Appearance Tina is a slight woman, wiry and thin, and with a light skin tone and clear complexion. Her eyes are soft, but quick, and her frame is not that of a sickly person- but rather the wiry frame of an athlete. She isn't too tall, rising up to the height of 5'04", and is a sprightly gal weighing just over 110 LBS.
Her hair is black, and cut short as if by a knife in private rather than any actual care or styling.
Personality "I like to think of myself as a quirky sort- plucky at worst, eccentric at best-- what, it's weird to consider yourself eccentric? Well, I suppose that only furhter cements my eccentricism! Ha!...But uh...yeah- anyway! I'm a nice enough girl, if you ask me, although there are a handful of people down south who'd sing my dirge rather than my praise, if you catch my meaning. It's not my fault I had to break a few locks to make a fortune!..Or was it a few eggs to make an omellete?...I'm always getting my words mixed up, and I do have a tendency to ramble on...so..."
Far to the south, in the land of kings and their wars, is a city called 'Bridgetower'. The city is aptly named for it is a trade city that originated as a town thriving around a bridge spanning a great violent river. A very great river, indeed. The bridge was ancient, and none could remember its origins. Some claimed it was build by wizards to make travel easier, others say it was simply ingenious work by ancestor men...Either way, this bridge was vital for the area's trade, as otherwise trade moving inland from the coast would have to travel through the treacherous mountains to the east and circumvent the river altogether.
Then there was the Tower- another object of mystery and study, that was quickly appropriated as the local King's summer home. The tower existed as long as the bridge had, many claimed.
For these two simple objects, the town was known as Bridgetower.
And for these two simple reasons- the bridge providing a path for trade, and the king making the Tower his summer home- Bridgetower turned into an absolutely massive city of trade in what seemed like a few years following its inception. And with the trade, people, guards, order, and kings came Thieves. A city of gold can't exist without a network of people who seek to take the gold away from the city, after all.
Amongst this network of thieves was an organization known as 'The Forty Thieves', a closely knit alliance of fixers, forgers, thieves, and bitter merchants who never quite made it to lord status.
They were opportunists, and none amongst them were more renown than the Mouse.
The legends of The Mouse extend far and wide in the southern kingdoms, and many pretenders have claimed the name. Amongst the Forty Thieves, there was a common phrase all would say at one point or another in their time; 'I am a Mouse, ser, nothing more'. Of course, all who claimed to be The Mouse were executed or carted far away and never heard from again, but the effect was paramount- The king and his guardsmen were sent on goose chases, scattered and wild, in search of the Illusive Mouse.
All because of one woman who bore the name first; Tina So'Viari.
It was night, and the girl was incredibly anxious. She was standing on a high peaked roof, and her eyes, with all the infinite places they could be looking, found themselves staring down at the ground. She sucked in a deep breath, took a careful step back. Then another. Then another. Then another.
She opened her eyes- or, rather, realized she had them closed for the first time, then opened them. She pulled the dark hood she wore about her head. The tunnel the fabric created in her vision was almost calming, it helped steele her nerves and made her focus on her objective.
"You've done this a-hundred times by now, come on. Practice makes perfect. Come on. Come on. Come on..." She repeated this to herself a half dozen more times, then set out at a sprint across the roof- and leapt into the open air.
For what felt like eternity she hung in the air, her path clearly marked in her head, and she realized she fucked up. She saw herself sailing forward, much too fast, much too high- she under-measured the distance!
She twisted her body, kicked her legs up, extended her arms out-
and slammed into the stone wall with an 'oomph' sound...but she had deadened the impact with her limbs, and had slowed her descent enough for her to drop down and finally grasp her target without further harm; a windowsill, high up in the air to let the cool night breeze in. She clung to it for dear life, then steadily pulled herself up. Inch by inch. Until she could get her shoulders in through the window. Once she had gotten herself this far, silently coiling her body through was easy enough. She sighed to herself as she rolled to her feet and breathed out.
"What the fuck are you doing in here?" A voice rang through her ears. "A thief, are ya?"
A light turned on in the room- Bad! Bad! Light is bad! The girl turned her head away fiercely and relied on her ears. Heavy footsteps, slurred speech, limbering gait- the man was drunk, heavy set. Large. Tina panicked, backed away from him. He moved faster.
"Tell me who you are-- oi, can you 'ere me?" The man reached for the girl's hood- but she was quick, faster than he could react in his inebriated state. He lurched forward, but the girl was already rolling past him, and springing to her feet. She delivered a solid kick to the large man's rear end and nearly had a heart attack due to the catastrophe that occurred- he lurched forward and toppled halfway out the window she herself had climbed through!
