Notable NPCs
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Arden Renshaw
Male Puppo Abjurer
Fifth Scribe and Apprentice Abjurer to The Holy Empire of The Crystal Fang’s Order of Arcane Sages.
Mr. Arden Renshaw is a short and thin white dog, no more than five feet tall and one-hundred and twenty pounds with a single black dot on his left cheek. His head is covered by the hood of a wide cloak that drapes over his floppy ears and large round glasses. Seen from underneath those glasses are a pair of wide, deep blue eyes that constantly scan and analyze the world around him.
His deep red cloak is held in place by a cloak pin of a small scroll, that hides a seemingly new and slightly oversized deep navy waistcoat with brass buttons. It’s held at the waist with a belt that carries a similarly new looking mace, potions, and a very worn and dog-eared book on a chain with a rusty clasp keeping it shut. His small paws, adorned with linen bandages, tap upon the book at his side as he thinks and strategizes his moves. He quickly flips the clasp open and draws the book when he needs to take notes or study his craft. Beneath his coat is a close-fitting linen tunic, matched by a pair of spotless deep navy breeches and riding boots seeing their first trot through the mud of the world.
Mr. Renshaw is a Scribe of The Order’s Lexicon faction. He is a refined, studious, and very particular young mage with a heavily academic background. His stuffy, untrusting, and often cold demeanor is a barrier to keep away those that would betray his feelings. At his core, he is a very loyal and caring person for those he holds dear.
Arden’s dedication to The Order is strong, and he believes his sole purpose in life is to serve it. He is driven to prove himself and rise in the ranks through whatever means he believes are necessary. Strategy and planning are his greatest assets. Mixed with a rigid moral code of always doing what he believes right, he strives toward the greater good of the world.
Arden was inducted into The Order at a very young age. While he was born on the frozen peninsula city of Kaoleensos, he calls the shining capital of The Cross, Atlas, his home. He works in the archival cloister of The Order where he fastidiously copies, records, and studies every bit of information coming through their doors.
His peers treat him as a child, as most are twice his age. After an accident that nearly killed Arden some years ago, he feels sorely guilty and inadequate for the second chance he received by the Headmaster of The Order, Okuma. Arden strives every day to prove himself worthy of Okuma’s praise.
Arden enjoys discovery above all else. Having a near encyclopedic knowledge of most of the world’s documented information, he wants to discover something that will change the world or shed light on one of the great mysteries of the universe. Despite this eager drive, his accident left him mostly working in the cloister, with seldom the field task.
Tactics: Arden thrives on a good plan and strategy, even if he has to think of it on the fly. He tries to talk down most encounters where he can, though his cold demeanor doesn’t always save him. When conflict arises, he considers every tool at his disposal. He often barks orders expecting blind compliance, and tends to use his spells and equipment in unconventional ways to keep a solid control of any situation. In situations where people he considers true allies are in danger, he is prepared to give everything to protect them.
Therrin Perch
Female Sergal Swashbuckler
Therrin is a dark grey sergal with white chest fluff. She stands roughly five feet six inches and is clad in flashy leather garments for ease of movement. Her particular outfit looks to be better quality than what most adventurers usually wear. Aside from the leather, the sergal dons a loose-fitting shirt of the finest silk to keep some of her movements hidden from her would-be opponents. Tucked into her shirt is a necklace with a signet ring that she keeps hidden most of the time. At her side is her rapier, which she’s named Stilton, that rests in a modest scabbard when not in action. Its hilt is ornate and elaborate to the point that it inherently has a story all its own. Overall her attire is functional, but most importantly, it looks amazing.
Therrin loves adventure and looking cool while doing it. This swashbuckling lass will be the first to jump at any occasion to deal the final blow in battle. While in action, this sergal is a force to be reckoned with, but all other times she is reserved, has something to hide, and always wants to keep moving. You can depend on her in any battle, but not so much for conversation. She will be the first to accept any challenge or job with the hopes it will lead to her next amazing feat.
As a child, the only thing Therrin enjoyed about the family business was the travel. Months at a time she would spend out in the countryside seeing new vistas and new cities to the point where this little girl saw every part of The Cross by her mid-teens.
Aside from seeing the world, young Therrin saw little else interesting about the successful family business, the Perch Trading Company. As she grew older Therrin’s mother, Dominique Perch, tried time and again to show her offspring the ways of the family business. All the attempts to learn business, etiquette, logistics, and bureaucracy felt stifling to Therrin, who only wanted to travel more and seek adventure. Eventually, Therrin grew to hate the company and her mother. The two butted heads on practically everything, culminating to the point where Therrin was sent away.
