Nancy Netherwater

[TheFred]

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Nancy Netherwater
Tiefling Oracle

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Life for a single woman in the Border Zone can be tough, but Maria Netherwater found a home in the small village of Kirthledge east of the Crossroads. The people of Kirthledge are part of the Honorable Eastern Mercantile Alliance and liked to think of themselves as a peaceful and enlightened lot, and wouldn't let one of their own starve.

Despite a few dalliances, Maria never married. There was only one man with whom it was ever really serious - a mysterious, handsome character whose name she's never divulged. Their romance was by all accounts something of a whirlwind; Maria spoke of her paramour, albeit rarely, as being dark and dangerous - yet all the more alluring for it. Sadly, the passionate romance burned out as quickly as it had begun and this enigmatic figure vanished into the night.

He left part of himself behind, however, as Maria soon discovered that she was pregnant. Nine months later, Nancy was born. What she was not, however, was human.

Clearly, Nancy's father was a tiefling - or, perhaps, something worse. Whilst her mother never described him as anything other than exotically handsome, however, Nancy is quite the opposite. Her midnight-black hair and violet eyes would have made her attractive were it not for the fact that her skin is thick and scabrous and a deep red rue, and a row of gnarly horns protrude from her head. Her fingers end in hard, claw-like nails which remain wicked-looking despite every effort to trim them, and a palpable aura of otherworldliness surrounds her constantly.

Despite their supposedly neighbourly attitudes, the people of Kirthledge found Nancy abhorrent. Tieflings were not unknown to them but on such rare occasions as one would pass by they were largely shunned - and few were so horrid to behold as the almost monstrous misbegotten girl which Maria had given birth to. Consequently, Maria kept her daughter at their home just outside the village, away from prying eyes, and allowed her even to venture outside only infrequently.

Life for Nancy was rather miserable. Her mother grew ever more strict and controlling as she grew older, and Nancy despaired of ever doing anything with her life. With nowhere to go and little to do, she spent most of her days cooking, cleaning and sewing, and her free time reading. She often wished that she could set out and see the world, have an adventure... or at least visit the market or meet a few people.

Cruelly, fate was to grant her wish, when a band of slavers decided that raiding a few places on the edge of the Border Zone would be a good way to boost their profits. The Netherwater cottage was one of the furthest from the village and the first to be invaded; Nancy was swiftly captured and dragged off back to the Crossroads to be sold. Her mother was out at the time, buying food, and she has no idea if she or the rest of the villagers were taken too.

Now her new captors have to decide what to do with her. She can read and write, but she's no scribe - yet the scrawny girl is clearly not cut out for hard labour either. She'd have to make do as a domestic slave - though most prospective owners probably don't want to have to look at her. Still, her appearance is not so much repulsive as different, and tieflings are a bit of a rarity - perhaps in the right market, she might actually prove a desirably commodity. An exotic pet for some wealthy socialite, perhaps? The slavers can only hope so - otherwise she's likely to prove one of the least profitable slaves they've captured in a long while.

[TheFred]

Something something mechanics...