Francessca Toralynnsyr
| Francessca Toralynnsyr | |||||||
| Female Human | |||||||
| Player: WiNG | |||||||
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| General Information | ||||||||||
| Full Name: | Francessca Toralynnsyr | |||||||||
| Nicknames: | Cessca | |||||||||
| Age: | 40 | |||||||||
| Deity: | Silvannus. Converted from Helm many years ago | |||||||||
| Alignment: |
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| Occupation: | Full-time Clueless | |||||||||
| Faction/Rank: | Sigil: Transcendent Order.
Faerun: Harpers and druidic circles | |||||||||
| Place of Birth: | Neverwinter | |||||||||
| Physical Attributes | ||||||||||
| Height: | 5'11 | |||||||||
| Weight: | Thin, not as much as she used to be | |||||||||
| Eyes: | Dark blue | |||||||||
| Hair: | Reddish brown | |||||||||
| Complexion: | Thin-athletic. Her legs seem under far more training than the rest of her | |||||||||
| Physical Build: | Weakling-looking | |||||||||
| Physical Features: | Many small scars through her body, few of them on generally visible spots | |||||||||
| Skills | ||||||||||
| A bit of this and that other thing | ||||||||||
| Equipment and Items | ||||||||||
| A ridiculous ammount of rapiers seathed by her side | ||||||||||
- Physical Traits -
Name: Francessca Toralynnsyr. AKA Cessca
Age: 40
Gender: Female
Deity: Silvannus, although Francessca is not a very faithful person. Converted from Helm many years ago
Height: 5'11
Weight: Athletic, although her height makes her look more thin than she actually is
Skin Tone: Slightly tanned
Eye Color: Dark blue
Hair: Reddish brown
Unique features: Many small scars through her body, few of them on generally visible spots
Bad STR: Sort of weakling, she does not trust her strength herself
Good DEX: She believes the best way of fighting is to not get hit at all
Bad CON: She was never strong physically, and some incident with poison a couple years ago did not help at all
Good INT: Thoughtful and disciplined, she will try to find the way of being most effective at any situation
Poor WIS: Formerly a posh girl, lacks still some years of experience on her shoulders, although she has improved a lot lately
Bad CHA: Much more beautiful as a girl, years behaved badly with Francessca. Furthermore, she opens her mouth bluntly more than she should
Francessca, generally referred by her friends as Cessca, is a somewhat tallish woman that years have not treated well. Always up to some conversation, despite her many travels she prefers to hear stories rather than telling them. She prefers confortable clothes over noisy armours or tin cans. Of somewhat Illuskan origin, there are still some face features that do not match, revealing a faint mixed blood origin. She likes to keep a bow and a full quiver on her back while having many rapier seathes on her hips. Speaking of which, you should really not look at her hips, as she is well known for having a strong character.
- Personality -
Francessca is a calculating person, and getting her to trust anyone is quite complicated. She takes pride of being able to judge people well, even if she made her mistakes. Her lack of trust made her a Jane-of-all-Trades. She might not be really good at anything, but she can as well cover almost any need herself. Avobe all, she is adept at being unnoticed. Not necessarily by hiding, but by not looking out of place. She shows traits of OCD in her attention to details. Years have not treated her too well, becoming less and less trusting and far more pessimist
- Accomplishments -
Pre-Sigil:
- Published a series of books on the art of fencing
- Joined the Harpers
- Abducted and mind probed by Mindflyers at one point. The probe was found and extracted later
Post Sigil:
- Travelled through the Yggdrasil
- Still breathes
- Goals -
(PM for any clarifications or further details)
- Fencing mastery
- Vengeance
- Understanding the Cadence of Planes
- Acceptance by others
- Plot Hooks -
- Anything related on her epic 20-year-old hunt for the assassin of her brother
- Anything related to the Harpers or other organizations she has worked with before, such as Druidric/Nature circles or the elusive Keepers of the Cerulean Sign (as odd as it might be on Planescape setting)
- Anything related to fencing, specially if it blends with the first plot hook
- Whatever that might get the Ciphers involved
- Although she is not a bard, she takes interest in arts, specially music
- Curiosities -
(PM for any clarifications or further details)
- Holds a ridiculous ammount of rapiers seathed by her side, mostly covering them with her cloak
- She wrote four books on the art on fencing while still living in Arabel
- Married a donkey
- Lost a fragment of her soul during an indicent
- She gets sick during teleports and similar spells, doesn't seem to happen when using portals
- Sworn enemy of the undead
- Skeptical and stubborn
- Likes to play her pipes when no one is around. She doesn't like playing for an attendance
- Background -
The house of the Toralynnsyrs was one of the lesser known accommodated families in Neverwinter, although that was going to change soon. Although they were more influential in the past, due their long Illuskan heritage when they were still known as the Windrivvers, the family was repudiated when Ander Windrivver married with Jhaumrithe Toralynnsyr, an elf woman. The marriage originated distrust among some other houses but the worse was still to come. The happyness Ander felt when he knew he was going to get his first child did not last for long as Jhaumrithe died giving birth to Taman, their only son.
