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Postfest XIV(Richfest 2010): Nura bint Ramil |
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| Posted on Fri, September 17, 2010 by LordCeb |
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mortellan writes "There are few sights in Ull rarer than a woman who wields power and wealth. In the seedy heights of Kester is one such woman, and though she is not a native of Ull, none dare contest her right to live and prosper in that harsh frontier land.
Nura bint Ramil
by mortellan
Nura bint Ramil (LE, human, female Rogue 12) is the only Pit Mistress of the far-flung Baklunish city of Kester. She arrived on the scene less than ten years ago, bringing with her enough wealth and attitude to buy her way into the upper echelon of Kester’s slave and gladiator markets. Her fame and influence quickly grew given that being a woman she had to be twice as ambitious and aggressive as her rival male pit owners. She operates from her own walled-compound in Kester, including numerous slave pits and a training yard for her hand-picked stable of gladiators. Nura bint Ramil is frequently found at Kester’s slave market appraising new talent or at the Grand Pavilions placing bets with her fellow Pit Masters on their fighters. She is always accompanied by a retinue of loyal eunuch bodyguards and other sycophant servants. Whispers tell that the exotic Pit Mistress also has a very powerful and secret benefactor watching over her in return for unknowable favors abroad.
Nura bint Ramil was born in 564CY in Sefmur. She is the daughter of a small time guild thief named Nadira and a notorious assassin, Ramil (The Serpent). Nura was only one when her father was apprehended on a mission in Ket. Ramil was never seen again so she never knew him. Nura grew up on the mean streets of Sefmur with little attention from her roguish mother who eventually ended up leaving her alone and orphaned when she allegedly left town with a rich traveler. Nura ran around with youth gangs from the age of age eight. She faced the judgment of the qadi magistrates several times for pick pocketing and cutpursing. Nura spent time in more than one detention house and was even forced to work as a slave for local Sefmuri clothiers.
At the age of fourteen Nura caught the eye of a lieutenant in the Sefmur thieves guild named Mirak al-Massari. Mirak came to the clothiers to have garments custom made for the guild. By chance one day, he saw Nura casually concealing sewing needles, strong thread and even scissors on her as she worked. Mirak watched her pocket these items from afar and was impressed with what he saw so he took her aside during a break. Nura was told she had special talents and that she was wasting her time here so Mirak managed to get her released from the sweatshop after bribing the head seamstress with promises and fake jewelry.
Nura soon joined the thieves’ guild, sponsored by Mirak. In a few years she advanced in the ranks of the guild faster than any other woman in decades. She concentrated on house burglaries at night and bait and switch jobs during the day. It wasn’t long before she overheard talk from the senior lieutenants about her. About how she was the spitting image of her mother Nadira who once rebuffed the Guildmaster’s love to have an affair with a Sefmuri assassin named Ramil. Nura was intrigued since her mother had told her nothing about her father except his name. Nura became obsessed with learning more about Ramil, his history with her mother, what happened to him and even what kind of debts the guild may have owed him.
A couple years later, Nura’s curiosity got her into trouble when she broke into the guild records one night. She discovered to her ire that Ramil was sent on a guild sponsored mission to Ket by the Guildmaster. The mission was a set-up with the Ketite authorities to get him out of the picture with Nadira. Nura was just finished reading the records when Mirak and the other senior lieutenants caught her in the act. Breaking serious guild laws, she was turned over to the qadis and false-trumped up charges were created by paid officials. Nura was sentenced to slavery and was sold to an unscrupulous caravan master whose last recorded expedition was south through Ull toward the Dry Steppes. Fate intervened however and the caravan was scattered by a freak dust storm that took the life of the caravan master and left everyone to their own survival. Nura surprisingly turned up in Kester a week later, a free Baklunish woman again with new-found wealth to start her new life there. While she now enjoys a career beyond her wildest dreams, Nura still plots revenge for her family on the Sefmur thieves guild in the future.
Description: By all frontier standards Nura is a comely individual, fit and youthful in appearance with lustrous black hair down to her waist. However, her severe hazel-colored eyes and harsh demeanor show what a rough life she has in fact lived. She is normally dressed in the finest robes and dresses that can be found in Kester, along with an endless assortment of veils and jeweled accessories won from bets with other pit masters or gifted from visiting merchants. When travelling outside the comforts of Kester through the rugged land of Ull she dresses in leathers, a light cloak and often a heavy turban to disguise her sex and appearance.
She is highly proficient in many weapons and will always have at least one blade hid on her during any given encounter. She is not above the use of poisons and odd rumors have it that her eclectic collection includes poisons that can be delivered with a kiss or from her painted fingernails. Given her resources and contacts, any of the above items in her possession could be magical with an emphasis on protective worn devices. In certain dangerous situations, Nura may also have access to magical dusts, sands and possibly even items with the ability to summon an earth elemental.
DM’s notes: Nura was in fact recovered from the storm by the enigmatic necromancer Abi Dalzim who recently returned to the outskirts of Kester after a long banishment at the hands of his nemesis Alhamazad the Wise. Nura is completely in his thrall, secretly doing his bidding without fail, and fearing his omnipresent attention from the crumbled ruins of his tower in the Ullsprue foothills. When not tasked into some fell quest by her shrouded master, Nura is independent to pursue her own goals. This is an arrangement she freely chose over the life of a common slave, thus making her even more cunning than most would-be villains. Her position as a Pit Master in the lawless trade town of Kester makes her an excellent source for information or minor missions to Player Characters who don’t mind her shady nature. In the most extreme situation she can even buy captured PCs and put them to work in Kester’s deadly fighting pits until they can earn their freedom back.
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Average Score: 4.6
Votes: 5
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Re: Postfest XIV(Richfest 2010): Nura bint Ramil (Score: 1)
by Argon on Fri, September 17, 2010
(User Info | Send a Message) | Another Ull article you reallly do live there. Kudos on this submission as strong as your previous work. Question though which one are you pit fighter or eunuch?
Great submission indeed.
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Re: Postfest XIV(Richfest 2010): Nura bint Ramil (Score: 1)
by Wolfsire on Tue, September 21, 2010
(User Info | Send a Message | Journal) | | Very well written for use. |
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Re: Postfest XIV(Richfest 2010): Nura bint Ramil (Score: 1)
by Mystic-Scholar on Sat, September 25, 2010
(User Info | Send a Message) http://mysticscholar.blogspot.com/ | The day when one of your plot lines doesn't happen -- or one of your characters doesn't live -- in Ull is the day I'll write to Ripley's. Query; Do the Cultists live in Ull? ROFL
Very well written Mort, as usual. Another job well done. Nura is ready to drop into anyone's campaign. Many DM's will find this ready made NPC useful.
Keep them coming, my friend.
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