Crayt

Forsaken

Soot gave each and every one of the characters assembled around him a look of appraisal, considering who would be most suited for what tasks and who he wouldn’t mind tagging along with to where. For the time being, he wasn’t entirely confident in anyone’s abilities and felt that maybe he could finagle his way into the right places on his own more easily. But there was still the matter of safety in numbers. While the otter had certainly found himself in several more compromising situations than being caught by unsavoury folk before, it was best to avoid it being the first thing that he does within this group.

He waited for the half genie woman to finish her thoughts before wildly articulating with his paws as he spoke:
“I can do thorough better than most people, I just need to find a good place to look and ask around. You folks can worry about your weird little corpse interrogations, I can go with Faint-of-presence here to the good Mr Garrick’s estate and have a nosey around, have a chat with people in the area while she’s busy with our employer.”
Soot smiled as widely as he could, perhaps a bit more smugly than he had intended to do. His impression of the woman was so far mostly neutral and, frankly, impressionless - but figured she would be the least likely to cause a scene which he would then have to flee. He could only hope that no one loud decided to come with.

...

Leonard Jacobs (Work in progress)

Name: Leonard Jacobs.
Aliases: None.
Birthday: 2nd of November, 1991
Species: Human.
Sex: Male.

Appearance: Leo stands at 182 centimetres tall and weighs around 80kg, is white of complexion and has a mess of long blonde hair, often tied into a bun in the back. His eyes are a pale blue, his chin and cheeks are often covered in a rough stubble of darker blonde hairs and his nose is slightly pointed upwards. His usual streetwear attire consists of hoodies, jeans and chinos, white and black t-shirts, and cheap sneakers. He has a tattoo of a cross on his left forearm, poorly made to have the appearance of grainy wooden texture.

Personality: Leonard is a careless and carefree sort of person. While he wouldn’t call it an issue, he has an issue with saying “no” to most, if not all suggestions thrown his way by friends and family. He’s not easily frightened nor easily made anxious, but not due to some sense of bravery or courage but because he’s simply too dense to realise when a situation is turning bad. He likes to think himself an expert at knowing people but is actually naive and assumes anyone that pays him any amount of attention is a decent human being.

After realising that the strange occurences of objects moving towards him were actually caused by him, rather than some odd coincidence of the cosmos, he didn’t immediately go to thoughts of heroism. Leo’s first ideas were of practicality, how these powers would be useful for making a living and a favourable impression. To his credit, he did reach the conclusion that all these ideas were moot if he didn’t figure out the extent and limits of his abilities.

The few decent traits Leonard possesses mostly boil down to being a very laid back individual. He gets along with most people and has never actively disliked anyone. And as he sees it, going along with almost literally every plan presented to him just means he’s easy to work with, rather than dumb.

Biography:

Powers: Manipulation of gravity.
Thus far lacking sufficient practice in application, Leonard has been able to (accidentally) collapse the side of a small residence and create a small gravity well that tore off a small area of the ceiling and floor of an apartment. He can suspend anything, including himself, in the air for a short period of time - slowly but surely adjusting the position of the suspended object in a mimicry of effortless flight. One could only imagine the extent of these powers given further practice, thought and imagination.

Other:

...

I'm interested. I have some ideas in mind, just need to work on finding a good character portrait before I get fully to work.

Forsaken

A moment and a half passed as Soot clambered and sat himself upon one of the stools to think, grasping the edge of the stool with one paw as he leaned and rested his weight against it. He didn’t particularly feel like approaching the foremost authority of a town like Forsaken and insinuate accusations that they might know more than they’re letting on about the current situation, he thought. But that was about as far as he got before suddenly becoming inundated with the sudden appearance of first one, then two, three and four of his new partners in crime - so to speak.

The otter scratched his chin at the woman’s question, considering how much he felt like divulging of his suspicions and thoughts. He thought for a moment too long before the male genasi decided to answer the question in his stead, to which Soot nodded tentatively. He didn’t consider it a sufficient answer to the question but remained silent for the time being, in thought, as the odd man sat down by the table - followed by the approach of the giant one.

