Tashri Desert (Past Chronicle 2017)
Ometta Outpost NPCs - By B. Kellestine, D. Etherington, and K.Johnson v.1.1 2017
Name/Title: Almaenia Mufrit, aka Alma, Head Servant
Race: Tashrani
Class: Clairvoyant
Age: 35
Description
A taller woman with dark curling hair, thin but with generous curves which outside of her efficiency may have led to her being retained by Careb. Despite the constant exposure to the sun, the woman’s skin has only managed a dusky kind of tone instead of the more healthy tans on people of the area.
Alma’s face is pretty, with full lips and dark brown eyes surrounded by long dark lashes, but the woman has a perpetually worried expression on her face that pulls away from some of that prettiness. Dark, overly emotive eyebrows make her look in a constant state of panic, though she runs the servants of the House of Pleasure with military precision.
History
Alma met Careb when she was being used by a team of smugglers. As a child her mother was absent in her life, a chronic drug user and alcoholic, and her father was the worst kind of person, always with schemes, machinations, and chasing ‘the next big thing’ which was always driving him to burn through all of his money the day he got it. Where she got her work ethic was a bit of a mystery as her mother’s family was a wealthy one and her father lived off the money that he got for marrying her - a monthly stipend from her dowry. With no siblings with whom she was very close, she learned early that if she didn’t get it for herself she wasn’t going to have it.
To this end, Alma had also learned early that she had a gift for understanding what people wanted, dipping into their minds and pulling out little threads of thought. While at a young age the girl employed this gift in service, working in a string of family homes as serving girl, and as she grew older taking on the post of Nanny as she possessed a bright mind for learning and for teaching. As the girl aged and came into young adulthood she found a more permanent occupation in this, taking a post as a nanny for a family with two young girls. It took her from her home, which increased as she aged in its repugnance, where her father’s schemes took on new life as she grew into marriageable age. Occupation and access to a higher class of people had made her tastes nice where her home promised nothing but dilapidation and offense.
Alma had been established with the family for a year when her father appeared to her on a day in the park with her wards and stated that he had promised her hand to a man, some cohort of his who had likely offered him a way out of debt. A scene was made and Alma’s employment ended, casting her out into the streets, leaving her with no home worth mention and no job as her name was tainted by her father’s poor judgement. While growing Alma had used her talent for mental acuity only to understand what others wished and to preemptively see to it, making her invaluable as a servant, but as her circumstances grew desperate she did as well.
Such misdirection started off so Alma could steal food. When a couple of men in the smuggling business noticed her doing this to a merchant in a market they talked her into helping them with the promise of plenty of money. Possessing morality that begged against any kind of treachery, but in need of money, Alma yielded to necessity and allowed herself to be used by the gang for her skills. During one of their runs, the girl was intercepted by an ‘official’ who had her convinced by the end of the conversation that not only was the man going to be good enough to get her out of the trouble that she was in but he was going to give her a job, all of course as a favour to her. While the beginning of her association with Careb was drenched in falsehoods, he was as good to his word as possible and took her out of the influence of scum and gave her a job at Ometta outpost working at first in the kitchen, however over time the woman earned her way to the station of head servant.
Name/Title: “Crazy” Careb Vahella, Owner/Operator of Careb’s Caravansory
Race:Half-Asyndi (Tashrani/Shar`Vaire)
Class: Technomancer/Thief
Age: 68
Description
Careb is unusually round for a Half-Asyndi, not at all fitting the typical norm for the sub-race, leading him often to be mistaken for his Tashrani half. With olive skin, a mop of curly black hair, and hazel eyes that always seem to be taking in his surroundings, Careb very much appears an over-fed merchant type. He’s most often donning fine clothing, if exposing perhaps a little too much skin that seems to be mostly covered in curly body hair.
