Meryelle "Mery" Keryndon
Level 5 Half-Elf Sage College of Lore Bard
AC: 13 (Leather Armor) | HP: 30/30 | Speed: 30 ft.
Senses: Darkvision 60 ft; Passive Perception 11, Passive Insight 11, Passive Investigation 14
Str: 8 (-1) | Dex: 14 (+4) | Con: 14 (+2) | Int: 14 (+2) | Wis: 11 (+0) | Cha: 18 (+6)
Languages: Common, Elven, Solamnic, Kharolian, and Draconic
Spell-casting: +7 or DC 15| 1st 4/4 2nd 3/3 3rd 2/2| Bardic Inspiration: 4/4
“My words,” | ‘My thoughts,’ | My actions
When Kai squeezes her hand, Mery places one of her own on his and squeezes back. Just briefly.
She isn't sure how she's able to sense that Modri is studying her when her eyes are closed, but she does. 'He said about Lady Michelle that he thought scars were beautiful. I assumed at the time that he only meant physical scars, given how much he loves fighting. Is there any possibility he might be able to have a kind of respect for my scars too, if not now, then maybe later?'
And then the tattooed Dwarf opens up about his recent brush with death and his thoughts about dying. While it's not exactly the response she'd been hoping for, there is something she appreciates about it nevertheless, and she opens her eyes to return his gaze while he continues talking, feeling very much like a wobbly foal. When he sets his condition, her gut clenches. She thinks for a moment, and then replies, "Modri, I want you to know that I am sensing that it is important to you to know that I'm going to be there for this group. And I want to be there for this group. But there's a concern that I have that I need a little time to figure out the best way to articulate. Plus I think some other important issues need to be addressed right now, so I'm wondering if we could have a follow-up discussion about my concern at another time?"
"I also want you to know how cool it is to me to hear you talk some about yourself. I've been curious about you for a while now, but it always seems like you're more about the fighting than the talking. I would really enjoy hearing more about you as we keep adventuring."
She turns then to look at the others. "And so the rest of you know, I have running lists in my head with each of your names on it with topics I hope that we can have conversations about, if we can ever slow down enough to maybe have an evening hanging out at a tavern."
When Kai talks, she says, "I think if faking it until you make it makes you feel brave enough to carry you through, that's probably a good thing."
When he asks about her secret-keeping and triggers, she gives him a tremulous smile. "Kai, I greatly appreciate that you would even ask those questions. You have no idea how much."
"As to the secret-keeping, there are four basic reasons why I can either withhold or appear to withhold information. Three of those reasons do not involve any lack of trust on my part toward you all, but one of them does, and because of that last one, there is a secret I am keeping right now. The thing is, the secret is going to require a bit of explanation. I fully intend to explain all of that to you all, including coming clean about the secret, but due to the length of explanation needed, I want to delay that so I can address some other things that are less lengthy. And after the last shorter thing, I'm going to need a brief break. So I'll cover these shorter things, give you all a chance to respond to what's been said thus far, then pick up with the secret-keeping."
"As to the lack of a tell, it honestly didn't occur to me in the moment that that might be a good idea. It certainly didn't have anything to do with me feeling a lack of trust. I think having a tell is a really good idea, and while I was away from you all, I had an idea for one. The thing is, it's considered a rude gesture. I'm not ordinarily one for using those, and if anybody is offended by it or has some other reason for thinking it's not a good idea, I've got a backup option in mind, but I want to explain why I'd like to use it and then you guys can chime in with what you think. I'm perfectly fine with not using it if you all think that best."
"Because of the devastation from my past, I think a fair amount about dying. There's a lot of pain and a lot of feeling alone in that pain. And then there's the thinking that exists in our world about broken things. If we go to a shop and the shopkeeper sells us an item that turns out to be broken, we take it back and ask the shopkeeper to make things right by either replacing the item with a good one or refunding the coin we paid. No one has much reason to want a broken thing. And that's what I am." Two tears trickle down her cheeks. "So while like Modri I don't want a meaningless death, the idea of dying while taking out one of Takhisis' armies holds a certain appeal. I'd call that a pretty good use for a broken thing, and it means I don't have to hurt anymore or watch people keep turning away from the ugliness of my devastation. While I was away from you all, I realized that if I were to die in that way, I know what I want my epitaph to be." Now the tears start flowing freely and she has to take a few deep breaths to bring herself back to being able to speak again.
"The epitaph I would want is She said 🖕to evil. The tell I want to use is flipping the bird, either behind my back or in a direction where I'm sure at least one of you can see it."
"And speaking of the tell, that reminds me of the situation in which the tell would have been useful, which reminds me of another issue I need to address. My crazy idea with interrogating the Draconian we captured put you all in danger. It was never my intention to do that, but I did. And I don't want to do that again. So while I still like the idea of trying to find a way to use my knowledge of evil to accomplish something good, I will be abandoning the torture approach. I was surprised by how icky that made me feel and I have too many other things that make me feel icky (albeit for completely different reasons) to want another one. And if I get a different idea about how I might use my knowledge of evil to try to do something good, I'll run it by you guys first, if circumstances allow."
