Tall, strong and curvaceous, Tress cuts an arresting figure -- one she enhances artfully with the beautification techniques she learned at the temple of Calistria. The thing everyone notices about her right away is her mane of bright red hair, which she either ties back in a crude ponytail or allows to fall loose. The second thing everyone notices is her tendency to revealing clothing. If challenged on this, her usual response is a cheerful "The better to distract you, my dear!" At this point, most people discover the third thing about her appearance; that she always carries at least one weapon around...
Background:
Born to a poor farming family in Nex, Tress' parents welcomed her birth -- but not for the reasons most families welcome a new addition. Barely was the little girl weened, or her parents sold her to a work house in the big city and took the proceeds home to their struggling farm -- and all of Tress' hungry brothers and sisters. Her early childhood was spent on backbreaking labor, which strengthened her body.
As puberty struck, Tress' natural beauty ripened and the work house's owners sold her indenture to a Calistrian temple. Everyone was happy; the work house's owners made a tidy profit and the Calistrians gained a new worker who was sure to bring in plenty of customers once trained. No one bothered to ask the red-haired girl her opinion, and truth be told, she didn't have much of one. This is not to say that Tress was short of wits or will, she was just used to this kind of treatment. Life at the Calistrian temple was easier than life at the work house in some ways, and the food and hygiene were certainly better.
A few years of work at the temple later, Tress was fond enough of men, but found she enjoyed the stories she could tease out of them more than any of the acrobatics she was required to perform with them. Tales of adventure and freedom appealed to her a great deal, indeed. As a matter of fact, the stories appealed to her so strongly that the notion of freedom started to eat at her, gnawing at her thoughts. When a minor incident (an attack by Gebbite saboteurs) plunged the city into chaos, Tress simply snuck out of the temple, thumped a woman of roughly the correct height over the head in an alley, stole her clothes and made her way out of the city to find her own adventure. She never looked back.
Tress has developed a reputation for being reasonably trustworthy as a mercenary, so long as she is paid; she discovered a love of swordplay and violence in all its forms, be it physical or magical, and an even greater love for being paid. At the same time, she developed a reputation for being rather untrustworthy around strong drink, games of chance and attractive men. Her seeking employment with a group passing through the Mana Wastes has much to do with a sudden, urgent need to get out of the last city she was idling in. There was a bit of a to-do surrounding a wedding celebration... and the bride-to-be catching her intended in a hayloft with Tress. Finally, Tress has an unfortunate, but generally respected -- by other mercenaries -- reputation for collecting her money one way or another if her employer tries to somehow cheat her out of her pay...
Personality and mannerisms:
Tress is generally as tactful as an avalanche, and about as subtle. She laughs loudly, drinks and gambles freely, and is not shy about temporary entanglements with people who take her fancy. At the same time, she is completely trustworthy to people who have done well by her, and though you'd be a fool to trust her with your drink, your heart or your unguarded coin, you can trust her with your life or your soul.
There is more to the mercenary than meets the eye, however. During her downtime, she is actually as fond of a good book as she is of a drink and roll of the dice. Her knowledge may not be vast, but it is solid, and she actually taught herself the ways of the Magus, based on things she read. At least part of her blunt, hedonistic image if a front for a keen mind, which watches the world move around it and waits for the best time to strike.
Equipment:
238 gp
Backpack
Bedroll
Belt pouch
Bit and bridle
Buckler
Chain shirt
Compass
Composite longbow (+2)
Dagger (cold iron)
Dagger (silver)
Feed (18 days)
Flint and steel
Holy symbol (wood; Calistria)
Holy symbol (wood; Cayden Cailean)
Light horse (combat trained)
Longbow arrows (20)
Masterwork scimitar
Military saddle
Mirror (small, steel)
Rations (10 days)
Rope (silk, 50 ft.)
Saddlebags
Spell component pouch
Spellbook
Tent
Warhammer
Waterskin