After this unfortunate incident, Ander felt in a strong depressive mood, a moment of weakness some other houses used to crush their position among the other families. The Hornraven and the Stormwind houses violently argued that the Windrivvers were no longer worthy of their confidence, getting themselves mixed with strangers of dubious intentions, while their only son capable of continuing their lineage got contaminated with weak blood and traits. Ander's mental situation did not help either and rumours about him having forgotten even his own proud and fighting nature arouse. Unable to face how the situation was turning out, Ander took a path directly opposed as what one would think of once a proud illuskan...
Some months later, Ander Toralynnsyr and his son Taman Toralynnsyr crossed the Spine of the World and arrived to Beorunna's Well, not for starting a new life, but to seek for Jhaumrithe's brother, Faelar, but the meeting couldn't have been more disastrous for Ander's intentions. So sick of love and so encumbered by the last events, Ander made his most terrible mistake blinded by his own stupidity, to try to re-unite the "family". As you may imagine, things did not go as good as Ander expected... actually no good at all. Elves are interesting creatures, fascinating for some -like humans-, but in fact they are as intricate, seldomish and egocentrical as anyone else on Faerun. Of course, an illuskan was not one of them no matter what surname he used, neither was his son. Unfortunately for Ander, he only started noticing that insignificant detail once he noticed the strong disapproval eyes among their slim faces. After a quite calm, yet visceral, argument, Ander took Taman back to Beorunna's Well for the night, before starting another voyage in the morning. By the time Ander finally made Taman to start sleeping, he suddenly noticed another presence in their room...
- What did you expect? - whispered the stranger in the room while showing those eyes that Ander noticed earlier that day, - How could you think you could be one of our people? - whispered again getting while closer to the candles in the room. The man was remarkably tall for someone of his elven kind, almost as much as Ander himself and, despite the thinness someone could spot at first glance, a more deeper observation would reveal the man was in fact quite athletic, a nasty surprise for whoever was silly enough to engage in a brawl with him fooled by his slim looks. His hair was of an intense grey colour, just like Jhaumrithe's, and the young facial factions that were starting to be tangible through the weak light that dominated the room also looked terribly familiar. Even before the man was totally visible Ander knew the mysterious intruder had to be Faelar himself.
- I... I did not know myself... but I've already realised it was a mistake, thank you -
- I fail to see what Jhaumrithe said to have noticed in you -
- You are not the only one in this room that can say that - quickly replied Ander quite bad-tempered
- You humans never ever stop surprising me... at one moment you look like you are going to break in tears and a second later you show incredible arrogance and anger -
- You have not yet met myself angered, but that can easily be solved - said Ander while approaching to draw his family Axe
- Save your strength for the trip you have ahead of you -
- Why should I do such a thing? -
- Because Neverwinter is a long way from here still -
- Neverwinter? -
- Of course, that is your best chance for starting over - Faelar replied immediately
- Why not Luskan? -
- I take you've never been there... The city is totally corrupt. There is a large amount of crimes on the streets, not the place for your vaguely-resembling-elf kid to grow up if you want my opinion, not to mention your name will still be more famous there than in Neverwinter to start with, and there is also that thing with... -
- Taman, his name is Taman! - Ander shouted interrupting Faelar.
