Character Sheet
The Mysterious Orphan

Name: Lotte, daughter of Henrik and Anelie
Sexuality: Pansexual
Age: 18
Species: Lamia, Central Lands Human Culture
Level: 3
Class: Hunter
Weapons: Bow, Knife

XP: 2/18

Description: A tall lamia, with short blond hair, and blue eyes, dressed in a protective vest and a noble's hunting shirt. They are muscular, well-formed and handsome, and have slightly yellowish eyes and a forked tongue. Their snake-half is in a forest pattern that helps for blending in, except for the occasional splash of Tyrian purple.

Traits:

Just Devotions (Racial--Human, Central, Cultural)(Level 0): Humans in some parts of the world worship the Gods, vast and sometimes unknowable beings that do grant blessings to those that believe in them, magical blessings. But even the lowliest of the pious knows how to pray to them, how to do the right supplications, how to act in the proper ways. This knowledge can sometimes be put to good use, though the Gods rarely turn their eyes to every little prayer.

Wholesome Farm Looks (Human, Central, Physical, Level 1): Though most of the people of the Central lands, that mass of Kingdoms, Princedoms, Dukedoms, Duchess States, and more, are of course quite poor, they are a hardy, hard-working people, and sometimes this life less beats a person down and more hones them. They have reasonably good looks, and even more importantly, look trustworthy, clean-cut, and otherwise like the kind of person who'd never lied a day in their life or slacked off a single hour, either. This remains even after becoming a lamia, though it is... tempered, obviously.

Snake Eyes (Level 1, Physical, Lamia): You can see in the dark pretty well. It isn't perfect, but the night is not nearly so dark and full of dangers as you expected it would be, for whatever reason.


Forest Wanderer (0, Pre-Class): The forest is a fascinating place for a child, as long as they don't go too far. As one gets used to it, one learns more about its ins and outs, and while some of it only applies to the forest that such a child lived in at first, much of it is quite helpful later.

Forest Eyes (Level 1. Class): As one could have eyes that pick out every tiny detail of the tundra, so can one be used to seeing in the dark forest tracks, possibilities, old growth, traps, and anything else, especially when one knows how to use your ears and nose to aid it. It is remarkable how much you can see, when you see what is actually there.

Hunter's Mettle (Level 1, Class): To hunt, one needs a bow, an arrow, and perhaps a knife for self-defense. Having some skill at them is inevitable, having solid skill at them is admirable, and quite useful.

Steady Arm (Level 2, Class): You have a strong, consistent aim. You're not a superlative archer, at least by the standards of adventurers, but you don't have off moments, and you don't waver from being able to hit your target, even if you're not doing the fancier tricks.

Leave Few Traces (Level 2, Class): The experience of being on one side of the hunt makes you wonder how you'd hide your tracks if you were being hunted, or tracked by hostile enemies, as sometimes does happen in adventures. You've begun to practice how not to be followed in the woods, and perhaps elsewhere.


Mending Knowledge, Basic (Level 0, Pre-Class, Healing Priest): You know how to apply poultrices, and you know the basic ingredients of a number of potions that cure headaches, deal with common pains, put someone into a gentle sleep, and other minor things. You can also bandage someone properly. You are not very good at this, merely adequate... but that's more than what most people are.


Whitlin' Ways (Level 1, Common): A man or woman who knows how to whittle will never want for whistles, or spoons, or any number of goods. It's a useful, solid sort of skill, and one that could be made into a trade. It also makes a pretty decent way to pass the time, and the person who whittles never lacks for a knife in sticky situations.

Penny Pincher (Level 1, General): You know the value of a Pfin, and how to keep from wasting all of your money, even if you're far from a merchant. Money is something you're familiar with.

Steel Nerves (General, Level 3): You've seen enough strange places and done enough fantastic things that you are less likely to panic in terrible situations, and more likely to think things through, however difficult. This doesn't mean you can't panic at all, but you have a grip on those nerves. In battle and danger only, this unfortunately doesn't help at all with social anxiety.


Divine Sense (Level 0, Divine): You can sense when someone is a Demigod, and there's at least the potential ability--though you have not figured it out yet--to try to track people through their divine 'scent.' A person's 'scent' gets stronger as they get more magically and divinely powerful... but on the other hand, you now have a 'scent' of your own, that will allow other demigods to know you for what you are, increasingly as you grow more powerful yourself.