Despite being not terribly attractive, Careb has an air of charisma about him, telling wild stories about his younger years while still relating to the people he’s speaking to, often trying to make a point or teach a lesson with his words. He’s often accompanied by any number of women from the House of Pleasure, and will frequently disappear during business hours to “attend” to them.
History
Careb was raised in the city of Tashran, to a lower class family. His mother engaged in prostitution, and his stepfather was an alcoholic gambler, leaving the pre-teen Careb feeling an obligation to provide for his siblings. It was at this time that the now-successful business owner ran with small, local gangs, committing small time crime to help his family make ends meet. After many years of this, Careb became more and more involved in local criminal activity, going from petty shoplifting to burglarizing valuables to fencing goods on the street. This gained him the skills needed to begin finding profits working alongside local treasure hunters, raiding old tombs and ruins.
After a decade or so of this, after he had provided enough for his siblings and they had all settled into their own lives, the young thief had found he knew little else, and continued to take on more and more daring jobs, increasing the risk for the increased reward. After accumulating a fair amount of wealth, he decided to pursue a dream he had of studying arcana. Careb Vahella would become, over the years, a technomancer and dimensional magus of remarkable talent.
Though Careb shied away from activities as a thief after beginning his studies in the Arcane, by no means did he cease criminal activity entirely. Fencing, money-laundering, and smuggling replaced burglary and robbery, and his quick wits and silver tongue kept him out of trouble more often than not. Always the entrepreneur, Careb eventually used monies gained from both his illegal activity and his legitimate business operations in various cities to open the Caravansary, after tracking trade caravan routes and seeing the potential for both high profit and independent operation that wouldn’t be as troubled by the same sorts of legal matters his operations in major cities often had. His fortune only increased years later, when archeologists wanting to excavate in the Burning Lands began arriving, as well as the nearby mercenary barracks sprouting up.
Name/Title: Father B`Nar, Caretaker of the Ometta Shrinehouse
Race:Unknown
Class: Paragon Minister of Meklah
Age: Unknown
Description
Beyond his height of 7’2”, nothing else of Father B`Nar’s appearance is known even to the few people he has befriended in his time at Ometta. He is always seen in his priestly attire of black robes and black veil, and somehow never manages to complain about the heat. He is soft spoken, and has no recognizable accent. B`Nar is quiet and kindly, and always offers to lend an ear to any who wish to seek him for advice. As a Minister of Meklah, these confessions are always private, and Father B`Nar can be trusted to speak to no other of anything said to him in confidence.
History
B`Nar speaks little of his past, beyond vague references to having been in just about every major city on Tal`Rah. Truly, Father B`Nar is a man of few words and even fewer of these words are about himself. A long time acquaintance of Careb, B`Nar found a place to serve Meklah within the Caravansary as the caretaker of the shrinehouse, more than happy to neutrally maintain the needs of men and women of any faith. There is no prejudice from the Father for followers of deities of any alignment, however any that do show such behavior within the shrinehouse, or carry with them faith-related feuds, are asked politely to leave. Failing that, B`Nar will forcefully eject them via shadow-porting through Lyth, usually resulting in a small amount of harm to their person from the entropic nature of the plane.
Name/Title: Hemoth Ghoven, Spiteful Hobo
Race:Human (Sengaardian)
Class: Guardian
Age: 52
Description
Hemoth is a giant of a man, broad and tall at nearly 6’5 and muscularly built, he appears to be the kind of man that would be unmoveable and unbreakable. Black hair that once was neatly trimmed has grown long and scraggly, falling down his shoulders in tangled and unkempt matts in some places. Despite attempts by the Ometta staff to get Hemoth regularly into bathtubs and trying to scrub him down he reeks perpetually of whiskey and poor hygiene. Hemoth has dark eyes and time spent passed out in the Tashrani sun has crisped him to a leathery brown skin and increased the visibility of the haunted dark circles around his eyes.