After that, the child woke up and started crying again... after all, his life had only started less than a year ago. Ander got close to him again and tried to help him sleep once more.
- Worrying for a kid is something more than shouting his name in the middle of the night, or you did not even consider that yet? - Faelar continued.
- But Luskan is... -
- Is a death sentence for him. As soon as those fanatics find anyone of my kind they slave it into their tower to be one of their archmages... or to be used in the training of others. Is that what you wish for Taman? -
- ... - Ander remained silent this time
- Your better choice is undoubtedly Neverwinter, its far away enough from your homeland to not be known and its diversity in population would give Taman a better chance -
- Starting a new life, you say it like if it was actually easy -
- It won't, but it is not like if you had other choice -
Then there was silence. Even little Taman stopped crying by then. Although it did not last for more time than a few seconds, it felt like an eternity for Ander.
- Glad we agree, - Faelar continued - but that is not all -
- Huh? -
- The life you are used to isn't going to help Taman at all -
- What the hell do you mean? -
Faelar suddenly smiled and pointed his finger at the huge Windrivver battle axe that was by the side of Ander's bed.
- No, that's my family legacy... - Ander hurried to answer
- That is not the legacy of someone who calls himself Toralynnsyr now. - Faelar abruptly interrupted. After a couple seconds of disturbing silence he continued - Taman will not be a man like you. If you insist on him being instructed in the ways of war that is not a weapon he shall be able to wield in an appropriate way -
Ander looked at his axe and took a remarkably deep breath. The Windrivver Axe was an insanely huge weapon of a rather decent crafting, yet nothing really extraordinary. A not so deep visual examination would reveal that the axe was in fact very old, with plenty of fight marks among itself and the blade edge did not look any sharp at all. Despite that, the weapon was undoubtedly deadly in the appropriate arms though. A blade of that size, even if rusty, would cut anything in half once in motion, although that would, of course, need a massive arm strength to achieve. Ander himself wasn't even able to handle that weapon appropriately himself and mostly kept it for its sentimental value and family pride. The axe itself was a symbol of once a proud house and their very own living style, the representation of how Ander's life was till very recently.
- Very few men would be able to wield that weapon in a combat in an effective way. - Faelar commented - Not even you look able to do much more than probably just lifting it -
- But... -
- And if you are going to start over again and hide from those who thrown you away from your position that axe shall not be of any help either -
- And do you suggest that I just leave it here? -
- Of course not, but I suggest you to visit the blacksmith behind this inn, the gold will come in handy when you get to your destination -
- Do you really expect me to sell my legacy for a few coins? -
- No, but I do expect you to bury your demons here before you continue your path, and not just for the sake of the weight of that damn thing -
- I'm not going to do such a thing, that axe is everything I have left! - Ander shouted again
Fortunately, the shout did not awake little Taman this time. After a few seconds, Faelar finally reacted.
- If that is what you think, then I've been mistaken. I shall better leave you two now -
Faelar turned his back on Ander and opened the room's door
- Why did you come here? - Ander asked before Faelar left the room
- The son of Jhaumrithe deserves better - Faelar concluded before closing the door behind him.
Ander fell in its bed thinking about everything that had happened in its life to that night. His memories before meeting Jhaumrithe suddenly started to feel empty, meaningless, of not even the slightest importance any more Although that feeling was not new to him, those young memories looked much more insignificant that night. That, and Faelar's words kept him awake till very late that night, till the poor man succumbed to sleep. And he dreamt of his wife, and everything seemed right; he dreamt of his love, and he wanted more; and he dreamt of his own life, and to make it better he would find a way.
Ander woke up almost at evening. He spent much night awake, but at least he had a long and much needed rest afterwards. "The son of Jhaumrithe deserves better" - The words of Faelar were still on his mind while he was packaging again his last things, getting ready for another long voyage. When he finished, he took the old rusty axe and dragged it by the floor all the way to the blacksmith shop. The payment the man offered for it sounded worse than ridiculous in Ander's ears, but even after a long discussion negotiating the price he couldn't get half of what he would thought to be its minimum acceptable price. "The son of Jhaumrithe deserves better" - he thought again while handing the unique weapon on the blacksmith hands. When he turned around to leave, Ander was unexpectedly interrupted by the smith.
