Klevra, Mythic Matriarch
Your powers are still returning, just as your skills and memories are. Already you feel stretched thin from the exertion of recent combat however. It is likely you will require further infusions of power over the longterm, ideally from willing offerings of flesh, blood, and soul. What skills you remember however, you can draw upon freely if Seraph is willing to voluntarily offer control over her body.
Innate Powers and Abilities
Blessing of the Blackened Womb: Though you do not yet remember what occurred to provide it, you feel the touch of a dark pact upon your soul. You were born not only once from the body of a mortal, but a second time from the Unholy Mother, who many of the world's monsters refer to as a spiritual parent. You however, are her literal daughter, trusted with her secret names and a touch of her power. You will have to uncover what this means.
Blessing of Suutgar: You possess the favor of the Underworld's patron of war, who favors victory over all things, and revels in the domination of ones enemies. Unlike the other war gods, he is not honorable, and gives his approval to acts of cunning, manipulation and unnecessary brutality. This relationship too, is one you remember only vaguely, but you must have known the demon personally in some way to obtain such a rare blessing.
Incorporeality
Lacking a physical body of your own is inconvenient, but it does confer certain advantages. For one, you can only be detected by those with the aptitude to do so, and for another, it is very difficult to harm your essence. Though not impossible. It would be particularly inconvenient for example, if Seraph were to perish before you procured a backup plan to your tether to her. You do possess the ability to interact with other incorporeal objects, as if both were physical.
Wraithsight
You lack the eyes to see, and yet you manage it. This is because of a preternatural awareness of your surroundings, which extends into the spiritual. You can detect most forms of magic at a glance, and also see spectral creatures and hidden spirits.
Creature of Shadow
There is more to you, than being some former mortal recalled back into this world. There is a dark power at the core of you, which refuses to allow your consciousness to fade. Instinctively, you feel you could draw on this power at any time, to perform wonders of earth shaking power, though you currently lack the skill to guide this process. However, the use of this power will certainly tax you heavily, especially while you lack the proficiency to appropriately leash its behavior. It may be better to call upon either in desperation, or when you have gorged appropriately on some other source of power.
Skills
Expert Brawler
The greatest strength of your early years was unrelenting savagery. You demonstrated dozens, perhaps hundreds of times that you needed no weapon to brutally maim and kill. Claws, teeth, violent blunt force or the nearest available rock were often sufficient forms of personal combat. Not quite as applicable in open battle though, and its worth noting that Seraph's body is quite different than your own. Different enough that the skill required to disembowel a person with bare claws may not always translate with complete efficiency.
Adept of Subterfuge
Sneaking upon prey, brewing poison to put on a blade, or laying traps for enemies you could not otherwise kill are things which are well familiar to you. You are a skilled warrior, but also one who has no shame about defeating enemies primarily through cunning than superior skill. In fact, it has often been your favored method for dealing with someone whenever familiar jealousies begin to flare.
Adept Cavern Survivalist
You are well versed in living underground. You know what is edible, the habits of wildlife, and are versed in the many dangers of this place. Not so well versed that you were never taken off guard, but you are an able hunter, tracker, and wayfinder.
Apprentice Shaman
You dabbled in the magic of your people, though were never so satisfied with its crude magic that you ever decided to devote half a lifetime to learning it. Gnoll shamanry is an art steeped in the worship of Gnoll matriarchs and in consorting with a variety of dark creatures. For you, it served as a gateway to greater power, and it may yet have to do so again. In places where gnoll ancestors have lived and died, you may recall their spirits to ask for boons and advice. You may also cast spells of warding or empowerment, though they are nothing too spectacular. However, this magic is not taxing, and as a consequence may be used rather freely despite your current state.
Demesne
You have not yet had the opportunity to take appropriate stock of your assets, nor discovered the limit of who may answer when you call, but you know that your temple still follows you with fanatical devotion. This includes the Ziggurat, the several hundred cultists who live there, and the hoard of treasure you instructed to be left in your tomb. A more detailed inventory of the assets available to your clergy are pending the time to investigate.
Seraph of The Untouched Glade
You may be certain that you have not learned the full extent of this young woman's abilities, but there are some things which you have determined through a mixture of observation and spiritual insight.
Innate Powers and Abilities
-Blessing of Farya: Seraph was born in a temple dedicated to the surface goddess Farya, a deity of motherhood, sorcery, and mercy. The goddess took note of Seraph, and marked her with her favor. This blessing confers some level of protection from many evil forces, your own magic included.
-Magesight: Seraph has become so used to attuning her sight to magical forces that the ability to detect and read them is almost second nature, though the information which can be determined drops off significantly in complexity the further it gets from her understanding of arcane theory.
Skills
-Adept Light Mage: Often mistaken as "divine" magic, Light magic is the manipulation not only of physical light, but also an energy with a variety of uses, primarily offensive or defensive in nature, such as warding away evil influence or banishing demonic entities.
-Journeyman Fire Mage: Fire magic is quite straightforward, particularly at basic levels. At this level it is quite sufficient for roasting living creatures without specialized protection, either close or at range. Anything particularly large or intense however, will need time and fuel. Fire mages are typically either combatants or smiths.