After a brief stint at an illustrious finishing school, Therrin disappeared for several years. Many rumors circulated, some speculating she’d become a pirate queen ruling Secret Cove, while others had her cavorting with the nefarious Crestfallen, robbing carriages in the middle of nowhere. Others said she’d gone to a Dragon’s Tooth shrine and succumbed to the curse.
At the age of twenty-one, the heiress finally reappears at the family estate but the return is cut short. All at once Roqueport’s crown jewel, their very own Dragon’s Tear, is stolen and Therrin Perch goes missing again. Assuming the thieves also took the heiress along with the priceless artifact, posters are plastered from one end of The Cross to the other searching for the sergal’s abductors.
Bata Amica
Male Bear Barbarian
Bata is a towering Bear Barbarian, he’s built strong and covered in lush white fur. His attire is mostly armor made from the large shells of Bupreparda. Namely a pauldron over his right shoulder and vambraces over his forearms, both held in place by large dark belts and shell buckles. Below that he wears rough leather garments that have seen some wear, the edges of which are fringed with dark fur. While his chest is bare, a large garment wraps around his midsection, followed by a long loincloth and kilt. A large cloak covers his back, featuring a large but simple burnt-in symbol that some whisper is from the lands of Bisemutum. He rests a large war hammer at his side, one side of the head has a blunt face while the other has a chiseled end, a weapon suited for fighting beasts. On his left arm is a chitin shield, suitable for a person of his size and perhaps too large for others.
Bata Amica is a member of the Bisemutum. His physical appearance is betrayed by his behavior; he fumbles his manners and is unfamiliar with social queues from outside his homeland. However, he is good hearted, curious, chivalrous, and tends to help others to a fault. Others may rely on him to assist in any way. Members of his community are rarely given permission to leave his homeland. He claims that he is on pilgrimage to explore the world and assist someone who needs aide, but he doesn’t know who that is. His reason for leaving his home may sound deceptive, but who will question someone who simply wishes to help and drink some mead?
Bata comes from a ranching community within Bisemutum known as Amica, where Bata herded Bupreparda and helped with maintaining farm lands. He has a respect for creatures of the land, finding it easier to have a mutual relationship with beasts rather than people. His respect reaches to the point where he won’t ride an animal without asking for its permission first.
Bata likes to explore the lands and communities outside of his own, but is wary of adventurers seeking treasures as he assumes that they are likely after Dragon’s Tears. As a result, he can be often found bouncing from farmland to farmland assisting ranchers who are in need of temporary help. As he travels, he cuts a bit of a flag from each city or village that he visits which he uses to adorn his belt. He keeps them as a memento of the locations he has visited.
Tactics: Despite being a barbarian, Bata prefers to avoid physical combat. He puts great effort into suppressing his natural rage, but mistreatment of his friends, beliefs, or being told that he doesn’t belong are a quick way to anger the bear. He will try his best not to rage against a beast unless the situation desperately calls for it, and after defeating a beast he will make proper use of the remains of the creature, preparing the hide or chitin for use or sale. Bata sometimes even attempts to heal an assailant once he’s eliminated their threat.
Samuel M. Horstrom
Samuel M. Horstrom, or Sam, is a white-throated capuchin monkey standing at approximately five foot eight inches. Most of his body is colored an earthy brown, but it fades to white upon his chest and shoulders, spilling slightly down his arms, and wrapping around his face to his forehead. His hair is brown, long, and wavy. His face features a light tan color and his eyes are a dark but intense brown in their own. He wears traveler’s garb, well weathered and worn from use. Simple but sturdy brown leather boots and rough tan cloth pants sit under a tight, well-made but aged light blue cloth shirt, topped by a leather traveling jacket.
Samuel is a Courier, first and foremost, and as such displays a high standard of accountability when it comes to protecting a package or ensuring delivery of a customer’s assets. Unless something jeopardizes his mission as a Courier, Sam tends to be pretty easygoing, enjoying the travels of the world and the sights he sees on his missions. He can be quiet and pensive at times, thinking about life, and energetic and outspoken at others when the troubles of hispast are momentarily forgotten. Sam has no particular ethical or moral drive, carefully weighing economic and personal factors in all things. He cares for others he knows, but unless there’s a crisis he typically does not engage in hasty decisions that could lose business; such is the life of a Courier.