He watched as the kobold audibly made its way into the common area of the inn, feigning disinterest in its going-ons. It seemed very loud, which was simultaneously amusing and slightly disconcerting to the otter. Soot assumed it would attempt to consume him at some point, undoubtedly. While it made its scene, Soot turned to look up at the warforged and gave him a thumbs up before responding jauntily:
“Hey, that’s a pretty rad name you’ve got there.”
He smiled, as well as a critter could smile, before pushing himself up onto his hind paws.

The otter turned to look at each of his party members present before giving his shpiel:
“Alright, so here’s the thing: truth be told, I haven’t paid much mind to this here whole weirdness situation Forsaken’s got going. Let’s be real, if you know anything about the town, it’s not that weird. It’s Forsaken we’re talking about here, shit happens here with just a bit more flair than anywhere else…”
While he was speaking, there was the sudden noise of glass shattering and Soot stood on his little toes to look over the party’s shoulders at the genasi and kobold. He grimaced at the interaction, sighing internally at everything he had seen so far. The otter shook his head and lowered back down onto his little feet.
“And just like anywhere else, somebody knows something. And somebody knows that somebody who knows something. It’s just a matter of finding somebody important enough. You catch what I’m throwing here?”
He held his arms up to his sides in a inquiring manner, before grinning at the rest and finishing with:
“Anyway, since the big lug here has the right idea in mind”, he gestured at Nemorad with a thumb, “introductions seem to be in order. Anyone that matters calls me Soot.”

Forsaken

The otter graciously accepted his share of the upfront payment and pocketed it in the proportionally larger pocket within the leather vest. He took a moment to adjust the vest and backpack as he watched the proceeding interaction between the female half-genie and the gentleman, before the half-genie took her leave.

Without paying much attention to who stayed and who left, Soot hopped down from his perch and quickly slunk his way over to the man on all fours, before standing up and posing a question:
“How’s the mayor of your, errrr… fine town handling the situation? Your bureaucratic people types? The guards? Just out of curiosity, you know.”
He gave the man a sly smile, masking his suspicion of the particular branches of the government behind a guise of simple inquisitiveness. Abraham's face contorted into what may have been an attempt at a smile, but looked more like a grimace as he responded:
"They're... doing their best. I'm not one to speak ill of those in authority. However, the Sheriff doesn't have enough manpower, and there's just not a lot of evidence for him to go off of anyway. Mostly they're just trying to keep the remaining people safe as opposed to searching for those that have gone missing, which I can understand, but just sitting here twiddlin' our thumbs and toes ain't gonna get nothin solved."
The otter nodded in an expression of feigned agreement, raised a paw to stroke his chin and pondered on the old man’s answer. He certainly had no ground to stand on in judging a man for trusting their government, but was simultaneously probably the best person in the room to tell just to what lengths governmental folks were willing to go to stay in power. The otter hummed before resuming his questioning:
“I don’t suppose you know if the sheriff, the mayor or anyone like that would be open to discussing with our kind?”
"I don't, to be honest. You could always give it a try, though."
The gentleman responded with a shrug. The otter nodded once more before giving the man a brief thanks and scampering out the doorway, down the hallway and down the stairs.

He stopped on the final step and considered his options. Something gave Soot the impression that he wouldn’t be leading the investigation on this one, no one seemed particularly like the following type and a few seemed like they’d be even more inclined to lead than him. So Soot figured that he would resign to more of an advisory role, hoping that whoever took charge would be willing to hear him out. The otter hopped down the last step, stood up on his hind legs and started slowly sauntering into the bar.

During the short stroll, he considered where to start and how to approach that start. The mayor would likely be one of the more clued-in figures within the town, but was also in such a position of power that they’d be less inclined to speak candidly about the issues plaguing the town. Whoever was in charge of the law was a good bet for an initial line of inquiries, but such an encounter could also easily go sideways. This town was full of vagabonds and scum, and many saw no distinction between such individuals and mercenaries - an apt title for what this motley crew was at the moment. They might as well end up being arrested or hunted down if someone continued their chatterbox ways in front of the sheriff. The otter sighed and stood near the bar, continuing to ponder an appropriate next move on his lonesome...

