Redclaw's Protectors

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Creation Guidelines
Races and Classes: 4E PHB
Abilities: Standard Array (16, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10)
Equipment: 100 gp's worth, no more than 10 gp in coin
No armor above chain available

Osric--Dwarf Fighter—Pathfinderq1
Penance—Tiefling Cleric of the Raven Queen—Walking Dad
Valamir—Human Warlock (Star Pact)—EvolutionKB
Immeral--Eladrin Ranger--Zurai
Mirna—Human Wizard—Graf

Valamir, Human Star Pact Warlock

[sblock=Character Sheet]Valamir
Human Male Warlock(Star Pact) 1
Alignment: Good
Deity: Pelor
Region: Evenfall
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 190lbs
Hair: Blonde, short and wavy
Skin: Tan
Eyes: Sky Blue
Age: 20
Exp: 260

Str: 13(+1)
Con: 14(+2)
Dex: 12(+1)
Int: 11(+0)
Wis: 10(+0)
Chr: 18(+4)

HP: 26 Bloodied: 13
Healing Surges per day/HP healed per surge: 8/6

Initiative: +1
Speed: 5
Passive Senses: Perception/Insight: 10/15
AP: 1

AC: 16 Fortitude: 13 Reflex: 13 Will: 16

Basic Melee attack: +4 vs AC, Dagger, 1d4+1
Basic Ranged attack: +4 vs Reflex, Star Blast, 1d10+4

Arcana +5 (Trained +5, +0 Int)
Bluff +9 (Trained +5, +4 Chr)
Diplomacy +9 (Trained +5, +4 Chr) (Bonus from Soldier of the Faith)
Intimidate +9 (Trained +5, +4 Chr)
Insight +5 (Trained +5, +0 Wis) (Bonus from Human class feature)
Religion +5 (Trained +5, +0 Int)

Feats:
Soldier of the Faith
Armor Proficiency: Chainmail

Languages:
Common, Elven

Racial Abilities:
Extra Trained Skill(already included)
Extra At-Will Power(already included)
Bonus Feat(already included)
Human Defense Bonus(already included)

Class Abilities:

Warlock's Curse: Minor action once per turn, place on enemy nearest than can be seen. Lasts until end of encounter. Once per round after damaging a cursed enemy, an extra 1d6 damage can be applied. Upon a cursed enemy being reduced to 0 hp, Valamir gains a cumulative +1 bonus to a d20 roll made on his next turn. If this bonus is not used it is lost.

Prime Shot: If Valamir is closer to an opponent than any of his allies, he gains +1 on ranged attack rolls against that target.

Shadow Walk: If Valamir moves more than 3 squares on his turn, he gain concealment(+2 AC) until the end of his next turn.

Powers:

At-Will:
Dire Radiance: +3 vs Fort; Range 10; 1d6+3 Radiant Damage. Target takes an additional 1d6+2 damage if moving nearer to Valamir
Eldritch Blast: +5 vs Reflex; Range 10; 1d10+5 damage.
Eyebite: +5 vs Will; Range 10; 1d6+6 Psychic Damage and Valamir is invisible to target until the start of his next turn.

Encounter:
Dreadful Word: +5 vs Will; Range 5; 2d8+6 Psychic Damage and the target takes a -1 to Will defense until the end of Valamir's next turn.
Divine Challenge: Minor Action; Close Burst 5; Target takes a -2 to attack rolls that doesn't include Valamir as a target. If the target attacks somebody other than Valamir, the target takes 7 Radiant Damage.

Daily:
Curse of The Dark Dream: +5 vs Will; Range 10 3d8+6 Psychic Damage and you slide the target 3 squares. Valamir can sustain as a minor action, whether hit or miss, sliding the target 1 square, with a save ending the effect.

Equipment:
Wand of psychic ravaging +1
Chainmail
Dagger
Holy Symbol of Pelor
Adventurer's Kit(backpack, bedroll, flint/steel, belt pouch, two sunrods, ten days of trail rations, 50' of hemp rope, waterskin)
34gp[/sblock]

[sblock=Appearance]Valamir is relatively tall and solidly built from a childhood spent swimming and rowing in the river from which his family made their living. His wavy blonde hair and warm blue eyes are the least of his handsome features. Even in a small town of Evenfall, his has no shortage of admirers. His only mark is the unsightly black burn mark on the palm of his left hand, where he grabbed the Silver Star.[/sblock]

[sblock=Personality]Valamir is easygoing and a hard worker. Trying to do the best he can at everything he does. Valamir is good at deceiving people, though he does so only to spare their feelings, and is good at reading people. The death of his family is not something he likes to talk about, he believes somehow he was the cause. When angry, his blue eyes turn completely black as he draws upon the power of the stars to menace his foes. He feels he is in debt to Immeral, the Eladrin saved him from drowning, and will defend the ranger at all costs.[/sblock]

[sblock=Background]Valamir was the son of a fisherman, who lived in a house on the banks of the Thornwash. Valamir's father plied his trade on the waters in a small canoe, hooking and netting his catch for later drying and salting. He traded his bounty in Evenfall.

Valamir's mother assisted his father in preparing the fish for drying as well as doing paintings. She was well known in Evenfall for her watercolors. Her work varied from the beautiful sunsets paintings of the river and it's landscape, to the horrific, a realistic portrait of a recently gutted trout.

Valamir had two siblings, a brother and sister, twins. They were four years younger than Valamir. They were adept and repairing the nets their father used as well as helping their mother clean the fish. Valamir spent his days carving fishhooks from bits of bone, or collecting crusteaceans from traps laid near shore.

Valamir, as the oldest child had his room in the loft area of their small house. A skylight in the ceiling allowed most of the light in during the day, as well as an outlet for the smoke from their cooking fire. It also provided the family with drinking water. An invention from Phillian, Evenfall's wizard, helped collect rainwater and channel it into storage containers, all the while keeping it relatively dry inside.

When it was cold on clear nights, Valamir often slept beneath the skylight looking at the stars. His father told stories of the constellations, stories of the characters that they represent. Heroes of ages long past.

However, on balmy summer nights, Valamir often snuck outdoors, rowing the canoe out to the middle of the Thornwash. He'd throw a weight down into the water and sleep under the full of sky of stars, dreaming of being a hero like those in the constellations.

On one such fateful night, Valamir slept fitfully, perhaps he was getting to big to lay in the canoe or maybe he was just restless. He passed the night, staring up into the heavens, counting the stars. All of a sudden a shooting star, low and bright, trailed by white flame crossed over the constellation of Hevelka, Slayer of Dragons. It arced towards the horizon, and struck a hill with an loud crash.