Letting out a squeak of panic the girl ran forward and, grabbing at the man's shirt and trousers, struggled to help the flailing drunkard back through the window.
Which, furthering the girl's impending sense of catastrophe, inevitably resulted in the man collapsing back atop her. Well, that would have been bad enough in itself, beside the fact his screaming and flailing had broken any sense of cover the girl had possessed. To top it off, she couldn't move the bastard's body off of herself, and the man chortled with laugher as he pinned her down.
"What ar' you? Some dormouse who decided 'e could try and rob me and me mates while we threw this big party? Ha! Who 'ent you? Was it Hodi? It had to be Hodi! Bastard thinks I owe him money! Ha!"
The man picked up the girl, flailing as she might, and carried her off.
--
The Girl ended up arrested, of course. She was an amateur, and at the time was working solo. She had simply heard that this party was being thrown in passing and had worked up the courage to try and break into the place the very same day. She ended up branded as a thief as per Bridgetower law, the thief's mark- a very distinct thorned 'x'- was branded upon the back of the girl's neck, and to top it off she was beaten by the guards quite severely- and her trial was then concluded with the age-old garnish for thieves who got caught; removal of the left hand ring finger.
Now, no matter where the girl went or what she did, all would know her as a thief.
As it is easy to understand, the girl's life, from that moment on, was guided onto the singular path of a thief and rogue. Just as easy to understand is the drive that build the girl up from that day on- the simmering fire of 'revenge' and 'retribution' that sat in her gut at the nobility's lack of understanding for a common girl's plight.
They had never even asked her 'why' she was doing it, simply saw the act and punished her mechanically.
There was no compassion in nobility, and certainly no companionship in coin.
The circumstances behind the rise of the Mouse are a mystery many claim to know, but the truth of the matter is that only the original Forty Thieves know the truth, and that it is simple, just like the ruse of The Mouse is in itself...
Guy So'Viari was a fledgeling merchant and business man, who owned and operated a fledgeling merchant's guild. He was fighting the already established Commerce Guild as well as the King's Trade just to try and eke out a meager existence for his family. Guy So'Viari had no wife and no children, but he had a sister and a niece he loved dearly; Virdiana So'Viari and Tina So'Viari.
Guy was a businessman who had earned his reputation for good honest deals by dealing with the common folk and, well, giving them good, honest, deals! The margin for profit was almost nonexistent, but as long as business came to him he could stay afloat and keep his other guild members in business. They weren't out to dominate the market, but they wanted there to be competition- for if Guy's Guild did not operate, then the people of Bridgetower would be under a monopoly of expensive goods [The Commerce Guild] or shoddy goods [The King's Trade runoff of trade].
Guy wouldn't stand for the strangulation of the poor, and thus fought and clawed his way up to the merchant class through honesty and determination. He could feed his family, he could establish connection in other cities. He could stand on his own two feet and meet people's eyes without shame.
But how he found himself today on the gallows with a noose about his neck he'll never fully understand. He had cut a deal with the Commerce Guild, a symbiotic trade agreement for bulk bargaining for imports. He thought it wise, as it would save himself as well as the people he considered friendly competition money, which would inevitably get funneled back into the community.
He never doubted for one second the honesty and reputation of his competitors, nor did he every once imagine their greed and power.
Not until he was slapped in chains, and a document, in his script, was placed down before him. This document was incredibly incriminating, you see, and it did naught but place his guild in ruin after its publication.
The document was thus;
'Dear Sers of the Commerce Guild,
I am a humble merchant, Guy So'Viari. Our dealings in the past have been both mutual and beneficial, however profits for my guild have never been high. I am well aware you see my business as a parasite- one that undercuts and leeches off your own- and I am writing this missive as a precaution. There are many who see you as tyrants, dominators of trade, and it is without doubt that my own business is a paragon of the people. Perhaps you, and yours, should begin to treat my business with more respect and agree to more marketable terms? It would truly be a shame if the people grew angered with your high prices and pompousness, and I would hate to see your stores burn for ignorance. In the interest of mutual economical stability, and for the safety of your people, I have warned you of this possibility. The people could, at any day, see you as having grown too fat in your high chairs- too distant from the common man! You act as noble, when you are naught but a commoner with gold in his pocket, and that angers the poor folk of Bridgetower...'
Guy couldn't finish reading the entire missive. It was written in his hand, that was without doubt, but he had never penned the incriminating document! He knew this, but could not argue it, for many documents bearing his script were compared to the slanderous letter, and all agreed it was written by his hand!
This letter damned Guy, as it was a very poorly veiled threat to the Commerce Guild, and the King did not tolerate underhanded business and corruption this openly in his city. The risk of a peasant revolt was far too high and real from such a letter, and if Guy, as the letter said, was seen as a paragon of these people...
