npc inbox: arc v

[groundrules]

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.

Comments

KERASSTONE | TEXT

[stephanivien]

If there's a better time than most to check the fortifications of the Southern Tower, let me know. I'll need to take measurements to get a better idea of what armaments I can offer.

AUDIO & WE ONLY DO SHOUTING HERE

[jatharin]

AIM. FOR WHEN. THERE AIN'T BE NO FIRING, LAD.

Audio

[stephanivien]

A fact I intend to remedy! But I need to know how large I can make my much-improved ballistas before I build them. Similar principals to a springald, if that is more familiar a term to you.

anurr | voice that he's not expecting to hear back on lmf

[weifinder]

Oh voice of the mountain and winds and vengeance served frozen, what do you know of Rathakku? Unless he's one of those who's made a bed of frosty delight you enjoy with him, he is rather cold and patient to pair with it, in a conquering sense.

[aprescoup]

( The most irritated. )

Th e thIE f.

[weifinder]

Oh good, you do know him. What did he thieve?

deimar / audio

[rehandle]

We need to talk.

[ There's no reason why he should expect an audience at this point, so he goes for the pendant first, but he can and will resort to other measures if Deimar doesn't respond. Rumours have a habit of getting out of control fast - he's in touch almost as soon as he's finished reading the latest. ]

Urgently.

[jatharin]

Do we? Remarkable. I thought I gave the summons here. In my castle, on my lands, where you slaughter my people and breathe at my largesse.

Would you care to try again?

[rehandle]

I'd rather not waste time we might otherwise spend discussing the recent suggestion that you intend to trade some of our number for the safety of your own.

If you need me to bow and scrape as a prelude, I can do that.

→ YELENA

[jatharin]

( A joyous conversation has left lord and liege Deimar especially unenthusiastic this evening, ruminating over his fifth-sixth-eighth cup of wine while picking at his dinner.

Please excuse the morose glare, when he finally summons his guard. It's born of an entire hour of performative indifference. It's so difficult being king, when you can only threaten your subjects with a fork that lazily stabs a half-baked potato scavenged from some... dying woman's hands. No salt. )

You. You! You, you, you. Are you trying to kill me? ( A distinct wave of the potato. ) Are you planning to be any good at it?

[vdovy]

[ Yelena looks over one shoulder, then the other, as if checking to see if there is anyone else the king might be waving his potato at. When she turns back to face his majesty, her head tilts to one side as she considers her response.

It is true that her knee-jerk reaction to news of the king's betrayal was to begin plotting his demise, but ruminating over how she would kill someone if she had to is simply a side effect of being a widow. It doesn't mean anything in and of itself.

She has too many questions to act on anything just yet. Why just the dozen? What is the tax? Why risk sending missives with the very people intended for trade?

Yelena wasn't going to alert the king just yet— it is significantly harder to guard someone actively panicked for his life— but evidently someone else spilled. Her response takes a few moments as Yelena weighs how honest her answer should be. ]

There is no trying involved when I intend to kill someone. You would be dead already.

[jatharin]

( Well — well, then. This is a delightfully shapely potato being wretchedly weaponised, and Deimar can no longer stand for this woeful misdirection. He drags it down for a bit of performative, unenthusiastic chewing.

...trying, but desperately failing to convince his body that the vegetable has been thoroughly cooked. Mind over matter. )

You're my bodyguard. Absent the part where I don't feel particularly keen to have you anywhere near my body right. ( More apologetic chewing. ) Do I have something to worry about?

Deimar | Video/Voice

[stephanivien]

The ballistae and other armaments for the towers are proceeding well enough, with several installed already. I suspect I've owed you an update far sooner, but time does slip away.

The discussions I've had however, have proved fruitful, and has given me a new question I wished to pursue in tandem, of the more strictly magical variety. Is there a native way to harness the energies left as remnants of battlefield, or mayhap has anyone here tried?

[ Frankly, it was some of those asking for ways of magic outside of war that makes him think of it. Research by others he'd kept up on in Eorzea, distantly, but not pursued himself. But in light of new information, he does wonder if there is a way to make things more immediately helpful. If Rathakku doesn't want the dramatic sacrifice of a desperate people, then there are likely some in Alem who do. Which has led Stephanivien to recall an alternative.

Either Deimar intends to bargain with them as the chips, or he doesn't, but in the grand scheme of things it's not the worst lie by any leader Stephanivien has followed, and in some ways is arguably far more understandable...

...assuming it came from Deimar at all. Ah, the wondrous game of courts. ]

audio

[jatharin]

( Airy, bemused, if not unkind laughter — but at least Deimar answers. )

I haven't the faintest what you're talking about. But it sounds very clever.

audio

[stephanivien]

Drat, I was somewhat hoping there might be more knowledge of it here.

[ The disappointment in his voice is genuine. ]

My personal knowledge is distantly academic at best, but there was someone back from my home [ Or, home planet, at the least ] who studied the aetheric density of battlefields, with some sort of utilization of the energies. I believe there was brief discussion of the applications towards things that might otherwise demand similarly bloody costs, but, again, my own personal knowledge of the subject is limited, and I had little time enough to pursue the results of his studies further than their distant mention.

I was hoping someone more native might know of something similar. And, well, you already have a battlefield to draw from.

deimar | action

[rumorate]

[Allison should probably have a better plan in mind, but she's starting to get tired of the bullshit. She's tired of people not being bold enough to put their name on something, people trying to cause problems. As much as she's been trying to pretend that the siege is getting to her, she knows that she's been using her powers more often than she has in the past. That she's been possibly reckless.