Valamir started, he was certain his parents would come to investigate the noise, and find him lounging about in the canoe. But they never came. Valamir looked around nervously, then rowed the canoe towards the opposite shore. He walked for what seemed like hours until he saw the hill, where the fallen star smoked against the coming dawn. As he strode over to it, he saw a small crater had formed around it. The fallen star itself was broken up into pieces. Several black chunks of rock lay around a shiny, perfectly round silver piece of what seemed like metal.

When Valamir picked up the silver piece, it burned his palm, leaving an oddly shaped black mark the size of his palm. It caused him no pain, though at the time it smelled horrible. Valamir shoved the silver star into his pocket and returned home.

Neither parents noticed his absence, for he quickly got to work. When they questioned the burn, he said he had touched the pot in the cooking fire. They seemed satisfied that the burn caused him no discomfort and was not leaking puss or anything of the sort.

In the weeks afterward, things began to change for the child, he discovered when he was angry he could project a silver beam of energy from his burnt hand. He discovered this while gathering crawfish traps. He encountered a nasty snapping turtle that decided to challenge him for taking his meal away. After blasting the shelled one into oblivion, Valamir decided that this ablity could be related to the silver star he carried with him whereever he went. The star blast was only the least of his abilities.

Things then took a turn for the worse. Valamir doesn't remember much of anything from the night, but what he does is horrible. He awoke in his loft to a strange gurgling sound. He rolled to the edge of his bed, to find water a mere few inches lower than his bed. His entire house was flooded! He panicked, and in the process, the silver star fell from his pocket. Valamir dove for the object, and his hand clenched around it, just as it fell beneath the surface of the water. That is all that he remembers.

The next thing he knows, he is being tended to by a young girl in what appeared to be a large room. She said he was found floatingin the river by one of fey. An elf appears, announces himself as Phillian and that they are in his tower in Evenfall. Valamir demands to know where his family is. Phillian states that once his father stopped coming with fish, they investigated. What they found astounded even Phillian. The grass around the family's home was brown and dead. The entire house was waterlogged, as if it had been submerged underwater. Even stranger was that area around the homestead was untouched. His family could not be found

The second thing Valamir asks is where his silver star is. The elf denies knowing of the object(the wizard actually took the object for further study, he recognized magic within it). Valamir, once healthy, returns to the place he called home. He found the stories the elf told were true, and searched the home for his silver star. With his search fruitless, Valamir goes into a rage, nearly bringing the house down around him with his magic, until he realized he didn't need the star to power his magic after all.

After going back to Evenfall, for that was the only place he could go, he found himself adopted by several families. He soon proved his worth, as he brought home game from the surrounding areas, using his ability to fire star light at his targets.

A decade has passed since then, and although only Phillian and his adopted daughter know of his powers, he thinks that others are beginning to catch on, especially the one that saved him from drowning in the river. Valamir is beginning to wear on the day to day activities in Evenfall. They are getting to be boring and he secretly wishes something unexpected would happen. Perhaps then he could be a hero.[/sblock]

Immeral nar Rayya, Eladrin Ranger

Immeral nar Rayya
Male Eladrin Ranger 1
Alignment: Unaligned
Deity: Sehanine
Region: Evenfall
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 165 lbs
Hair: Silver, worn in an intricate braid interwoven with colorful scraps of fabric, strips of fur, and beads
Eyes: Pale jade green
Skin: Fair
Age: ~60
XP: 0

Str: 11 (+0)
Dex: 18 (+4)
Con: 13 (+1)
Int: 12 (+1)
Wis: 14 (+2)
Cha: 12 (+1)

Hit Points: 25 Bloodied: 12
Healing Surge: 6 Surges per day: 7
Initiative: +4
Speed: 6
Perception: 19 Insight: 12
Action Points: 1

AC 16 Fortitude 12 Reflex 15 Will 13

Basic Melee Attack: +3 (Longsword) Damage: 1d8 or 1d8+1
Basic Ranged Attack: +6 (Longbow) Damage: 1d10+4

Skills:

Feats:
Defensive Mobility
Initiate of the Faith

Languages:
Common
Elven

Class and Racial abilities:
+5 Racial bonus to saving throws vs Charm effects
Considered a Fey creature
Trance
Hunter's Quarry
Prime Shot

Powers:
Nimble Strike (At-Will Attack, Standard, Ranged attack + shift)
Twin Strike (At-Will Attack, Standard, Two weaker ranged attacks)

Evasive Strike (Encounter Attack, Standard, Shift + strong ranged attack)
Fey Step (Encounter Racial, Move, 5 square teleport)

Hunter's Bear Trap (Daily Attack, Standard, Strong ranged attack + ongoing damage and slow)
Healing Word (Daily Class Feature, Standard, Self or ally uses a healing surge and gains surge + 1d6 hp)

Equipment:
Leather Armor, 25g, 15 lbs
Longbow, 30g, 3 lbs
60 arrows, 2g, 6 lbs
Longsword, 15g, 4 lbs
Standard adventuring kit, 15g, 33 lbs
Climber's kit, 2g, 11 lbs
Silver Holy Symbol of Sehanine, 10g, 1 lb

Money:
1 g
[sblock=Appearance]Immeral is a tall, thin, but athleticly muscled Eladrin. His long silver hair is arranged in an intricate braid and reaches halfway down his back; intertwined in the braids are a series of leather strips, colored gemstone chips, fur and cloth ribbons, and other assorted colorful decorations. His eyes are a pale jade green shade, almost pastel in hue, and his skin is fair even after weeks in the wilds. He wears clothes of rich green, dark brown, and brilliant blue, often with silver emroidery. His "working clothes" consist of a suit of plain and battered hardened leather armor over dappled brown and green clothing. He carries a simple but functional longsword as well as a beautiful longbow made of a pale silvery wood.[/sblock][sblock=Personality]Immeral is slow to anger, but also slow to befriend. In point of fact, he does not consider himself to have any friends, although he's on a first name basis with many of the townspeople. He isn't standoffish or rude, however; he simply chooses to stay out of the spotlight, stopping by in peoples' lives only long enough to assure himself that nothing is terribly wrong. Still, he has become attached to the community in the decades he's lived near Evenfall, and regularly patrols the wilderness around the town in an attempt to root out and destroy any evil creatures that roost nearby. He gives respect to those who show him respect, but witholds no scorn from those who are overtly rude or disrespectful towards him. People who are indirectly rude or disrespectful are simply ignored and avoided.[/sblock][sblock=Background]Immeral nar Rayya was born in the court of a Ghaele of Spring. It was a marvelous place to grow up; jewel-like flowers bloomed eternally, the trees and grass were shimmering emerald green year round, the brooks and streams that criss-crossed the realm ran clear and clean. The people of the court were a joyous people, spending much time with parties, galas, dances, and balls. Every night candles and light spells would festoon some noble's tree-mansion, and the sound of laughter and merriment could be heard for a league outside its walls. His parents and, indeed, all the Eladrin in the court, were happy people who instilled in Immeral an immense love of life, of laughter, and of knowledge.

