agents of the Crawler, who had issued a death token for him after his investigations in Silden. Since then, Rigger has been lying low in a community barn in Darkmoor.
Chapter 2/3
After at least three people mistake Seigneur James for someone else, the party can learn of Rigger's existence and whereabouts from Ivan Skaald. Upon hearing that Ivan sent them, Rigger emerges from his hiding place and confronts his doppelganger. Both men are unsettled by their resemblance to one another, but cannot account for it.
Confronted about his association with the Mockers and news of the group of false Nighthawks that abducted James in the Krondor sewers a few months before, Rigger says that the situation must be even worse than the Upright Man had imagined. He assures James that the situation is probably not a threat to Prince Arutha, theorizing that he had made mistakes in Silden and the false Nighthawks' errand was likely to abduct Rigger and kill the Upright Man so the Crawler could further expand his new thieves' guild. He explains that the Crawler has been infiltrating other guilds as well, and is now the shadow prince behind at least six, including the new Guild of the Romney.
He asks that if James should reach Krondor before him, he should take a message to Limm that the situation in Silden confirms the Upright Man's suspicions but has left Rigger positive that the Crawler was not Jocko Radburn.
If the party has spoken to Nia in Chapter 2, Rigger adds that he has been investigating the Crawler's attempts to get magical training for his followers and describes how the attempt to fence a fake Glory Hand in Lyton led to his decision to stay out of the public eye for a while.
James thanks him for the information, hoping that if they meet again, they can explore the possibility that they are related. Rigger doesn't see how they could be, since he only came to Krondor three years earlier and does not know how the Upright Man heard of him, though he doubts ever understanding that man's odd mind. James wishes him well, and the two men part.
If they return to the barn later, James asks Ivan to clarify his story of where the Skeletal Hand was sold to make sure he doesn't make a fool of himeslf in Lyton.
Krondor: The Betrayal
Lysle Riggers, who is two or three years older than James, represents Mocker interests in the Eastern Kingdom and, though he seldom visits Krondor, has made some enemies in his time and is aware of the Crawler's attempts to destabilize the Thieves' Guild. He is known to Ivan at the Queen's Row Inn as a local scoundrel, prone to questionable activities but a reliable contact for certain endeavors, who stays in town or travels abroad for variable lengths of time and is affectionately tolerant of crazy old Petrumh calling herself his gran. Some time ago, he agreed to purchase items on behalf of some individuals in Tannerus, but was delayed by distractions and had not yet returned when James, visiting the area, was mistaken for him and nearly murdered.
Some months later at the Queen's Row, Petrumh mistakes James for Lysle, admiring his fancy clothing and affectionately recalling the soap-chewing scam he once ran. She asks him to buy her some food, but realizes her mistake after noticing Gorath, slapping James weakly in fear that he is an evil fairy who has stolen Lysle's form. Finally placated with a meal, she confirms that Lysle resembles James enough to be his twin and has gone to meet a stranger in Lyton. James, suspecting that his double is coincidental rather than magical due to his encounter in Tannerus, learns Lysle's name and reputation from Ivan.
A few days later, Lysle loses his sword near Lyton while fleeing from four black-clad assailants, and takes cover in an abandoned barn. Noticing the skulking assassins on their way to the town, the party engages them in battle. Lysle, hiding in the barn's rafters, slips and lets some hay fall; the distraction allows Gorath to kill the fourth assailant. With the attackers dead and assured that the party means him no harm, he descends, and all are astonished at his resemblance to James. Lysle explains the Tannerus encounter, decides not to attempt escape, and invites the party to The Wayside for what promises to be a long story, cheerfully anticipating that its length will leave time for a second ale.
After some cautious probing on both sides, during which their similarities draw remarks from Owyn, James finds Lysle reluctant to name the "trading principals" he represents in Krondor and discloses his own past with the Mockers. Lysle, returning the familiar Mocker passphrase in confirmation, recalls Jimmy the Hand's reputation with amazement. The two exchange information about the false Nighthawks in Krondor and the Crawler's pattern of encroachment on Mocker business in Durbin, Silden, other Bitter Sea ports, and Romney, pondering whether the Crawler is involved with the true Nighthawk revival as well as the false one. Lysle advises the party to consult Michael Waylander, who is trusted by both the Riverpullers Guild and the Ironmonger's Guild, and plans to leave for Tannerus the following day to conclude his business there. James warns him that they will certainly meet again even if he does not stay in the area, and Lysle departs, leaving the party to a night at the inn.
The following morning, the party finds that Lysle, pretending to be James, has sold two of their horses to the inn's stablemaster and departed for Tannerus on the third. James, with no remaining doubt that he and Lysle must somehow be related, laughs and silently swears to find him again someday.[1]
Navon du Sandau later felt that James would be trouble due to his resemblance to "that bastard" Lysle from Malac's Cross.[2]
Trivia
- A battered woman in The Flying Sow in Prank's Stone claims orders to give a single cloth-wrapped Torch to someone who "looks just like" the party leader, suggesting another branch of Rigger's mysterious activities.