Red Hair, Don't Care

Gronk grew up in a insular pastoral community, but left home at 14 and became a boxing champion in back room gambling rings. He’s since worked his way up to being the shadow leader of an infamous crime syndicate. He’s altruistic at heart, and uses the syndicates power to snuff out all other criminal activity. Under the table, Gronk volunteers in the resistance against the corrupt government and funds their efforts to dismantle them.

Ilyara, who tortured Fibi for years and turned her into what she is, has been kidnapping children from the slums, and to Fibi’s horror, has been transferring their spirits to mice for easy containment until they can be sacrificed to keep the god of death sealed away. This has Fibi wondering what that means about her existence. Does her soul also belong to a child who was stolen away from their family and home?

The party returns to their base in the Dregs to a bar owned by a couple of retired adventurers, Mulch and Merna, and their adopted teenaged son, Benny. After hearing the party’s story, Benny is determined to go after Ilyara himself. “She has my sister.”

Meanwhile, I am trying to keep a poker face as my party doesn’t pick up on the little hint and the DM gives me a wink.

Pictured is Benny and his older sister, Mae. They were orphaned, separated, and sent to live with different family friends before running away together to live on their own. They scrapped by with the other street urchins, but Mae was an aspiring alchemist. She got a tip that the head of the alchemy guild, Ilyara, was looking for an apprentice. She left Benny to pursue the job opportunity so that she could provide for them both. Mae promised to come back and get him the moment she could.

She never came back.

Mulch and Merna found Benny wandering the streets alone and took the boy in, they’ve been a content family unit for the last ten years, but Benny’s always wondered what could have happened to Mae.

*an acoustic version of “Hey Brother” by Avicii plays in the distance*