During the shadow beast attack on Hope Company Hall, Hemoth has been riddled by jagged scars left on him when during the attack he tried to shield his followers from the killing hooves of the bulls that appeared. He was left with wounds all over his back and ribs and a broken rib that still presses distortedly against the skin when he refused proper treatment and instead turned to the bottle for comfort.
Because of his past and his habit of drinking, the man is pretty constantly in some kind of argument either with people around him or the people that he creates around him to be at some times his greatest supporters and at others his greatest foes. There are times as well that he will succumb to fits of hysterical laughter or equal fall into sobbing jags when the visions or ghosts made up only in his mind are people that he’s failed.
History
During the time spent in Ishaela when the Hope Company was working to re-establish Thereen, Hemoth was the leader of a group of protestors that were driven to Thereen by members of the Ex-Patriots. Under the influence of multiple kinds of powerful mental manipulation the protestors established themselves outside of the Hope Company Hall, at the wharves and at the train yards to express displeasure with Hope Company’s further intrusion into Sengaard.
During this time Hemoth, a very well composed and rigidly upright kind of man, was the most vocal of supporters of this movement possibly out of increased manipulation on his mind or because of his susceptibility to being cause driven.
During one of the weeks of entrenchment in front of the hall however the protesters were attacked by a trio of shadow beasts in the form of bulls that were summoned by the mentally manipulated innocent sacrifice of one of their own party members who had been taken inside the hall. The bulls burst from the front of the building and left a swath of ruined people in their wake. Hemoth tried unsuccessfully to shield people around him with his own body, was wounded and forced to witness as the people of his group were destroyed by the killing hooves and deadly poison of the bulls.
After this Hemoth was returned by Kindaeran H’zal and his crew to Bloodwatch a month later there were some acts of vandalism in Thereen, struts being removed from starrs and random little obnoxious and childish damage. The Company determined that these acts were being committed by Hemoth who had somehow managed to drunkenly and insanely journey from Bloodwatch to Thereen on his own and on foot and was harassing the Company out of a misguided sense of anger still possibly burned into his brain by the mental tampering as well as out of a sense of guilt that he carried with him along with the ghosts and demons that he harassed himself with in his addled and whiskey soaked brain.
Name/Title: Jonas Reese, Captain of the Sengaardian Nonative Assembled Infantry Legion
Race:Human (Sengaardian)
Class: Soldier/Swashbuckler
Age: 44
Description
If Jonas Reese could be described as anything, it would be mundane, an entirely too-average looking Sengaardian man of middle age, with a little grey touching his neat, close cropped black hair, attentive dark eyes, and lean physique. Reese is seldom seen without his uniform, the standard garb of the Sengaardian Nonative Assembled Infantry Legion - light grey kepi hats, khaki short coat with light grey epaulettes, white loose trousers with silver stripes down the length of the sides, and boromandite-mesh collar.
History
Jonas Reese began his career as a soldier serving in the Three-Way War sworn under House Grant, beginning his career as a rank and file naval crewman, though slowly working his way up the ranks to Airship Captain of the Windbreaker. Reese was an exceptional military commander with a keen grasp of tactical execution, though himself was not a terribly accomplished strategist. Throughout the war, however, Reese became disenchanted with all sides of the conflict, losing faith in the House he served as well as Sengaard as a whole, a sentiment that spread through his crew like wildfire. The Windbreaker crew and he deserted service, fleeing Sengaard to take their chances elsewhere. With the Three Way War escalating, House Grant lacked the resources to pursue the deserters, having to focus their efforts to the conflict at hand.
Though not keen on the idea of piracy, Reese and his crew were starving, desperate, and frustrated, so resorted to that to survive, striking at cargo ships and private vessels, though approached these situations as nonviolently as they could manage, doing their best to ensure that they left survivors and didn’t completely strip everything from the vessels they attacked, leaving them capable of making it to port.
