"His name was Arnoc the Hairless, one of the contenders for First Mate. If I let my decision be determined by the outcome of a brawl, my money would be on this man."
—Tawni Balfour
Arnoc the Hairless was a member of Tawni Balfour's crew, and appears in the A Pirate's Daughter campaign in Heroes of Might and Magic IV. He became Tawni's first mate, and later a captain under her command. He was killed by Pete Girly during Pete's betrayal.
Biography[]
Arnoc is described as a "short, square-jawed man with a shaved head oiled so that it sparkled beneath the sun." He had fists like rocks, and was renowned for ability to take pain. He would often bet people that he could hold his arm over a burning flame twice as long as anyone, and never lost.
He was an experienced sailor and navigator, a respected member of the crew, and seemingly unambitious. At the time of Black Balfour's death, Arnoc had been loyal to him for many years.
When Tawni became captain of the Feral Vixen after the death of her father, she let the crew know that anyone that wanted to be first mate should report to her immediately. When Foz the Axe entered her office, she killed him with a hidden crossbow, since anyone that was ambitious enough to be the first to respond would be too ambitious for her to trust. Arnoc was the first person to examine the body, and Tawni offered him the job of first mate. Arnoc replied that, since he didn't see a crossbow in her hands, he'd take it.
Tawni left her ship to conquer the Strait of Storms, and left Arnoc in charge. She told him she hoped she could trust him not to name himself captain while she was gone, but he gave her an unpleasant smile and replied that he couldn't make any promises.
After Captain Swift's attack on Tawni's fleets in Yanathrae and Frigiston, Tawni left Arnoc in command with orders to repair the Feral Vixen and start to construct new ships to replace the ones she'd lost. Meanwhile, she took Eight-Fingers Oba, Pete Girly, and some other pirates to search for Bloody Cove, Captain Swift's secret hideout. When Tawni had slain Captain Swift and returned, she made Arnoc the captain of his own ship, the Ravager. Pete Girly became her new first mate.
Pete's betrayal[]
Tawni left her shipyards to gather wood in the Bay of Maids. She left Pete Girly in charge of the town of Rumport and Arnoc in charge of the ships, hoping that this division of power would cancel out both men's ambition. Arnoc was patrolling the Strait of the Lost when he received a message from Rumport that Tawni wanted him to return to port. When Arnoc stepped ashore, Pete Girly ambushed him, and Arnoc's forces were outnumbered three to one.
Arnoc managed to kill three of the men, but Pete Girly got his whip around Arnoc's sword arm, then killed him. He told one of his men to cut off Arnoc's head and give it to Hoff, one of Arnoc's sailors. He hung the rest of Arnoc's men, then told Hoff to deliver the head to Tawni and tell her that he now had Rumport and its fleet, and soon, Yanathrae would be his as well. When she heard this, Tawni swore that "all my efforts would be focused on taking Rumport back and removing Pete Girly's handsome little head from his shoulders."
Eight-Fingers Oba blamed Tawni for Arnoc's death. He felt that she had driven Pete Girly to turn against her when all he wanted was command of his own ship. She gave dozens of ships to men far less qualified, and flaunted it in front of him. "You drove Pete to do what he did, and it got a good man like Arnoc the Hairless killed!"
Appearances[]
Arnoc appears only in Heroes of Might and Magic IV.