Forsaken

_{Disclaimer: I got permission to use A.G. from Shiva.}

“Yeah, thanks.”
The otter said nothing more in turn as the woman offered him assistance getting into the room. At first he assumed she was just a friendly patron, but as she walked into the room ahead of him, it was only obvious she was here for the very same job offer he was. He then simply waddled into the room on his hind paws, intending to seem as intimidating as his stature and appearance would allow. Which was not at all.

There wasn’t much time for Soot to assess first impressions of the woman who’d helped him nor the half-genie who was already inside, since as soon as they’d stepped inside, another individual followed. The otter gave the newcomer a once-over, coming to the conclusion that they were yet another of the half-genie folk. He fell to his front paws and scurried past the woman who’d let him in, nearer to the female half-genie.

It wasn’t long before more people started waltzing their way in. The otter let out a quiet but exasperated sigh before nimbly hopping onto the now unoccupied chair and proceeding onto the little table set next to it. He stood back up onto his hind paws and looked across the room, giving everyone a thorough evaluating look. But when the demure elven lady found their way into the room, Soot found himself suddenly a little hesitant. He was used to the ruffians, the cold-hearted ones, the capable and cocky sort of folk. Her demeanour didn’t quite fit the bill of his sort of crew.

The otter then watched the proceeding scene between the elven woman and the half-genie unfold with a skeptic expression on his face - or, as skeptic as an otter can look. Squinted eyes, scrunchy face, tight-lipped maw - so to speak. They seemed friendly. Friends had each other’s backs. And Soot suspected that these two might have the bright idea to screw everyone else over to split the reward. He hung his head lower, raised a paw to stroke his chin and hummed quietly to himself.

While in the midst of musing over how to solve this particular issue, the words of an older gentleman made him snap out of it and resume looking over the people in the room. There were two newcomers, namely the older gentleman, and a rather large and imposing warforged. Soot didn’t have much experience with their sort, mostly having seen them positioned as guards for the powerful and wealthy. But the otter smiled, now feeling quite a lot more confident in their ability to survive just about anything.

Soot listened attentively as the gentleman spoke, immediately curious as to why the wife had been kidnapped. He supposed that they’d have to go around and question other victims’ families to surmise a possible motive, provided there was one. Soot was entirely comfortable with the idea, keenly aware of his own people skills - no one would say no to speaking to an otter. He smiled to himself, again. Once the man finished speaking, the otter raised a paw and extended his body to stand on his toes as to ask a question:
“Hey, pal, over here. Question: what’s with all the people? Yeah, sure, getting a band together just to make sure you’ve got everything covered is the smart move and all but… You’ve covered all the bases and then some.”
Even with this many people taking on the job, the take would likely be more than enough - provided no one was trying to screw the others. But that was something Soot couldn’t rely on. Free agent work like this drew all sorts of unreliable folk in, and Soot was intent on sussing the worst ones out and finding a way to get rid of them.

The old man turned his head to listen to the otter as he spoke, waiting respectfully for him to finish talking before answering his question. His expression seemed to turn a little sour, even pained, as the otter talked.
"It's more for your own protection, to be quite honest. Buncha folks around these parts have been picking off other groups that have gone looking for the criminals, tryin to make sure no one else gets to the money before they do. I figure if y'all have a nice sized group, you're less likely to be in danger from vultures like that. Plus, it's a pretty good ride to where the clues, few as they may be, end. It's probably about fifteen miles west of here. Y'all don't need to be riding through the wilderness in small groups. That's just asking for someone to die."
The otter nodded at the man, understanding the unfortunate predicament that they’d be in if they accepted the job. He put his paw back down and fell back on his heels. Convincing the gentleman to let some of them go was clearly not an option, but Soot had worked with less ideal circumstances. He then looked about the room, waiting for the rest of the meeting to proceed.

Forsaken

“... anyway, so I looked the bear straight in the eyes and I told him: ‘Hey bear, if you don’t get your fat ass walking straight outta here, you’re gonna get the business end of my spear right up your keister!’ And I swear on my ma, I watch as this grizzled old monster turns around and runs off. I’m not lying to you, friend, I wouldn’t swear on my ma for a lie like that. That’s just wrong!”
The otter stood on a table across from a drunk gentleman who was staring at him dumbfounded, while the otter held his little arms up at his sides. He was dressed in his usual dark leathers, hood pulled back but his backpack still tied tightly to his figure. He wasn’t entirely sure whether the man was still reeling in shock at a talking otter or if it was the story of when he saved a diminutive old lady from the savagery of a brown bear.

