The only thing Elena remembers about her parents was her father Haman's knife, and the way it would flash in the sun when he taught her to fight, shortly after she took her first steps. She was three when he left her with a half-orc in a border town along the Belkzen frontier. Kurah was a tough woman, who was as at home with the orcs of Belkzen as she was with the humans of Varisia, and she expected Elena to be as tough. Elena learned how to hold her own in the brutal and treacherous games of the orcish children, as well as how to get along with her own kind.
Kurah was unusual for a half-orc. Where others might fill their space with weapons or trophies, her home was filled with books. In truth, it was a small library, but for a remote village on the far side of the Cinderlands, it was remarkable. As she grew up, Elena spent much of her time learning to fight and stalk, but Kurah read to her in the evenings, until Elena learned to read herself, and that was their secret bond. She may have been the only child in the village who could read, and she read constantly, learning of the natural world, and the unnatural. She grew accustomed to the strange sages and scholars that passed through to consult with her adopted parent.
Whenever she asked where her father was, though, Kurah's only answer was that he was far away, doing his best to provide for Elena. For ten years, she knew only that, and that his knife had flashed in the sun. In that time, she had grown slender and quick, clever and charming. She was not as strong as some of the orcs, but she was quick and she knew how to use a knife, so they treated her with a grudging respect. The year she was thirteen is when she overheard news that Haman was in Riddleport, when Kurah was gossiping with a wandering bandit.
Elena left that night, barely surviving the journey across Varisia, reaching Riddleport a week later, only to find that her father was being hanged for murder. She watched him hang, but she stayed to learn about him. He had spent ten years chasing Chelaxian slavers, trying to find his wife, who had been stolen from their home one day when he had been with Elena. After ten years, he had found her and brought her home. The slavers had sent men after them, and they were the men that Haman had killed.
Elena's mother welcomed her daughter back into her life, but it quickly became clear that she could not take care of herself. She had been a slave in Cheliax, and whatever suffering she had endured had all but broken her. She would never speak of it, or of anything to do with the years of her captivity. Elena went to Davos, an old friend of her parents who ran a tavern, and persuaded him to allow her to work as a barmaid. It was scarcely enough to keep them alive, and it was not long before she found herself involved with a local gang, first selling information about rich, drunk patrons, and eventually joining their ranks. She was an oddity among the thieves, in that she would often steal books as well as coin and jewels. When she had time, Elena read to her mother. It was better than silence, and it was during those few years that she began to feel the calling of lore. She did not want magical power or secrets that she could trade on. The simple fact of knowing, and sharing and preserving that knowledge was enough.
Davos suspected her activity, but she never stole at the tavern, and he knew the position she was in. It was one of the thieves in her own gang that betrayed her, selling a slaver her mother's address. The slavers were not there to retake the woman, but to punish her for running away. Elena found her mother dead, and the slavers waiting to take her instead. She killed one and escaped the others, but she knew the penalty for murder was death, even the murder of a slaver.
She left Riddleport with little more than her father's knives and a hunting bow. She traveled south, arriving in the town of Sandpoint a few months ago. ((with your permission, she will have taken work at the Rusty Dragon, or one one of the other taverns in town))
Her Numbers:
Human (Varisian) Lore Warden/Knife Master (fighter/rogue) 1
CG Medium Humanoid (human)
[b]Init +6; Senses Perception +5
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Defense
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AC 18, touch 15, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +4 Dex, +1 dodge)
hp 12 (1d10+2)
Fort +4, Ref +6, Will +2
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft.
Melee MW Kukri +4 (1d4+2/18-20/x2)
or Dagger +3 (1d4+2/19-20/x2)
Ranged Lt Crossbow +5 (1d8/19-20/x2)
or Dagger +5 (1d4+2/19-20/x2)
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Statistics
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Str 14, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 13, Cha 14
Base Atk +1; CMB +3; CMD 18
Feats Combat Reflexes (5 AoO/round), Shadow Strike, Dodge
Traits Reactionary, Indomiable Will, Giant Hunter
Skills Acrobatics +8, Bluff +6, Climb +6, Diplomacy +6, Disable Device +8, Escape Artist +8, Knowledge (arcana) +5, Knowledge (nature) +5, Perception +5, Profession (barmaid) +5, Sense Motive +5, Sleight of Hand +8, Stealth +8
Languages Common, Orc, Varisian
Other Gear 1 MW kukri, 1 ordinary kukri, 2 daggers, light crossbow+20 bolts, MW studded leather armor, thieves tools, 2xpotion CLW, blanket&bedroll, lamp+3 flasks oil(6 hours apiece), 50' rope 41gp
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Special Abilities
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Combat Reflexes (5 AoO/round) Can make extra attacks of opportunity/rd, and even when flat-footed.
Dirty Fighter You receive a +3 trait bonus on all attempts to feint in combat using your Bluff skill.
Hidden Blade +0 +0 bonus on Slight of Hand checks to conceal a light blade.
Shadow Strike You can deal precision damage against targets with some concealment.
Sneak Attack +1d8/+1d4 +1d8 damage with a dagger-like weapon if you flank your target or your target is flat-footed.
Her Appearance:
Elena is a small and slender girl, with a sharp eye, a big, lopsided smile and more auburn hair than any two ordinary mortals would need. She generally wears loose travelling clothes over her fitted leather armor, and superficially is more likely to be seen as a common street urchin than any kind of professional adventurer. Though one might wonder at the number of knives on her belt, and in her boots.