Captivating Eyes (Level 2, Divine): You can sometimes 'catch' people with your eyes. If you're concentrating, they'll find it slightly more difficult to look away, though any sense of threat or danger breaks it immediately, and they'll hear your words clearly, actually listening… or at least hearing them. There's no requirement to listen to them, nor does it seem as if anyone's mind is being altered in any way, but it's an interesting, if bizarre, power, and certainly is a new take on 'lost in their eyes.'

Slithering Shadows (Level 3, Divine): You can blend into the shadows better than you should be able to. At night, and in darker areas, you can seem to shift away from sight. It doesn't work well in a wide-open space, but that little bit of extra secrecy can be very useful as a hunter, and as someone who might need to sneak through various areas.
 
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I was more afraid that lamias are hunted on sight, because they look more differently than "humanlike" beastfolk, which would largely segregate Lot to interact only with his kind and a small number of people that are okay with his current form.

Which, as metaphors go, well.

I'll say this, Lamias aren't hunted on sight. Now, hated on sight... pretty often, yeah, it'll be an uphill journey for Lotte in that sense. Actually, one of the two other adventure one options would have involved meeting a Lamia.
 
[X] Lotte believes in Naja and Aisling, right? Surely if she went to talk to them, she could work things out and they could figure this out together. Lotte would have to lie, and talk about… maybe some sort of curse, rather than some divine destiny. Maybe it wouldn't even be a lie? But if she doesn't do this, she'd be leaving them behind, to worry about Lotte, to think Lotte was, quite probably, dead. But… if they are hostile, then she'd be losing them too.
 
[X] Lotte believes in Naja and Aisling, right? Surely if she went to talk to them, she could work things out and they could figure this out together. Lotte would have to lie, and talk about… maybe some sort of curse, rather than some divine destiny. Maybe it wouldn't even be a lie? But if she doesn't do this, she'd be leaving them behind, to worry about Lotte, to think Lotte was, quite probably, dead. But… if they are hostile, then she'd be losing them too.

Screw this, trauma train, here we come.
 
@The Laurent I'm confused about our choices.

[] Lotte believes in Naja and Aisling, right? Surely if she went to talk to them, she could work things out and they could figure this out together. Lotte would have to lie, and talk about… maybe some sort of curse, rather than some divine destiny. Maybe it wouldn't even be a lie? But if she doesn't do this, she'd be leaving them behind, to worry about Lotte, to think Lotte was, quite probably, dead. But… if they are hostile, then she'd be losing them too.

This one looks like an immediate reaction, aka what does Lotte do tomorrow.

[] S/he knows nothing about being a lamia. Perhaps it is best to find some of her (?) people, that is to say other lamia, and try to ask them. There are hidden villages, or so people say, away from 'good' people. Perhaps… perhaps she can find somewhere new to be, at least for a time until she works out how to even move half as well as she did before.

[] Lotte needs to talk to her parents. Were they in on it? The Forgotten God stated it, yet Lotte had heard nothing about him. She had seemed so confident that Lotte had been taught, and it was stunned when she didn't. What were They hiding from Lotte, and for that matter were her parents ever… were they… she should just go around the back and make it back home. Even if it risks being seen, even if it risks learning her parents never loved her, or were just using her for their hidden secret religion or… or something.

These ones on the other hand specify what Lotte does for the next month.

Does picking Naja&Aisling now mean that meeting other lamia won't be a choice afterwards?
 
@The Laurent I'm confused about our choices.

[] Lotte believes in Naja and Aisling, right? Surely if she went to talk to them, she could work things out and they could figure this out together. Lotte would have to lie, and talk about… maybe some sort of curse, rather than some divine destiny. Maybe it wouldn't even be a lie? But if she doesn't do this, she'd be leaving them behind, to worry about Lotte, to think Lotte was, quite probably, dead. But… if they are hostile, then she'd be losing them too.

This one looks like an immediate reaction, aka what does Lotte do tomorrow.

[] S/he knows nothing about being a lamia. Perhaps it is best to find some of her (?) people, that is to say other lamia, and try to ask them. There are hidden villages, or so people say, away from 'good' people. Perhaps… perhaps she can find somewhere new to be, at least for a time until she works out how to even move half as well as she did before.

[] Lotte needs to talk to her parents. Were they in on it? The Forgotten God stated it, yet Lotte had heard nothing about him. She had seemed so confident that Lotte had been taught, and it was stunned when she didn't. What were They hiding from Lotte, and for that matter were her parents ever… were they… she should just go around the back and make it back home. Even if it risks being seen, even if it risks learning her parents never loved her, or were just using her for their hidden secret religion or… or something.