But the best way to get the right information is for Allison to do it herself, so she uses her connections to get her as close to the king as possible.]

I was hoping I might be able to have a word with you, in private.

[She'll play it as flirting if that's what he needs to believe. Whatever gets her into a situation with no witnesses.]

[jatharin]

( ...oh. Oh, another one. He's trapped and squirming between looks of surprise, discomfort, terrible inconvenience, annoyance and amusement. How he transits between each expression so succinctly is a feat, no doubt, royal.

Finally, in the humble confidence of his Keep, he waves away his guard from immediate reach — two men lingering at a respectable distance as they trail behind him — before starting to walk down the halls with Allison. )

You'll forgive me if that's about as intimate as I'd like to remain. I understand your people might want me in less peace than pieces.

[rumorate]

I'm not my people, and I have no intention of hurting you.

[At least not physically. What she may choose to do is questionable, but she doesn't intend to hurt him or kill him.]

I just require information from you, and if you're willing to share, I may have information that could ease problems you've been having elsewhere. Instead of fighting a war on two - possibly three fronts - you could just go back to fighting a war on one.

cle-florens

[weifinder]

( a little paper human shaped doll slips into where she is when she's awake, carrying with it a little note, folded and creased into a neat little love knot. "To the Duchess and Princess Cle-Florens." it leaves her the note, bows, and then runs away, to the door it then slips back under. mostly because wei wuxian is not chancing anyone cuts his paperman in half or sets it on fire, thanks??? )

Hello! My name is Wei Wuxian. I'm one of the outsiders who came in with a certain merchant a month ago, and have been helping map ways through the Gut's Bind to assist in evacuations of your kingdom's people, under Galatea's greater direction. I've also been drafted to help with healing of the ill and injured in the Wards as needs press. They've been very pressing! We do what we can to help.

It's been desperate here for a while, from what I understand. I'm sorry. A siege like this is hard on everyone, and the people who aren't fighters as much as the strong spirits of those who wake to fight another day. We're only a small group, and we can't do better than what your own people have done, but we're willing to lend our gifts to helping slow down the advance of the death lord at the gates, and the hell testing the gates below. We've already been doing what we can to help.

My friends and I wanted to ask you with the last evacuations approaching, do you have hopes of your own? The Paladins have been murmuring more and more about sacrifices, but those are things a person has to choose. And right now, desperation may make a sacrifice of life that isn't worthwhile seem like it might be logical. We don't want to see anyone, royal or not, die if we can help prevent it. We'd help them evacuate, if that's what they wish to do.

What do you wish to do, Princess Cle-Florens?

Sincerely,
Wei Wuxian 🐇

[jatharin]

( The first gallant note a young maiden receives, ah...! Of course, the response comes in fine penmanship and... doused in rose water. Alongside a lily blossom. )


Master Wei Wuxian,

I thank your kind note and pray to the good skies that they keep you in health and fair fortune. For I hear you are just and most worldly and kind, and I have heard ( Spied, since receipt of this note. ) much about you, and indeed the Gut's Bind is a fairer place since you have graced it with the gods' blessings of care. And though I am not permitted, being of the fairer persuasion, and knowing the weakness of my gender, such that it is, to visit often, I am told you are ( Handsome. ) most pleasing and accomplished, and so I thank you again. Please keep well and accept this pressed blossom of the lily of the vale, which I am told greatly resembles the fine pallor of your pristine cheek.

These are troubled times, my brothers tell me, and it must be so, for they are men, and greatly burdened with the glory of their wisdom and positions. And my brother is king, and so I am told I shall have a dowry of dignity to suit his station, and I am grateful and well pleased. But if it should please the skies to call upon me to serve my people in the ways of my blood, that it be shed, then it is done knowing that such is my duty, and so I accept it, for I was raised to this purpose. And know please that, in death, I would not dishonour my future husband, and that my dowry would yet become a fine and uncontested gift of widowhood.

Thank you and may the skies keep you in tender watch.

[reparo]

Here. [A cup of tea is deposited in front of Wei Wuxian, somewhere deep in The Keep of Alem. It's been a rough time, a rough week, and she's just recently stepped into an enforced pause from her tower watch.

She spots the lily first, as she's depositing the cup, and reads a few lines by chance over Wei Wuxian's shoulder.]

Sweet Merlin, what is this nonsense?!

Deimar | Backdated to the 4th-ish | Private

[stephanivien]

As promised, the dragon problem has been dealt with! Though perhaps not entirely in the manner as was anticipated. Still, I imagine you've not overmuch to complain on the front should that icy breath be turned towards your enemies, for a change.

[ Stephanivien's grinning even as he shrugs, but he's earnest. ]

I do understand if you would find our agreement in that respect wanting, however.
And I will strive to so rectify that, in whatever means are available to me.

[ He likes Deimar, genuinely, unreservedly. He recognizes that perhaps he sees a little too much of his own younger siblings in the young king, but he knows well enough to keep that as his own problem. ]

[jatharin]

A dragon removed needn't be slain. And beggars can't be choosers. I'll take it.

Deimar - text

[stephanivien]

War and leadership leave little enough time for grief, especially for the losses of those we count closest. No lord is easily granted the space or time, while the weight of their people still rest upon their shoulders.

Nonetheless, if you would like either, I will find a way. Or anything else within my power, to ease what can be.

[jatharin]

How delightfully compassionate. Barring the interesting circumstances of my brother's disappearance, I'm touched.