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npc inbox: ephes

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!

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EPHES | ALLIED NPCs | OTHERS

EPHES

	CAIUS Leader of the great Senate, revered for enlightenment, wisdom and fairness. A cunning politician whom the Senate has, exceptionally and unanimously, voted to retain into a fourth mandate, after the expiry of his lawful three. Nominal commander and head priest, currently retired in a temple of the Chained God to consider Messalina's proposal.
	MARTELLIUS Second speaker of the Senate and cat wrangler of senators representing both patrician and plebeian interests. A veteran of political warfare who gives starting orators and politicians a hand. Immune to bribery but vulnerable to reason.
	LAETIO Keeper of the main gladiatorial arena and administrator of the games. Offers instruction and care to new gladiators, as well as arranging their matches. Strict, abiding no disobedience or attempts to sabotage fellow gladiators.
	VALERIA Formerly the mistress of Caius, now sworn off earthly pleasures to serve as the great priestess of the Chained God and holiest of women. Where she walks, they say a thousand blessings follow.
	NARULA Genera of the Hand armies of Ephes. Disgruntled, easily irritable, demanding. Never thanks, never congratulates, never disobeys an order or fails to generate a result. Under his leadership, the Hand rose from meager hope to glory. Some yet question... how.
	MESSALINA Newly risen mistress of the dead, who promises Ephes any territories she conquers when defeating the established Undead Lieges, in exchange for the citadel's army. Soft and honeyed spoken, hypnotic. Advocates for freedom and equality and an end to the conflict between the living and the dead.

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.
	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

[Wen Kexing's discovery of the scrap of purple fabric clutched in an undead hand has led Caitlyn here. She's only aware of one person among the Hand who wears the colour: Narula. So while Wen Kexing plans to find out which - if any - senators the cloth might belong to, Caitlyn has decided to use her limited access to Narula to question him.]

Sir, I have some questions regarding an item that was discovered during the recent incident at the Colosseum.

( He is stern-faced, jaw locked. A man of middling manners and a cutting gaze — impatient enough that he regards the woman who disturbs him as he works through the next exercise regimen of the new recruits with something like exasperation.

All the same: )

Louder. Speak, soldier.

[Speak she does, a little more eagerly than might be expected of someone who intends to interrogate their commanding officer. She doesn't raise her voice much, though, not wanting to draw anyone else's attention.]

A hand was found in one of the rifts. The undead around it seemed to avoid it, and when it was picked up the black water abated. [As much as she wishes she could speak from first-hand knowledge, all she can do is relay Wen Kexing's account of events and trust that they're accurate.] It was clutching a scrap of purple fabric. A colour you wear. What do you know of this hand?

( She's a barking dog, and his bite is meaner. Time to show so. )

That isn't. How we speak. To a commander, soldier. ( And more cutting, evenly: ) There were hundreds of disgusting and vermin at the arena. A sign of the atrocities that devilwoman Messalina brings. Dozens tried to pursue me. I succeeded to withdraw, applying the tactics and formations taught to you. How should I know which of them clutched my uniform, as I walked along?

[Caitlyn is so eager to find answers that she barely even processes the fact that she's probably meant to be intimidated by his tone.]

How close did you come to the rifts? Did you cross directly over any of them? [Perhaps it's clutching at straws, but Wen Kexing had said he'd found the hand in the middle of one of the rifts...]

Of course. They were everywhere in arena. I proceeded to take stock of the land and of the immediate threat I faced before engaging in altercation. I was alert and cautious. I moved quickly. I withdrew when it was apparent that I would be overwhelmed by enemy forces.

( If he is ashamed by having to retreat, he certainly does not seem to show it. ) As any responsible infantryman should.

( But then, straightening in place: ) What is the nature of your concern, soldier?

I'm trying to determine the origin of the hand. It could lead to further information about the black water and the nature of the undead, especially given the way that both seem to react to the hand.

[She sees no reason to conceal anything about her inquiry.]

The scrap of fabric it was clutching is as promising a clue as I have.

Black... water. ( He murmurs, watching her carefully, gaze slanting. ) That dreadful element of contagion from the Hives. Is that the one that concerns you?

( The same that sullies their grains. But then: ) Who assigned you this investigation, soldier?

Yes. It's linked to the undead. If we can determine its origin, we may be able to learn more about their origin, and the hand's connected to them both.

[She pauses, wondering if she's about to be disciplined for doing work outside her assigned duties. This wouldn't be the first time.]

No one. This is an independent investigation.

Or this hand is just... a hand. ( Cut and isolated through some perverse accident and of no ulterior importance. The undead don't align with natural expectations. )

Go back to your actual duties, soldier. The ones assigned to you. I'll oversee your training regimen personally. It seems you have too much spare time, and your body's condition isn't. Up. To standard.

It isn't just a hand!

[No matter how many times Marcus gave her some horrible assignment as punishment for stepping out of line, Caitlyn never did learn to leave well enough alone.]

The way the water and the undead responded to it, there's clearly a link. I just need to gather more information!

No one assigned you this task, soldier.

( And all the tolerant warmth of earlier, all his courtesy seems dangerously close to depletion, now. )

You will remember that. And you will remember you speak to your superior officer.

[Caitlyn brings herself up short, the realization that she's not going to get any further finally sinking in.]

Yes, sir.

[Her tone is, perhaps, rather sullen, but she stands at attention.]

Good. You're coming back to yourself. ( As if this latest bout of audacity is a sickness from which Caitlyn's body is only now beginning to recover. Narula's sigh comes deep, perhaps practised. )

Whatever's gotten into you, get it out. You don't need to bother about the dead or the waters. There's nonsense coming from the Senate. From the markets. They talk. That's all their sort do, they talk, and they talk. We do. We... are the chosen ones. The true children of chaos.

( As the Chained God so rightfully decrees. ) They're afraid of the waters, just like they're afraid of everything they don't understand. You shouldn't be. You're better than that. The waters... help us.

[She knows what the others have been saying about soldiers exposed to the dark water, turning them into feral creatures. If she can get confirmation from Narula, especially confirmation of his own involvement, at least she will have gotten some concrete information out of this little excursion.]

Help us, sir?

To become better, soldier. To become worthy of chaos. Of Ephes.

( He seems all once impassioned, voice warmed by an excess of sincerity. As if the very specter of his mission consumes him. )

Is that not who we should be? We are the cocoons, soldier. We were born in crippled in deformed bodies, and the water unleashes us. It is like. In. The womb. We grow with it. We improve with it.

[That was all she needed to hear - confirmation enough that Narula is behind administering the water to soldiers - but she knows she can't leave until she's dismissed.]

Yes, sir.

[She keeps her voice as dispassionate as she can, trying very carefully not to let her own thoughts on the matter show.]

( At least now, he appears tamer, milder, more satisfied with her acceptance of what she has been told — like a child, who might not have learned her lesson, but at least gracefully accepted her admonishment.

He nods, patting her once on her back. )

Go to your position. And double your exercise routine tonight. It should help clear your head.

Yes, sir.

[A salute, and she turns on her heel and leaves.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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