These ones on the other hand specify what Lotte does for the next month.

Does picking Naja&Aisling now mean that meeting other lamia won't be a choice afterwards?

It will be a choice, sort of, but it'll be wrapped up in whatever happens with Naja and Aisling. If they fight, then the trauma of the fight will deeply influence what Lotte is willing to do afterwards. If it doesn't end terribly, then Naja and Aisling might well think they have a say in what Lotte does next, or have their own plans and schemes. And anything in between those two possibilities... same.

So basically, choosing Aisling and Naja sort of short-circuits the latter two, but both are still things you can do eventually, and might or might not get to. But it'll be driven more by Lotte's reactions and less by your own, if that makes sense?
 
Also, will Lotte get a chance to at least write to his parents or send a message if he decide to not go back to their village anymore?

I want to tie up loose ends.
 
It will be a choice, sort of, but it'll be wrapped up in whatever happens with Naja and Aisling. If they fight, then the trauma of the fight will deeply influence what Lotte is willing to do afterwards. If it doesn't end terribly, then Naja and Aisling might well think they have a say in what Lotte does next, or have their own plans and schemes. And anything in between those two possibilities... same.

So basically, choosing Aisling and Naja sort of short-circuits the latter two, but both are still things you can do eventually, and might or might not get to. But it'll be driven more by Lotte's reactions and less by your own, if that makes sense?

Yeah, this makes sence. Thanks for explaining.

By the way, do we get any racial buffs or a reshuffle of our traits? Specifically, "Wholesome farm looks" looks dubius. Of course, I don't know, maybe there are lamia farmers out there :V
 
Yeah, this makes sence. Thanks for explaining.

By the way, do we get any racial buffs or a reshuffle of our traits? Specifically, "Wholesome farm looks" looks dubius. Of course, I don't know, maybe there are lamia farmers out there :V

I'll probably be changing the phrasing on some Traits, but not eliminating them, and there's an overdue XP post I'm trying to find the right place to slot in. There's also [Redacted] that needs to be considered, and [Redacted]. But that won't come up for a while.
 
[X] Lotte believes in Naja and Aisling, right? Surely if she went to talk to them, she could work things out and they could figure this out together. Lotte would have to lie, and talk about… maybe some sort of curse, rather than some divine destiny. Maybe it wouldn't even be a lie? But if she doesn't do this, she'd be leaving them behind, to worry about Lotte, to think Lotte was, quite probably, dead. But… if they are hostile, then she'd be losing them too.

I think I'm a sap and want to believe in the friends, because I think those two and our piper girl are the ones who would stand by us. I'm less sure about the prophet-arc characters, but I think they are resources we should check on after talking to our friends and visiting parents. Fingers crossed events allow.
 
[X] Lotte believes in Naja and Aisling, right? Surely if she went to talk to them, she could work things out and they could figure this out together. Lotte would have to lie, and talk about… maybe some sort of curse, rather than some divine destiny. Maybe it wouldn't even be a lie? But if she doesn't do this, she'd be leaving them behind, to worry about Lotte, to think Lotte was, quite probably, dead. But… if they are hostile, then she'd be losing them too.
 
Sorry if this is a non-sequitur, but should we refer to Lotte as he or she? The options refer to them as still she, but there's a lot of posts saying he.

Also,

[X] Lotte believes in Naja and Aisling, right? Surely if she went to talk to them, she could work things out and they could figure this out together. Lotte would have to lie, and talk about… maybe some sort of curse, rather than some divine destiny. Maybe it wouldn't even be a lie? But if she doesn't do this, she'd be leaving them behind, to worry about Lotte, to think Lotte was, quite probably, dead. But… if they are hostile, then she'd be losing them too.
 
[X] Lotte believes in Naja and Aisling, right? Surely if she went to talk to them, she could work things out and they could figure this out together. Lotte would have to lie, and talk about… maybe some sort of curse, rather than some divine destiny. Maybe it wouldn't even be a lie? But if she doesn't do this, she'd be leaving them behind, to worry about Lotte, to think Lotte was, quite probably, dead. But… if they are hostile, then she'd be losing them too.
 
Sorry if this is a non-sequitur, but should we refer to Lotte as he or she? The options refer to them as still she, but there's a lot of posts saying he.