The Spring Court was a marvelous place to grow up in. It was not, however, a marvelous place to mature in. As Immeral reached his mid-teens, he began to grow more and more restless. There was very little change in the court; the same people did the same things every day and every night, the landscape was eternally fixed in a beautiful but static springtime state, and even the animals were idyllic, living in harmony with each other as much as possible thanks to the Ghaele's magic. Immeral yearned, above all, for change. So, when he reached his maturity, he said goodbye to his parents and left the Feywild completely, charting his own course in the wilderness of the natural world. His parents, while sad to let him go, acknowledge his need to see new sights and gifted him with an ornate holy symbol of Sehanine and a book of her teachings. It was their hope that faith in a wanderer's God would strengthen him and aid him in his journey.

In the first few years, Immeral wandered through the vast wilds of the natural world without aim. He sought only to experience new things. At dusk when he climbed into the boughs of a tree or sat inside the entrance of a cave or made a tent of thorny bushes, he would pull out the book his parents gave him and read. All through his trance he would read Sehanine's teachings by the light of the stars and moon - as befits a God of the night. What he read therein spoke to the deepest core of his being. Sehanine's message of making your own destiny, following your own path, and avoiding extremes of thought or action were exactly what Immeral himself felt should be his own path through life. When he finished reading the book, he started over again, searching for deeper and more subtle meaning within; he was not disappointed. As he read and re-read the book endlessly in those years, Immeral's faith in Sehanine grew into a devotion fit enough for any priest, cleric, or paladin. He decided that his wanderlust was a divine spark within him, a message from the Goddess Sehanine Moonbow. It was his religious duty to wander the world.

After his epiphany, Immeral set out with a renewed vigor for his aimless wandering. Quickly he realized, however, that perhaps his aimless wandering wasn't so aimless, after all. He found that no matter which direction he set out in at sunrise, his trail always gravitated towards the northeast by the end of the day. Giving in to the inevitible, Immeral followed his calling right up to the town gates of Evenfall - the first town of any significant size he'd encountered since leaving the Spring Court. He didn't stay there long, assuming that whatever he was being guided to was beyond Evenfall. He shortly found out, however, that he was similarly drawn back to the town after leaving its environs for more than a week's travel. Immeral, being trained in the theories of magic if not the practical applications thereof, carefully studied the town, himself, and his surroundings; he could find no magical effect that would cause such a lodestone effect. He was forced to conclude that, for some reason, his path at this time ended in Evenfall.

Once he made the decision to stay, at least for a time, in the area of the human town, Immeral set to work making himself more comfortable. He slipped back into the Feywild and hunted fey animals for their tasty meat and beautiful furs; these he traded in Evenfall for supplies and labor to build himself a small tree-cabin out in the woods. His goods caused quite a stir in town due to their high quality and unnatural beauty; everyone who saw them tried to find out where Immeral had gotten them. Immeral was no fool, however, and realized a good thing when he saw one. Being an exclusive supplier of rare and extraordinary luxuries in a small isolated town would bring with it status and outward, if not necessarily inward, respect. Immeral refused to give anything but extremely cryptic answers to any questions about his goods - "Yes, they're quite un-naturally beautiful, aren't they?" and "I found that one sleeping under the moonlight; I took it as a gift from my Goddess." being two of his common, vague, responses.

Once he settled into life near Evenfall, Immeral began to explore the area, looking for whatever it was that drew him to the area. The first thing he stumbled across, much to his horror, was a den full of slinking goblins. Over two dozen goblins lived in a small cave complex only a day's travel outside of Evenfall. They weren't a direct threat to the town itself, but they could easily overwhelm any of the isolated farms, cabins, or shrines nearby - including his own. He only had to watch as they tortured a rabbit to death to decide that he had no choice: he had to eliminate this blight on the land. He kept careful watch on the den for a week, noting their haphazard patrols, familiarizing himself with each individual goblin's personality, and determining who their leader was. Once he felt he could wait no longer, he ambushed a hunting group of four goblins, burned the corpses, then picked off each, increasingly more frightened, patrol as they were sent after the missing hunting party. By the time the goblins stopped sending their patrols, Immeral had killed half of them.

With a dozen fighting goblins left alive huddling in the cave, Immeral knew that he had to be extremely careful. He couldn't possibly fight all of them at once. He crept up to camp unnoticed and waited for one of the inevitable arguments to spring up inside. Once most of the goblins had joined in the ensuing scuffle, Immeral began his attack. His first two arrows caught the two goblin sentries - who were paying far more attention to the fight inside the cave than threats outside it - through their throats, and the faint gurgles they made as they died went unheard by the squabbling mass inside the cave. Watchers disposed of, Immeral aimed his shots carefully, thinning the ranks from the outside in. By the time the arguing goblins realized they were under attack, there were only 8 left. They grabbed their weapons and howled out of the cave, chasing every imagined attacker. The goblins scattered to the wind in their frenzy to kill their unseen attacker, and Immeral was able to pick each off, one by one.

In the years and decades since, Immeral has never found what draws him to Evenfall. He continues to patrol the wilds nearby, keeping the area relatively clear of danger - though, as young Valamir's family found out, one Eladrin cannot keep out all the evil. Immeral has kept himself separate from most of the townsfolk, although he has accepted occasional invitations to dine with Phillian and discuss history, religion, arcana, and other subjects with him and, later, his "daughter" Mirna. He is also friendly with several of the herbalists and apothecaries in town, although he still confides in no one but himself. With the patience only one of the Elder Races can have, Immeral continues to wait and to search...[/sblock]

(Osric's write-up- converted to standard format)
[sblock=Character Sheet]Osric Vonheim
Dwarven male Fighter 1 (great weapon build)
Alignment: Good
Deity: Kord
Region: Evenfall
Height: 4'8"
Weight: 195 lbs
Hair: black
Skin: deeply tanned
Eyes: brown
Age: 19
Exp: 0

Str: 16 (+3)
Con: 16 (+3)
Dex: 12 (+1)
Int: 11 (+0)
Wis: 15 (+2)
Chr: 10 (+0)

HP: 31 Bloodied: 15
Healing Surges per day/HP healed per surge: 12/7

Initiative: +1
Speed: 5 (Even in heavy armor or with a heavy load)
Senses: Low-light vision; passive Perception/Insight: 12/12
AP: 1

AC: 16 Fortitude: 15 Reflex: 11 Will: 12

Basic Melee attack: +6 vs AC, halberd, 1d10+3, (reach 2)
Basic Ranged attack: +3 vs AC, Sling, 1d6+1, range 10/20

Skills:
+7 Athletics (+5 trained, +3 stat, -1 armor)
+9 Dungeoneering (Bonus, +5 trained, +2 WIS +2 racial)
+9 Endurance (+5 trained, +3 CON,+2 racial, -1 armor)
+7 Healing (+5 trained, +2 WIS)