"There are things that take me out of my Normal Zone but don't make me puke, but I think I want to wait to talk about those because I want to talk again about Pukesville, or rather the circumstances that tend to drive me in that direction. First of all, I tend to avoid most of the situations that send me in that direction. The majority, though not all, are certain types of social situations. Second, I don't puke every time I'm in one of those situations, but it can happen. Third, I know I told you that me puking would be unlikely to happen in a fight, but it occurred to me after I said that that you all might be feeling a bit uncertain about whether you can rely on me since you don't know what's likely to trigger it." She takes a few deep breaths. "Th-the problem is...n-naming those s-situations...is v-very, very p-painful. S-Sends me in the d-direction of Pukesville, as a matter of fact. But I w-want to try to s-set your m-minds more at ease if I c-can, so if you'll please b-bear with m-me...around h-how h-hard this is f-for me...I will n-name them." Her face becomes pale and drawn, and a bead of sweat appears on her forehead. "One w-would be...if I w-wear a d-dress...and it m-makes me feel p-pretty." Tears start flowing freely again and she closes her eyes, her face lined with pain. "Another w-would b-be...if I w-were with a m-man...doing s-something that w-women often enjoy m-more th-than m-men do...like d-dancing t-together. A th-third one would b-be if a m-man made s-some r-romantic m-move on m-me...l-like trying t-to k-kiss m-me. The primary remaining one...is l-like r-right n-now...when I'm t-talking about...wh-where my d-devastation...is the w-worst." She takes two more deep breaths. "S-so you see, short of a m-mind-control spell being dropped in c-combat and the enemy c-caster somehow picking exactly one of those things, none of those situations are t-too l-likely to occur in a f-fight. "
"And now I'm ready for that short break."
Actions & Resources
Actions:
Shortbow (simple, ranged, ammunition, two-handed). Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, ranged 80/320 ft., one target.
Hit: (1d6 + 2) piercing damage.
Dagger (light, ranged or melee). Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, ranged 20/80 ft., one target.
Hit: (1d4 + 2) piercing damage.
Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: (1d4+2) piercing damage.
Bonus Actions:
Healing Word
A creature of your choice that you can see within range regains hit points equal to 1d4 + your spellcasting ability modifier. This spell has no effect on undead or constructs.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, the healing increases by 1d4 for each slot level above 1st.
Bardic Inspiration (4 per long and short rest, for 1d8)
As a bonus action, a creature (other than yourself) within 60 ft. that can hear you gains an inspiration die (1d8). For 10 minutes, the creature can add it to one ability check, attack roll, or saving throw. This can be added after seeing the roll, but before knowing the outcome.
Cutting Words (requires use of bardic inspiration)
Also at 3rd level, you learn how to use your wit to distract, confuse, and otherwise sap the confidence and competence of others. When a creature that you can see within 60 feet of you makes an attack roll, an ability check, or a damage roll, you can use your reaction to expend one of your uses of Bardic Inspiration, rolling a Bardic Inspiration die and subtracting the number rolled from the creature’s roll. You can choose to use this feature after the creature makes its roll, but before the GM determines whether the attack roll or ability check succeeds or fails, or before the creature deals its damage. The creature is immune if it can’t hear you or if it’s immune to being charmed.
Heat Metal
Until the spell ends (up to 1 minute), you can use a bonus action on each of your subsequent turns to cause this damage (1d8 fire damage for each level the spell is cast at, minimum 2nd level) again.
Ammunition:
20 arrows in quiver, 0 arrow bundles in backpack.
Spellcasting:
Mery is a 2nd-level spellcaster. Her spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 13, +5 to hit with spell attacks). She has the following bard spells available for spontaneous casting:
- Cantrips (3/3 slots): prestidigitation, vicious mockery, message
- 1st level (4/4 slots): healing word, hideous laughter, cure wounds
- 2nd (3/3 slots): invisibility, heat metal, enhance ability
- 3rd (2/2 slots): dispel magic, hypnotic pattern
Class Features:
- 4/4 Bardic Inspiration (1d8) with Font of Inspiration, recovered after a long or short rest
- Song of Rest (Use on any short rest - anyone who hears her performance and chooses to regain a hit die gains an extra 1d6 of HP.)
- Jack of All Trades (add 1/2 proficiency bonus, rounded down, to any ability check you make that doesn't already include your proficiency bonus.)
- Bardic College = College of Lore. Gain expertise in 2 skills you already have proficiency in, and proficiency in 3 new skills. (Choosing Persuasion and Deception for Expertise, adding Nature, Stealth, and Religion for Proficiency.)