groundrules | 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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[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.

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?

Trust me, I'm well aware.

[More than one person she cares about has been attacked by it.]

The plan for the merchants is a work in progress but we can only do so much when the person they want acknowledgement from is you. When your father insulted them and no one has sought to make that right - simply wanting to continue business as usual.

And what would you have me do? Resurrect my father so he might pass on his apologies?

( A pause, strained, while the corner of his mouth sours. As if he might almost be considering it. )

I suppose we could find his bones.

... No. I think you have enough problems with the undead right now. And know that resurrecting someone you may not be able to trust has it's own problems.

[Not that she's done that explicitly, but she knows the complications of having a complicated father.]

What they want is your uncle. They find him more level-headed. But if we can't give them that without causing more instability, is there something from when he was in charge that you could use to show them that you can do the same?

[She's genuinely asking this as a question, wanting to know his opinion. If he has a way to make their job easier, she'll take it, and she's not trying to dethrone him. She's just conveying what she's been told.]

You're saying, to imitate him? If I can do that?

( He might, quite possibly, be putting on a fair and reasonable imitation of his uncle's imperious manner of speech. Quite pompous, altogether reasonable. )

My uncle has always thought he should inherit. Maybe they resonate with his righteous indignation. I'll imitate that.

See, for a moment there you almost sounded reasonable and not at all bitter.

[Okay, maybe that was a little bit snarky, but this is his job and bitter isn't going to get him anywhere.]

Maybe keep leaning on that reasonable and you might get somewhere.

I have nothing to give them. ( A pause, mildly bitter — resigned. ) And everything to ask. That's why they skin us, of course. They know we need them. If we didn't...

( But then, this isn't the smile of a kindly man. ) I wonder what will become of them when Alem falls. All that opportunity for coin, utterly wasted. If only they'd treated us better, we might have shown them loyalty in our new settlements. Imagine.

[Allison raises an eyebrow.]

Why would they trust that? As far as they're concerned, you're probably your father's son. And I know you said you had nothing to offer them, but maybe acknowledging that you actually value them would make them less likely to spit in your face.

But I don't. They're parasites. ( Vultures, rats, cockroaches. Taking advantage of a situation where — but he's rolling his eyes, groaning. The early indications of a man who has barely graduated from his adolescence, mere years before.

Then, something in him settles. His posture rights, his gaze sharpens. )

...fine. What's one more lie? We should both hope they wash their asses, for the amount of puckering I'll do.

[Allison can't help but roll her eyes.]

How unfortunate that you have to do something so beneath you in order to protect your people that you're responsible for.

[Sometimes sarcasm is required.]

npc inbox: arc v

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