He’d been staying at an inn deep in the bowels of Forsaken for two days already. As accurate as the rumours were about the town, nothing ever quite compared to reality and Soot was determined to know the locale before he agreed to any assignments. It had been maybe a little over a week since a friend of a friend of an associate had sent a message down the line with a job offer, and the otter was certainly a little bit desperate for work these days. And he doubted that his pursuers would be eager to follow him to the mesa of the worst scum this side of the world.

The gentleman - a human, decidedly somewhere past his forties - raised his glass of beer at Soot as he somehow managed to utter:
“Sho yoush shayin’ tha’... yoush shayin’ a big ol’ brown beah wash shcared of uh… of uh dumb weazel? You know wha’ I think? I think yoush full o’ shit.”
The otter gave the man an indignant look. He wasn’t wrong, but it was still a little insulting to him that this drunkard would dare insinuate it. Before the otter could retort, he noted a peculiar individual entering the inn, one of the half-human half-genie folk you rarely saw in most parts. The figure approached the barman and was shortly handed something, without payment nor extensive discussion, before heading upstairs. A familiar exchange - the very same sort of exchange the otter had with the same barman. The otter turned to his fellow patron, considered what to say before deciding to say nothing. The man would probably disregard the whole event as delusions once he woke up in the morning. Soot hopped down from the table and scampered off towards the stairs, racing upstairs on all fours.

The otter slowly approached the door, looking up and down the hall in case anyone was lying in wait. It seemed clear, aside from someone drunkenly leaning up against a door further down. He stopped in front of the door, looking it up and down, before locking his gaze on the doorknob. The otter stood up and sighed internally. He reached out with both paws and started fiddling with it discreetly, which soon turned into loud scratching while he quietly muttered cuss words and insults at everyone in the world with regular hands.

He waited for someone to open the door...

Forsaken

<Snipped quote by Shiva>

He's gonna lose a lot of fish to Val over cards.

@Moskau Spieluhr

Why you gotta bully a poor lil otter?

Forsaken

Soot

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Soot

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ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕊𝕦𝕞𝕞𝕒𝕣𝕪

ℕ𝕒𝕞𝕖: Soot.
𝔸𝕝𝕚𝕒𝕤𝕖𝕤: The Otter, The Creature, Orm Les, and many other forgotten names of various stolen identities.
𝔸𝕘𝕖: 33.
𝕊𝕡𝕖𝕔𝕚𝕖𝕤: Changeling, but appears most often as an otter.
𝔾𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣: Male.
𝕆𝕔𝕔𝕦𝕡𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟: Spy and thief. Also known to take on other odd tasks, often delivering items for all sorts of folk or speaking to certain individuals on the behalf of others.
𝔸𝕝𝕚𝕘𝕟𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥: Chaotic good.

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𝔸𝕡𝕡𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖

ℍ𝕖𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥: 3’3”
𝔹𝕦𝕚𝕝𝕕: While standing a tad taller than most actual otters, Soot is otherwise very much the same in every other way. No strangely detailed muscles, no longer arms or legs, not a more human-like face.
𝔼𝕪𝕖𝕤: Black and beady, as one would expect.
ℍ𝕒𝕚𝕣: Although not technically his hair, Soot has dark brown and light grey fur.
𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕟 𝕋𝕠𝕟𝕖: Most of the otter’s fur is dark brown, with the exception of a lighter grey covering the bottom half of his face, his chest and his stomach.
𝕋𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕠𝕠𝕤/𝕊𝕔𝕒𝕣𝕤/ℙ𝕚𝕖𝕣𝕔𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤: None, at least as an otter.
ℙ𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝 𝕊𝕥𝕪𝕝𝕖: Soot has never been one to dress fancifully. He prefers more simple clothes, often opting for dark leathers and cheap tunics. When called for, he can be seen carrying a rather nasty-looking spear that’s about the same height as he is.

