Sorcerer 3 / Rogue(UC) 1, HP 28, AC16(FF12,T16), FORT 2, REF 7, WILL 5(6 vs illusions), INIT 4, Perception 9
Gender
M
Size
Tiny
Age
2
Special Abilities
Low-Light Vision, Scent, Land on Feet, Nine Lives, Gesture Expertise, Go Unnoticed, Sneak Attack +2d6, Jaunter's Hop, Bloodline: Deep Earth (wildblooded Bedrock)
Alignment
Neutral
Deity
none
Languages
Cat, Taldane (Common), Elven, Undercommon, Sylvan
Occupation
Cat
Strength
5
Dexterity
18
Constitution
12
Intelligence
14
Wisdom
14
Charisma
18
About Premek
DEFENSE
AC 16 =10 +4 (Dex) +2(Size) touch 16, flat-footed 12
HP 28
Fort 2 = +1 +1(CON)
Ref 7 = +3 +4(DEX)
Will 5 = +3 +2(WIS)
* based on Dex, not Str, as a racial trait (Nimble)
HISTORY
On a warm sunny day in Phaendar, you might take a stroll down Orchard Lane. Near the end, you might spy a good-sized but rickety old house set back a ways from the lane, with an uneven low wall of piled stones bordering a somewhat overgrown garden mainly dominated by apple trees and rose vines. If you looked harder, you might notice a well-tended herb bed closer to the house, and a few cats wandering the garden or sunning themselves on the porch. Crystals and windchimes hang from the porch overhang. You might find the same house on a dark night, perhaps with strange lights in the windows, but if you stopped on such a night to stare, you would see cat eyes reflecting back at you before a neighbor might come out to tell you to move along, come back on the morrow. If you were in dire straights and insistent, they might tell you to explain your business to a cat and hope for the best. But if you insist on entering the garden at such a late hour, it had best be due to mortal peril.
That house is the home of Nadezhda, a human woman one might guess to be in her 60's. Some call her eccentric, others rumor her to be a witch or sorceress or other mysterious type. Certainly she is mysterious, and certainly there are villagers who go to her with their troubles, and certainly from time to time there have been villagers who are the cause of troubles who have decided it was best to move on from Phaendar, sometimes in the middle of the night on the shortest of notice.
Of the cats, the constant is an oversized and ancient Siamese named Bohdana. Bohdana had many kittens, some of whom were given to friendly villagers, and some of whom went feral. At any time there might be anywhere from several to a half dozen other cats and kittens living in and around the house. No matter their number, Bohdana was their implacable matriarch, not to be challenged or trifled with. Rather, she was the wise overlord who permitted them to frolick and hunt and laze about in her domain, as long as they respected her rulership. And the implacable terror of those who did not.
On sunny days, neighbor children who politely asked the cats might be permitted to play in the garden, or Nadezhda might sit on the porch and tell them stories about things that live in the forests and mountains, in the open air and in the darkness. Sometimes she would give them cookies, sometimes they would bring bread or fruit from the orchard or produce from the farms on behalf of their families who appreciated a bit of help in the past.
One of the cats is a sable Burmese with dark face, paws, and tail, named Premek (or sometimes Premysl or Przemo or Mekkie). He was one of Bohdana's kittens two years ago and has grown up to be a sleek, compact cat, nimble and quick but friendly and charming when he wishes to be. He is very expressive and tends to push around other cats (and dogs, but never Bohdana). Sometimes, on a clear sunny day, you might think your eyes have played a trick on you because you can't quite make out his shadow, but in the shade on the porch, it's hard to tell. You might think the same of Bohdana and another cat here and there, but definitely not all of them. There's Darja, for example, a pretty calico who enjoys lazing in the sun, and you can see her shadow clearly.
Spoiler:
If the cats were inclined to speak of Nadezhda -- which they were not -- they would certainly have said the old witch treated them well, and had a respectful relationship with Bohdana. The two of them would quietly discuss arcane mysteries for hours on end, and while Nadezhda's knowledge was extensive, Bohdana would bring her new secrets from a place no one could say. (Perhaps the dreamlands, where the other cats would wander, or the moon, but sometimes it seemed the secrets were not the sort of secrets one might learn in such places. Some of them related to the deep, dark places in the earth.) The simplest of these mysteries they might share with one of the more attentive other cats, which frequently included Premek (especially regarding the secrets of the deep, dark places). And in the house, when he wasn't chased out (which was most but not all of the time), he would watch when they put their knowledge to use. But they hardly ever called upon these mysteries in public, except occasionally a little cantrip to amuse a neighbor child.