Lotte, to my frustration, has still not cracked their eggshell despite looking much more masculine after the transformation. So she is still the in character one, but we're obviously moving closer to the snake boy endgame here.5
 
Okay, so I will sorta just write it and leave it here.

This God of the beastfolk implies that awful living conditions his/her/their peoples live in are the result of the current Gods' negligence towards ( I'm gonna call them God!Dad for now ) the God!Dad's potential followers/source of faith.

Okay.

I mean, they ( the other Gods ) didn't decide to convert them like the real!life religions tend to do, with sword and ( insert a religious symbol here ), and I guess their mortal followers in absence of any clear instructions other than "They shall have no other Gods before us" decided to go maximum racism, which I guess, plausible. Real life has some ready examples in different interpretations of the same God, much less a different one.

Two questions stand out: are Gods racially/geographically inclined and if so, why?
Real life doesn't work here, because our religion is entirely a matter of faith, whereas their Gods or at least entities claiming to be Gods, demonstrably exist and affect the world and interact with their followers and sometimes even random people on a regular basis. It makes sense for different religions to exist in our world, because they were basically different cultures from different places separately trying to create a spiritual framework on the world existing around them. In a fantasy world, where Gods predate mortals and creationist myths are at least heavily based in factual happenstance or at least Gods make a good case on them being so by performing world-changing miracles, a racial God is someone who explicitly participated in the creation of this race in particular, which is, okay, eh, fine. Without even delving into geographically different Gods, who are worshipped in one part of the world and are unknown in another, unless it makes sense, I guess: a God of Winter has nothing to do in a tropical rainforest, for example.

Secondly, are abstract concepts a part of a God's portfolio and if so, are there any Justice Gods whose particular brand of Justice would object to heavy segregation or blatant racism and hate crimes on other races? Here real life is really not a good example, so we're shelving it, but, theoretically speaking, there are some universal constants people agree on in order for society to exist in current form that encapsulates the history of civilization ( like money/barter or written word or indeed, the need to communicate in a language ), and then there are variables that people from different regions of the world often don't accept as a rule. There's also a thing about such concepts appearing and evolving chronologically and becoming more ( or less ) accepted with time. Is universal equality one of the constants or the variables in this setting in particular?

Pretty incoherent, I know, sorry for that.

But I think these questions should heavily feature in World Exposition, yeah capital letters dunno why, if we are to tackle the concepts of racism and transsexualism in a setting with Gods. Like actual, physically present ones, I mean.


Also, on an entirely different note, returning a god who ( badly ) lost to other Gods to a position of power could be a bad move for the potential followers? Because there will probably be a holy war that they will probably lose and as result their lives will be even more shitty than now? Maybe.
 
But I think these questions should heavily feature in World Exposition, yeah capital letters dunno why, if we are to tackle the concepts of racism and transsexualism in a setting with Gods. Like actual, physically present ones, I mean.
FTR, 'transsexualism' is at best out of date and at worst a yikes thing to say, depending on context.

You might want to consider using 'gender issues' as the umbrella term for this sort of thing instead?
 
On the gender situation to my understanding:
-Lotte always 'felt' male to begin with, hence discomfort with developing feminine attributes, and later coped with being a physically female human by not thinking about it.

-Lotte is probably currently physically a male snekman. They hadn't realized it yet because sneks have a cloaca and would probably be very surprised later, because its not externally distinguishable until it goes into action or if you stick your hand in there to investigate in detail. Which I suspect is a rather low priority at the immediate time.

-Lotte is also currently distracted by a whole new type of dysphoria from having gone from two legs to one tail. All other concerns are a ways behind.

-Lotte has not consciously acknowledged their present identity, and insists on their previous public identity as a female human while being physically neither.

In other words, the correct term at present on a meta level is to use gender neutral terms until they had sorted things out enough to make a choice.

And in character, likely female until corrected.
 
On the gender situation to my understanding:
-Lotte always 'felt' male to begin with, hence discomfort with developing feminine attributes, and later coped with being a physically female human by not thinking about it.

-Lotte is probably currently physically a male snekman. They hadn't realized it yet because sneks have a cloaca and would probably be very surprised later, because its not externally distinguishable until it goes into action or if you stick your hand in there to investigate in detail. Which I suspect is a rather low priority at the immediate time.

-Lotte is also currently distracted by a whole new type of dysphoria from having gone from two legs to one tail. All other concerns are a ways behind.

-Lotte has not consciously acknowledged their present identity, and insists on their previous public identity as a female human while being physically neither.

