Lurka

"I was a Gallicean from Spain. My family were enslaved by the Templars. But since people always consider slaves to be unintelligent, I have fooled many and am therefore still alive, while most of the knights are scattered about the temple in the droppings of beasts."

Lurka is a heavily mutated former slave encountered in Aeternis.

Background
Hailing from Galicia in Spain, Lurka's tale is one of sorrow and misery. Enslaved by the Templars, he was brought to Aeternis, as a laborer and servant. Few of the knights ever treated him like a human being (among them Sir Guy of Bramley) But constantly underestimated and underappreciated, his cunning and intelligence developed under the influence of grailstone. Unfortunately, so did his cynicism and sadism.

Lurka survived in a place where many have not. Yet he considers it a curse, not a blessing. First enslaved, then doomed to immortality as a slave to the Templar, he lost his lover when the Templars drowned the laborers building Aeternis after the project was completed. And to cap it all off, he watched as his body twisted and warped under the influence of grailstone. By the time the Holy Thief enters Aeternis, he is full of palpable hatred. On the surface, he seems to be a loyal servant of Tobias, running errands for him, fine-tuning the test against the thieves' advances, and even hiding the pianola roll in his quarters, so that they would not reach it. However, in reality, it is Lurka who uses Tobias as an unwitting pawn. Through the completion of the test, Lurka would gain access to the Holy Grail. And with it... He would finally be free. Of course, in lieu of that any quantity of grailstone would do, which is why he has a backup plan to acquire the store of grailstone from The Tempest (unaware it doesn't exist).

To maximize the chance of success, Lurka struck a deal with another underdog: He works with Phillip de Beauvais, a knight most consider a coward at best and traitor at worst. Together, they plan to acquire the Grail and abandon the god-forsaken Aeternis to its fate.

Interactions

 * Lurka is first encountered either in the mine maze or the minehead. He is trapped on a ledge above a chasm and requires the player's aid to be free. He will answer some questions, then demand release after he becomes frustrated. Freeing him is as simple as going to the minehead and removing the pin from the rail above him - it drops and Lurka can move to safety. Alternatively, you can gun him down with impunity, if you really, really want.
 * Unfortunately, this doesn't matter in the long term. If you wind up trapped in the gibbet room, Lurka will come to taunt you. In return for release, he will demand information, but will never actually go through with his promise of release and will leave you hanging.
 * Lurka will finally appear in the bad ending, if you take the aqueduct route suggested by Cobweb. After you're impaled on a spiked trap, he will appear with Phillip to taunt you and take the grail from your expiring body.

Behind the scenes

 * Lurka was originally meant to be a member of the mogs, a proto-hominid race discovered by the Templars below Aeternis and his appearance seems to be partially based on the initial mog concept sketches. His original role was similar to what he does now:

"Lurka is a Mog who has been adopted, trained and educated by Tobias. He now has similar intelligence to that of a human and Tobias' eyes and ears within Aeternis, reporting any news and events back to him in the Grand Library. He also issues orders or fries out specific actions under Tobias' command.

Lurka has a cunning and inquisitive personality, and enjoys the position of power he holds within Aetermis. He is aware of the Raptors and their objective, and is intelligent enough to suspect that the theft of the Grail will diminish his master's purpose and powers – his real fear however is the effect that this will have upon his position of authority within Aeternis.

He always obeys his master's orders however, for he loves him in his own way, but he has no love for the Raptors. He therefore appears at various times throughout the game offering advice or clues from Tobias, but usually hiding this information in the form of a riddle or nonsense verse. He will appear like a mischievous simpto the player, who will have to tolerate his riddles and nonsense for the valuable information they will eventually divulge."

- Design document