- Wait a moment friend, a friend of yours was here earlier today -
- A... friend of mine you said? -
- Yes, that is what he mumbled at least, a weird guy your friend -
- How was this friend of mine like? - Ander enquired
- Well, the type with pointy ears and short of manners when dealing with humans. He asked me to give this package to a friend of his if he shown up today, one trying to sell a massive axe for a ridiculously high fee -
The smith handed Ander a slim, yet long package. Ander, obviously bit by the curiosity bug, opened it in front of the blacksmith to find a wicked kind of sword he never had seen before. In front of him there was a one-of-a-kind thin sword, almost without a sharp edge that reflected the light as it was made of more silver than crafted iron. The handguard seemed to be built on the same based material, but tainted on a greenish tone, and the handgrip looked solid, yet very comfortable to touch. Among with the sword there was a note, which read "This is the weapon for a knight, one to be proud of". It was then when Ander realised there was an engraved name in the metal of the handguard, "Toralynnsyr".
- That's a quite weird rapier you have there friend - said the blacksmith.
- A rapier? -
- Yeah, a quite weird one as I told you already. The blade is much more thick than a normal one, looks to have been built for a brute to use rather that a refined fighter -
- A brute? - Ander said while raising an eyebrow on the smith
- Ah yeah, normally the rapiers are much more slim, parrying with them is close to suicidal so the fighters rely on dodging, but this one looks to be made to be able to parry certain attacks, although I wouldn't try to stop much more than a dagger with it still... Furthermore, it has a quite uncommon blade, normally rapiers are designed to be used to pierce the enemy, but this one should be able to cut someone as well... - The smith made a small pause - Anyway friend, I can pay quite well for such a piece of work -
- Sorry, but I am afraid I cannot sell this... rapier - Ander answered
- Allow me to speak about the price before you deny yourself some good gold my friend -
- Sorry, this is one sword I cannot allow to lose, thanks for taking care of it for me. Now if you excuse me I have important matters that need my attention - Ander replied while leaving the shop.
The blacksmith badly regretted not giving a look at the package content before that man arrived, but at least he got a fine axe for a quite low amount of gold...
When they were just kids, Helm and Francessca loved to listen to the tales of their ancestors from the old mouth of their grandfather. Blath, their father, did not like them to pass so much time with the tales of his old father though, but, with the menace of the armies of Luskan, Ruathym and Tuern, a bit of hope inspired by such fairy tales would not hurt them either. Blath Toralynnsyr was the head of the Toralynnsyr house at Neverwinter, probably one of the lesser influential ones among the other lords, although somehow slightly more respected among certain houses. However, Blath was an ambitious man and had placed his trust for the house Toralynnsyr in his older son already, Helm.
Helm was a strong boy for his age and immediately shown up a lot of talent for the sword since tender age. His height and complexion was typical of the old strong illuskans which, added to his determination and bravery, made him an ideal fighter and the focus of all the hope his father had in making the Toralynnsyrs a major house in Neverwinter. Francessca, his two-years-younger sister was a bit different though. She was the first girl in four generations in the Toralynnsyr house and ever since birth she possessed a strange beauty uncommon among humans. Legend says that Blath's grandfather, Taman, was half-elf, but Blath always considered that just tales to make the kids sleep at stormy nights. Legend or not, it was truth that Francessca had an elegant and delicate appearance than other girls around at her age.
Francessca herself grew up is quite a tall and strong girl, in part due her willingness to train swordfight with his brother. Although Blath had more ladylike plans for her, Francessca usually avoided her lessons and ran away into the forest when pursued. She also shown quite particular style swordfighting Helm, since she could not compete in strength with him she focused in avoiding his attacks and counterattacking with lighting-fast strikes. Francessca also had a remarkably high intelligence, although she lacked discipline for studying despite the efforts of his father, after all she had warrior blood on her veins just like Helm. For as long as Francessca and Helm were together they were happy, and so was his father. But, my dear reader, stories are never that happy, and this one is no exception I am afraid.
