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

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.

[jatharin]

I'm afraid the minor matters of hell beneath our floorboards and a demon at our gates kept us otherwise engaged.

[stephanivien]

'Twas the hell beneath the floorboards that I was hoping the technique might aid. Rather than two fronts, it would make the second far easier to deal with if the same losses caused on that front could be used to close the former.

I may still look into it regardless, but I've less expectation of luck, there.

[jatharin]

I'm afraid it's simply that we don't have your approach to magic or experience. I welcome you to try, as it pleases you. As long as you don't enter the room or turn our paladins too sour.