Feats:
Warrior of the wild

Languages:
Common, Dwarven

Racial Abilities (Dwarf):
Cast-iron stomach: +5 to saves vs. poison
Dwarven resilience: Use second wind as a minor action, not standard
Dwarven weapon proficiency: proficient with throwing hammer and warhammer
Encumbered speed: No speed penalty for armor or heavy load
Stand your ground: Forced move 1 less space (if desired), immediate saving throw to resist being knocked prone


Class Abilities (fighter):
Combat challenge- Mark target with attack (hit or miss); Marked target has -2 to hit if the attack does not include Osric; Adjacent Marked targets that shift or attack other targets are subject to immediate attack
Combat superiority- +2 to hit with Opportunity attacks, an opponent hit by an Opportunity attack stops moving (if the attack was triggered by movement)
Fighter weapon talent- +1 to hit with two-handed weapons



Powers (numbers assume he is using his halberd):
At-will: Cleave (+6 vs. AC, 1d10+3 and adjacent enemy takes 3 HP)
At-will: Reaping strike (+6 vs. AC, 1d10+3; miss deals 3 HP)
Encounter: Covering strike (+6 vs. AC, 2d10+3 and ally adjacent to target may shift 2 squares)
(+Encounter: Hunter's Quarry, lasts 1 round; choose nearest enemy as quarry, deal +1d6 damage on one attack)
Daily: Villain's menace (+6 vs. AC; hit = 2d10+3 and gain +2 bonus to hit and +4 bonus to damage against target for remainder of encounter; miss= +1 bonus to hit and +2 bonus to damage against target for the rest of the encounter)




Equipment (105 lb):
-Chainmail Armor
-Halberd
-Hand axe
-Sling
-20 sling bullets
-Dagger
-Adventurer's Kit(backpack, bedroll, flint/steel, belt pouch, two sunrods, ten days of trail rations, 50' of hemp rope, waterskin)
-Basic clothing (2 sets- 1 worn, 1 in pack)
Spare cash (4gp, 10 sp)[/sblock]

[sblock=Appearance](Coming soon)
[/sblock]

[sblock=Personality]Osric is a good-hearted fellow- he is hard-working and brave, though a bit gruff, at least around those he doesn't know well. Behind his stone-faced exterior, he is nice enough, but he is much better at listening than at speaking. He loves heroic tales, and when among friends he can laugh and tell stories as well as anyone. He has a strong protective instinct around those who are less able to defend themselves.[/sblock]

[sblock=Background] Osric never really knew his father- the older dwarf worked as a guardsman for Evenfall, and he died fighting orcs (Or whatever?) that had been raiding the outlying farms which supported the town. Osric's mother raised him herself- she worked as a healer, midwife, and herbalist- as such Osric grew up seeing a lot of children around the house, and soon developed a protective instinct to those who were younger or weaker than he was. And even from a fairly early point, lots of people were younger and weaker than he was- he took an apprenticeship with the local smith early on, and quickly turned into a burly lad, even for a dwarf. His apprenticeship didn't work out terribly well, though- he was always more interested in wielding weapons than in making them, and he often practiced for hours after his normal chores were done. What spare time he had was often spend hanging around with the towns guardsmen- at least until a few years ago. With only a few professional enforcers in town, competition for the spots was fierce, and some of the men who took the job were less than completely honorable. Recently, Osric became disillusioned with the local guardsmen, and he has hired out as an independent guard for some of the gold panners who wanted to venture a bit farther out along the river, into dangerous territory. Just last week, Osric very nearly got himself arrested when he stepped into a dispute between one of the guardsmen and a young woman who was not interested in the man's "attention". Only the fact that several reputable townsfolk, (including one of the local clergy) witnessed the incident kept things from getting ugly. Osric has continued to practice with a few other locals about his own age, but he seems quieter and more sullen- obviously the atmosphere in town is wearing on him.[/sblock]

Quests and adventuring: [sblock] 1. Minor quest- get some worgsbane for mom [/sblock]

Penance

Penance, Tiefling Cleric (Raven Queen)

Penance is a follower of of the Raven Queen, deity of death, fate and winter, but due to his parents devotion to Pelor, he keeps his allegience to himself.

[sblock=crunch]
Str: 14
Con: 10
Dex: 13
Int: 11 -> 13
Wis: 16
Cha: 12 -> 14

Bonus Feat: Ritualist (Gentle Repose, Make Whole)
Feat: Astral Fire

Skills:
Passive Insight: 18
Passive Perception: 13

Religion (Int): +6
Arcana (Int): +6
Heal (Wis): +8
Insight (Wis): +8

At-Will Powers: Lance of Faith, Priest Shield
Encounter Powers: Divine Glow
Daily Powers: Guardian of Faith

HP: 22
Surge healing: 5

AC: 16 (Chainmail)
Fort: 12
Reflex: 11
Will: 15

Advanced Planning:
Feats:
2 Ferocious Rebuke
4 Hellfire Blood
6 Shield Proficiency

Equipment:
Standard adventurer’s kit 15 gp 33 lb.:
Backpack (empty) 2 gp 2 lb.
- Bedroll 1 sp 5 lb.
- Flint and steel 1 gp —
- Pouch, belt (empty) 1 gp 1/2 lb.
- Rations, trail (10 days) 5 gp 10 lb.
- Rope, hempen (50 ft.) 1 gp 10 lb.
- Sunrods (2) 4 gp 2 lb.
- Waterskin 1 gp 4 lb.

Also in Backpack
- Torch (2) 2 sp 2 lb.
- Ritualbook (free)
- Ritual Components
-- Gentle Repose 10 gp
-- Make Whole 10 gp worth

Holy symbol 10 gp 1 lb.
Morningstar +2 1d10 10 gp 8 lb.
Dagger +3 1d4 5/10 1 gp 1 lb. Light blade Off-hand, light thrown
Chain Mail +3 –1 -1 40 gp 40 lb.
96.2
Cash: 3 gp 8 sp[/sblock][sblock=Fluff]
Appearance:
[sblock]