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ℙ𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕪:

Sly * Secretive * Sociable * Professional * Independant * Petulant

ℝ𝕖𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕡 𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕤: Always a victim of his profession and his shapeshifting abilities, Soot has never been able to form any sort of meaningful bonds with other people. He has business associates, clients and the like - nothing more.

ℚ𝕦𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕟𝕒𝕚𝕣𝕖:

What first impression do you make?

“As an otter, people find me absolutely adorable - and approachable. People love petting me, they love feeding me. They just love me. But they’re not that keen on the whole talking thing. But that’s fine by me, I don’t need the sort of people who find oddities off-putting. The sort that stick around and chat, those are my sort.”

What are you like in a high stress situation?

“I live for high stress situations. There’s nothing quite like the rush after performing a good heist, pulling the entire thing off without a hitch. But I like to keep a good crew nearby in case things go sideways. I know how to fight, but someone my size is better off staying away from fights. Leave those matters to the professionals. Or the nearest drunkards looking to make a fast coin.”

What are your best and worst qualities?

“I can turn into anyone I want to turn into. With some limitations. I’m adept at skulduggery and general thievery. I can get around places without being noticed, or I can be noticed better than anyone else - depends on the job. I wouldn’t say I have any bad qualities, but I guess if I had to pick something, I’d say it’s unfortunate my shapeshifting is limited by my height.”

What is something about yourself that you would never admit to anyone?

“I’ve never killed a person. It’s not my place to kill anyone. But sometimes, people in my line of work - which is very multifaceted - are required to kill. Not just kill, but murder. I have many times been hired to murder a mark, and I have accepted the job. I refuse to indulge what happens to these people, but I’ve never killed someone - and no one will ever find out.”

What are your dreams?

“To make the world a better place.”

How do you want to be seen by others?

“I’ve spent most of my life as an otter because I wanted people to find me more approachable. So I guess that’s how I want to be seen. Approachable.”

How do you see yourself?

“I think I’m pretty great. Sure, when normal people find out what I do for a living, they don’t always get that what I’m doing is for the betterment of everything. But I know. I know what I do helps everyone. And I mean everyone. I don’t need them to get that. I just need them to appreciate the good that they’re given, when it’s given.”

Do you tend to make snap judgements, or stop and think about things?

“It depends on the situation. I prefer to know everything about a situation before I involve myself in it, but sometimes I’m not given that luxury. I believe that given time, I can make the best of the worst situations. But sometimes you have to make the easy call.”

What haunts you?

“I don’t really get to make a lot of genuine friends. But I once did. He was a mark. I had to convince him I was his friend, and I did become his friend. We were supposed to steal some item from an elven lord, of some kind. Except we weren’t. My friend knew things he wasn’t supposed to, so I had to sell him out. Told the authorities everything necessary to have him arrested. I don’t know what happened to him, but I miss having a friend.”

What is your philosophy on life?

“Do whatever you can to make the world better. It’s not that difficult.”

ℍ𝕒𝕓𝕚𝕥𝕤:

• Lying about his actual identity.
• Climbing on things to look taller, sometimes people.

ℍ𝕠𝕓𝕓𝕚𝕖𝕤:

• Spearfishing.
• Improving on his lockpicking.
• Regular fishing.
• Spending time with locals.

𝔽𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕤:

• Having his identity revealed.
• Killing.
• Being made obsolete.
• Getting too attached to someone or something.
• Fighting just about anything that’s wild and/or unnatural.

𝕃𝕚𝕜𝕖𝕤:

• Talking.
• Drinking.
• Doing his job.
• Fishing, be it with spear or rod.
• Learning things that might be useful in his line of work.
• Himself.

𝔻𝕚𝕤𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖𝕤:

• Killing.
• Selfish people.
• Anyone that dislikes him.
• An unfinished job.
• Being lazy.
• Uneventful days.

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𝕀𝕟𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟:

𝔾𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕝 𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕤:

• Easily approachable, due to being a cute otter.
• Good at extracting information through simple chatter.
• Highly adaptable, being able to make quick calls on the fly.
• Soot is an excellent liar, and generally excellent at talking. He can talk his way into and out of most situations.
• Fishing - both spear and rod.
• Highly connected. Has substantial connections with people in both high, low and somewhere in-between places.