It was then that Reese and the Windbreaker attracted the attention of Shiverblood Pirate Lord Morgyn il’Thain, who drew Reese into sailing under his banner, as il’Thain’s methods were more in line with his own - giving vessels quarter and showing crews mercy where it was due. Reese and the Windbreaker remained under his service through the A`Thrachian war, and into the beginning of the Oruthun Incident. After Vakunah scattered the Shiverblood pirates and the surviving pirates were becoming prey for Hussar T`Sallis and the Smoldering Armada however, Reese realized that the only way the Ishaelan Pirate way of life would continue in any way was to band together with Hope Company to bring down T`Sallis and remove that threat from Ishaela for good.
After the fall of T`Sallis, Reese was captured by the remaining Sengaardian forces, and brought for trial under a number of charges, including dereliction of duty and piracy. Though traditionally, the punishment would be either hard labor or death for such crimes, Baron Aetius Urstadt proposed that instead the Sengaardian Nonative Assembled Infantry Legion be formed, and giving Reese the option of either heading, alongside appointed Sengaardian Veterans, the force under the Baron’s direction or serving a sentence of 25 years hard labor. Reese opted for the former.
Name/Title: Mme. Sehilie Dvraski, Madame of the Bathhouse
Race:Human (Tashrani)
Class: Paragon Witch of Inatheea
Age: 44
Description
A stunningly attractive Tashrani woman, with wings of white in her ebony hair. Though just into her middle years, she’s aged well and time has only served to make her more beautiful. Her dark skin shows barely a sign of weathering, with but a few smile lines at the corners of her mouth, and dark eyes which carry a glint of wisdom beyond her years.
History
Much of the Madame’s history remains shrouded behind the mystery of her dark eyes and she gives little away, turning the conversation artfully from herself to the questioner. There are a number of things that she has allowed to slip out over time however and her association with Careb has been one of those. Allusions have been made in passing to knowing Careb when he was a younger man and his assistance in helping her to come into her own house. Other things regarding her origins, such as suggestions of absent parents though she never speaks in direct terms of them which is in contrast to a clannish sense that seems to come with many Tashrani.
She is fiercely protective of her girls and though in general she has an easy going nature, can become sharp if they are mistreated. Offenses are directed to Careb for justice and because of the great financial benefit they bring one another, not to mention the steady supply of women he has access to, justice is swift and harsh.
However normally the Madame is a fixture of cheerful disposition and welcoming grace all about the establishment and while she does not take patrons herself on the regular there is the occasional exception. For the most part the woman is a gracious hostess with a quick wit and charming disposition.
Name/Title: Professor Trevin Boyer, Head Archeologist
Race:Half-Asyndi (Quar`Vessi/Hillsman)
Class: Paragon Mage
Age: 77
Description
Trevin Boyer is a slim, bookish man with silver hair and blue-grey eyes that always seem to be analyzing his surroundings from behind the rim of his glasses. He stands at a fairly average 6’ tall, and is always well dressed, favoring blue or grey three-piece suits and a felt bowler hat. He carries no visible weapons, but always has a small black cane with a blacksilver bird claw grasping a Ma`ati crystal in a teadrop cut.
History
Trevin Boyer was son to a Hillsfolk woman and a Quar`Vess Professor, who ended up in Moonfall giving lectures on Imarelian History and Chronomantic Theory. As a bastard, whose father was married at the time of the affair, Trevin was his father’s ‘dirty secret,’ though the Quar`Vess Archmagus did always take care to provide for the boy, even if he was not actively present in Trevin’s life. As such, when the boy came of age to begin studying magic, having an affinity for it, he found his entire tuition paid for in full. Without the stress of debt or scholarships to worry about, Trevin was free to excell at his art, becoming a Chronomancer of note and a professional archeologist, with a particular interest in D`Mir and the Burning Lands.
