groundrules: (Default)
let's set d o w n some ([personal profile] groundrules) wrote2022-01-23 05:44 pm
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npc inbox: arc v


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

Arc IV: Serthica


ALEM | ALLIED NPCs | OTHERS

ALEM

DEIMAR
Young king of Alem, six months into rule. Ascended after his father perished during Alem’s siege. Bright, sharp, sly. A golden prince with formidable charisma. Men would follow him to their doom.
HAIVA
Elder brother to Deimar, whom he resembles greatly. No appetite for the throne. Organises the evacuation convoys and healing efforts. Personally visits the wounded often. Scholarly, sedate and sickly. Has offered a bounty for the Reaper.
CLE-FLORENS
Twelve-year-old sister to Deimar and Haiva, in line for the throne. Shy, hesitant, weary of bloodshed. The people name her a symbol of righteousness and think they’ll win the war if they are led by her innocence and sacrifice.
VATAZ
DECEASED | Cousin to the heirs, son to Thyvault. Paladin of renown, serious, earnest, ready to sacrifice his life for Alem. Devout believer in the citadel’s sacred mission to rein in hell.
THYVAULT
Uncle to the throne heirs, father to Vataz. Pragmatic, weathered, strong. Consummate soldier and sorcerer. Briefly acted as Regent while Alem determined his brother’s succession — many say he hesitated to surrender the crown to Deimar.
GALATEA
Distant relation and noted paladin. Patient, fair and compassionate. A rare embodiment of military prowess and diplomatic sensibilities. Negotiated the trade route truce with Rathakku and has been single-handedly striking supply deals with traders.
KERASSTONE
Leader of Mount Attevar’s ancient dwarf tribes, which preceded the settlement of Alem. Allied with the citadel for its efforts to keep hell bound. Battle-hardened and quick-tempered, but a man you want minding your back in battle. The one who’ll make sure everyone survives.
MERCHANTS OF ALEM
Passing scavengers intent on stripping the flesh off Alem's financial bones. From boastful Batthour of the grain route to stern Eles of silks and steel, they'll supply most provisions... for a steep price.
RATHAKKU / RAKKATHU / 'THE LORD WHO WAITS'
Undead liege. The Lord of War. Cruel, cunning, decisive, strong. Apt torturer and tactician. Sufficiently patient to wait out a year of siege against Alem. Leads the armies of the brotherhood — so far, to perennial victory. Can only be reached by missive (a single letter/answer interaction) or through envoy.


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. Currently unavailable.
ZENOBIUS
Former caretaker and scientist of Ellethia, site and cauldron of the first undead attacks. Fell victim to local enchantment and looked after the comatose bodies of his former colleagues for years. Fell and awoke from a long sleep, partly amnesiac. Practical, grumpy, unafraid to challenge the Merchant.
'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.

weifinder: (but... | to take a chance)

[personal profile] weifinder 2023-02-18 10:21 am (UTC)(link)
( He gives her his best wounded rabbit look, which is mostly wide eyes and a moue of his lips between sips of tea. As if he's truly wounded! Wounded!

But he's trying to remember the particulars of what he worded, and he hums after he swallows.
)

I said we were small in numbers, but willing and already offering help to her people. And that we didn't wish to see any extra death, and would help evacuate those looking for the assistance, as we've been doing. If it's what a person wanted. Then I asked what she wanted.

( A pause, thinking to the letter in Hermione's hands: )

I mentioned where I'd been working, since I assumed she or someone else would turn an eye my way, so making it painfully easy would also make it painfully obvious this isn't attempting to be close to difficult to track me down for. The last thing we need is more shadow puppetry, ah? Not sure how that translates into a marriage proposal.
reparo: (obliviate)

[personal profile] reparo 2023-02-18 11:14 am (UTC)(link)
[He's right, he's right, she shouldn't laugh in the face of that wounded bunny expression. She bites her inside of her cheek not to, and comes around to sit with him while he's telling her the full version of facts.

The longest sigh.]


I imagine that if this is how she's been raised, it wouldn't matter if you intended to translate it to a marriage proposal or not. It's the full extend of chivalry - clearly she thinks you're amazing for knowing who she is and addressing her directly.

[Twelve year old Hermione would've swooned at the slightest bit of attention from Professor Lockhart, for example. She's been there, she gets it, Cle-Florens.

But on that note.

She waves her wand very subtly, casting a privacy spell, so that what she asks Wei Wuxian next is for nobody's ears but his.]


Were you trying to offer her a way out of the city? Do you think her family will sacrifice her, truly?
vdovy: (BLACK WIDOW 031)

[personal profile] vdovy 2023-02-18 09:35 pm (UTC)(link)
When you spoke of dozens.