The death of their mother and their grandfather due a cursed illness marked both kids for the rest of their lives, as well as their father. Blath started getting more and more obfuscated with his goal of increasing the influence of the Toralynnsyrs in the city. Eventually, he started to look for certain marriage possibilities for Helm and Francessca. Helm's skills attracted quite much attention in earlier years so finding candidates for him was not really difficult. Of all the possibilities, the most attractive - in an influential way - was Tessele Greycastle, daughter of Evendur Greycastle, head of one of the most important houses in Neverwinter. Unfortunately for Blath, Helm did not seem the same young man he once was. He started to seem much more insecure and became much more dependant on his relationship with Francessca.
Francessca herself started to behave in a much more aggressive way as well as being severely distrustful of everyone except her brother. She changed her joy for sarcasm, her smile for a proud face and her happiness for resentment. On the first time her father arranged a meeting with a possible marriage candidate, Francessca broke the nose of the poor guy of a single punch and argued badly with Blath about that situation. Both brothers became much more dependant on the other with time and, given their difficulties to stablish relationships with members of other houses, and rumours arise about that their relation, more than fraternal, to be incestuous. When he heard about the rumours, Blath almost collapsed and swore to separate them both. He fought so hard for the Toralynnsyrs, he was only a whisker away from fulfilling his goal, and that consented girl was going to prevent Helm from becoming the glorious knight he was born to be...
Francessca enraged when she was told her father arranged marriage for her with the son of a former Luskan lord now exiliated on the outer part of Neverwinter, but Blath having expected such reaction decided to lock her on her room till the day of the ceremony. Blath found this to be most logical solution from all his problems, he would get Francessca married with what he considered a decent family and, at the same time, isolate Helm in an effort to get him back to his path. Unfortunately for Blath, the treaty with the Luskan lord was going to be more troublesome than he expected. The reputation of Francessca preceded herself and the nobility of Neverwinter preferred to avoid her at any cost. The search for someone ignorant enough to take her as bride concluded when Blath was approached by a Luskan lord, Urth Lackman. The lord promised his son would marry Francessca and would get a good share of the Toralynnsyr family treasure, as well as all heritage in the terrible case of Helm dieing. Blath decided to accept, and that would be his worst mistake ever.
Due the hurry of both Blath, to get rid of Francessca; and Urth, to ensure Blath would not change his mind, the marriage ceremony was thrusted to be held in 3 days time. On the morning of the wedding day, when Blath unlocked Francessca's door, he found the room in quite a weird state. The room was empty of signs of her wrath, empty of broken furniture, her bed was empty of sheets and the room itself was empty Francessca's presence either, but at least the sheets ended up appearing tied to one of the legs of the bed, forming a rope that disappeared through the window. With the men shortage due the arising problems through the Sword Coast, not many could be sent into the woods to trace her and none of them returned with any clue of her possible location. Moreover, despite the fact that the ceremony was not held, Urth argued that his part of the treaty was accomplished anyway and should receive his part of the deal. Foolish Blath, thinking with "perspective" concluded that, after all, he got rid of Francessca for now and Helm would benefit from battle experience if sent to fight the raids. Helm received the Toralynnsyr family rapier and headed to battle, an experience he might be still too young for...
Francessca entered the woods again for the first time in quite a few years. She heard from the servant that brought her dinner that night that the forced marriage would be held tomorrow, and she was surely not going to allow that to happen, ever! That decision was not the smartest one though and, suddenly, Francessca felt something on her foot and immediately after that she was hanging from her foot upside down.
- Hmm.. seems my dinner rabbit its punctual today, magnificent news for a change - said a voice from the woods
- What? I am not a rabbit neither I am your dinner! Get me out of this trap! -
- Hmpf... I concede you do not talk like a rabbit, but lets not hurry too much about you not being my dinner yet -
A man emerged from the woods, he was quite tall and looked thin. As he was getting closer and closer Francessca could appreciate more details, like his greyish hair colour or his pointy ears. The man looked old, yet not too much to live on the forest and still his looks could be just consequence of the bad lightning conditions. He walked firmly and without making noise, so his physical condition should be, at least, above average still. Behind his clothes Francessca was able to notice bow and arrows, a dagger on his left and a short sword on his right.