Then he must be removed from the equation. That is simply how it must be. There would be no revolts in Bridgetower, there would be no burning of the city, and there would definitely be no more threat from Guy So'Viari- because even if he had not written the letter himself, the threats and words within it were true enough.
The people, especially after the publication, saw Guy as a martyr.
That is, until his execution.
His family was standing front and center to witness the event, escorted by armed guards.
When he hanged, his sister wept and his niece watched as her only escape from poverty died.
The people of Bridgetower lost all fervor and returned to their mundane lives...
---
Tina, as she witnessed the death of her uncle, also witnessed the death of her livelihood. Her mother was sickly, couldn't work, and had to stay home.
As Guy's death hit the guild, the guild tried to scramble and stay alive...but the new guildmaster soon sold out and sold the guild to the Commerce Guild and integrated into it, only further cementing their hold on Bridgetower's trade.
The city thrived, but the poor stayed poor.
And got poorer still.
Tina soon found herself going out into the streets at night to try and find some way to keep her mom in a bed, to keep a roof over her mom's head, some way to find money where her uncle used to be.
And when her mom died, Tina found herself alone, with nobody to take care of her but herself, and so she became a petty thief at a young age.
This tragic tale is indeed that; tragic! However it is not unique! In Bridgetower many youths found themselves on differing sides of this divide; either peasant or rich. The peasant children then found themselves separated into the usual divisions peasants found themselves into; those who would grow to be farmers, those who would grow to be soldiers, those who wouldn't grow, and those who became scum and thieves.
Tina, for a while, looked like she would be one of those children who didn't grew- those who died young in an alleyway of a large city and were quickly forgotten.
But she did not, she found she had a natural penchant for climbing and leaping, and used this as her way into the life of a thief.
At this youthful state in her life, she became introduced to the life of stealing and hiding, and in the end it became the life she kept.
Her later successes and story are mired in fable and legend, both of The Mouse and of the Forty Thieves themselves.
Many claim she was the proprietor of the 'Great Commerce Guild Scandal', wherein the Commerce Guild has a massive shipment of gold rerouted and scattered within the city's underground network all because of one forged document.
Many claim that Mouse, as well as The Forty Thieves, were the ones who stole the king's crown and returned it to him a week later- or, at least, a very finely made replica of it.
Others, still, will say that the Forty Thieves and the Mouse were even hired by the king to steal from the surrounding cities great and ancient tomes of magical referendum to house in his tower.
But nothing is certain, as the Forty Thieves are almost a myth these days. The Mouse is a legend that children whisper when they play games- 'I am the Mouse, and you're the nasty guardmen! I'll hide and you find me!', etc.- And whatever happened to the real mouse is a mystery...
The mouse had gotten ludicrously rich with the help of the Forty Thieves, and to be perfectly honest it was mostly their doing. She did a good deal of the leg work and actual thievery herself, but they handled the planning and masterminding of the whole deal.
But eventually The Mouse wanted out of it, and they cut a deal; The Mouse would pull one last job, and then she would go into hiding and pass the name on. The legend of the Mouse had to stay alive, even if the Mouse herself had left Bridgetower altogether, after all.
And so the deed was done, and the Mouse was made a name of infamy as it was attached to a crime of legend; The Commerce Guild's signet ring, the one he used to seal letters, was stolen from his very hand by The Mouse.
In the span of a week, the forty thieves brought the Commerce Guild to its knees through forged and sealed missives. Bridgetower was in chaos, and the forthy thieves split- and the Mouse left her fortune in their hands.
She wanted simple in her life, she wanted calm.
So she headed north, away from the chaos of Bridgetower, and became a pilgrim of sorts. She wandered, helped people where she could, and tried to see as much of the world as she could.
In the end, she settled down in a [relatively] peaceful realm. Brackenhorst was calm and quiet, save the centaur attacks, and for a few years now Tina has lived there in a quiet home, living as reasonably well-to-do farmer. She has avoided excitement for so long, but the itch for adventure is building up...
Skills As a thief from the southern kingdoms, Tina is one of many talents- she did thrive after all!
"I dare say there isn't a wall I can't climb given a bit of elbow room and time, and don't even get me started on how anxious I used to get trying to make these disasterous leaps across the rooftops back home- now I'm so used to it that heights don't even make me nervous anymore."
Thief-Acrobat - Tina is a sprightly girl with ample spring in her step. Scaling walls, leaping between rooftops- or across chasms!-, and the fluid movement through an area through the use of said environment, are all skills the woman has mastered. Falling safely is also within this, as well.