In other words, the correct term at present on a meta level is to use gender neutral terms until they had sorted things out enough to make a choice.

And in character, likely female until corrected.

I'd also point out that even if this wasn't true, if the physiology is set up that way... it'd literally not be possible to tell lamia biological sex on distant examination. So socially it'd actually be the same either way, in terms of presentation choice, sorta-kinda. Anyways, the vote seems to be closed, it's been quite one-sided.
 
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There were worse crimes than distrusting a friend, Lotte knew, but Aisling and Naja had been there for her. The idea of turning her back on them… wouldn't that prove that she was a different person? She'd almost died saving them, time and again, and running away now would be saying that Lotte was no longer Lotte, just because of the tail.

She couldn't pace anymore, not really, but she moved back and forth across the room, trying to get used to how odd it felt to move. She wasn't any slower than before, though, at least not at walking speeds. There was more of her, but that was…

(No. It wasn't okay. It really wasn't okay. She was starting to think of how everything might end. Lotte had never seen a lamia before, but she'd heard all the stories, knew that they were liars and cheats, murderers and thieves. Or rather she had known. Now she wasn't sure at all. What if most of them were like that? But, people said that ratfolk were terrible but not as bad as lamia. Yet having met Lisbeth, Lotte could not imagine 'terrible' being used about her at all. So, here she was. What if lamia were like anyone else?)

That was something she'd have to live with.

The thought of going up to her parents and asking whether they were secretly plotting this the whole time was about the feeling the ground must get before it was all dugged up and planted-in. Something would grow out of it eventually, but you didn't know what. But was she the soil, or the seeds, planted and growing strange and wild and wrong? What if they hated her? What if they attacked her?

What if Aisling attacked her?

What was she supposed to do? Naja wasn't a threat, at least not physically, but she was a noble. If she hurried back home declaring Lotte was a monster, what would happen? She thought about how the descendents of the assassin who'd killed a holy martyr had been hunted down. All but one. Was there only one Forgotten God, or many?

If lamia had a God, why not ratfolk, or werewolves, or any of the other strange non-human beings that Lotte was supposed to be a part of now. Lotte didn't like thinking too much, worrying too much about things she couldn't change. She couldn't change the way people saw lamia, didn't know how she'd even try if she could.

Outside, there was no longer the endless loop. No, Lotte slithered down the road, and moved closer and closer to a free-standing door. The sun was high in the sky, but Lotte didn't know what it meant, that it was no longer night, no longer twilight. The grass was thicker than it had been before, and she felt as if perhaps it meant that time had returned to this place. She'd changed it just by being there, hadn't she? She was chosen for some great destiny that she didn't understand.

She reached out and touched the door, and could somehow hear beyond it.

"She's not coming back!" Aisling said. "I'm hurt and couldn't fight off anyone at all. We need to go. I don't like it but--"

"We don't abandon our friends." Naja's voice was as loud as Aisling's. "Do you think Lotte would turn her back on us and walk away?"

"I--"

"She wouldn't. She's not some fork-tongued noble friend of mine I'm asking you to tolerate." Naja's voice had only grown more strident. "She's true and earthy and as common as the good soil of her home."

"I'm surprised you aren't saying that with a sneer."

"Do you think that makes her any less, that she's not some deep enigma, kindness and cruelty and doubts all wrapped together?"

Lotte should have opened the door, there was even a knob, cool to the touch, the color of silver. Instead she listened.

"No, but I would have thought you would. Though I wonder about her. Why was she able to go where we couldn't? It couldn't have to do with attraction. Or did it have to do with love. Or…"

"It's not our place to question her. She's going to come back, I know she will." Naja's voice was as steady as a newborn calf.

Lotte had no sense of showmanship. There was no life in which she was a wandering player. She knew her strengths, and it didn't involve being smart, or even particularly clever. But she knew that now was the moment to show up, before she caused them even more pain. If only she'd been able to escape from the strange tentacles, she might have never learned about what she was.

Who she was.

She'd be happy with ignorance, she had to be considering how much reading bored her. She'd be happy to live her life unaware of any greater destiny, journeying out to do great deeds and perhaps one day finding something to settle down with. She wanted to make a better world, but she knew that it was the task of each man and woman to do their best with their own hands and then leave the work, like a field passed on through the generations, to the next pair of hands.

It was all anyone could do, hero or lord or peasant or even priest.

But there was no choice anymore. Nothing would ever be normal again.