Journeyman Magus: To Be a Magus is to be initiated into an esoteric brand of magic, blending arcane study with some level of religious and spiritual tradition. A Magus is no priest or shaman however, and does not rely on divine patrons as the source of their power, though they do often consort with them. This skill represents this character's academic experience and expertise, and some level of generalized magic.
Competent Mediator: Seraph seems to have some level of formalized instruction in the art of state diplomacy, though that is likely due to experience dealing with governments on the surface. These skills assisted her in brokering an agreement with you, but she is hardly at the level of a specialized diplomat.
Apprentice Combatant: This skill represents general experience and training in personal combat, as a stand in when other skills do not apply. Seraph has enough experience and training to defend herself should the need arise, but is unlikely to do well against particularly skilled or imposing enemies without the aid of her powers.
Possessions and Equipment
-Ornate travelling clothes; kept clean by magic in an environment that is unfriendly to bright colors, these clothes stand out when there is light to look upon them with. Despite the ostentatious decoration which makes it clear they are intended to leave an impression of wealth, compromises are made for the sake of practicality. Includes a pair of sturdy boots, a heavy hooded cloak, trousers, and a bright tabard, all in white and trimmed with silver.
-A decorated arming sword. As ostentatious as her clothing, and small enough to avoid getting in the way too much.
-A wand of fire. Useful for channeling a fire mage's power quickly, and under minimum strain. Can also be used to "store" a spell, allowing it to be used once by a novice without the skill normally required to master that skill. Currently holds a "scorch" spell, which might be used to violently heat up the air at a point, with explosive results. This is a spell well within Seraph's abilities, but using it this way is instantaneous.
-A Giant Ferret mount. A rare creature beneath the surface, or even above it, but much better suited to navigating the underground than a horse. It is however, more difficult to control.
-Various travelling supplies, including about a week's worth of preserved surface food for her and her mount.
-A pouch filled with silver; Coinage from a surface Kingdom. More money than a poor person will ever hold, yet a pittance to the truly wealthy.
"We are not beholden to these." You indicate the dwarf and his attendants. "But we can use every ally. If you find these practices so detestable, assist in making them cease. Aid these raiders, and ingratiate yourself to them."
The direction helps her feel better about acting. The logic has some merit to her.
So, you settle in and wait, watching. The various slaves bundle up everything they can carry, enough that their travel will be heavily burdened. There is silverware, rich fabrics, and fine alcohol, and they sacrifice some of their own travelling supples in order to be able to carry greater wealth. Even the two remaining guards, and the slaver himself, gathers up a few things here and there.
If the Troglodytes were of a mind merely to gather up a little food and treasure, they could easily simply wait and snatch up what the caravan is leaving behind. But instead, they split into two groups of three to flank the heavily laden group as they pass on foot. Their attack is swift. Troglodytes are big, reptilian creatures, often contracted as labourers or cannon fodder by those races with more sophisticated societies. In a skirmish with advantages stacked in their favor, they can do quite well. Upon bursting out of hiding, the creatures lay into the group with stone tools and dull scavenged iron.
First, the guard protecting the rear of the caravan is set upon. Most of the initial attack is deflected by the mail shirt which renders such crude weapons inneffective, but is ultimately pierced in the neck by a rusty pickaxe. The other trio is seen however, allowing the alarm to be raised and for the group of slaves to now decide how to respond to this attack. They are chained together and cannot run, so a few grasp whatever they can use to defend themselves, but one immediately turns to his neighbor and begins to brutally assault them with their own manacles. Another troglodyte, choosing to fight for their freedom, or perhaps settling some grudge at the first chance.
It is when the slaver himself grabs a crossbow that Seraph chooses to intervene, aiming a blast of light at his eyes, lightblinding him. She then repeats the gesture with the final guard. She continues like that for the remainder of the fight, choosing not to employ brutal violence in a situation that devolves quickly into it. With her assistance, the fight grows a great deal more one sided, allowing the troglodytes to slay the remaining dwarves while suffering only minor injuries themselves. Those slaves who resist are also quickly slain, and the trogloyte chained with others succeeds in beating the goblin next to him to death. Once it becomes clear that there is no escape, the remaining slaves cease resistance. There is no way they could flee while still chained to the corpses of their fellows, and they are severely outmatched.
Seraph immediately approaches, and you sense a little disgust from her. She probably plans on defending these slaves, and ensuring they are set free. You yourself, are fairly certain that the troglodytes do not intend to be so generous. Perhaps they will enlist the help of the other captives in carrying some of the booty they have won away. They then may be added to the tribal larder of these fighters. This is a great victory for a group of this size, and will likely increase their influence among whatever other wandering bands they have good relationship's with. Perhaps the food gathered here will encourage the group to spawn young, and the treasure used to trade for better tools and weapons. It will be difficult to convince them to give up their prize, but also difficult to convince Klevra to back down. Perhaps however, you could convince her to allow you to negotiate on her behalf, if she is willing to lend you her body. Decisions. GM NOTE
experimenting with color coding for important characters. Feel free to share input on the formatting!
