Assallya

Fortune or Fate?

Normally I'd wait for a few more people to post before posting again- I do despise speed posting- but my last post was fairly short :)

Fortune or Fate?

In the midst of the weeds and plants struggling up towards the sunlight another wild struggle occurred as the the naked elf girl barely saw the blow coming towards her. One moment it was all a blur, she was a mass of wildly flinging limbs and then there was a heavy, painful expression on the side of her head. Her teeth rattled together and the world swam, moving up as if throwing her down into the very bowels of the earth. Long lashes fluttering she struggled to hold on but the darkness came on regardless and she passed out.

Forgotten Realms: Adventures of Faerun

Character Image

Assallya Kressair

Race: Sun Elf

Gender: Female

Age: 92

Class: Sorceress

Stats:

Strength: 8 (-1)
Dexterity: 14 (+2)
Constitution: 8 (-1)
Intelligence: 14 (+2)
Wisdom: 13 (+1)
Charisma: 20 (+5)

Physical Description: Assallya is a diminutive, blonde elf with long lustrous locks that cascade down over her shoulders like a river of molten gold. Her heart shaped face possesses a radiant smile replete with piercing azure eyes that can inspire calm or burn like ice. Surprising for a Calishite is her porcelain skin, snow white with but a blush of rose petals. Her flesh is pristine, contains no tattoos and not a single blemish.

Short of stature she is lithesome and willowy. Her manner and bearing change based on any number of assumed personas but in most she does not walk, so much as floats across any given room and has a habit of touching objects at random, caressing them with slender fingers.

At times a wanton wench, at others a pristine uncompromised virgin. However, when she is bent upon enrapturing a man her curvaceous hips and heaving pendulous bosom come into play, inspiring the men about her to come to her aid.

Armor/Attire: Assallya prefers her harem attire (depicted above) which involves ebony silks that cast her fair skin into shadow. She quite willingly adapts other styles to blend. When masquerading as a common thief she will dye her hair and wear soft leathers and carry short blades (that she doesn't know how to use). When masquerading as a bard she wears the attire of a gypsy, long skirts and colourful sashes. She also has a gown for dealing with nobility and simple peasant attire.

Equipment

• Vardo Wagon: Anything one might find in a traditional home is likely in this portable home
• A set of daggers made of various materials useful for killing exotic monsters. Not that she'd use them herself but they're nice to have.
• Ring of the Unshod: A magical ring that protects her bare feet like she was wearing soft leather boots.
• Comb of Comliness: A few deft strokes with this comb and hair looks silken and freshly pampered
• Light Crossbow
• Jambiya Dagger
• Several trade bars of precious metals in hidden compartment of her Vardo wagon. All her saving to become a merchant.

Mental Description/Personality: Assallya Kressair is a charlatan, con-artist, dancer, courtesan, and really whatever role she can think of that gets her by. She is exceedingly good at lying and feigning emotion. Generally, there are two ways to look at any good deed. One could perform such an act out of honest good will but others look upon it as an investment by establishing a bond that can be exploited at a later date. Assallya is of the latter. She is a coward, a braggart and a bully but what she isn't is needlessly cruel nor traitorous. She would not betray her fellows, not unless the reward involved a sum large enough to alter her life substantially. After all, What use is scoring a meager gem or two in return for a half dozen angry and resourceful adventurers eager to tan your hide?

She'd probably be the first to flee when things went sour and most likely wouldn't last more than a moment before capitulating to torture (particularly if they threaten to mar her appearance) but she's also the type to plan ahead in case she is captured to ensure she wouldn't have any information to divulge. After all, if she betrays all her allies who is left to perform a rescue?

She also has something of a phobia of the undead which are largely immune to her magical abilities. She, also, thanks to her upbringing and most unlike other elves, despises all things related to nature.

Goals: Accumulate enough wealth to become a merchant princess

Background/History: Assallya Kressair was born in the autumn in a small village on the outskirts of Evereska. At the young age of 26 (aprox. 11 or 12 in human years) Zhentish slavers attacked and killed her entire village except for those taken as slaves. Assallya, her sister Saeliah, and several others were transported far across Faerun in order to avoid the elven wrath sure to follow. In the city of Calimshan Assallya and Saeliah were separated when Assallya was purchased be Pasha Alkiel. Head of a powerful group of rogues, Alkiel purchased her as a dancer and concubine for both personal use and for information gathering and blackmail. She then served in Alkiel's bedchamber for the next eight years while being trained in dance, seduction and other roguish arts in order to perform her duties.

She was treated as an object and was given to allies and employees of the Pasha who performed exceptional services. Soon enough, she learned about the many different types of power and discovered that even as a slave she was far from powerless. Succeeding in seducing one of the Pasha's magicians she bid him teach her magic. At first he balked until Assallya cast for him the only thing her father had taught her at that young age, a cantrip. A small thing, it changed the colour of his fingernails, but it was magic none the less. He agreed then, for he was a lonely uncomely man who rarely received a woman to his bed. However, he placed conditions on his tutorial; refusing to train her in combative magics and warning her that should he ever target him with her spells it would mean her death. She surprised all of them by inventing an inferior version of the invisibility spell which allowed her to sneak away from the Pasha's clutches and return undetected. In this way, by filching jewels and prostituting herself she built up savings with a money lender.

It was with the aide of the Pasha's son that she succeeded in poisoning the Pasha, planning on becoming a partner to the successor instead of a slave. With her manipulative mind behind him to advise his passionate power they were sure to bring their competitors to their knees. What she was not expecting was the Pasha's extended family to hire a necromancer to speak with their departed kinsman. He quickly named his murderer and Assallya regretted bragging as he died.