- Seems you are not my dinner either, you are way too skinny - said the man
- Oh, I shall take that as a compliment my lord but, if your majesty allows for it, I would have a small request to ask for - Francessca replied in a noticeable sarcastic way
- And what shall that request of you be my lady? - the man answered in the same mood
- TO GET ME OUT OF THIS TRAP OF YOURS ALREADY!... if you do not mind that is -
Without answer, the stranger drew his dagger and dispatched the rope on a single cut, causing the logical fall of Francessca to the ground in a rather bad position. In the same verge of logical events, Francessca got up from the ground in a rather enraged mood
- HEY YOU, HOW DAR...HMMPF! -
The man quickly placed his left hand on the mouth of the girl, stopping her most interesting and educated incoming speech, and indicated to shut up with the other hand.
- Do not raise your voice, - he whispered - we are in a dangerous place. Hear those voices? and all that noise. Heed my warning, men wearing metal plates on a forest usually means trouble. We have to get moving -
The man started walking, but Francessca stood still. After a few steps the stranger noticed he was not being followed by her and backtracked.
- This is no time to be scared, we have to get moving. - he said.
The man hold tightly the girl's hand and started walking
- Try to step on the same places where I do, that will help us go unnoticed through the woods -
After some minutes of walk Francessca finally calmed down and started being like herself again.
- Where are we going? - she asked
- The woods extend several miles up north, I've got a small cabin not long from here, it should be safe for tonight -
- Would not be definitely most safe inside Neverwinter than rather the other way around? -
- Mind you my Lady, but I would say that is exactly where you were fleeing from, so I supposed you would appreciate me taking you to somewhere else - the man replied
- Nice response, but that is not what I asked -
- Heh, it might not be, but that is the one you've got. Sometimes in life you do not get what you expect - the man answered between some laughs
- That surely was needless to mention - Francessca added in a quite unpleasant way
- Ooh. that is a quite low way to quit the chatter my Lady, cheer up, you shall live for another day, that I can promise you -
- Perhaps I would be more polite if you were as well -
- My Lady, I do not recall being offensive to you in any way, am I wrong? -
- You could start but stop calling me "my Lady" -
- Hahahaha, excuse me then but, I do not know any other way to call you yet. What shall be your name then? -
- Fra... - Francessca left the word unfinished as soon as she noticed that might not be bright idea to tell her name to a stranger after all
- Fra...what? - The stranger enquired
- Not Fra, Fa, Faranni it is -
- Faranni? What a weird name for someone like you -
- What makes it strange if I may ask? -
- Well, that is an elven name as far as I know, its uncommon for an Illuskan -
- It is not that weird but, what makes you think I am Illuskan? -
- Well, Faranni, you look and talk and smell like Illuskans, so I would say you are one of them -
- I cannot believe I ended discussing how do I smell with a stranger, I must have hit rock bottom -
- Haha, you surely are an optimistic person, Faranni -
- Yeah, and speaking of the devil, what about your name? -
- My name? what is wrong with it? -
- I cannot answer to that since I do not know it yet you silly -
- Oh, it's that so? Hehe, Fae...lyn, Faelyn it is, yeah -
- Faelyn, are you really called that? -
- Of course I am, I think it is a beautiful name, don't you agree? -
- If you say so... -
After around an hour of walk, they arrived at what certain elves consider a shack, which is not more than an old perforated tent with a pathetic attempt of bed made of straw
- You look a bit pale Faranni - Faelyn said
- Do not tell me this is where you... -
- Yep, this is where I get to rest from time to time. Not the most elegant place, I know, but fear not, I'll let you sleep inside, I can rest outside without problems -
- Like if there was a difference between "inside" and "outside"... -
- Haha, trust me, that bed might not be what you are used to, but it is still better than nothing and it shall do for tonight. We will look for your family tomorrow -
- For... my family? -
- Of course, your family will be worried for you don't you agree? -
Francessca kept silent and got into the tent. She waited for some time, pretending to be asleep, until she could notice Faelyn asleep outside. She had no intention of getting back at Neverwinter so she had no choice but to escape again. She got up and, as soon as she started walking, a familiar voice stopped her.
