Nathrae purses her lips before slipping the ring into her pocket.
"I'll see if my own skills are up to it, thanks."
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Nathrae plucks one of the invisibility rings and holds it in her hand.
Nathrae shrugs and rises before sheathing her gladius. "It'd be good to get out of the house, really."
Nathrae casually spins one of her gladii on the table, point-first, as she listens to the mission briefing.
Nathrae's morning routine is one of early rising and early practice. Her gladii are a natural fit for her hands--she twirls them and flashes their blades with cold, efficient precision. Once she's loosened herself up, she finally gets dressed and prepares to truly start the day.
Alrighty, Nathrae should be ready to go now!
I haven't put her background together yet, but Nathrae is mostly complete.
Alright--here's the alias I'm planning to use.
I was thinking of going up the ramp.
Nathrae glares at the shrine of Droskar before snorting and moving along. "I don't." She says in response to Thanaton's question. "I've served under too many entitled idiots in cleric trappings who never received their position through actually being competent in command." She winces as her leg goes numb for a moment and drags behind her for a step in response. "Now, as to getting aboard the ship, I think a direct approach would be best."
Nathrae nods. "We'll get it sorted." She stands up from her seat. "Let's go."
Nathrae listens, her expression darkening slightly. "...sounds like it's right up my alley."
Study:
Nathrae, in a bit of discomfort, waves the apology off. "It's... it's nothing to be concerned with. How I came to be afflicted with this..." She glares at her arm as a trail of darkness slides down it, towards her hand. "...is something that I'm still trying to come to terms with myself." Dinner Conversation: Nathrae pointedly looks down at her lap, her fingers twitching a little as Thanaton attempts to engage the Urgathoan priestess in conversation.
Study: "...ehhh..." Nathrae blanches at the thought of her corpse being dissected, but Pertinax's voice brings some of the eerie blue colour back to her face.
"...tell you what--if there's no record of this 'black blood' in your archives, or if the research is spotty, then I'll see about letting you do a more in-depth bit of research on me." She says as a familiar numbness crosses her chest before moving down a leg. "The Vanderborens' explanation of my..." She looks down at her leg. "...my condition... was a bit too technical for me to really understand."
Ffs, you people have known Nathrae for all of a few hours and you already want to cut her open? For shame! ;)
Study: Thanaton's exposition, combined with Trevor's inspection, causes Nathrae's face to gradually turn more and more ashen.
"...I... suppose..." She starts before shaking her head. "...tests will not be necessary. My blood... I was exposed to what the Vanderborens called the 'Black Blood of Orv.'"
Nathrae follows, a familiar numbness starting in her wrist and starting to creep its way up her arm as she moves. She winces, nodding only briefly at Thanaton's observation. Study Conversation:
Taking a seat in the study, Nathrae feels the numbness fade from her arm and move to her leg. "...I'm well enough, Thanaton." She says, her eyes looking down at herself.
"You noticed something?" ...strange... there aren't any other servants here. Nathrae muses when the party reaches the dining hall.
Alrighty! Looking forward to it!
Nathrae is the last to arrive at Vanderboren Manor’s dining hall, her eyes furtively glancing all around herself as she approaches a seat at the table. …hells, blast and damnation. The Urgathoan is here but Shikki and the orphanage lady aren’t? At least Thanaton is also here— Her train of thought is derailed as she strays too close to a different seat than the one she chose, the collision of booted foot with wooden chair leg jarring her back into reality. She stumbles and lets out a mix of a hiss and a growl before pulling out her chair and sitting down.
I'm alright with either Theatre of the Mind or any other means of mapping.
Alas. Should the 'pre-game' be dropped from the campaign title then?
Sorry to hear about the fleas, GM.
Sorry to hear that, Shikki. So far, the attendees are Aranda, Thanaton, Trevor, Pertinax and Nathrae. I think we're waiting to see if Minuè makes it.
The three days leading to the Vanderboren dinner pass almost agonizingly slowly for Nathrae. She spends the intervening time more or less wandering the streets of Telderist, becoming acquainted with the city the only way she knows how. When the time comes to attend dinner, she arrives in full kit--chain shirt, shield and sword. She already made a good enough impression at the wake--now was the time to focus on advancement. Her foot drags slightly as she walks, an unpleasant chill numbing it and causing her to limp. She growls and leans against a nearby wall until feeling comes back to her leg, then makes her way to dinner.
I assumed a separate thread would be made for the campaign proper.
Nathrae snaps to attention as Lavinia arrives, her eyes laser-focused on the Vanderboren heiress. Her posture is ramrod stiff. When Kora hands her an envelope, she nods and opens it. Only a brief moment is spent reading its contents before she puts it away in a pocket. ...right. Should have enough money for three days.
I've never been in a 7-person party before...
Recruitment deadline looks like it's coming up!
"And if the Vanderboren heiress has inherited any of her parents' better qualities, it's only a matter of time before she comes under the same scrutiny as well..." Nathrae looks down at her feet.
The ex-soldier notices that the conversations around her have slowed somewhat--perhaps the arrival of the Meravanchi scion has distracted them to the point of reluctance to speak further. It was an impressive feat--the newly-arrived noble had been at the wake for a scant few minutes and had already made the prospect of continued conversation awkward for everyone. "Anyways, on the topic of possible sabotage..." She turns to Minuè and Pertinax. "...I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case. The Vanderborens may have been much more... open minded and forward-thinking than the nobility I served in Zirnakaynin, but that would make them seem like ripe targets for exploitation... or removal." Assuming, of course, you weren't aware of their other predilections...
