Captain Spalding's page

Helien's earlier memories are from running away - in the arms of her father she felt secure, and his words were enough to soothe any panics away even as they fled through the forest. It would be years until she understood why it was they had ran away that night, and why the memories of a fire and the smell of smoke assaulted her senses so many times.

Life in the wild was not bad, in fact it was perfect for Helien - Nature is not hard to comprehend, it is basic in nature, even if complex in its predatory/prey relations, and her father was the perfect teacher. Far from being any sort of adventurer, he was well familiar with the outdoor life, and made a point of teaching her everything he knew - from basic gardening to big game hunting.

She took it all in as best as she could - Helien had been to young when her mother was tragically killed in a fire, their house burnt down by a backwater posse, their paltry morals intent on setting things straight, shocked by the fact that her father had decided to live with a woman no one in the village knew, and that she had borne him a child - she had been to young to fully take in the loss, so she simply looked up to her father, wanting to make him proud.

As years went by, she could not be sated by roaming the same paths over and over again - she began venturing further and further away, even against his will. The nearby settlements piked her curiosity, and the young ranger explored ever closer to them as possible, watching how they lived and related to each other. She knew the region, the tracks and the threats to the small communities, and many arguments arose between father and daughter as she wanted to warn the villages about the growing kobold settlement almost at their doorstep, while her parent was adamant against it.

It didn't matter - she simply disobeyed and began acting on her own, keeping the kobolds under control, watching their movement - after witnessing their behaviour for a couple of months she knew they were getting ready to invade the small village - she pleaded to her father to let her warn them. Stern and bitter, he did not care, locking her in the basement to prevent her from getting involved - "Let them all die - it is not worth it, we can only depend on ourselves Helien. The others do not matter"

Eventually, after two days she managed to undo the lock - as she dashed to the nearby village she could already see the pillars of smoke in the distance. Her legs carried her fast, but not enough, and for the first time Helien witnessed what kobolds were capable of. She has never forgotten the sight of the broken bodies, and destroyed homes.

She returned to her own home, her anger almost preventing her from speaking to her father - "I am leaving. I don't think I will return" - were the last words she has ever spoken to him. "We have no one else Helien. Only ourselves" - his words echoed again, but he did not move to try and stop her.

She went directly to the nearest largest town - managed to inform the authorities of what had happened. Her passionate speech convinced them into action, and Helien joined on her first kobold lair 'cleaning'. It was far from what she had expected it to be, and her stomach turned more than once, but anger moved her so she followed through until the end, and left.

Since then she has been a frontier woman, living mostly off the land or occasional caravan duty - more than once she has turned to assist in clearing other humanoid lairs in the Cassomir region, when gold becomes specially short. She is not an expert, but has some experience in such matters. Curiously enough, she finds she likes that line of work less and less.

On the couple:

Talia shakes her head. "No, I did check the rooms. All of their own stuff was gone. But they didn't steal anything, not what you'd normally expect in these circumstances. You might ask to see L. Komenos next time you're up at the Manor. The Baroness is putting her up now, being a fellow aristocrat and all. I got the impression that M. Dukas-Kort was cosying up to her, though she seemed less than keen on the idea. If I'd have bet on there being a couple, more likely those two than Dukas-Kort and Esmeralda. But, well, if they're professional spies and all, that's what they'd want you to think."