𝕄𝕒𝕘𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕝/𝕊𝕡𝕖𝕔𝕚𝕒𝕝𝕥𝕪 𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕤:

• Being excellent at all sorts of skulduggery, Soot can pick any pocket and lock, and sneak into heavily fortified places. Being an otter helps with the latter part.
• Probably the best at handling a spear out of all otters out there. Prefers not to use it, often even leaving his spear out of most jobs he’s handed just to make sure he doesn’t use it lethally.
• Shapeshifting. While the changeling is limited to certain species and creatures due to his short stature, it doesn’t change the fact that he makes for a very convincing whatever-he-has-to-be.

𝕀𝕟𝕧𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕪:

• A short spear - not always on his person.
• Lockpicking tools.
• A collapsible fishing rod - also not always on his person.
• Grappling hook, with accompanying rope.
• Clothes fit for an otter, often hooded.

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ℍ𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕪:

𝕊𝕦𝕞𝕞𝕒𝕣𝕪:

Soot wasn’t always called Soot. He was born to an impoverished family, luckily with no siblings to hog the food, in some no-name village in the north-eastern part of the continent. He lived a very dull life, kept hidden and away from the townspeople of the village, until he had grown as much as he could by his early teen years - just over three feet tall. Something of an oddity. So once he’d started to get a handle of his abilities, his parents presented him as a halfling friend to anyone who asked, not as their child.

Before he’d even turned twenty, Soot decided to set out into the world. Home had stopped feeling like home, his parents had stopped feeling like his parents, and friends were difficult to make when he didn’t truly feel like part of the community. The changeling packed his essentials and went off, traveling all over the northern regions and picking up the occasional useful skill here and there.

Around his mid-twenties, Soot had come to realise that he still had nowhere to belong. He’d been changing appearances all throughout his travels and never settled down in any one place. Eventually he decided to embrace a different sort of persona, something that would not only remind himself of his constant displacement within any community he passed through, but also made it very apparent to anyone that saw him. He adopted the identity of a cute, albeit somewhat taller than normal otter - along with the name Soot, due to the colour on his chest and face.

The rather unique persona started grabbing the attention of some strange individuals, some of them good-intentioned and some of them a little less so - but all of them very intimidating. It was during the conversations with these individuals that the otter found an appreciation for the world, and the will to help it. While not all tasks he did for these clients of his were entirely savoury, he found it all to be entirely necessary to make changes.

Some years later, Soot finds himself less sought-out by his usual clientele. At this point, everyone of note knows of the stealthy otter that can slink his way into whatever he needs to get into. There are even some who aren’t very keen on the thought of him being alive still, but they always find themselves coming shorthanded whenever an attempt is made at his life. At this point, Soot’s life is a long-running chain of odd jobs for just about anyone asking, making ends meet for himself as he continues to aimlessly wander through this world….

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𝔼𝕩𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕤

ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕖𝕣 ℚ𝕦𝕠𝕥𝕖: Make the world a better place, no matter what it takes.

Forsaken

Very much unfinished.

Edit 2: Still very much unfinished.

Edit 3: Closer to being finished but still not quite there.

Edit 4: Just a little more, almost there. I definitely broke something in the formatting but I fixed it. I hope.

Edit 5: Kind of done, but if there are any pointers or questions, I'll be happy to edit and add.

Soot

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Soot

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ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕊𝕦𝕞𝕞𝕒𝕣𝕪

ℕ𝕒𝕞𝕖: Soot.
𝔸𝕝𝕚𝕒𝕤𝕖𝕤: The Otter, The Creature, Orm Les, and many other forgotten names of various stolen identities.
𝔸𝕘𝕖: 33.
𝕊𝕡𝕖𝕔𝕚𝕖𝕤: Changeling, but appears most often as an otter.
𝔾𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣: Male.
𝕆𝕔𝕔𝕦𝕡𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟: Spy and thief. Also known to take on other odd tasks, often delivering items for all sorts of folk or speaking to certain individuals on the behalf of others.
𝔸𝕝𝕚𝕘𝕟𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥: Chaotic good.