Nathrae takes Minuè's offered card, looks it over and pockets it. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind."
"...I suppose if you define 'wrangle' as 'carry them around', I can do that." Nathrae finally answers. "And I can work weekends." ”Are all Urgathoans so unpleasant? I’d understood their faith to encourage…appetites. In my experience, such things generally go best with at least one partner. You’d think she’d have been looking to establish better relations. And that she’d have at least taken a plate with her.” Nathrae shrugs. "Eh, given enough time, the problem of 'angry mood-swinging priestess' tends to take care of itself."
Hmm... I'm presuming we aren't talking about a monetary debt, neh?" "Correct." The whispers creep into her ears again. Nathrae shakes her head to chase them out, her stark white hair whipping about. "Well, if you aren't able to find employment, I could get you an interview at the Twilight. You any good at wrangling children? I bet you could carry half a dozen on each shoulder!" Minuè's question causes Nathrae's face to twist into an expression of confusion. After a couple of moments, she finds her voice again. Not my usual skillset. Roll with it--make the most of possible opportunities. "...is this your way of vetting me?"
Nathrae opts to ignore Slade's... decidedly uncouth remark. She turns to Minuè. "At the moment? I'm hoping that the Vanderboren heiress will have some use for my skills. I owed her parents a debt... and considering I don't have the best of prospects if I were to return to Zirnakaynin, I'm hoping she'll accept me into her ranks." "Otherwise, I can see if I can hire on to a ship or something..." She shrugs, an uncomfortable chill settling in her gut.
Nathrae was about to remark on the suspicious generosity of Minuè's orphanage when the new arrival to the funeral makes their presence known. "The Meravnchi's are here, ladies beware." The ex-soldier scratches her head. "...Meravanchis? Who are they, exactly?"
Nathrae blinks when Minuè winks at her. ...did some dust get in her eye? Must have. She wouldn't be interested in a grunt like me. She rubs her eye.
Nathrae looks at Minuè's sword as well. "Looks like it's more suited for cavalry than infantry. The curve of the blade allows for a smoother swing while mounted--it follows the rider's arm more easily than a conventional arming sword would." She taps her own gladius. "Mine's a bit more practical. Ideal for close-quarters combat--a well-sharpened tip and short-length blade for thrusting, but with its edges sharpened to such a degree that it can be used for cutting if needed."
Nathrae blinks and feels a bit of blood rushing to her face, turning it a slightly darker shade of unnatural blue-black. "A pleasure. Yes." She takes Minuè's hand for a moment and shakes it.
Nathrae abruptly stiffens a little when she notices the newcomer's returned attention. Oh f*&% was I staring? I was staring. F~$+. F+%$ f#~~ f%*%. Now she thinks I'm weird. She returns the newcomer's nod and turns to busy herself with deciding on another dish to sample.
I'm now picturing Thanaton as having the same voice as The G-Man from Half-Life 2.
"Oh, of course." Nathrae nods at Thanaton. She watches the mage as he approaches the new arrival-- --and her train of thought gets knocked askew a little when she sees who he's approaching. Well. She's well-fit. To be fair, Slade's also quite attractive if you're into Urgothoans, I suppose... and especially Pertinax... and Shikki has an honestly adorable charm to her...
Nathrae rolls her eyes at Slade and shakes her head. "...you remind me of my old CO, ma'am."
Nathrae gives the others an incredulous eye as talk of murdering the plant-like creature circulates around the table. "...can we at least save the talk of *ahem* 'harvesting' until after the funeral is over? Let's try to show a bit of self-control, shall we?"
"...of course." Nathrae nods.
No idea who Urgathoa is. But evidently she doesn't mind the twice-dead.
Nathrae finds herself nodding in agreement with Thanaton on all counts. The small plant-like being doesn't attract much of Nathrae's attention. Her eyes are focused more on the skeleton approaching it--and its handler. Her posture tenses up greatly.
Nathrae's eyes narrow at the four. And before she can even consider the wisdom (or lack thereof) in them, the words have already left her mouth. "Huh. The Vanderborens really were open-minded folk--they even let their janitors attend the funeral."
"Nice to know even a grunt like me can be appreciated." She adds, popping another mushroom into her mouth.
Nathrae winces. ”…they did. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful—I wouldn’t have made the journey otherwise. It’s… the circumstances of our meeting were less than pleasant.”
The mention of many sailors not being able to swim causes an unwelcome--but not unfamiliar--chill to run up Nathrae's spine and throughout the rest of her body. Darkness bubbles into the corners of her vision for a moment before she forces them back. "...lucky you." She mumbles before taking a flat-capped purple mushroom from a nearby bowl and popping it into her mouth.
Nathrae looks over at Shikki, her expression puzzled. "Oh, is that how they died?" She finishes her fried spider and snatches up a glass of serpent wine, knocking it back like it's a shot of whiskey.
Trevor's mentioning of being educated in anatomy causes Nathrae's head to swivel towards him, her eyes slightly wide. "...I suppose I should be grateful that they were skilled enough in their field to teach it to others." She jokes, her lips breaking into a patently false and strained smile. |