- Running away on the forest without knowing exactly where are you going is not a good idea Faranni. - Faelyn said - Would you mind at least telling me why are you trying to leave? -
- I do not want to get back back home... under any circumstances -
- Well then, do you at least have any other place to go? -
- No, but I cannot return to Neverwinter -
- Hmm... yours isn't a very good situation at all. The best you could do is getting back to Neverwinter even if you do not like it -
- I told you already, I am not going to get back -
- Ok, ok. Well, lets just get some rest, we will give your situation a better thought tomorrow in the morning. - Faelyn concluded - Oh, and no escaping this time please, even if you think you are moving silently, you are actually making a lot of noise, trust me -
And so the morning reached and they thought about their situation but did not come to an agreement. So they waited for the next day again, with no luck. And so the days passed, and the days turned out weeks, and the weeks turned out months and the months turned out to be almost two years. During that time Francessca learnt of the ways of the forest and she learnt how to hunt while she forgot about the easy life at Neverwinter, and she learnt to use the bow while she forgot about the about the different forks for the different meals, and she learnt to hide her presence while she forgot about the dresses designed for the opposite matter, and she learnt of Gods the humans do not worship while she forgot about golden cups and plates made of silver... During that time, during one of the infrequent trips to Neverwinter to sell fur and get some other supplies, Francessca found his brother on one of the most isolated areas of the city. Helm was remarkably better than he was the last time they met, so was Francessca. He told her about the battles in the raids, about his company and about their father. After a couple of hours of talk, and after making Helm swear he would not tell about her to their father, they both wished luck to each other and promised to meet again.
Francessca actually tried to find him some months later in Neverwinter, but when she found him she wished she would have failed. The corpse of his brother was pale, tainted of blood, a victim of a honour duel after a bar fight they said. After shredding some tears, she started noticing the whole death looked artificial. The deadly wound was on his back and not on his front as would have happened if he was fighting in duel, not to mention she never saw his brother drinking at all. Not only that, his weapon, the Toralynnsyr Rapier was never found. Francessca talked with the remaining soldiers of his brother company but they were of no help, they could only tell her that they noticed Helm to be missing by morning and never had seen him again since then. After a week of questioning with no results, Francessca gave up finding the rapier and the cause of his brother death and returned to the latest shack Faelyn and her established. Around four months later, when Francessca returned from selling fur on Neverwinter, she found the shack to have vanished. The only thing left was a letter nailed to one tree with Faelyn's dagger
"My dearest Francessca,
Over the last years we spent together we have failed to find your own path. We have shared good moments and also others not as good, but I am afraid this is the time in which we must split. I have certain unfinished business that I must attend to, while yourself must finally find your own path. However, since there are no paths inside a forest, you will appreciate what I have to tell you. It has come to my knowledge that, around two months ago, a merchant in Waterdeep tried to purchase what he defined as an "extraordinary rapier of elven craftmanship engraved with the name Toralynnsyr on the handguard", but his offer was considered not good enough. Although confirming this would be quite difficult from here, I trust the friend who told me up to the point to take it as truth without hesitation. I wish I could go with you on this trip, but fear not as I am sure we shall meet again in the future.
Wishing you all the love I can give you and the best of lucks, till we meet again
F. T."
After getting back to Neverwinter to get some supplies, Francessca started the long way towards Waterdeep with a hateful look on her face. She wanted the rapier back and she wanted to have a long conversation with the man wielding it. And, over all things, she wanted to find out how Faelyn knew her true name and about how could he get news on the rapier from Waterdeep. After all, there are no paths inside the woods, but there always tracks to follow...
And so Francessca started travelling from one town to another through Faerun and even further away. The place she spent the most time on was Arabel in Cormyr, where she lived for more than a decade. It was also the only place where she almost forgot why she started her trip and was even close to make it her final home after she achieved membership with a secret organization known as the Harpers. It lasted long, but not enough for, when she caught word again about the person she has been looking for finally surfaced, her old ambitions took over her better sense once again. Without much hesitation, she followed the suspect through one of the doors at the World Serpent.
Perhaps, this time, she can finally put an end to this endless hunt before it finally drives her mad.