Lotte threw open the door, and finally saw them again. Aisling was slumped against a wall, paler than ever, her ears aimed at the entrance. Kneeling nearby her was Naja, her handsome face tight with worry as she stood up.

"Lamia! You! Where is Lotte? What have you done to her…"

Naja trailed off as Lotte pulled herself through the door, no doubt struck by her size. "I'm sorry that I was dragged away." Lotte's voice was soft, but it carried. The air stank of blood and death, and the lamia was there still, the dead body that she had granted mercy to. "I'm even more sorry that this happened. What is behind me… isn't somewhere you should go."

"What are you saying?" Naja asked. "Where is Lotte?!"

"It is a Temple to something called the Forgotten God--"

Aisling gasped. "What? Oh. Of course. Oh no." Aisling's voice was shattered, as if a simple crack had grown until a single touch broke it apart.

"He… they, whatever it is, said several of their names and…"

Lotte paused, unsure of what to say. She couldn't tell the truth, and so she just said the first lie she could think of. "Cursed me into the form of a lamia!"

"Cursed you… then where is Lotte?" Naja asked, reaching for her sword.

"This… don't you get it?" Aisling gulped, staring at Lotte with some dread recognition. "That is Lotte… or at least it was! At least it was before she was cursed and controlled by the Forgotten God!" By the end Aisling's voice was almost a hoarse, panicked scream. Aisling tried to stand up, but all it did was end in her groaning and collapsing again, one of her smaller wounds reopening as she does.

"I'm not controlled," Lotte said, though she couldn't be sure. She felt like herself, but what if there was some secret command in her head that had made her get here. "I think? What would it feel like to be controlled?"

Aisling stared at her for a long moment, jaw slack. "What would it feel like…?"

"I've never really been controlled. Would it be him, them, I'm not sure quite what they were, telling me what to do?" Lotte frowned. "I didn't think that's what happened, though."

"Didn't think?" Naja asked, incredulously. "Surely you'd know!"

"I'm not really, uh, all that smart." Lotte flushed a little, hoping that she could hide the fact that she was lying to them about just what happened. It was better to be cursed than the daughter of a hated God. But what if they tried to cure the curse?

"And, and," Naja added desperately. "If she's cursed, can't we find a way to break the curse and live happily ever after?"

"She?" Aisling asked, looking at Lotte with some dire suspicion. "I am not--"

Lotte panicked, not sure that she had an answer for any of this. "I… uh." She flushed and shifted forward, keeping her hands carefully out of the way. "I still have my bow, and my last arrow. I almost, uh, shot the God with it."

"Lotte, no." Aisling was staring at her as if she was perhaps the dumbest being alive, which was a fair accusation, now that she thought about it.

"I didn't, though." Lotte took a breath and looked around. "It let me go. I don't… I don't fully understand it. But there was a room, and it had clothes I could steal. I still don't know how to move around like this. It's strange." She shifted a little closer, but then on seeing the tension in Aisling's faces, moved herself a bit to the left, so that she was still as far from Aisling as she was before, just at an angle.

Of course, if Aisling thought about it, she'd remember that Lotte was an archer, and wouldn't get closer to attack anyways.

"Can you explain all that has happened since we last saw you?" Naja asked.

"Yes. But do you have any bread? I'm hungry."

"Bread, and not babies' blood?" Naja asked.

Lotte made a face. "No! I'm pretty sure even, er, lamia born that way don't eat blood."

"You never know, with those sorts. That's what my Dad always says." Naja nods, not seeing the way Lotte recoils without meaning to. Aisling does, and her eyes narrow.

"Well, I'm still hungry." Lotte shook her head. "I was dragged in, and woke up on grass, with a path in front of me. It led to some sort of elaborate Temple, and when I tried to go any other way, I'd find myself looping back around as if I was in some, some circle." Lotte didn't even have words for it. "And I tried to dig up the earth, so I know that it was the same spot because the same little hole was there. Finally I just went into the Temple. There was a large bathhouse off to one side, and an altar in another room. When I got there, the God appeared… a lot of snakes, a lot of lashing tails, and said a lot of things I didn't understand." Lotte took a deep breath. "I woke up in a filled bath looking like this. I tried to go to the altar and get answers, but I didn't, and then I went and stole some clothing. My pack and everything else were just lying close to where I passed out."

All of this was true, though incomplete. Lotte bit her lip and added. "I… thought about trying to find some other way out."

