Akabar Bel Akash

(This is Akabar as he appears as an NPC in the adventure module FRC-2 Curse of the Azure Bonds. So the time period in the realms is about the later part of the Year of the Prince, 1357 DR a few months after the events of the Azure Bonds novel. These stats are based on old 1e/2e data updated to current 5e standards.)

Akabar’s story:

Akabar Bel Akash, from the prosperous land of Turmish, is a merchant and “mage of no small water,” as they say in that part of the Realms. Akabar deals in fine weaves and spices and is known by all who deal with him as a fair and honest trader.
Like many Turmish merchants, Akabar sports a mustache and a long, square beard. He is dark-skinned, blue-eyed, and has curly brown hair which he often bands with gold cords. Though the merchant mage is very thin, his true size is often hidden by the large, billowing robes he favors. He will often be found wearing robes of crimson highlighted with thin white stripes and a white cloak with red trim. His clothing cannot hide his height of 6’2”, however.
Akabar has three blue dots tattooed horizontally across his forehead. These dots mark him as a Turmish scholar of religion, reading, and magic. He also wears a single sapphire embedded in his left earlobe. The earring signifies that Akabar is married. In fact, Akabar has two wives—Akash and Kassim—and they are currently looking for a third wife to join the family. This may sound a bit odd, but it isn’t when you realize that Turmish businesses are run by the women and are generally family operations. Akabar is little more than a frontman for his wives’ enterprises. This does not mean that Akabar is not self-sufficient and strong-willed. He must have had both of those traits for his first wife to take him into her family when they married.
Akabar is generally very practical, and this fact is mirrored in the spells he commonly uses. The Turmishman will prepare spells that have specific uses for him in his travels as a merchant. He will always have available several very obscure but useful cantrips, such as clean, dry, and spice, and the higher-level spells he prepares, such as fly and haste, will be geared toward escape or self-preservation. Akabar`s earring has a magic mouth spell on it to alert him of danger when he sleeps. The most offense-oriented spell he keeps available is magic missile, never fireball or lightning bolt (though he does have them in his book)— and that spell is used to skewer his dinner more often than it is to strike an opponent. His recent adventures, however, have made him quite proficient in the use of his chosen spells. In battle he will often fly around his opponents, using his other spells to keep them off balance until he and his party have a chance to escape.
Akabar’s adventure started when he delivered fine weaves to an estate north of the capital of Cormyr, Suzail for a wedding. Dimswart, a local magic-user and sage, was finally marrying off his last daughter. Akabar was traveling in a large caravan headed for Suzail. This was attacked by Mistinarperadnacles (or Mist for short), a red dragon, and one of the wagons was carried away with its occupants—including the intended entertainment for the wedding, the “famous bard” Olive Ruskettle. Akabar’s spell book was also taken in the raid, though it is unclear how Olive Ruskettle came to be carrying it when she was stolen away with the wagon.
Dimswart was intent on rescuing the lost entertainer and hired a mysterious swordswoman, Alias, and her Saurial companion, Dragonbait, to save her. Akabar knew of a secret way into the dragon’s lair and used that knowledge to force Alias and Dragonbait to take him along.
This was not his first meeting with Alias. Only a few days before Dimswart sent them to rescue Olive Ruskettle, Akabar had tried to discover the origins of the strange tattoo Alias had on her right arm. When Akabar cast a detect magic spell on the tattoo, a frightening blue light erupted from it. Alias was understandably upset by this and was not pleased when Akabar—the Turmite "greengrocer", as she sarcastically called him was included in her foray against the dragon.
As time went on and Akabar and Alias shared more adventures, the two grew very close. Akabar considered himself Alias’s protector for a long time. As Alias grew self-confident, and Akabar learned to trust her mute Saurial companion, Dragonbait, he realized that he was not needed in that capacity. His time adventuring with Alias, as she searched for the origin of her mysterious “Azure Bonds,” matured Akabar, especially in his use of magic. He became an invaluable ally to Alias and was crucial in the eventual defeat of Cassana and Zrie Prakis.
For a time, Akabar was linked with the god Moander, when the deity escaped from his prison in Yulash. In the form of the Abomination—a mound of decaying earth and greenery that could grow a myriad of eyes and mouths— Moander captured the merchant mage and possessed his mind, dragging him along like a puppet and using his voice and form to communicate with Alias, who was also a prisoner at the time. The effects of this possession are still unknown, though, as Akabar noted, his part in the eventual defeat of the mad god will certainly gain him Moander’s eternal enmity.
In a game scenario, Akabar will be encountered as a merchant. He has had enough adventure and is now content to spend the rest of his days trading his wares in the Realms. However, Akabar Bel Akash now feels a strong kindred spirit with adventurers and will be helpful in any way he can. His travels as a merchant have given him an outstanding knowledge of the areas surrounding the Inner Sea, in addition to his vast knowledge of Turmish history and religion. He will be glad to talk, at length, on any one of these subjects, or just trade tales of adventurers with friendly parties he encounters.

(For the adventure, FRC-2 Curse of the Azure Bonds,  Akbar, along with his friends has received (unknown to them) the benefit of a spell from the Sage of Shadowdale.  Elminster’s Blessing. This spell can be cast on a target and remains dormant until they are about to be slain (reduced to below zero hit points through wounds or bleeding) then the spell is triggered. They will be cloaked in a blue glow and immediately returned to full strength. All conditions that the target has been afflicted with are also eliminated.)

Sources.

Information for this character comes almost entirely from FRC-2 as Akbar never got a write-up in the 2e Heroes Lorebook, probably due to the events of the Song of the Saurials novel and what happened with Moander. I'm not going any further into this for spoiler reasons as that happens in the future relative to Curse. Version two features some updates to his spell list, and no, I don't have any more information on the clean, dry, and spice cantrips either though it`s probably not hard to guess.