Jerimiah Rackham

Jerimiah Rackham, or "Jerry" as he was commonly known, was a founding member of the secretive Dragon Baiters club at Camp Shababadahs. Jerry served a short prison sentence for his role in the club and was later murdered by the father of a child killed after his involvement with the camp ended.

Early Life

Jerry was born in N.D. 475 to parents Matilda and Johnson Rackham and grew up in a modest two-story brick house on the outskirts of New Arindell near Lieber Dam. Jerry was a precocious child who enjoyed sports and playing outside. Like most children at the time, he went to sleep-away summer camp for the first time at the age of eight. He loved the experience so much he told his parents he would spend all summer at camp if they would only let him.

Camp Shababadahs

The following year, in N.D. 484, Jerry's parents found a flier for Camp Shababadahs offering whole-summer stays for a rate much lower than any other camp. After some discussion they agreed to send Jerry. He arrived home from camp full of wild stories of reckless behavior(which his parents initially dismissed as exaggerations), and happier than he'd ever been. Jerry begged to go back the following year, which his parents agreed to so long as he promised to behave and did well in school.

While an unremarkable student, Jerry was noted by his parents for being well-behaved and a hard worker. True to their word, Jerry returned to Shababadahs the following year. Its believed he started the Dragon Baiters that year, at the age of ten.

Throughout his childhood, during the 9 months of the year Jerry spent in Arindell, he was remembered as a generally even kid who always acted like he would start trouble, but never did. He performed adequately in school and played on the neighborhood Foot Kort team despite not being a Necromancer(this was very common ad the local temple sponsored the league and did not charge for admissions). At home Jerry's year revolved around summer. He acted quiet and fairly reserved except when talking about Shababadahs, in which he became very animate and excited. His closest friends were other full-summer campers scattered around the city, with whom he regularly socialized all year round most especially during his teens.

Adult Life

At 16 Jerry began working part time to pay for his own admission to Shababadahs and did so for his last two years at the camp. He was so well-liked(and indeed encouraged so many other campers to attend) that he was hired as an official counselor at the age of 18, in N.D. 494. Jerry never attended college and worked odd jobs around the city all year to earn a living so he could go away to camp even as an adult.

He continued to work for Shababadahs each summer until he turned 24, which made him the oldest non-lifeguard camp counselor. He attempted to qualify as an archery instructor so he could take over as range master but scored poorly having never practiced the sport. He was forced to stop working for the camp when his parents required him to either pursue an education or move out of the house. He did poorly at community college and failed out of training for the forestry service. Unable to work at Shababadahs for the low wages offered, he found gainful employment in the city, but still fondly remembered his time at the camp and camp friends.

Legal Involvement

In the fall of N.D. 513, Jerry was among many former counselors brought in for questioning in regards to 4 deaths which had occurred the previous summer. Though Jerry was not directly involved in the incident he was believed to have knowledge of the secretive club after dozens of former councilors and campers pointed to him as the ringleader.

During initial questioning Jerry denied any knowledge, but authorities in Arindell had already built a solid case against him and planned to prosecute if he did not cooperate. When confronted with the case, Jerry agreed to provide evidence of the club in exchange for immunity. He failed to receive a written agreement, which is what eventually landed him in jail.

By the time Jerry was questioned, authorities were already aware of three initiation sites and knew a fourth must exist. Jerry showed them to the secret cave and explained how it worked. He'd found the cave during his first summer at the camp and broke the lock on it with a rock. He then stole a second lock and key from the camp and used it to lock the grate so that camp staff would not know the cave had been breached. That first year Jerry took the key home with him, but feared all year long he would not be allowed back the next year. He did return, and began one of the club's most secretive rituals.

The other dragon baiters knew he had the key. From them he selected three senior baiters and himself(in keeping with the clubs themes around the number 4) who believed each would be coming back the next year. These four youths then went out and hid the key in a place known only to them, but left clues so that future baiters could find it. The key never left the camp again, and in this way was handed down from one generation of baiters to the next.

Jerry led the authorities to the secret cave, which he himself had not visited since his last summer as a camper. Since he did not know the current location of the key, the lock had to be cut. When the authorities ceased the documents and artifacts inside the cave, they discovered both that the group was much more well-organized and that Jerry's involvement, even if it ended before he turned 18, was much deeper than thought. Authorities determined that during the 14 summer he spent at Shababadahs, 12 children were killed.

ThenLight Bearer Amarir Tenzeki gave special dispensation for Jerry to be tried for his crimes despite being past the statute of limitations.

Own Claims

Jerry claimed not to have had any involvement with the club after turning 18 and that he never discussed it with the campers during his time as a councilor. He further claimed he did not organize the club, but rather that it grew organically out of games he and the other campers played. He also stated that in later camp seasons, his primary goal was to get girls to skinny-dip with him.

Several councilors came forward in Jerry's defense saying that while he worked there, he frequently and loudly warned campers of the dangers of going near the dragon fence.

Plea Agreement

Although clear evidence of Jerry's guilt was found and special dispensation for punishment had been provided, authorities wear leery of throwing the book at him because he had cooperated so freely during the investigation. The verbal immunity agreement was not be honored, but prosecutors put together a generous plea agreement.

In exchange for entering a guilty plea and testifying against the camp directors, Jerry would serve 2 years in prison with an additional 10 year suspended sentence pending further developments.

Since the camp directors also plead out, Jerry's testimony was never required.

Murder

Jerry served only 6 months of his 2-year sentence, being released in early N.D. 514. His prison record indicate he was an exemplary inmate. His early release also involved cooperation in an unrelated sting operation within the prison.

After being let out of jail, Jerry made plans to leave Arindell and change his name, in order to escape the notoriety he had received. However, before he could follow through on this, he was found dead in his apartment from a single gunshot wound to the chest. On his phone, the city watch found threatening messages from the father of one of the children killed during the N.D. 513. This man was eventually tried and convicted of Jerry's murder. Jerry was 38 years old at the time of his death.

In a strange way, Jerry predicted his own death. He wrote about the threats in his journal, talking about how he understood the man's anger but didn't see why it should be directed at him. His final entry said "Wouldn't it be silly if this man actually shot me, over a game I played a lifetime ago, and kept playing just so I could see girls naked?"