"What? Why?" Naja demanded, advancing on Lotte.

"Because she was scared," Aisling said, dryly. "Considering your father would hate me because I'm not human, and you're repeating his lines like you learned them by rote, is it any wonder she was afraid?"

"I wouldn't--" Naja began.

"Now, I don't trust you Lotte, but it has nothing to do with you being a lamia now, however temporarily. I've never met a lamia, we didn't have you back on the isles. It's your connection to a dark, evil God. Perhaps even the one associated with a cultist noble family whose downfall is what led Naja to noticing you. I think you're a vessel, a tool for something you don't realize." Aisling coughed, her voice raspy and tired. "But even then, you're not acting like you should if you were hiding something like that. But you are hiding something, and I've heard stories." Aisling didn't try to get up, but she looked like she wanted to. "The Fae can turn a lover into an elf to grant her another century or two with the one she loves, there have been stories such as that, or into animals."

"Listen, it's just, a lamia--"

"Well, perhaps you'd be more enthusiastic if Lotte had become an Orime." Aisling snorted. "More muscles for you to oogle. If we're going to help her, we need information."

Lotte wiped at her eyes to clear the tears from them. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me. There's something I'm missing, like why you're flat-chested." Aisling's ears were once again sharply pointing at Lotte.

"Hey, you can't just insult a w--whoa." Naja stared at Lotte for a moment. "What happened?"

"I woke up without breasts," Lotte admitted. "Well, without visible ones. I don't know why. Do lamias not have breasts?"

"I'm pretty sure they do?" Naja sounded like she was asking a question. "At least, the illustrations of, er, evil lamia seductresses always had breasts."

"They would, wouldn't they?" Aisling asked, wryly.

Lotte was feeling rather uncomfortable, but she was also aware that these were her friends. "So…"

"We're going to help you, of course!" Naja nodded. "Also, nice outfit. You really do look like a little Lord now. Or, some King's sworn liegewoman. Something grand, I mean, y'know what I mean." She gestured vaguely, as if to say 'except for the tail.'

"I understand," Lotte said, a little nervously. "Does Aisling need any more help?"

"I can get up. Well, eventually. We need to leave here before we all get attacked by that God again." Aisling reached for some more cloth, and began to wind it over her wound, clearly intending to get up. "We also need a healer, to make sure this heals clean."

"We can afford it," Naja said.

"But then, where are we going?"

"My father's castle. He has quite a library, and there are plenty of resources to look up curses, and lamia, and this forgotten God." Naja nodded firmly.

"No, no, your father would murder Lotte over here with his guards if he even smelled anything on you. Plus he'd probably glare at me." Aisling shook her head. "Your not-brother, the one with university ties and who is very experienced and skilled, can help out. We know he's around here somewhere, and if he actually goes 'die, lamia!' it's a lot easier to run away from him and his guard than a Lord's retinue."

"Well, it's Lotte who is going to be in danger if this goes wrong!" Naja laughs awkwardly and smiles at Lotte. "So what do you say? What should we do?"

Lotte had no clue, and no real knowledge of either of the options. But at the same time, when she thought about it, there was a preference.

Which would she rather do?

[] The Siebert Estates: The less personal option, even if it involved hiding somewhere on the grounds of some lords' castle. It would be a homecoming for Aisling, one way or another, and any lordly manor, especially of an ex-ruin-explorer, would have plenty of notes… though of course the fact that Lotte lied about the curse would complicate things.
[] Karle, somewhat-brother of Naja. He is an experienced man, and even more than that has ties to Universities. Surely he knows something, and if he doesn't, he might be able to get access to some libraries that do know something. On the other hand, he and Naja don't get along well, even though he clearly cares about her despite his words. There's also the fact that Lotte lied about the curse, and that will complicate things.


Belated XP Gains From Last Adventure
XP: 3/14
+2 Successful Adventure, by some definitions
+.5 (Easy Hunting Challenge)
+2 (Medium Challenge: The Statue)
+1 (Hunters' Achievements)
+1 (Confronting the Madman)
+.5 (The Puzzle, Half-Credit)
+2 (End Of Book 1)
+1 (Transformation)
=13/14 XP

With the new Transformation comes one new free Physical racial (Lotte is still Central, Human in other respects after all) Trait (Choose 1)!