[sblock]
2.5b5*m1*Character Name*Hair:Standard,flatlong2,940018,6A0108,100,100,24,Eyebrows:Standard,hulk,313131,202020,100,100,21,Eyes:Standard,pharoah,B2B2B2,DDDDDD,100,100,20,Nose:Standard,thinbroke,342700,FFFFFF,100,100,28,Mouth:Standard,clenched,6A0108,6A0108,100,100,18,Beard:Standard,longchin,341600,392400,100,100,27,Ears:Standard,fraBlank,FFFFFF,FFFFFF,100,100,19,Skin:Expansion1,tiger,341200,392400,100,100,6,Mask:Standard,fraBlank,FFFFFF,FFFFFF,100,100,22,Headgear:Standard,demonhorns,4B4B4B,202020,100,100,23,Undershirt:Standard,long,8D6531,AC814A,100,100,7,Overshirt:Expansion1,mailHauberk,BDBDBD,B2B2B2,100,100,8,Coat:Expansion1,trenchopen,005572,6A0108,100,100,26,RightGlove:Standard,wrought,005572,6A0108,100,100,17,LeftGlove:Standard,wrought,005572,6A0108,100,100,16,Insignia:Standard,hawk,202020,940018,100,100,25,Neckwear:Expansion1,crystal,390F7C,FFFA9C,100,100,9,Belt:Expansion1,rightCross,734901,7A7500,100,100,15,Leggings:Standard,fraBlank,FFFFFF,FFFFFF,100,100,10,Overleggings:Expansion1,capris,434343,005572,100,100,11,Pants:Expansion1,mailSkirt,B2B2B2,BDBDBD,100,100,14,RightFoot:Standard,floppy,5A3410,724D21,100,100,13,LeftFoot:Standard,floppy,5A3410,724D21,100,100,12,Back:Standard,backpack,5A3410,724D21,100,100,3,Wings:Standard,fraBlank,FFFFFF,FFFFFF,100,100,4,Tail:Expansion1,fox,392000,110600,100,100,5,Aura:Expansion1,growth,DD002A,FF0000,100,100,2,Companion:Standard,fraBlank,FFFFFF,FFFFFF,100,100,31,Background:New,mesas,5A3410,734901,100,100,1,RightHand:Expansion1,flange2,8C8C8C,726552,100,100,30,LeftHand:Expansion1,fire,FF0000,5A5A5A,100,100,29,#
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Personality: Penance seems hard-hearted and reserved to others. But this is only an acceptance of fate and death as part of life that results in a stoic, but not fatalistic worldview. He dutifully follows the Raven Queen's code.
In groups, he is quite adaptable to new ideas, but an unshakable voice of common sense to overly heroic ideas.

Background: Penance has never known his true parents. He only knows the human couple that raised him. Devoted followers of Pelor, they forced him to pray for forgivness of his unclean form and for the (imagined) sins of his true parents. But in his heart, Penance had known that this was wrong. He could not pray to a god who sees the world only in black and white.
But he found faith. Introduced by a pilgrim, he was taught in the ways of the Raven Queen. To her he devoted his heart and soul.
Because of the prejudices in a "town", that only prayed to the sun, that preached of light, but does nothing against the growing darkness and to a nature god that governed the wolves that preyed on their herds, he kept his faith a secret, despite being an ordained cleric of the Dark Queen...[/sblock]

[sblock=Mirna DMs Block]
Passive Perception 17 ✦ Passive Insight 17
Defenses 15/11/15/15
Hit points 23 Bloodied 11 (Surges: 7)[/sblock]

[sblock=Mirna "Oakspine" Level 1 Human Wizard]
Initiative +0; Senses Perception +7
HP 23; Bloodied 11; Healing Surge 5 hit points (7/day)
AC 15; Fort 12, Ref 15, Will 15
Speed 6
Action Points 1
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a sour look (standard; at-will) ✦ non-Weapon
+0 vs Will; 0 damage and the victim may feel guilty about beating up a defenseless girl
Magic Missile (standard; at-will) ✦ Arcane, Force, Implement
Range 20 | +4 vs Ref; 2d4+4 damage | Counts as a basic attack.
Scotching Burst (standard; at-will) ✦ Arcane, Fire, Implement
Burst 1 (w/in 10 squares) | +4 vs Ref; 1d6+4 damage
Thunderwave (standard; at-will) ✦ Arcane, Thunder, Implement
Close blast 3 | +4 vs Fort; Hit: all creatures in blast take 1d6+4 damage and are pushed 2 squares
Icy Terrain (standard; encounter) ✦ Arcane, Cold, Implement
Burst 1 (w/in 10 squares) | +4 vs Ref; Hit: 1d6+4 damage and knocked prone. Effect: Area is difficult terrain until end of Mirna's next turn; dismiss as minor
Freezing Cloud (standard; daily) ✦ Arcane, Cold, Implement
Burst 2 (w/in 10 squares) | +4 vs Ref; Hit: 1d8+4 damage and knocked prone. Miss: Half Damage. Effect: Could remains until the end of Mirna's next turn any creature that enters the cloud or start's its turn there is subject to another attack; dismiss as minor
Sleep (standard; daily) ✦ Arcane, Implement Sleep
Burst 2 (w/in 20 squares) | +4 vs Will; Hit: The target is slowed (save ends). If the target fails its first saving throw against this power, the target becomes unconscious (save ends).
Miss: The target is slowed (save ends).
✦Rituals✦ 10 minutes

• Animal Messenger (Nature)
• Silence (Arcana)
• Tenser’s Floating Disk (Arcana)

Staff of Defense (immediate interrupt; encounter) ✦ ImplementOnce per encounter as an immediate interrupt, you gain a bonus to defense against one attack equal to +1. You can declare the bonus after the Dungeon Master has already told you the damage total.
Light (minor; At-will) ✦ Arcane
Range 5 | The light fills the target’s square and all squares within 4 squares of it. The light lasts for 5 minutes. Putting out the light is a free action. Only one light at a time.
Mage Hand (minor; At-will) ✦ Arcane, Conjuration
Range 5 | [sblock=Mage Hand]You conjure a spectral, floating hand in an unoccupied square within range. The hand picks up, moves, or manipulates an adjacent object weighing 20 pounds or less and carries it up to 5 squares. If you are holding the object when you use this power, the hand can move the object into a pack, a pouch, a sheath, or a similar container and simultaneously move any one object carried or worn anywhere on your body into your hand.
As a move action, you can move the hand up to 5 squares. As a free action, you can cause the hand to drop an object it is holding, and as a minor action, you can
cause the hand to pick up or manipulate a different object.
Sustain Minor: You can sustain the hand indefinitely.
Special: You can create only one hand at a time.
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Prestidigitation (minor; At-will) ✦ Arcane, Conjuration
Range 2 | [sblock=Prestidigitation]Use this cantrip to accomplish one of the effects
given below.

• ✦ Move up to 1 pound of material.
  ✦ Create a harmless sensory effect, such as a shower of sparks, a puff of wind, faint music, or a strong odor.
  ✦ Color, clean, or soil items in 1 cubic foot for up to 1 hour.
  ✦ Instantly light (or snuff out) a candle, a torch, or a small campfire.
  ✦ Chill, warm, or flavor up to 1 pound of nonliving material for up to 1 hour.
  ✦ Make a small mark or symbol appear on a surface for up to 1 hour.
  ✦ Produce out of nothingness a small item or image that exists until the end of your next turn.
  ✦ Make a small, hand-held item invisible until the end of your next turn.

