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NPC INBOX

Reach out to your (not-so-)favourite NPC here, putting their name in the comment header. Try to keep it to just quick text/audio/written exchanges or inquiries that can accept summarised answers, please!

Previous NPC inbox posts:

■ Arc I: Sa-Hareth

■ Interlude: Stairs of Sighs + Arc II: Taravast

■ Interlude: Ellethia

■ Arc III: House of Ravens

SERTHICA | ALLIED NPCs | OTHERS

SERTHICA

	ARABELLA Mistress of discipline and Minaras' Watch ships, and member of the ruling governance. Her manner at once innocent, ruthless and cold-blooded. Mother to clockwork children.
	CAIN D'UBIQ Foremost dragon rider and gentleman of Eidris, accepted by the great fire-breathing Ashtart. War hero of the conflict with Minaras. Too young for his rank and achievements. Patron of several dragon schools. Appears perpetually absent-minded, thoughts astray.
	MA'AM MARIOL Motherly figure to the orphans of Serthica's impoverished underworld of exiles, the Mouse House. After years of rearing, prone to treating everyone as children. Her temper runs hotter than a first glance might indicate. Knows just about everyone.
	(KING) THIVAR II Formerly king of Serthica, holding a diminished court in Eidris — the single citadel contingent that still recognises his authority. Headstrong, firm, dignified. Claims Minaras and Serthica's dragons as his birthright.
	CHRICHTER Only available to those who join Remembrance. Leader of the radical Remembrance resistance movement that calls for a different solution to Serthica's post-plague political landscape. Unaffiliated with Eidris or Minaras.

ALLIED NPCs

	KARSA Sorceress, young (?). Employed by the Merchant and deferential to him. Talented but fiery and frequently impatient, intolerant of fools. She will get today's job done yesterday. Struggles to sympathise with men, objections and those who cannot absorb information quickly. Enchanted the group's translation devices. Furtively left the group, bearing injury, at the end of Arc II.
	'QUICKSILVER SAM'(UEL VANE) Pirate king of great renown, master of haunted waters. Recovering from a journey through the Crossing Seas, where he summoned the drowned dead for a foolish act of vengeance with an elusive artefact he himself misunderstands. Agile, quick-witted, charming and possessed of more street smarts than many. Intent to repay his debt to the party.
	HATISSE Revived witch of the Attaryl, partly responsible for the massacre of the Stairs of Sighs. Formerly a court witch of the Attaryl. Manipulative, vicious, a trained seductress. Formidably powerful. Buried with wards and injuries by her own sisters to prevent her return. Somewhat bound to Wrath.
	ASGEIRR The ghost of a scholar monk. Haunts the tattered execution cloak that the party stole from the La Rea bank in Sa-Hareth. Once a champion of equality and freedom, he faced ire for converting his followers against the regionally profitable trade of slavery. Soft-spoken but wise and just, slow to regain his strength. Will speak to those who visit his cloak in brief interludes. Favours necromancers.
	THE MERCHANT The patron ~~saint~~ of etiquette and the eastbound getaway expedition. Seems to largely trade information alongside wares. Appreciates spices, strategy and collaboration. Has an eerie and overly cautious manner. Committed. Defends the benefit of the many, to the detriment of the few. Not travelling with the party.

OTHERS

"HALTHAM" | ANURR
The undead warlord Anurr, previously posing as gentle-mannered giant Haltham. An embodiment of Sa-Hareth's cold storms and wind, who regained his territory from contender Unhalad with the inadvertent help of the party in Arc I. Frostily rational and amenable to some negotiation.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

You will forgive me if I require more information. Is this... a tongue won from a skirmish? You have all... cut it loose from an assailant?

( A pause, then, carefully: )

Or is this the fool's tongue of Samuel Vane?

[ Fool's tongue. Ah. ]

Indeed. The death-summoning artefact the Captain Quicksilver Sam had, which our crew took control of and is currently being kept safe by Five.