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𝔸𝕡𝕡𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖

ℍ𝕖𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥: 3’3”
𝔹𝕦𝕚𝕝𝕕: While standing a tad taller than most actual otters, Soot is otherwise very much the same in every other way. No strangely detailed muscles, no longer arms or legs, not a more human-like face.
𝔼𝕪𝕖𝕤: Black and beady, as one would expect.
ℍ𝕒𝕚𝕣: Although not technically his hair, Soot has dark brown and light grey fur.
𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕟 𝕋𝕠𝕟𝕖: Most of the otter’s fur is dark brown, with the exception of a lighter grey covering the bottom half of his face, his chest and his stomach.
𝕋𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕠𝕠𝕤/𝕊𝕔𝕒𝕣𝕤/ℙ𝕚𝕖𝕣𝕔𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤: None, at least as an otter.
ℙ𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝 𝕊𝕥𝕪𝕝𝕖: Soot has never been one to dress fancifully. He prefers more simple clothes, often opting for dark leathers and cheap tunics. When called for, he can be seen carrying a rather nasty-looking spear that’s about the same height as he is.

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ℙ𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕪:

Sly * Secretive * Sociable * Professional * Independant * Petulant

ℝ𝕖𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕡 𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕤: Always a victim of his profession and his shapeshifting abilities, Soot has never been able to form any sort of meaningful bonds with other people. He has business associates, clients and the like - nothing more.

ℚ𝕦𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕟𝕒𝕚𝕣𝕖:

What first impression do you make?

“As an otter, people find me absolutely adorable - and approachable. People love petting me, they love feeding me. They just love me. But they’re not that keen on the whole talking thing. But that’s fine by me, I don’t need the sort of people who find oddities off-putting. The sort that stick around and chat, those are my sort.”

What are you like in a high stress situation?

“I live for high stress situations. There’s nothing quite like the rush after performing a good heist, pulling the entire thing off without a hitch. But I like to keep a good crew nearby in case things go sideways. I know how to fight, but someone my size is better off staying away from fights. Leave those matters to the professionals. Or the nearest drunkards looking to make a fast coin.”

What are your best and worst qualities?

“I can turn into anyone I want to turn into. With some limitations. I’m adept at skulduggery and general thievery. I can get around places without being noticed, or I can be noticed better than anyone else - depends on the job. I wouldn’t say I have any bad qualities, but I guess if I had to pick something, I’d say it’s unfortunate my shapeshifting is limited by my height.”

What is something about yourself that you would never admit to anyone?

“I’ve never killed a person. It’s not my place to kill anyone. But sometimes, people in my line of work - which is very multifaceted - are required to kill. Not just kill, but murder. I have many times been hired to murder a mark, and I have accepted the job. I refuse to indulge what happens to these people, but I’ve never killed someone - and no one will ever find out.”

What are your dreams?

“To make the world a better place.”

How do you want to be seen by others?

“I’ve spent most of my life as an otter because I wanted people to find me more approachable. So I guess that’s how I want to be seen. Approachable.”

How do you see yourself?

“I think I’m pretty great. Sure, when normal people find out what I do for a living, they don’t always get that what I’m doing is for the betterment of everything. But I know. I know what I do helps everyone. And I mean everyone. I don’t need them to get that. I just need them to appreciate the good that they’re given, when it’s given.”

Do you tend to make snap judgements, or stop and think about things?

“It depends on the situation. I prefer to know everything about a situation before I involve myself in it, but sometimes I’m not given that luxury. I believe that given time, I can make the best of the worst situations. But sometimes you have to make the easy call.”

What haunts you?

“I don’t really get to make a lot of genuine friends. But I once did. He was a mark. I had to convince him I was his friend, and I did become his friend. We were supposed to steal some item from an elven lord, of some kind. Except we weren’t. My friend knew things he wasn’t supposed to, so I had to sell him out. Told the authorities everything necessary to have him arrested. I don’t know what happened to him, but I miss having a friend.”

What is your philosophy on life?

“Do whatever you can to make the world better. It’s not that difficult.”

ℍ𝕒𝕓𝕚𝕥𝕤:

• Lying about his actual identity.
• Climbing on things to look taller, sometimes people.