Nothing you create with this cantrip can deal damage, serve as a weapon or a tool, or hinder another creature’s actions. This cantrip cannot duplicate the effect of any
other power.
Special: You can have as many as three prestidigitation effects active at one time.[/sblock]
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Alignment Unaligned; Languages Common, Draconic, Elvin
Str 10 (+0) Dex 12 (+1) Con 13 (+1)
Int 18 (+4) Wis 14 (+2) Cha 11 (+0)

Acrobatics +1u, Athletics +0u, Arcana +9, Bluff +0u, Diplomacy +5, Endurance +1u, History +9, Insight +7. Intimidateu +0, Nature +9, Perception +7, Religionu +5, Stealth +6
u Untrained Skill
Gear: Staff of Defense, ratty collection of crudely bound scrolls (spellbook - made up rather poorly to look like a cookbook about fungi); 20 gp of rare herbs, 20 of arcane materials, 40gp resdidium.
Adventurer's Kit?: Backpack, Bedroll, Flint and Steel, Belt pouch, 2 sunrods, 10 days of trail rations, 50' of hemp rope, and a Waterskin.

xgp

[sblock=Appearance]Mirna is tall and rangy. Her hands and feet seem to be just a little bit bigger than they should be. No one has ever seen her wear a dress, until recently she was invariably dressed in a pair of patched pants and a worn shirt. Recently she's started to wear a flowing shirt that look suspiciously like a robe; putting on airs the townfolk think, since she's not a proper wizard.
For a long time she kept her fine blond hair short, but she's recently started to grow it out and it now hangs down her chin when it's not tied up (which it usually is).
Her high cheekbones, slightly pointed ears and pale blue eyes hint at elvin blood, but only a hint.
She seems to attract dirt, her habits aren't necessarily messy, in fact some of her guardian's fastidiousness seems to have rubbed off on her, but, nevertheless, she's always going about with a smudged face and ink stained fingers.[/sblock]

[sblock=Build Details]
Bonus Feat: Ritual Caster
Feat: Trained Stealth
Bonus Feat: Trained Perception
Human Skill: Trained Bluffhas to be class skill... diplomacy is closest I think.

Desired Feats: Toughness (wizard needs foodtoughness badly), burning blizzard; action surge; durable; human perseverance; expanded spellbook

I do not have the orb, I just spent time typing it up and didn't want to "lose" it.
✦Orb of Imposition (free; encounter) ✦ Arcane, Implement [sblock=Orb]Once per encounter as a free action, you can use your orb to gain one of the following two effects.

• You can designate one creature you have cast a wizard spell upon that has an effect that lasts until the subject succeeds on a saving throw. That creature takes a penalty to its saving throws against that effect equal to -2.
• You can choose to extend the duration of an effect created by a wizard at-will spell (such as cloud of daggers or ray of frost) that would otherwise end at the end of your current turn. The effect instead ends at the end of your next turn.

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[sblock=Equipment]Adventurers Kit, Staff, 60 gp of Alchemical Reagents (arcana ritual components) and 20 gp of Rare Herbs (nature ritual components)
0gp[/sblock]
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[sblock=Background]Too long, needs its own post... :/
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[sblock=Mirna's Background]No one in town was particularly happy to see the robed woman come to town one frigid winter night all those years ago. The shimmering runes on her robe were trouble. But the half-elf was frightfully pregnant and dragging along a half frozen young daughter and the worst winter storm of the year was blowing down on the town. So they put her up in the old stable house among the horses. That night saw strange, ominous signs in the sky and around the barn.

It had been a difficult winter already; Norsten and half of the men of the village had traveled out along the road to get a wagon train filled with essential supplies back to the town and been trapped in the heavy snows.
Phillian had struck down a visiting warlock a few weeks back, with a blast that leveled part of the inn. Twenty witnesses had seen the elf blow a man (and part of a building) away with a flick of his finger and sharp word. No one wanted to be the one to wake him. (The townsfolk as a whole have a poor appreciation for how little elves sleep).

Nobody wanted to get involved. Nobody wanted to travel to Phillian's tower in the storm to ask him what to do.
Morning came and the woman was found dead. She'd arranged hay around her daughter in a circle of funny little marks that gave off an unnatural warmth. She'd apparently collapsed from exhaustion and died before she could complete the second circle around herself.
Her child, showing traces of elf in her face, exhausted from the travel, slept peacefully the whole night .

This was magic obviously, and one of the stable boys was sent for the elf. He arranged for a quick burial but could find no-one to take the girl. Lacking Norsten's ability to cajole the townsfolk (they feared him, but they feared the trouble of taking in some strange part-elf witch-girl more) he was forced to take the girl back to his tower.
It was a terrible bother at first. She wouldn't sleep at night unless he sung to her in elvin (even then she was obviously bright and spoke both languages with facility) and spent the day roving through his carefully organized tower like an imp doused in holy water. Research had to be put on hold, rules had to be explained (three times).
Still, Oakspine was not an elf to be trifled with, and by the time that Norsten had gotten the caravan back to the town a few weeks later something like order prevailed over the tower. The girl's knew her name was Mirna (which, improbably came from the elvin word for "dutiful") but at a few years old she understood little more about herself.

The girl was fostered off, of course, once the winter abated. Once Norsten assured people that they'd receive rations from the town storehouse in exchange for taking in the girl many families were happy to oblige. And no-one thought any good would come from having the girl stay with scary old Oakspine (including Oakspine himself of course -- he had research to attend to.)
No one, that is, except Mirna.

It was around this time the town developed the saying "dutiful in elvin" which would, for years, be applied to any situation where something was supposed to be one thing but was really it's opposite. The girl was uncontrollable. She refused to speak common. She pretended not to understand common. If she was outside she wanted to be inside, if she was locked up she'd get out as soon as someone looked away. Skinny and "only a pound heavier than a cat" children twice her age soon feared her teeth (and her habit of extracting revenge at a later date). She seemed to delight in havoc, most famously when she let out 20 pigs and rode around for almost a minute on the fattest one laughing with glee.

And each night, no matter how she was locked up, the girl would manage to get away to Oakspine's tower.
After he caught her dangling from the second window of his house Oakspine took to simply leaving his front door unlocked with a magical light and a bundle of sleeping furs. He explained that "My research isn't disrupted this way, and I don't have to worry about finding some frozen body under my bushes in the morning".
Soon he was leaving hard boiled eggs and bread for morning meal before he went to sleep for the night. "Keeps her from banging about in the morning and disrupting my trance."
Then cheese. "She'll dig it out anyway."
For her part Mirna was as mindful of the elf as she was insolent toward everyone else. She kept his rules, followed his instructions and even stopped fighting (more or less) with the other children. She only obeyed the letter of those things, not the spirit - but Phillian had no problem crafting airtight rules and debating them with great facility in common and elvin - so the effect was much the same.