In 1367 AC, a mysterious benefactor (who Trevin assumed was his father) invested funds into a project that Trevin had been long working towards, though few were keen on financing - archeological digging at ruins within the northern Tashri Desert, into the Burning Lands. With the money, knowledge, and a score of willing peers and students, including the son of the Hand to the King of Vyss, Sentis Arthandas, Professor Boyer made arrangements with Careb Valhella to use the Ometta Outpost as a base of operations, due to its proximity to the Burning Lands.
Name/Title: Vota Karm, Head Veterinarian of the Grand Stables Veterinary Clinic
Race:Half-Elf (Tashrani/Tallis-Kah)
Class: Ranger/Druid of Trent
Age: 23
Description
A little on the tall side for most Half-Elves, Vota stands an even six feet of lean muscle. Copper hair is shaved short up the back and sides but left longer on the top, often either windswept and tousled into his eyes or smoothed back. Freckles splatter across his face, drawing out the deep blue of his eyes.
Vota generally has a calm personality, a firmness of intent in all of his actions. Every action is deliberate, and often the tone of his voice is more important than the words rolling off his tongue. He’s used to handling animals, and the people he deals with often gets the same treatments. A firm hand and a quiet voice usually bring the man whatever he desires, whether it’s stable hands or a new girl to share his bed for a few months before he moves on in the search of his soulmate.
History
There aren’t many tales of women sweeping into a small town and seducing some local lad for the week she’s there, before leaving with the next breeze. This, however, is the tale of Vota Karm.
Cassia Karm was a trader of Tashrani goods, with an unsurprising penchant for carrying a few of the more.. Deadly goods that were found only in and around the Burning Lands. She found herself in Edgewood, a stop that she had little interest in, but the caravan she’d joined had it in the route. A young ranger piqued her interest, and all it took was firewater and firelight, talk of exotic places.. It had been one of her more memorable flings, a tryst she often talked about when such things cropped up.
Vota was born nine months later, and the father undeniable. The child had a penchant for the wilds, taking up with a Tashrani druid without even knowing who his father was. He took to botany and the care of animals like a fish to water, finding a joy in keeping beasts of burden happy and healthy in the harsh conditions of the Tashri Desert. When he was fifteen, Cassia sent a letter to the father, asking if he wanted to meet his son. At sixteen, Vota made the journey to the Territories by himself, skirting around the Burning Lands to find himself in Edgewood to meet his estranged father. Five years later, Vota returned to Tashran. His mother had fallen in with Caleb, working as something of a merchant-agent, and so she got the young Ranger/Druid a position as a stable boy. Only two years later, Vota has earned his place as Head Veterinarian.
Name/Title: Yesmit Ahrum, Captain and War-Magus of the Ahmesherat
Race:Human (Albadosian)
Class: Paragon War Mage
Age: 35
Description
An imposing tower of a man, Ahrum stands at 6’7” of broad, heavily muscled Albadosian with dark chocolate-colored, almond-shaped eyes, flawless mocha skin, high cheekbones, and a shaved and polished head bearing a number of bizarre tattoos. The War-Magus, for a man of such powerful stature, moves with a serpentine grace, and in combat strikes like a viper with his vicious starmetal bident, Khadis-Erov, or with powerful Albadosian War-Magic.
History
Little is known of Yesmit Ahrum, or the Ahmesherat, or what their exact purpose in the Tashri Desert is. The War Magus and his force are believed to be bandits or brigands, though it is curious that they would be operating so far from their relatively isolated nation for no reason. It is more likely that they have a specific purpose in the area attached to the archeological digs of Professor Boyer, seeking some lost item of power in the desert, though there is little clue of what this object might be.
The Ahmesherat are a vicious force, possessing in equal numbers War Magi, Bashuda, Infantry and Cavalry. All seem to obfuscate their faces, be it by shroud or helm, save Yesmit himself, who proudly displays who he is with no fear of assassins or heroes alike. All, however, wear gold thread tabards or robes, trimmed in royal blue, bearing the symbol of the Ahmeserat on the left breast - a blue hand gripping a black viper that is in turn poised to bite it.