[] Steady Tail Stance (Level 1, Physical, Lamia, Hunter/Archery Based Class): It's something of a cheap trick, but it's possible to shift one's tail, or even wrap it around something, to make one's aim even steadier and harder to discomfit than if one stood steady as a human.
[] Slithering Speed (Level 2, Physical, Lamia): Learning how to move as a lamia is difficult, but once you figure it out you can move a lot faster than expected, even if your endurance isn't any greater than before.
[] Snake Eyes (Level 1, Physical, Lamia): You can see in the dark pretty well. It isn't perfect, but the night is not nearly so dark and full of dangers as you expected it would be, for whatever reason.
[] Taste Of The Air (Level 2, Physical, Lamia): You have quite an ability, though one still being drawn upon, to 'taste' the air in order to smell things that are more difficult to smell. Being a hunter, you have figured out immediately just how useful this could be to track animals or foes.
[] Iron Stomach (Level 1, Physical, Lamia): You are not quite immune to poison, but you can survive it… and in fact rotten food, a lot better than you could before you became a lamia.

*******

A/N: So, there we go. Trust… maybe not, but help? Yes.
 
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[X] Karle, somewhat-brother of Naja. He is an experienced man, and even more than that has ties to Universities. Surely he knows something, and if he doesn't, he might be able to get access to some libraries that do know something. On the other hand, he and Naja don't get along well, even though he clearly cares about her despite his words. There's also the fact that Lotte lied about the curse, and that will complicate things.
[X] Taste Of The Air (Level 2, Physical, Lamia): You have quite an ability, though one still being drawn upon, to 'taste' the air in order to smell things that are more difficult to smell. Being a hunter, you have figured out immediately just how useful this could be to track animals or foes.

This seems like the more reasonable route to take, and the most useful trait; the others are modifiers for capacities we already had, after all, whereas this is an entirely new capacity which we did not have before.
 
But, people said that ratfolk were terrible but not as bad as ratfolk.

Eh?
"This… don't you get it?" Aisling gulped, staring at Lotte with some dread recognition. "That is Lotte… or at least it was! At least it was before she was cursed and controlled by the Forgotten God!" By the end Aisling's voice was almost a hoarse, panicked scream. Aisling tried to stand up, but all it did was end in her groaning and collapsing again, one of her smaller wounds reopening as she does.

Sorry, but I'm laughing right now. Aisling is such a ham.

[X] Karle, somewhat-brother of Naja. He is an experienced man, and even more than that has ties to Universities. Surely he knows something, and if he doesn't, he might be able to get access to some libraries that do know something. On the other hand, he and Naja don't get along well, even though he clearly cares about her despite his words. There's also the fact that Lotte lied about the curse, and that will complicate things.

[X] Snake Eyes (Level 1, Physical, Lamia): You can see in the dark pretty well. It isn't perfect, but the night is not nearly so dark and full of dangers as you expected it would be, for whatever reason.

This, I think. Steady Tail Stance speaks to my inner min-maxer, but so does this. Shooting a lot better versus being able to shoot well in the dark and also spot threats.
Mmm. Does that retroactively make Lotte's eyes... snakier to a casual observer?
 
[X] Karle, somewhat-brother of Naja. He is an experienced man, and even more than that has ties to Universities. Surely he knows something, and if he doesn't, he might be able to get access to some libraries that do know something. On the other hand, he and Naja don't get along well, even though he clearly cares about her despite his words. There's also the fact that Lotte lied about the curse, and that will complicate things.

[X] Slithering Speed (Level 2, Physical, Lamia): Learning how to move as a lamia is difficult, but once you figure it out you can move a lot faster than expected, even if your endurance isn't any greater than before.

Pretty sure we'll have to run away from angry mobs more than once before we're impressive enough to scare them away/slaughter them all. So, speed for me it is.
 
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All the traits are potentially useful, really. I guess it's more up to personal preference.
 
@The Laurent what level does professionalism start at? Like, an average full-time army archer, what level would they be? What level of doctor is enough to stop being an apprentice?
 
[X] Karle, somewhat-brother of Naja. He is an experienced man, and even more than that has ties to Universities. Surely he knows something, and if he doesn't, he might be able to get access to some libraries that do know something. On the other hand, he and Naja don't get along well, even though he clearly cares about her despite his words. There's also the fact that Lotte lied about the curse, and that will complicate things.
[X] Taste Of The Air (Level 2, Physical, Lamia): You have quite an ability, though one still being drawn upon, to 'taste' the air in order to smell things that are more difficult to smell. Being a hunter, you have figured out immediately just how useful this could be to track animals or foes.
 
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