It was fairly obvious to everyone what had to happen. Mirna got her own little room - a nook really - under the stairway in the entryway to Phillian's little tower. Phillian's food was already made for him and brought by a nearby family, so it the amount was simply increased slightly. The girl finally started to put on weight (Rule: All food is to be eaten before you leave the table.)
And peace descended upon Evenfall again.

In the tower peace was too strong a word. Rules requiring the consumption of all vegetables brought to the table seemed to coincide with a disappearance of spinach from the delivery box. The discovery of a mound of rotting spinach in the cellar led to increased security surrounding the delivery of food. And so forth. Phillian laid rules with the same focus that he applied toward crafting a magical circle and enforced them with the same rigidity.

The girl had terrible night frights, necessitating a regular nightly pause in research so that Phillian could sing her to sleep.
When she was bored (which was all the time) the girl roved the house. Everything that didn't have a lock had to be warded shut. Interesting looking containers that were warded shut seemed to mysteriously fall from heights and break open. After a little dwarven iron box Phillian kept on his bedstand mysteriously fell from the third story window (it didn't open, but it did have a large dent) Phillian embarked on a desperate course of action.

Aware that humans develop more quickly than elves but unaware of the details Phillian taught the girl to read. Not that he had proper books for children. Phillian simply started on "simple" history texts. Never mind that most of the townsfolk couldn't read something that complex. They were the simplest he had and Phillian made do.
This necessitated a whole new set of rules (To cut down on the constant questions all new words had to be looked up in three different appropriate reference works).
The definition of appropriate reference was debated exhaustively (the cookbook didn't count, nor the book of heraldry). But eventually the flood of questions trickled down to a stream. And from Phillian's standpoint intellectual challenges weren't challenges at all. His house was quiet, the girl was suddenly imminently trackable (she was wherever he left her, surrounded by a mound of books).
Meals were attended promptly and over quickly -- Phillian allowed no reading at the table, if anything he had to struggle to get the girl to chew properly, but the elf over a decade would ultimately prevail and basic table manners would be absorbed (Phillian 's idea of "basic" table manners being rather more developed than a common person's).
When they did speak the girl was vastly more interesting (from Phillian's standpoint); occasionally she'd even say something insightful. Oakspine found a dinner companion fluent in elvin, even a child, to be somewhat more agreeable to dining alone. He had little opportunity to use even an iota of his vast knowledge during his regular life, it was pleasant to revisit various historical periods and areas in light conversation.

When it got out that the six year old was reading elvin and common her reputation as some sort of strange witch-child was secured.

When Phillian looks back over that four year period he recalls it quite blissfully. His tower was quiet, Mirna was, if not dutiful, then at least not troublesome. His research was finally back on track.

The problems started around her tenth year.
Phillian's library was modest and while he lovingly collected them over the years he freely admitted that no matter how good a book was it could only be read so many times before growing a bit repetitive. Phillian had magical books of course, and various pieces of contraband seized from troublemakers over the years but those were locked away (and in fact never mentioned to the girl -- though she would eventually divine that he had a stash of contraband books the powerful wards denied her access for many years).

So new books were acquired. And devoured.

Around this time Norsten, mindful of the fact that his elvin associate had a tenuous grasp on how quickly time passed for humans, innocently suggested that the girl ought to develop some sort of "useful skill" for her marriage.
After a somewhat pointed discussion about what skills were and were not useful it was agreed that, at the very least, the girl ought to be able to clean things.
Up until this point Phillian had used a cantrips to keep the place in order, but he agreed that he had no idea what humans expected but that Norsten probably did and he presumed that, lacking facility with even the most basic magics, humans would probably clean things and that, if Norsten said that human males expected women to clean things then he probably was right.

Teaching Mirna to clean proved troublesome... Phillian had no idea how to actually do so himself (he understood it involved impliments like brooms and so forth of course, but he'd never done it himself and had no idea how to). Neither did Norsten, who was too busy teach a girl how to clean in any case. Attempts to arrange for someone to teach Mirna were ... politely rebuffed (it was allowed the witch-girl behaved tolerably well under Oakspine's supervision, but none of the townsfolk had any illusions about her tractability -- or any desire to spend time with her in the elvin wizards tower).
Having Mirna learn-by-trying lead to a series of disasters. After spending 30 minutes knee deep in water in the cellar debating whether or not it was cleaner than before ("the water absorbs dust BEFORE it lands" the girl argued). Phillian finally dealt with the situation the only way he knew how. He taught the girl prestidigitation, the cantrip he used for cleaning.
The girl absorbed it with the same rapidity she learned everything else.
Soon the tower was spotless and quiet. Phillian could not have been more pleased. He resolved to simply deal with things like this in the future.

Rumors that the which-child was summoning things to do her housework circulated, started by the boy who delivered the food, and who certainly had no magic to allow him to avoid his housework. Norsten quietly despaired. But it was very difficult to reproach Phillian. For starters he wasn't "teaching the girl spells, they're can-trips. It's barely magic at all."

To this day Phillian can't really recall exactly why he wound up teaching the girl mage hand. He'd agreed in the middle of some crucial calculations, and handn't been paying full attention. Not to teach her, per se, just to just show her how it worked; but when he did that she'd picked up the basics of it so quickly that she could soon cast a crude version. Phillian's innate dislike of leaving things "half done" as well as an awareness of the sort of destruction someone with a poorly controlled mage hand cantrip could inflict caused him to finish it off.

Even Phillian admits teaching her ghost sound was not a good idea. But he was at a very sensitive stage of his research, it was the dead of winter, the shipment of books he'd been counting on to tide him through the winter had been delayed by gnoll attack, the sweet yam shortage meant that even with his considerable position in the town he hadn't managed to secure any of Mirna's favorite treat and she'd honestly seemed so sincere.
How was he supposed to know that it wasn't actually true that "human children my age love to imitate animal calls".

And the tower had become so blissfully quiet after he taught her. For the first time in years Mirna was leaving during the day. Sometimes she's stay out all day and into the evenings... Perhaps she was finally making friends and being accepted by the townspeople. Reports of odd happenings always went up in winter, townsfolk staying in doors had more opportunities to work themselves into a fright over nothing. So if that particularly year there seemed to be more and more of them... how was Phillian to know they was something amiss?

He even continued to hold out hope when he heard that the Loghods scarecrow had apparently animated, fired of gouts of green mist from it's eyes, announced it was "Rhixallithen's avatar" and demanded a third of Loghods the sweet yam crop as tribute.

"It could be fey," suggested Norsten diplomatically (or so the guard who was with him says when he tells the story). "Some sort of sweet yam loving fairy perhaps?"