"On the less fantastic side of things, I was a thief you know- I can handle locks if given enough time, but I admit my M.O. was finding an open window rather than getting through a door...but uh...I can move pretty damn quiet, I've never woken someone up I meant to get past, and I'm damn fast with my hands...Never gotten caught checking a guy's pockets, that I haven't!...Though I probably shouldn't brag about these things nowadays, right?"
Thief-Burglar - Tina is quick with her hands, light in her step, and perceptive to boot. She can shake a man's hand and have his rings off without him noticing. She can walk briskly through a room and not make a sound. She can disappear into a crowd, or if need be, into a shadow [or, rather, hide in a shadow- it's not really possible for a person to 'disappear', you see, just hide really well!]. That being said, she isn't the greatest person in the world when it comes to locks, but she can get most open with a bit of time. Her style really is fast and quiet.
"Have I ever gotten into a fight? Yeah, a few scrapes here and there, but for the most part I avoided them. I mostly got into these big upscale brawls in taverns. Guards bust in, ruin the mood, pisses off the wrong drunk- oh, it's pretty damn glorious to have your cover maintained by a drunk who don't know any better, and you get to give a few good kicks and punches to the right people in the process! Ha!...But I don't usually get into fights no, and if I do I prefer 'running' to, uh, 'dying'. Duh."
Thief-Brawler - Tina is not a fighter by nature or even by trade, but she has picked up a few tricks in pugilistic arts just by proxy of the incidents of her trade. She can throw a solid punch, and a solid kick, but she's far from skilled and masterful. She really is just a brawler at best, and she prefers to run rather than fight.
"Whaddya mean? Of course I can read and write! Hell, I could write for you and nobody could tell the difference! I could sign the king's signature if I had a copy of it- which I don't, mind you, but I know a guy who could get it for the right price...Or, at least, a guy who brags he could...But uh, I digress. That's beside the point. I'm not daft, I'm a learned girl myself!
Thief-Forger - Tina is quite literate, and has spent a lot of time studying how people write. Signatures are powerful things in the lands of lords and ladies, kings and merchant guilds. Any signature or writing sample she could get her eyes on from a mark she would study, and plan with. She can take a scrap of writing from a lordling and turn it into a full-blown confession to a crime in a matter of hours...
"Nowadays I spend my days tending a small field and trying to grow a small crop. Trying. Centaurs are damned impossible to deal with for a girl like me. What am I gonna do, kick a centaur? They've got two more appendages than I do, I think they win with that math. But I have to say, I've picked up a few things from working the earth...And, well, I can see why some people favor being merchants to farmers...but it's simple, and it keeps me happy...for the most part..."
Farmer and Land Owner - Tina, in her recent years, has lived as a farmer- far from her old life. She understands the basics of tilling and caring for land, and now possesses a deeper understanding of the common man's plight. She also has garnered a hatred for Centaurs, but that's beside the point. There aren't too many glossy skills to cover within this, but it was still worthy of categorization.
..."I think you get the idea of what kind of gal I am. Anything else I can do is pretty basic. I'm no alchemist, no assassin, no fighter. I'm a thief at heart.
Possessions Tina's possessions are Spartan and few, as she has lived as a farmer and land holder for several years now. She owns a few chickens [which she's constantly replacing. See; hatred of Centaurs] and tools to work the earth, as well as a few outfits of sturdy clothing.
However, hidden within her home is a chest of far too expensive and effective make for a farmer of her position to have purchased, and it is far too sturdily built and heavy for one to reasonably steal or break it. Within this is her thievery tools and adventuring gear, which she has held onto in the inevitability of her adventuring itch returning.
Miscellaneous [reiteration] Missing her left hand's ring finger [Thievery punishment]
Bears a brand on the base of her neck [Additional Bridgetower thievery punishment]
I fear I may have gotten long winded, or perhaps gotten a bit over-excited in my writing and vamped up the whole mystery/legend around the name a bit much, but I was trying to avoid a flaw I typically fall into which is drastic overdetailing- which I may have failed at doing, I tend to zone out while writing these things up.
I am looking for a merry fellowship of five other players to join me. My selection process is based on merit, not the speed of your submission, so please don't pass this up just because you think one of the spots might be snatched away by someone else first.
De Reimer and his political backing is undeniable, but Manshrew has the populist appeal.
I out of character and sitting here going 'huh' and scratching my head trying to pick things apart and work out how things are going to go. I assume another round of the debate will start now? We had initial statements, and now there will be some kind of rebuttal/rebuke from the primary contributors, then ultimately a deciding statement at the end. So, maybe, one or two more rounds of the debate?
Or are things just going to get handwaved as political bureaucracy and thick diplomatic dialogue, and TDM give us a list of how things split and work out.