[ Yelena suppresses an obviously of her own. He denied the part about taxes but said nothing of the dozen. There must be a reasonable explanation that has nothing to do with the travelers. ]

Look, I understand it's probably sensitive, right? If it has to stay between us, it will. I just want to be able to report back to my group that I've been thoroughly convinced of your innocence.

I can't ask them to trust me on a gut feeling. So please, convince me.
jatharin: (deimar)

[personal profile] jatharin 2023-02-18 10:51 pm (UTC)(link)


( He blinks, owlish, long. Unassuming. Hard. Then, carefully: )

What do you think Rathakku wants from Alem? Why us?

( No. No, better: ) Think. Not the gate. Not hell. Hell's always been here, and Rathakku didn't come for it. What does he want, why now?

Edited 2023-02-18 22:51 (UTC)
rumorate: (142)

[personal profile] rumorate 2023-02-19 02:27 am (UTC)(link)
[Her head tips to the side.]

You realize that we're helping you, right? That our people are in the towers trying to hold off the undead dragon. Our people are trying to convince the merchants - who hate you because your father insulted them - to stay in order to keep feeding your people. Situation with Strange aside, we were previously a net positive for you. You really want us not on your side anymore?

Yours isn't the first beacon we've found, and it probably won't be the last. We don't need to be here. All we're really asking is for you to be honest with us. I don't want to have to force the issue, but I will if you make me.
weifinder: (headache | won't you come in)

[personal profile] weifinder 2023-02-19 08:08 am (UTC)(link)
( the baffled look he turns on Hermione might suggest the extent of how this simply confuses him, though he adds: )

Is saying a young woman's public name too private here?

( the direct address, to some extent, he guesses, but how in the world hasn't someone who actually wants to manipulate her had fun coming along with this? it breaks part of his heart, to think of any young woman so isolated and informed of her own powerlessness except as a sacrifice for her people's prosperity, for her brother's sakes. for parents who must be honoured, after death.

or was he projecting his angers, decades old, that his shijie had faced? she who was brilliant in so many ways, and not appreciated for that brilliance as she should have been all along. as she was, eventually, by the one she'd loved since her youngest years, however poor that boy's regard had been for her.
)

I don't know if either brother will decide that call is most politic, or if either have the heart to sacrifice her over themselves. I don't know these people the way I know my own. I was trying to offer her a choice, if she wanted to make one, and to a degree, she has.

( he doesn't look pleased by this. thoughtful, yes. )

Sacrifice as she imagines is often less useful than she imagines. Unless there's a blood link between the ruling clan—family, whatever word is appropriate, and the sealing of the gateway into Hell. Even so, we have one brother flirting with death, the other struggling as a young king, an uncle proclaiming devastation over his son's death to an inhuman murderer, and the surviving Paladins more and more concerned that only a 'sacrifice' can help. Desperate people make poor decisions. Myself, I don't believe in sacrificing children.
vdovy: (HAWKEYE 080)

[personal profile] vdovy 2023-02-19 04:23 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Yelena's brows knit together. ] What do you mean now? He has been laying siege to Alem for almost a year.
reparo: (confrigo)

[personal profile] reparo 2023-02-19 06:40 pm (UTC)(link)
No, that is not acceptable. [ She means the latter - sacrificing children. And Cle-Florens is one, albeit a royal kind. All of it is terrible - and she was trying to stay away from the politics here, simply stick to her towers and give the refugees a chance to escape but now she has the inescapable truth.

There is a young girl in this city who thinks she was raised up to be either bride or sacrifice. ]


We've seen our fair share of human sacrifices on this journey, and they've never been something I could justify, regardless of the sacrifices' age.

[ She gives a little nod, determined now; if Wei Wuxian won't say it, she will: ] We should get her out. She's too young to be doing this, and not informed. She can hate us later, and her brothers might do the same, but I think she should be going with the rest of the refugees.
jatharin: (deimar)

[personal profile] jatharin 2023-02-19 06:49 pm (UTC)(link)


( Laughter, shrill. ) Yes. A year. And the dead have been walking Akhuras for many before that, and hell was sealed in Alem centuries ago.

( He seems at once patient and frustrated past bearing, reaching for his half-filled cup. Twirling it. )

Why now?

jatharin: (deimar)

[personal profile] jatharin 2023-02-19 06:52 pm (UTC)(link)


Are you? Helping me. ( For once, he meets someone's gaze harshly, unflinching. As a man who has dabbled in inebriation far too long and now has deigned to wake. ) You say you're holding my towers? I'll point you to rubble. You're dealing with merchants? I hardly see results.

