npc inbox: ephes

[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 | Arc V: Alem

Arc VI: Yancai | Interlude: Unkharil

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.

Comments

[recklessenough]

[ Lockwood remained quiet, waiting her out as she picked at her piece of fruit and spoke in between bites. He waited a couple of breaths, after her last words, before speaking. ]

You speak of freeing your people, which I agree is a noble goal, but what happens the day after that goal is achieved, and the day after that? What are your intentions for your people?

I do not intend to project bad faith. Only, victory in war is often the easiest part. It's the learning to live together in peace time that is the bigger challenge.

[aprescoup]

( Here, now, she merely watches, the slant of her eyes remarkably, definitively feline. )

They will learn. Why should they not learn? They lived well with the living, while they lived. Why not now? They have no conflict. My people are used. Terribly. Once they are free, why should they cause strife?

( And softer still: ) Do I cause strife? Here I am. I receive you. I offer you a seat, you sit at distance. I offer you fruit, you refuse my fruit. I offer you conversation, you ask difficult questions. Am I violent? No.

[recklessenough]

[ Lockwood smiled gently in the face of the pointed callouts to his own behavior. ]

You are being most gracious, and I do appreciate your time and hospitality. I am used to a very different sort of reception from the dead of my [ world, Lockwood caught the word quickly before it left his tongue ] lands when I encounter them.

[ Which he does not plan to elaborate on, his focus more on acknowledging Messalina's generosity. Though he's still not taking any fruit.

His expression sobers though, becomes one of solemn contemplation as he folds his fingers together. ]

The goal of the dead of my people, is to rest. To find peace, move on to the next realm, and to rest. It is the natural order that the dead do not walk amongst the living and the living do not disturb the realms of the dead. It is when both attempt to inhabit the same territory, that we run into conflict.

I acknowledge that this is a perspective that is perhaps unique to just myself, the way my peoples do things. I offer it in hopes that you can help me realize a way by which living and dead can inhabit the same territory, draw upon the same resources, without conflict.

[aprescoup]

( He is gracious, at least, courteously yielding. Seeming to understand that she owes him only the bare scraps of her attention, and yet she gives more, and he thanks her the award of her generosity.

As it should be. As she will allow it. She nods, perfunctorily. )

It will be difficult. You believe the start will be strife, and peace must be worked for. I believe the start will be peace. Strife would be the exception. I have no answer. Because I have no problem. You have a problem, because you are living. Living men, they are not tired. They believe the world is for conquest.

( Here, she waves her hand as if to signal the hall they reside in, and the absent Senator who donated his villa for her fleeting use. )

My people, they have no appetite. Only, let them be free. I ask so much?