He’s traveled to almost every part of The Cross for his Courier duty, and as such has seen and experienced many of its roads and wonders. From A’Mond to Lorrnville, Sam has walked the breadth of the earth and is comfortable in all its nooks. He has recently taken to favoring the more rural region in the North, closer to Bisemutum and the swamp, as Perch Trading Company’s influence there is still weak and payments are still prime for the Couriers. He also finds the people there tend to be less stiff than in the southern regions.
Sam has a certain fondness for the arts that stems from a life of traveling, learning from sailors singing, travelers with hobbies, and performers in caravans. Through the years he’s learned to sing, learned to paint, learned to survive, dance and, most of all, learned how to charm people. Being a Courier was only half the process, he’s met hundreds of associates, clients, hagglers, tradesmen trying to get their way; but most of all it was meeting the travelers. Travelers with hopes, with dreams, destinations, desires, wants, passions. Sam has spent his life listening to them speak, beg, get angry, be romantic, and simply be themselves. Words are their own language to him, hidden beneath the common speak.
Which was probably why Sam’s favorite thing to have learned and replicate were songs. Sea shanties, traveling tunes, nursery rhymes, poems, ballads, sagas; he loved listening to them all. He loved learning them even more, and sings to himself often on long journeys, particularly when there is nobody he knows around him. Some find it entertaining, others don’t, but through it all Sam has always felt that song had a strange power to it. Powers of emotion and thought, resplendent in the melody and meaning of the sound. He prefers sadder tones, though acknowledges the beauty of all types of music.
Mama Noms
Nomanya Cobble, known by her trademark name Mama Noms or Nomsi to some of the locals, has been a part of the Bellowport community since she was a wee lass. A rather tall rat-kin woman, large boned, voluptuous as the rolling hills, with warm, piercing eyes, a welcoming and deliberate tone of voice, and often wearing layered colorful clothing, she watches over her farm. Deep familial ties run from her children into the surrounding communities, ensuring she always has a market for her farm and her scented soap side hustle. She loves all her children deeply, teaches them similar to how one would teach a classroom, and sometimes her kids will bring their friends from town to learn with them. Being a well-read lady who gets interesting news/gossip from her family web has earned her additional notoriety.
Currently a single parent having lost her third husband to sickness, she has been more strapped for time and more willing to bring on travelers to work the farm during busy seasons or troubleshooters if there is an issue she can’t handle on her own. A particularly independent child, Kassie Cobble has taken to pointing her mother out to adventurers that seem of good spirit when Mama is in need of help. Kassie herself lives in the alleys of Bellowport, doing her best to survive as a vagabond while never showing her face at home; she has a deal with the Rat Bucket Inn to exchange food and information. Thanks to her mother’s tutelage, Kassie is rather good at finding herbs and other flavor enhancers that helps to keep the Inn on top of its game, and in return they inform her of adventurers who may be an asset to the farm’s operations. Once a group meeting her mother’s needs has been screened through the bar or her own observations, she will approach them with the suggestion and path to her old family farm where Mama has become accustomed to surprise guests and the housing/working of them.
Kassie’s current state of living does concern her mother but as someone who firmly believes in the importance of personal agency, she does not try to force herself back into her daughter’s life. Mama is often times a kind, wisdom-leaking spigot, keenly aware of what is going on around her (a few dozen children made that skill a necessity), but when it comes to business, she is a shrewd operator, often startling adventurers when they think they might be able to squeeze excessive compensation from her. Recently, with special groups of travelers who treat the kids well, she has developed the strategy of fostering them, so her children can learn from experiences on the road what they cannot learn at home. She wants the best possible future for her kids and is not afraid to encourage them to take calculated risks.
It should be noted she her farm is a woolly silkie farm, that also collects herbs for food and medicine, and produces a fair amount of vegetables on the side. Her head rancher is her eldest son who only accepts being referred to as Herd Lord; he never leaves the flock and is brought food by one of his siblings each day.