( It's impossible work, he knows this as well as any. And yet. )

If you plan to be more trouble than you're worth, yes. I'll turn you out. Does it seem to you I don't have enough worries? Have I mentioned we sleep above the unsealing hell?

weifinder: (orly | now i'm sitting right here)

[personal profile] weifinder 2023-02-20 07:20 am (UTC)(link)
( He's been listening, and he nods to her: he agrees, just as he also... )

What will I write back to her with? Do you think I can tell her I have a son her age? Imply without actually saying it that he might be a better match?

( Help how does one handle a child's crush, he brushed these off by not seeing them before, this one's just. There. With a lily. )

Tell her there's greater honour in living to lead by the example of bravery in a life chosen, and that women, far more than men, are the ones brave enough to live where men quake and quail, fearing ends?
reparo: (arithmancy)

[personal profile] reparo 2023-02-20 07:38 am (UTC)(link)
[ That is a terrible idea for reasons we won't go into, because Sizhui deserves the benefit of choosing. She frowns immediately, pursing her lips in displeasure and crossing her arms. Guarded and defensive. ] Maybe offering up your son's hand in marriage is not the best solution to any problem, grandmaster.

[ If she were a cat, her tail would be all furrowed, and 'grandmaster' would've been hissed. The dry sarcasm is undeserved, probably - and Hermione feels embarassed by it immediately.

The frown goes away, her arms uncross. She actually considers the letter. ]


I am assuming that you couldn't teach a girl like this about feminism in one letter, and it should not come from you. Maybe I can act as your secretary? Write back to her in your name and relay that living makes more of a statement, and does more honour to her people, than dying.
weifinder: (ask | forces of gravity taking me)

[personal profile] weifinder 2023-02-20 07:46 am (UTC)(link)
( He lifts his brows, giving her a wry, amused look. Very hissy. Even more so, because he said imply, and implications are the bread and butter of politicians everywhere. He isn't one by choice, but he lived in the throes of nothing but politics.

He can find it bothersome and still understand the games.
)

My, my, Miss Hermione, such strong feelings for my a'Yuan! A father does wonder.

( :) )

I have no idea what a secretary is, but if they write letters that help this young girl then by all means, you're the one and only secretary I could ever wish for. Please! Do me the honours, and see what you can help with instilling in this young woman's mind.

( Solemnly said, as he hands over the pressed... lily... )

Hold this as a secretarial duty of safekeeping. Please.
reparo: (flight)

1/2

[personal profile] reparo 2023-02-20 07:56 am (UTC)(link)
[ The defensive hiss is back. ] He's - it's just - [ The bold defense is a bit shaky, because the insinuation - if he is insinuating anything! - is making her fluster a little bit. ] We're good friends.

[ Might actually grumble a shut up as she picks the pressed lilly up and stores it carefully inside her magical bag. With a sigh, she turns over a leaf in this conversation, and picks up parchment and a pencil to write a new note. ]

You should still handle the delivery - I suspect I'll be needed up on the tower soon. And if the intent is to indeed help this child get out of the city, then...you can reach out to me for help.

[ AND ANYWAY, TO TASK ]
reparo: (care of magical creatures)

[personal profile] reparo 2023-02-20 08:05 am (UTC)(link)
Your Grace,

Master Wei Wuxian sends his gratitude for the flower, which he shall preserve for safe keeping to the best of his ability as a gift from a friend. He extends apologies, for his duties in Alem have limited his ability to send forth a reply, and he has entrusted me with the task as his trusted protegee.


[He's not into you, kiddo.]

I know we have not met before, and don't wish to alarm you - my name is Hermione Granger. I fought with your brother's men on the Eastern Tower, where I remain still fighting to give the citizens of Alem a chance to run from this danger. There is no blame in running away - there are so many young people among the refugees, and I would not wish them the burden of having to pick up arms against your enemies. Children should be allowed to be children, Your Grace. To grow up, to play, to live freely and in safety. Children should not be expected or brought up to consider themselves honourable sacrifices.

We are close in age, princess, so I will do you the favour of directness: your death would benefit no-one. It would not save the city, it would not stave off the undead army, it would not fill the hearts of your people with hope. Live, instead - and live well - and you may honour them more.

If you should want to walk among your people, to know what is in their hearts, reach out to us.

Sincerely,
H.G.

Edited 2023-02-20 08:13 (UTC)
jatharin: (cle-florens)

[personal profile] jatharin 2023-02-20 08:35 am (UTC)(link)


Mistress Granger,

I thank your note and your kind and gods-fearing care for Master Wei Wuxian. And to know that he is so open of mind and gentle of spirit to entrust and permit the reading of letters, and the greater hardship of penmanship, to a member of the womanly disposition. Indeed, I note that your calligraphy is sound, although my master of letters remarks the excess of sentimental eloquence that is only accepted because of the limitations of our natures. Such as we are, imperfect.

But your writing comforts me, and so Master Wei Wuxian's tutelage must be fair and fine, and what a man he must be. I am well pleased.