That hope was dashed upon the discovery that Mirna's little nook under the stairway was filled, floor to ceiling, with sweet yams. When the full truth of the avatar scam came to light (no less than 7 assuredly non-possessed animals, scarecrows and spooky looking rock formations had apparently presented themselves to townsfolk who were known for their superstitious natures, succeeding in at least five cases to get the person to bring at least a few sweet yams in tribute) Phillian was forced to take action.

A warded room was created where Mirna was compelled to stay unless she had business elsewhere. Mirna was forced to learn the light cantrip while maintaining prestidigitation and mage hand; effectively forcing her to forget ghost sound (ghost sound being, in Phillian's reckoning, the key component in demanding things without revealing one's identity -- no one is going to be scared of a little girls voice).

Regular demonstrations of facility with all three cantrips were required and much greater efforts were spent implanting morality, ownership and property rights in the girl. Culminating in a massive paper she wrote isolating the key concepts in three different cultures (human, elvin and dragon) which Mirna was forced to read in the public square. Phillian spent a good six months helping the girl and thought the whole thing was rather well done. In fact was confident the girl would be forgiven. He was secretly quite proud of how quickly the girl was mastering draconic. Surely the town would accept her now.

Norsten never really found a way to articulate to the elf that the sight of a twelve year girl reading fluently in three languages from an arcane and complex treatise on property rights was not going to help with the girl's acceptance.

It seemed, to Phillian at least, that the girls behavior was improved significantly by the ordeal. Partially as a result of her maturation she was growing into a pleasant (if slightly acerbic) conversationalist.

Nor was this the end of strange happenings. First there was the "whispering cave" (which revealed secrets but only if you told it secrets first), then the "monster in the pond that was eating livestock" (it left behind peculiar giant claw marks in the mud -- the livestock was later found tied up in the woods), then the "exhortations of the holy statue" (when a particularly naive and pious young lady was encouraged to speak gibberish during religious ceremonies by a statue of the sun god that spoke to her only when she was alone).

In each case it was hard to ignore the fact that the event in question shared certain characteristics. It was overtly supernatural, wildly improbable and seemed to abate or resolve itself instantly upon Phillian's appearance on the scene. Mirna naturally had air-tight alibis during all of the occurrences.
There was much muttering in the town, but in each case it was true that the person who had been tricked had been foolish.
Norsten was not about to encourage witch hunts without solid proof, no real harm had been done and at any rate, he didn't like the idea of trying to put the girl on trial. If the town had given the girls mother shelter when she first arrived then the woman would probably have lived and the girl would have left the town the next day. He had confidence that Phillian would reign the girl in, or she'd grow up eventually.

Between watching Mirna more closely and the spate of reported supernatural occurrences Phillian found his research time impeded, going into her fourteenth winter. His little tower was crammed with books and some sort of re-organization needed to happen. So he grudgingly agreed to allow Mirna to take care of the reorganization. He was barely surprised when it was suggested that some of his contraband books, the books he'd seized from troublemakers and spell casters who'd come to Evenfall and gotten into trouble, would stored in an impressively solid-looking cabinet near her little nook. A cabinet with a weak back that could be easily pulled back and replaced by cunning little hands.
Conveniently, from Phillian's point of view, contained within the contraband were many books that illiterate and spooked townsfolk had turned over to him over the years, but were of no threat to anyone. His love of writing forced him to hang onto them, for their original owners obviously cared little for them, but they were totally harmless and a tremendous waste of space.
He took the chance to get it out of his workspace with relish.

Mirna was devastated to discover that there wasn't a single book of dark magic, or even gray magic, or even any writing about magic at all in the cabinet. Bored silly and stubborn she decided she was going to read every page until -something- salacious, or at least a little bit naughty, turned up.

Reading from a slim white volume on proper etiquette during social visits written by a woman named Lira l'Ranara a hundred and fifty years ago she made a discovery that would change her life. The book, which was suspiciously well maintained for it's age, reacted strongly to the application of cold immediately after heat . (She found this out after she tried to burn the book to see if it was as durable as it looked -- she found reading about etiquette to be excruciating -- and then dropping the hot thing on the ice block when it singed her fingers).

It turned out that Lady l'Ranara (the book was a combination diary and spellbook) had not actually been nearly so modest as one would have thought. Mirna was thrilled by the salacious details of the lady's various lovers and trysts and of the intrigue amongst the greatest magical clan of the northlands. However that emotion was dwarfed by what she felt about the contents of the second part of the book.
Spells.
Real ones.
Violently illegal, horribly damaging spells. The sort of spells that beautiful wizardesses from previous ages used to best their rivals and claim the hearts of the men they desired (Lady Lira l'Ranara was not one to sit around and let someone else, let alone a man, do things for her).

Heedless of how little need she actually had for spells that could rending her foes limb from limb or freeze them solid Mirna set out to transcribe the spells into a more useful form (quite an undertaking since the whole heating and cooling process revealed the lines only briefly and the arcane characters were tremendously complex). But a year of late nights and she was done. Then all she had to do was master them.

This... she discovered was vastly more difficult. So she turned to the only source of magical knowledge in town, the man she ate meals with.

Phillian reacted to his adopted daughter's renewed (and positively feverishly) interest in matters arcane with an understandable degree of wariness. But, it was honestly his favorite topic of conversation in the world, and he was hard pressed to give up the chance to have a proper discussion of the topic. Their evening chats extended long into the night and crossed many times over into practical application.

This was the source of no little concern to Norsten.
Not that he didn't like wizards. Per se.
But the idea of Mirna developing any sort of increased capacity for magic did not sit well with him. He'd assuaged the townsfolk more than a few times with assurances that the happenings, which couldn't be directly connected to her, were just pranks. The idea of Phillian's witch-girl knowing actual combat magic was troublesome.

But Phillian assured him that she had no spell book, without which it was simply impossible to learn spells. Even the greatest of wizards couldn't learn magic without their spellbooks. "Like riding a horse without a saddle" he explained. When Norsten pointed out that some people could ride horses without a saddles Phillian promptly explained that "it was certainly then the opposite of horse riding, because, the spellbook is an essential, necessary part of the education process. I still refer to my spell book every day in order to ensure I can call forth my greatest magics."

"So you don't need it for your less great magics now?"

"Well, no. But it takes years to reach that level of mastery."

As the years have dragged on, Norsten, in between governing the town, keeping the peace, trying to keep traffic flowing on the road and bandits off of it has glanced up to see the lights on in the dining room his elvin friend's tower late into the night and noted that years have passed since anything that seems like a prank has happened. That his men have found odd holds blasted in trees, areas of the forest burned clear by fire and strange pools of chilled water, with chunks of ice floating in them.

Phillian assures him that he has only two spell books and they are both kept in his most heavily warded and protected room in his tower, one that Mirna can assuredly not get into.

But even so Norsten has a bad feeling.
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For her part Mirna has been quietly accumulating supplies for her first adventure. She won't become a great wizardess like lady l'Ranara hiding around in some musty old tower.