ℍ𝕠𝕓𝕓𝕚𝕖𝕤:

• Spearfishing.
• Improving on his lockpicking.
• Regular fishing.
• Spending time with locals.

𝔽𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕤:

• Having his identity revealed.
• Killing.
• Being made obsolete.
• Getting too attached to someone or something.
• Fighting just about anything that’s wild and/or unnatural.

𝕃𝕚𝕜𝕖𝕤:

• Talking.
• Drinking.
• Doing his job.
• Fishing, be it with spear or rod.
• Learning things that might be useful in his line of work.
• Himself.

𝔻𝕚𝕤𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖𝕤:

• Killing.
• Selfish people.
• Anyone that dislikes him.
• An unfinished job.
• Being lazy.
• Uneventful days.

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𝕀𝕟𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟:

𝔾𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕝 𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕤:

• Easily approachable, due to being a cute otter.
• Good at extracting information through simple chatter.
• Highly adaptable, being able to make quick calls on the fly.
• Soot is an excellent liar, and generally excellent at talking. He can talk his way into and out of most situations.
• Fishing - both spear and rod.
• Highly connected. Has substantial connections with people in both high, low and somewhere in-between places.

𝕄𝕒𝕘𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕝/𝕊𝕡𝕖𝕔𝕚𝕒𝕝𝕥𝕪 𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕤:

• Being excellent at all sorts of skulduggery, Soot can pick any pocket and lock, and sneak into heavily fortified places. Being an otter helps with the latter part.
• Probably the best at handling a spear out of all otters out there. Prefers not to use it, often even leaving his spear out of most jobs he’s handed just to make sure he doesn’t use it lethally.
• Shapeshifting. While the changeling is limited to certain species and creatures due to his short stature, it doesn’t change the fact that he makes for a very convincing whatever-he-has-to-be.

𝕀𝕟𝕧𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕪:

• A short spear - not always on his person.
• Lockpicking tools.
• A collapsible fishing rod - also not always on his person.
• Grappling hook, with accompanying rope.
• Clothes fit for an otter, often hooded.

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ℍ𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕪:

𝕊𝕦𝕞𝕞𝕒𝕣𝕪:

Soot wasn’t always called Soot. He was born to an impoverished family, luckily with no siblings to hog the food, in some no-name village in the north-eastern part of the continent. He lived a very dull life, kept hidden and away from the townspeople of the village, until he had grown as much as he could by his early teen years - just over three feet tall. Something of an oddity. So once he’d started to get a handle of his abilities, his parents presented him as a halfling friend to anyone who asked, not as their child.

Before he’d even turned twenty, Soot decided to set out into the world. Home had stopped feeling like home, his parents had stopped feeling like his parents, and friends were difficult to make when he didn’t truly feel like part of the community. The changeling packed his essentials and went off, traveling all over the northern regions and picking up the occasional useful skill here and there.

Around his mid-twenties, Soot had come to realise that he still had nowhere to belong. He’d been changing appearances all throughout his travels and never settled down in any one place. Eventually he decided to embrace a different sort of persona, something that would not only remind himself of his constant displacement within any community he passed through, but also made it very apparent to anyone that saw him. He adopted the identity of a cute, albeit somewhat taller than normal otter - along with the name Soot, due to the colour on his chest and face.

The rather unique persona started grabbing the attention of some strange individuals, some of them good-intentioned and some of them a little less so - but all of them very intimidating. It was during the conversations with these individuals that the otter found an appreciation for the world, and the will to help it. While not all tasks he did for these clients of his were entirely savoury, he found it all to be entirely necessary to make changes.

Some years later, Soot finds himself less sought-out by his usual clientele. At this point, everyone of note knows of the stealthy otter that can slink his way into whatever he needs to get into. There are even some who aren’t very keen on the thought of him being alive still, but they always find themselves coming shorthanded whenever an attempt is made at his life. At this point, Soot’s life is a long-running chain of odd jobs for just about anyone asking, making ends meet for himself as he continues to aimlessly wander through this world….

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𝔼𝕩𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕤

ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕖𝕣 ℚ𝕦𝕠𝕥𝕖: Make the world a better place, no matter what it takes.