But I must correct you. I am not a child, for I am already twelve and soon of marrying facility, and my brothers tell me I must be prepared to honour Hell and kingdom, as they are. And so I shall wed respectably and doing great service to my people, and I have a fine dowry, with which regard my master of letters attaches the items of possessions involved, as he did not wish me to be troubled by counting. For which I thank him.

As for Alem, I am its first and most loving servant, as were my grandfathers and grandfathers before me. And know, that as they died to seal Hell, so too shall I die with bravery and honesty, as is called upon me, to defend it. I shall embody the bravery of warriors, and as my physician counsels, take salts to comfort me from any fainting sickness born of contrary nerves. And I have many salts, please let Master Wei Wuxian know, for my dowry is very vast, and so his purse will not be inconvenienced.

With care.

vdovy: (BLACK WIDOW 124)

[personal profile] vdovy 2023-02-21 02:58 pm (UTC)(link)
Because of us? [ Yelena doesn't feel entirely confident with her guess: she knows the rough timeline of when travelers started showing up in Akhuras, but the siege of Alem preceded the their arrival at the fortress by a year. Has Rathakku been waiting for them all this time? It's not impossible; he may have guessed they would come for the beacon. ]
jatharin: (deimar)

[personal profile] jatharin 2023-02-21 09:19 pm (UTC)(link)


...hardly. ( But he's drinking, rather than stabbing his potato, which is a remarkable and noted development. The vegetable, for one, is pleased. )

He realised there is something he wants even more than hell. Something that can free him. And now, we've stumbled on it. By accident, by design. What does it matter. Funny, isn't it?

( But he's not laughing. ) Pandemonium at our feet, and the worst hell is still the one we reap upon each other.

vdovy: (BLACK WIDOW 01:12:13.538)

[personal profile] vdovy 2023-02-21 09:46 pm (UTC)(link)
Damn. That was my next guess. [ It sounds like a joke, and frankly, this conversation could use some comic relief. But it's true: Yelena had wondered if he was alluding to some hidden motive of Rathakku's before she convinced herself that the answer had to be painfully obvious, as the king seemed to think.

Perhaps his impatience stemmed from her failure to consider the enemy's motive from the beginning. She could kick herself for that too. Widows are brought in to start or end wars; they don't usually deal with the messiness in between. The king may have had a point when he questioned her knowledge of war after all. ]


Is it something magic?
Edited 2023-02-21 21:54 (UTC)
jatharin: (deimar)

[personal profile] jatharin 2023-02-21 10:54 pm (UTC)(link)


( He stays himself. Measures out each breath, considers, considers, exhales. Looks her over, for a moment, less as a bodyguard and a foreigner, no where near a friend. Only: )

What would you do, for family?

vdovy: (BLACK WIDOW 005)

[personal profile] vdovy 2023-02-21 11:20 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Yelena tilts her head as she studies the change in him. Her cynical side would answer that she has no family but that isn't really true. There are people that she does consider family and how she feels about them informs her answer. ]

Anything I had to. [ She answers simply. ] Why the very ominous sounding question?
jatharin: (deimar)

[personal profile] jatharin 2023-02-22 01:31 am (UTC)(link)
Because you came here, wondering if I would sell you.

( He drinks; it was always meant to come to this. Drink and disaster, and the girl he throws the goblet — or towards, for how weakly he does it. It cannot be that he intended hurt. It cannot be that he hoped for anything else. )

And now you know.
vdovy: (BLACK WIDOW 047)

[personal profile] vdovy 2023-02-22 01:58 am (UTC)(link)
You came wondering if I would kill you.

[ Yelena reminds him with a pointed finger. The same hand swipes the goblet away as one would swat a fly. She is too deep in pursuit of answers to stop and take offense. ]

So you haven't sold us but it's still in the cards, is that it? And Rathakku's target, will you hand that over too?
jatharin: (deimar)

[personal profile] jatharin 2023-02-22 04:54 pm (UTC)(link)


( That is it, smile thin, pained in a way that marks not bruised sentiment but the strain of pretend a perfectly pleasant demeanour. He is, some might say, devoid of such notions. Here, now, shaking his head thinly, once. )

I have no such intention.

Edited 2023-02-22 16:54 (UTC)
vdovy: (give yourself to strangers)

[personal profile] vdovy 2023-02-22 05:51 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, at least there is that. [ Yelena knows what a chained Rathakku is capable of and is in no hurry to see him freed.

She clasps her hands behind her back, straightens her posture, and gives a firm nod. ]


Thank you for convincing me. I believe that you haven't sold us yet.

[ She looks him head-on, serious. ] For what it's worth, I hope you do survive this. [ Wait. Hope is too passive a word. ] No, you know what? They would have to get through me and I am way too talented. You will survive this, so start acting like it.

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