:: Random NPC—Winona, Siren Expert ::

The first thing you hear is the plinking of bone against bone in quick rhythmic trills. The first thing you see is a curious-looking siren virtually wrapped from her long neck to her lengthy curling tail in informal vestments of seaweed and sponge. Whereas most merfolk you've seen—especially the females—have voluminous tresses of sea-green hair, this one is entirely bald, revealing prominent cranial fins. The plinking is coming from a marimba of sorts, crafted from the ribcage of what must have been a massive fish.

The plinking stops as the siren becomes aware of your presence. She quickly sets down a pair of fishbone mallets, tugging at her coverings to be sure no part of her below the neck or above the wrists is exposed. She turns (really just rolling over to lean on her other flank) to see who has arrived.

"How many have you brought?" she drawls in a high, shrill voice. She extends one webbed hand, clutching her clothes tighter to her body with the other. "The lamps! Give them to me—I must have all of them!" And only now do you notice: in the corner of the grotto sits a massive pile of discarded lamps of every variety—old and new, metal and clay, pristine and shattered beyond repair.

:: Random NPC--Forest Marshal Saturnina ::

Forest Marshal Saturnina (“To Sow”)

by Krista Kubie, 6/27/2015

a ranai bulb-lantern bearer

Race: Ranai

Age: Adult

Gender: Female

Stature: Tall

Physical: Broad shoulders

Outwardly: Exuberant

Inwardly: Joyful

Profession: Marshall

Magic: Wunderkind--Enmity/ Love

Catchphrase: “Heeey! You cut that out you crazy...person!”

As you hack and slash and slash and hack your way through the underbrush, you are suddenly halted mid-slash by a shrill exuberant voice. “Heeey! You cut that out you crazy...person!” A tall, braod-shouldered ranai woman swings in from a neighboring copse of trees, nearly tngled in the vine she’s riding. “You just cut through two snakes and a tree that just had it’s four-thousand-three-hundred-and-sixty-first birthday!”

:: Random NPC—Yale, Bórean Dendrite ::

Yale (“Fertile Upland”)

by Wm Jay Carter III, 6/25/15

a bórean

Race: Bórean

Age: Adult

Gender: Female

Stature: Short

Physical: Small Head

Outwardly: Paranoid

Inwardly: Desperate

Profession: Physician

Magic: Dendrite—Awakened

Animal: Lion “Caerwyn”

Catchphrase: “You there. Is the Winslie village up ahead? Tell me truths or I will know! Hurry, speak!”

As you leave the Winslie village toward the Dreaming Desert you see a strange sight; out on the horizon a silhouette wavers in the heat. You take it to be a lion, but struggle to understand why it has the upper body of a snouted creature, complete with two massive clawed hands, growing out of its neck. You shake your head, wondering if the sands have already begun to take hold on your mind. Regardless, the silhouette is fast approaching.

When the beast reaches you at last, your eyes correct themselves—it is not one beast but two. The snouted creature turns out to be a bórean with an exceptionally small head. The mole-woman reins in her snow-white mount and hails you from a cautious distance. “You there. Is the Winslie village up ahead? Tell me truths or I will know! Hurry, speak!”

:: Random NPC—Lin, Winslie Wizard ::

Lin (“Gem”)

by Wm Jay Carter III, 5/27/15

Race: Winslie (Spider/Octopus/Tree)

Age: Adult

Gender: Female

Stature: Average

Physical: Long Neck

Outwardly: Tired

Inwardly: Scared

Profession: Sheriff

Magic: Wizard—Summoning/Banishment

Catchphrase: “I am the sheriff. Summon the moot! There’s been an offense against the crown...or will be very soon!”

Upon advice from the locals, you go looking for the sheriff to settle the matter of your missing possessions. You find that she is not in the moot hall, and not in her arcane study. Only then do you hear a soul-splitting wail from the direction of the desert. Arriving at the edge of town, you see a cloaked winslie woman staggering forward, clutching her head. Extending her long neck in your direction, she hastily pulls her hood down over her glowing eyes. You mention that you were looking for the sheriff. “I am the sheriff,” she says with heavy breaths. “Summon the moot! There has been an offense against the crown...or will be very soon!”

:: Random NPC—King Geoffrey ::

King Geoffrey (Gabrielle)

by Wm Jay Carter III, 5/23/15

Homeland: Toulouse

Age: Adult

Gender: Female

Stature: Short

Physical: Big Nose

Eyes: Amber

Hair: Brown

Outwardly: Shocked

Inwardly: Apprehensive

Profession: Ewerer

Money: Well-Off

Catchphrase: “Oh, my! Yes, well, you don’t have to… That is, erm. Speak…! I command you!”

You enter the throne room and are immediately flanked by the royal guard. They cross their spears and order you not to look upon His Majesty. As soon as you avert your gaze, they lead you to the throne and order you to kneel before the king. As you kneel, staring at the plush carpet, the king speaks: “Oh, my! Yes, well, you don’t have to… That is, erm. Speak…! I command you!”

:: Random NPC—Seaman Henry ::

Seaman Henry

by Wm Jay Carter III, 5/13/15

Homeland: Roman Empire

Age: Adult

Gender: Male

Stature: Tall

Physical: Small Nose

Eyes: Brown

Hair: Blonde

Outwardly: Hurt

Inwardly: Determined

Profession: Steward

Money: Rich

Catchphrase: “Forgive me; I have just come from addressing a personal matter. Let us discuss the matter at hand.”

As you walk into the spacious mansion, the butler greets you at the door. Ushering you into the sitting room, the butler reminds you that the master is not in and the steward will be with you presently. You study your sumptuous surroundings in the butler’s absence until at last a tall, blonde man enters dressed in fine attire. He presses a work-gnarled finger under his long, small nose with marked emotion. “Forgive me; I have just come from addressing a personal matter. Let us discuss the matter at hand.”