Zaus Cobble
Zaus is an aspiring young rat-kin teenager trying to shape his place in the world. Growing quickly like his brothers and compounding his father’s lankiness and his mother’s thickness, he stands a little under five feet. His outer fur is mostly dark grey, complemented with lighter gray inner fur and faintly pink paws and ears. Excitable and clever, he has spent a fair amount of time during the farm’s off season sneaking into town, gambling with locals in small games of chance, often wagering information he heard from Mama or promised labor as opposed to actual coin. Apart from the social contest in games of chance he would look for Kassie (though has never found her), do odd jobs in town, particularly if they piqued his interest, and listened to travelers when possible. Once he turned thirteen, the Rat Bucket Inn let him work during the busy weeks in the kitchen and judge games of chance for a little coin. Though he is sharply intuitive for his age, he lacks experience with tighter-lipped groups, and also tends to openly speak his feelings, often leaving other listeners aghast.
Jade
Jade is an aged hyena-kin, former passenger of a dubiously named vessel sailing through the Bipusmarsh operated by Captain Tumbles (Bumbles). Standing at a commanding height of six feet she carries her lithe frame with confidence, defying the lifetime of grueling experience that shows in her face until she loses herself in her songs coming fully to life; ballads and epics of old. Jade is a wonder to hear perform and has taught interested travelers some of her songs through the years, though few can keep up with the layers of language she calls on.
She often travels to the Gomphus festival, an event she never misses. They had even been so gracious as to provide immediate transportation and a complimentary garment woven from the finest of marshland silks to herself, as well as most of the ship’s above-deck passengers.
Dau B. Burrus
This mysterious figure is known throughout the land by many a name. Dau the Strong, Dau the Wise, Dau the Brave, and in some parts even Dau the Seductive. This white tiger began his life as a street urchin on the labyrinthine streets of Altas. As a cub, Dau would only steal what he needed to get by: a piece of bread here, an apple there, living barely a whisper of a life, destined to be forgotten. But, on one fateful encounter, the tiger cub came upon a dying haggard hyena on the outskirts of town. Dau feared the vagrant, seeing in the hyena the future that he was destined for, but before Dau could turn tail, the hyena withdrew a large polished rock that gleamed through the tattered clothes of the disheveled man, a Dragon’s Tear shard so large that Dau could barely even wrap his arms around it. With the yeen’s dying breath he ordained to Dau that his destiny was to take this Tear shard and make the world a better place.
Immediately Dau started chipping off pieces of the shard and selling it for his own gain. By the time he was an adult, Dau had purchased a fine estate for himself with many people in his employ, but… when he had all the comforts he could think of, he grew bored of his life of luxury. When he could stand no more of the boredom, the tiger bought the most gorgeous traveling gear one could find. With his leather cavalier hat, crushed velvet topcoat, and silk breeches, Dau set off for any sort of adventure to satiate the monotony his lavish existence had made for him.
Dau crossed the Karban sea and traveled from town to town offering his services to people in need. His adventures only led to a pretense of success, by quelling or masking people’s problems using his seemingly vast unending wealth rather than actually solving them. Yet still, he was successful enough to gain some notoriety across the land. Dau would usually ask to be regarded by the titles of “wise”, “strong”, or “brave” rather than “generous” if anyone were to tell his tales of “adventure”.
The tiger’s adventures eventually led him to Bipusmarsh, where he was tasked with retrieving treasure from a boat lost somewhere in the Pinicola Swamp. He was never heard from again. Some say he died in the belly of a water spider, some say he succumbed to the spores and is one with the land, others say the curse of the spires finally caught up with him… more say he drowned due to his adventuring gear being more flashy than functional.
Ultimately no one missed the ambitious wanderer, but he did become part of the legends and tales that fill many rowdy taverns. Denizens spread the rumors of what remains of his Dragon’s Tear and the dangers of the swamp that guards it.
Reginald Quod Tarkway
Reginald Q. Tarkway was born and raised in Crestfall to a lowly family. The leopard was taken in during his formative years by one of the many powerful and influential pirate bands that seemingly rule the grungy but lucrative port town. He was quick to pick up a rapier and even faster on his feet, becoming skilled in both fighting and running away, whatever garnered the best outcome. Reginald flourished as an outlaw and relished in the endless challenge and adventure he encountered everyday as a care-free scoundrel.
As time passed, the pirate bands grew along with him and eventually all the disparate groups became a much larger and more influential force to be reckoned with. As the Pirates of Secret Cove became more powerful, politics began to creep into the once free-wheeling band of scallywags Reginald had grown to love. Reginald started to become disenchanted with his chosen family after being chastised for raiding a Perch Trading Company vessel for no other reason beyond “it was not allowed.”