She ran, the Pasha's son giving her a few moments to escape, fearing that she would claim his involvement which would lead to his family asking him uncomfortable questions. The next few months she moved slowly north, the sands left behind her and the lands becoming more lush and green.

Other Notes:

• Low Hit Point
• Assallya's goddess, Sharess has changed over the years. As a result, if killed, she will unable to be raised after 1d10 days.
• Assallya's sister, Saeliah, is now a druid somewhere. I never really anticipate them ever meeting again.
• There is a bounty on Assallya's head in Calimshan. It is highly unlikely anyone would chase her this far north.
• Assallya wears a lot of jewelry. However, most with a critical eye will note that most of the gems are semi-precious. They're still worth quite a bit but not a noble's ransom.

Fortune or Fate?

The invisible elf watched with rapt attention, completely engrossed in the proceedings. She had to stifle a gasp that almost gave her away when the strange, taller goblin suddenly grew to the size of an ogre but thankfully all their attention was on the goblin. Then a mounted knight appeared, followed by everything going all to bowels of the abyss.

Two of the goblins raced away, trying to drag the girl with them while the third took off at a wild tangent, fleeing in terror. She was about to withdraw when one of the goblins barreled straight towards her in a blind panic. Wide eyed and in complete shock the invisible elf didn't react fast enough. All she had to do was sidestep but she was frozen in place. Even as the vines came up about the others the lone goblin slammed bodily into her. She went down beneath him, her buttocks slapping the bare earth as the wind was knocked out of her. Her fragile spell crashed asunder, small wisps of shadow fleeing from her form and revealing her to the world. The naked elf girl gaped up at the goblin atop her. She was a beautiful thing, all pale willowy limbs the colour of rose blushed alabaster with hair like that of spun gold spinning out across the forest floor. Nails painted ebony black and eyes shadowed in kohl made her fair countenance look that much paler. Her heart shaped face gazed up, kohl lined azure eyes wide with shock and fright as she shoved and pushed, kicking legs that were no thicker than the goblin's arms, trying to get out from underneath the green skinned beast. He was heavier, despite her being a head taller.

Star Wars: A New Prison

Sounds decent. I have a character ready to go.

Fortune or Fate?

Slipping quietly through the foliage the invisible elf moved aside a large frond and peered upon a sudden gathering in a small clearing. The goblins she had sidestepped before and allowed to continue had captured a pair of adventurers and was in the midst of lashing their limbs. Then came another thing... a hobgoblin? No. It was a goblin the size of a hobgoblin! Ouch.

Then they began arguing.

The invisible elf had to wonder what they were all doing here. Were they tracking her? Did they just happen to stumble across her path? Did they have any idea that all her clothes and equipment were just over the rise. Worse still were the notebooks. Her notes on the the magician's keep were there. She then considered helping but how could she. Her invisibility spell was fragile. Any form of attack would end it and what could she do? Charm one of the goblins? What would be the point? She could daze one, or perhaps summon her own goblins to attack and cause a ruckus but all that would endanger her. Maybe an illusion? Technically that wouldn't be an attack. She could do that but an illusion of what?

For now though, she would see what the big goblin did.

Fortune or Fate?

I wish there was a good story behind it. I was aboard a bus when one of the vehicles five cars ahead or so slammed the brakes. As a result, everyone for who knows how far back had to slam their brakes. I ended up flying ten feet and one of my fingers was bent in the wrong direction. Thankfully it wasn't broken but the muscle on the back of my left ring finger was distended.

Fortune or Fate?

Well, the splint is finally off of my finger! I can almost type like I used to. The one finger still doesn't always go where its supposed to but it's close enough.

Fortune or Fate?

Meanwhile, a short distance away at the hidden magician's fortress...

The invisible elf moved carefully, winding carefully between the misshapen hovels the goblins called homes. There was over a dozen of them, enough for a veritable army of the green skinned bastards. Stepping aside, the invisible elf allowed a small group to pass her by and then resumed her invasive winding journey through the goblin village until she reached the far side.

At the edge of the village was a precipice, a massive drop of what she gauged to be a hundred hands or more extended in both directions like a waterless moat surrounding the ancient, decaying fortress. Near her was a half dozen wooden columns, planted in the bare earth just at the edge of the precipice where the earth met stone. Atop each was affixed an elaborately decorated skull, painted in blood and surrounded wreathed in thorns. She could also see the stumps of several other pillars. What they meant she wasn't quite sure. Perhaps they were iconic, representing some form of challenge or warning?

Whatever they were she was more interested in the magician's fortress. A single stone arch extended between the precipice and the fortress, two could easily walk abreast on the bridge and cross the fifty stride gap. She stepped in a paddle as she stepped onto the archway and left several footprints on the cool stone as she quickly made her way across and examined the door and archway.

When she had started this little expedition she hadn't counted on a goblin village being on the front doorstep or she'd have hired adventurers to help her find this treasure. This was her second trip under the mantle of her invisibility spell and she began to commit the next sequence to memory. It was unfortunate. Her own invisibility spell, crafted herself, was inferior to the regular variety. It affected her and only her, clothes and equipment she wore remained completely visible so she had to rid herself of everything, including even her notebooks! As a result she now needed to commit portions of the runes and shapes on the entryway to memory, return to her hidden belongings and then transcribe them. At this rate it was going to take days!

Fortune or Fate?

Hey... say what now? *adjusts spectacles and hobbles over towards the dang fangled teletype thing* What's that now missy?

And.... holy crap! It's Bargle! That murdering swine killed Aleena! To arms!

Now... I just have to get a feel for what's going on in that IC over yonder...