let's set d o w n some (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
groundrules) wrote2021-09-10 12:16 am
groundrules) wrote2021-09-10 12:16 am
npc inbox: ephes
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
 | 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. |
| 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 |
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. |
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Yes. They are taking their time to... think. It is not time my people have. While we sit. And we chatter. And we — ( Popping half of a date in her mouth - ) ...eat.
( While they do all these things, yet little more. )
I do not know if I can succeed. But I know my enemies are only getting stronger as we wait. We are at disadvantage of numbers. It grows with each day.
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Taking an army by force will only bring them more enemies. Better if they could sacrifice the few if it means bridging the gap in negotiations. ]
If we can't reason with them, what's stopping you from replacing the rest of the senate? Alir has been passing as one of them for this long, even with his eccentricities. He can't be the only one of his kind.
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that's always a risk, in any negotiation.
still, her eyes slide to five at his last comment. mass murder of the entire senate? like that was ever an option. )
Passing, relatively speaking.
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( This seems to widen her eyes, to brighten them whole. She considers Five for a moment, then Natasha beside him. They had appeared utterly human, and yet... as ever, men lie. The illusion of their innocence and harmlessness is not to be dismissed.
She laughs, readily charmed. )
He is. Our Alir is especial. No, not many could learn the way of men well enough to imitate so well. Nor reach such self-control. You must understand, our Alir is... constantly, overwhelmingly, perpetually tempted. Each day, he would gut and eat everyone besides him. Each day, he holds back, for our sake. It is against his nature. He exerts himself so.
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The implication wasn’t entirely a ploy to win her favor. It’d be a much simpler plan, if Alir wasn’t so special. ]
He’s had some help. [ To Natasha’s point, before she makes another one: ] We’ve personally managed to keep him from getting discovered, but he’s still only one voice, and he’s bound to break eventually.
[ He leans back and makes an honest effort to see their perspective. The idealized version that may or may not be true, but one that could benefit them if he can just put the pieces together. ]
It might be different if the people here understood that Matthias is a larger threat. As you do. [ He takes a gamble. ] If I didn’t know better, I’d say it almost seems personal. What brought you to take such a risk to challenge him?
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( She appears, for a moment, to consider him again, as if her perspective has shifted — as if the child-man of great hope she had glimpsed earlier has now dispelled.
More of the date, then, carefully: )
He will kill me. Or he will control me. You must have seen. It is so with all of us. Those who are powerful, above the average, those who can lead others of the dead. Such as myself. The cousin Rathakku. The cousin Unhalad.
( A shudder, then. ) He is dead.
( And firmer: ) Matthias would enslave as he already has the weaker of my people. I protect them. I protect myself. Should I not?
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It's personal for me. I'm here because I know there's a chance you'll succeed, if you can overcome the obstacles in your way. [ Which won't be easy, and may result in her wanting even more power once Matthias is defeated. That's a bridge to cross when they get to it. ]
You've been trying to rally support for a long time now. Do you think he already knows what you're doing?
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but five knows what he’s doing. knows that to tell a lie, to manipulate, sometimes you have to give away pieces of yourself, too.
natasha observes, noting the way that aligning with the winning side is the piece five chooses to offer. )
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He? ( She seems, fleetingly, uncertain, as if she is yet measuring her words and the potential identity of the man Five mentions.
Finally, she makes for a cup of thickened nectar, a potent brew of fruit. Sips, and - )
Caius Justus? Of course. His pet Narula? Indubitably. And Matthias? I don't believe he cares. He is a king. A king does not think about the little pebbles in his shoe. He waves a hand: there is no shoe. He waves again: there is no road. He waves a third time: there is no citadel in which his disgrace happens. That is a king.
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Just as much as it's obvious they can't fight him alone. ]
You don't have to tell me. [ Matthias is beyond them. Although now he wonders where Anurr lines up, if he asked. ] I'd say that being underestimated is an advantage, but it's not enough of one alone. Where does he get his strength? He had to have gotten his power from somewhere.
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( Here, her gaze tightens, and she considers again — so consumed by her thoughts that she nearly drops the date from her hand, before gently remembering at the last moment to cast it aside.
And softly: )
I do not know. What deals he struck. What agreement. There must be one. He is not dead. ( Therefore, the power cannot be his own. And yet: )
But he is not a man. I do not know what he is. I do not like him. Not in the way of hating an enemy. But he is... not to be liked. Unlikeable. ( Another moment's consideration. ) Unctuous. But also arrogant. What does he want? He wants nothing. What will he do? Whatever he pleases. How can such a person be liked? He wants for nothing, and does harm only because he can.
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Her way of describing the ways she doesn’t like him make him wonder if they’ve ever really met, or if it’s his reputation she opposes to. ]
That doesn’t give us much to work with. It’s harder to take someone down if you don’t know their motives. [ He sighs and leans back, dropping some of the formality he carried when he entered. ] We know he created the brotherhood, but not why. He took a boy with him, the son of two of them, and I assume he’s still acting as his caretaker.
That doesn’t mean he did it out of empathy. He could have been lonely or bored, but the boy is the only one we’ve seen in his company. [ Five couldn’t even take the boy out, but the fact remains he’s the weaker of the two. ] We need to know what he’s thinking before we come at him with force. Has anyone challenged him before?
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No. ( This, she speaks with emphasis, with purpose. ) They do not seek to. They think, he does nothing. He puts no limitations. He seldom intervenes. He is no where, speaking to no one.
( But her teeth grit. ) But he only waits. Do you think I am paranoid? I am not. He has no reasons. That is what makes him dangerous. Whenever he is done waiting, he will act. When the whim strikes him. Just so. It will be too late for the others, his disciples. It will not be late for me.
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I don't think you're paranoid. [ Even if he did, it wouldn't be an insult coming from him. ] I think you don't know what it will take, or where to find him once you do.
If Ephes stops being the obstacle and follows you tomorrow, what's next?
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We devise a strategy. ( Unflinching, without pause. ) We go where they Brotherhood is weak. Where they are only just setting roots in the west, in Qather, or where their forces are depleted from fighting war recently, like in holy Alem.
( Another moment, another date. ) We go one by one and take some surprise, and some we fight fairly. To all, we extend the option to release their enslaved and join us.
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The undead and living alike?
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I have no trouble with the living. No interest to go against them. ( She will not have to extend them a similar truce, if they are not part of the war.
But then, that moment is distant, hypothetical. A part of her, sitting straighter and more rigid in place, has finished considering it. )
Now. We are friends. We have spoken at length, as friends do. But I tire for the day. ( And so, she dismisses them, elegantly. )
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Still, he doesn't push for more. Whatever drives her, it seems to him that her ideals don't necessarily mean she knows more about Matthias than they do. He stands less confident that she'll be formidable enough to take the risks he's been considering, but without an alternative. Something needs to change. ]
Until we speak again. [ He stands and moves to leave, certain he'll return once he's had time to mull over their next steps. ]