The leopard soon found he was not alone in being disappointed by the new constraints imposed by the leadership within the Pirates of Secret Cove. He helped form a new band of outlaws, the Crestfallen, a collection of bandits and scoundrels that didn’t want to be told what to do by anyone, even within their own group. As the Crestfallen’s notoriety grew, Reginald was tasked with finding new “talent” before the Pirates of Secret Cove could scoop them up. He found the most success as a recruiter by posing as a fencing instructor for an illustrious finishing school in Atlas, due to his skills and his former compatriots having little to no influence there.
Dominique
Dominique is the true ruthless economic genius behind the Perch Trading Company for this generation. Age has barely touched her as if her drive simply shrugs the reaper off; she commands a presence when this towering Sergal enters the room, dressed to the nines. Eyes so unempathetic and piercing one might think she appraises a person’s material value when looking them over, her mind is always spinning, and that shows, giving herself no moments to breathe or let her hair down. Though political officials, rival governments and failing business owners frequently decry Perch’s methods and often go as far to accuse them of wrongdoing, none of these accusations have ever survived court proceedings. Politicians and businesses not sufficiently guarded against undue influence find themselves becoming affordable tools for a large trading organization such as Perch. Dominique retains the same mindset of most others in business and politics, that infiltration and influence are the most powerful means to ensure her family’s success.
In early life her husband was a delight, a truly good man, but he was not a business-proficient individual. After his family saw what Dominque could accomplish with a few small business ventures of her own, she became the inheritor of the family business while her husband did public relations campaigns for the company through a charity. Truth be told, the charity primarily worked as a way to mask family assets from taxation while gathering money from unfamiliar people. However, it has also done some good in the world, like adding roads to towns Perch plan to start selling services to, or donations to public protection in high-crime areas where Perch does business.
Dominique has also gone above and beyond for the Order in terms of assisting with special requests, materials and aid, stabilizing trade networks over the sea. Through her direction, Perch has created a large network of informants who keep her apprised of the world state, her opponents, pirates, bandits, political theater, allies, and business practices she can utilize to maximize profit. She has spent little of her time with her family, particularly Therrin, for whom her frustration knows no bounds. Her other children were so much more moldable and desperate for mother’s approval. In her mind, someday all of The Cross, and eventually the world, will be held tight within the paw of Perch.
Okuma
Eramus Okuma is a slender crowkin that stands five and a half feet tall, with a noble and upright posture. His deep brown eyes are ringed with lines from decades of reading text and studying the world around him, matched by his unkempt feathers from long days and nights of managing The Order.
Okuma is often seen wearing a very well worn but deceptively pristine grey robe, and the white cloak that shows him to be a member of the Magisters, overseers of The Order. Those with the ability to perceive magic would notice these robes are made with very powerful, very unconventional magic. He inherited these robes from his mother when she passed, giving him the title of Headmaster of The Order and this symbol of his rank within their powerful organization.
As the seventh generation of both Headmaster and Okuma family name, Eramus was raised within the walls of The Order, nestled in the heart of Atlas. He was educated by the finest instructors in magic, literature, science, leadership, and a number of other topics, preparing him to eventually bear the mantle his mother carried.
Okuma is a very well-read man, with a very strong understanding of process, procedure, and etiquette within The Order and the world around him. While formality in most places is the proper route, he prefers to be casual wherever appropriate. His relationship with his mother was very professional and not very maternal, so he hopes to be a more warm and caring leader, instead of a strict authoritarian. That being said, he is not afraid to dispense discipline to deserving parties.
Apart from his administrative capabilities, he is also a very well versed and highly revered wizard. He has few equals in his magical skill, but his humble nature rarely leaves him to truly flex his power. In his days as a student, he wrote a number of theories and formulas that still hold regard even in his advanced age.
Meunice
Meunice is an ever-enthusiastic fox-kin mage of the Order primarily operating in the region northwest of Atlas. He is always well dressed and well kempt, fur lush, and rarely at a loss for words; this red fox is never without a scheme in the works. He is methodical and plans for the long term by forging relationships to further his goals or the goals of the Order that may not bear fruit for years, and has the stomach to carry out horrific acts that would leave others firmly unhinged. He would prefer to get others to do the actions that might show his hand or expose his intentions; in more dire cases they would take the blame for an act in his stead while he maintains the full support of the Order behind him. With the abilities of an accomplished mage, control of elemental spirits from planes of existence far from here, and acute charismatic ability to convince, fool, and extract information from others, he has been an invaluable asset in subterfuge with a network of his own spanning his designated territory.
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