I am aware they might not be related, but two body parts are now in our possession. And many in our group do not see this as a macabre coincidence, and believe both the heart and the tongue to be related.

I would not disagree. Then, you have two matters to keep in your care. Have you considered the benefits of a safehouse?

[ aha. So they are. Then the tongue is not human, not biologically. ]

It's complicated when we are on the move, but currently both organs are guarded. And the tongue is properly warded. Perhaps I should do the same with the heart, though.

[ ... ]

Would you be able to tell me more about them?

You are all in this... fascinating habit of assuming more knowledge than is frequently possessed. As if it's all purposefully withheld from you, to make matters more ominous. More often than not, my friend, the truth is — I simply don't know.

The dead, the attacks, the expansion of the Brotherhood... these matters are all fairly recent to us. Only a handful of years, which may seem an extended period, until you remember most days, we were defending ourselves or running for our lives.

[ kaneki hums. He actually believes the man because kaneki, too, had been in the situation where he learned about things but he didn't understand what they were ]

I apologize if I came off as accusing. It was no my intention. I simply worry, after seeing what the tongue did to the Captain. [ he has been carrying the heart with him all this time, after all ]

When I first got it, you called it leverage. Do you believe the heart is capable of helping us? Or the tongue, for that matter? [ people want to destroy these items, afraid they are cursed. Kaneki understands the reasoning, but if they can be useful, he would rather keep them ]

( He pauses, then: )

I don't believe the heart is of the same inclination as the... ( Disgusted: ) Tongue. I would not have allowed you to carry it, if I believed it would endanger you.

( However: ) If you care for my speculation, and I must name it that... I believe these parts were left behind to sustain the dark hold that members of the Brotherhood have over a particular region. If you remember, Taravast had presumably not seen the dead. The Crossing was largely abandoned. Yet the power of the lieges remained.

( His tone lightens, academic: ) We believed the heart to be a beacon for the lieges' strength, after the attack on Taravast. That something was... anchoring whatever magic they had put behind long ago in the region. I would not be surprised if the same were true of your... tongue. If I am correct, I would name it sound leverage, should you find yourselves in a spot of delicate trouble.

I see. That would be useful, although we fear how it might influence us if we dare to use them. [ a small pause ] At the same time, as you've said, the heart seems less inclined to cause issues.

[ and that begs the question ] Solely based on your speculation and opinion, and given what the tongue can cause, would you believe it's safer to destroy it? Send it to someone else? [ perhaps the Merchant is interested in a gross tongue ]

It has been an on-going debate and I do not think we understand the artefact enough to make a decision.

If Karsa relays correctly, the... tongue... ( Somehow, he never manages to sound unperturbed by it. ) Arrived with Captain Vane to serve him as a compass to the Crossing during two incursions, two years apart. He retained it on his person and appeared... sufficiently sane to begin his latest expedition, contract an escort and, candidly, fool me into allowing you as his passengers.

( Not that the Merchant was especially picky. ) I imagine the trouble there was far more linked to Captain Vane's pre-existing... horrors lived in the Crossing. The... tongue must have latched onto his vulnerability, as expressed in its domain.

In other words, I would not be surprised if we are looking at the distinct situation of an already mentally compromised individual.

[ ... have you looked at the people from their group, Merchant? Everyone is sort of insane.

And Kaneki knows it and thus he might worry the tongue, if it remains close to the group might eventually influence them after some time. Not that kaneki expects to remain in this world for two or more years, but he should be a bit more wary of what they are carrying. ]

I will speak to the others and discuss what you've told me. Of course, I will make sure to stress this is all theory, but it may help us to come to a conclusion.

[ and now, a bit more friendly and less serious ] Merchant, I appreciate you taking time to talk to me about this. It was most helpful. And it's always a pleasure to hear from you.

Certainly. Keel well, Kaneki.

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