The Shape of a Heart - Qazra Xemelenos

[Carbondk]

(DISCLAIMER: This bio is shortened and edited, from the original private bio to this public version. Below the bio, I will tell Qazra's version of whatever adventures and experiences she will have with the people of the Sword Coast. All the information in the short stories is of course not ingame available for any character, apart from the ones participating in the stories. I am writing these small texts mostly for my own sake, and hopefully you will find them exciting to read as well. Who knows, maybe your character will feature in one of them ^^)

First Name: Qazra
Last Name: Xemelenos

Appearance:
Race: Human (Some would notice her eastern appearance, some with the required lore would recognize her as Mulan)
Age: She appears to be in her late teens or early twenties
Height: about 176 cm
Weight: about 56 kg
Eyes: dark green
Hair: none
Facial Hair Style: none

Personality Profile:
Profession: Qazra often openly declares herself as a Transmuter, that is, a Wizard
Habits/Hobbies: Qazra has a well developed curiosity and wanderlust, and is always looking for new things to discover. She is especially interested in anything concerning animated life, that is, golemcraft and animated objects. She also spends a lot of time with her cat, Kismet.
Languages: Qazra is often heard speaking several languages, how many, and which ones, is unknown to the public
Weapon of Choice: Her magic, of course. Other than that, a simple staff

Background:
Qazra arrived at Baldur's Gate a few days ago, dressed in clothing and trappings fit for a longer journey on foot. She appeared to have arrived alone, though a pair of heavily armoured men wearing crimson red cloaks were seen accompanying her close to the city gate. Qazra has several times mentioned "visiting the enclave", and has hinted at that place being her current accomodation.

From where she came, and why, is not known to the public. She usually wears a black robe, adorned with faint red markings. Qazra has often talked of her fascination with golemcraft, animation of objects, as well as polymorphing, an exciting new topic she is only starting to explore fully.

[Carbondk]

"The King is Dead - All Hail the King!"

The journey back to to the Friendly Arm Inn from the goblin infested tunnels at the outskirts of Beregost was a long one, in more than one sense.
Qazra's mind was wandering back to the recent events that had unexpectedly unfolded themselves in that dark place, and the unfortunate outcome it had had for her and her rag-tag band of adventurers.

It had all started out well enough. The foursome - a holy man of Helm, another cleric that Qazra did not remember much of, a warrior named Quentin, though Qazra often called him Quen, and of course herself - had decided to team up and explore the abandoned mines, in order to rob the goblin tribe of their riches, and perhaps unearth some ancient Illefarn lore on the process.

No sooner had they entered the mines, however, before a timid goblin approached them, explaining how he wanted to usurp the current leader of the goblins, and become their king. The goblin needed their help to do so, and the adventurers agreed. Some more reluctantly than others. Qazra had few qualms; after all, what was one goblinoid leader to another? Who cared what goblin ruled over their quarrelsome ilk? Besides, this particular goblin had promised them some fine rewards for their efforts.

The assault on the goblin mines went rather uneventful, the band proved highly skillful at exterminating the green vermin. It was not long, however before the four heroes found out that they were being stalked. Some unknown woman had followed them into the mines, keeping to the back by herself. The woman continually accused the adventurers of treason, for teaming up with the lone goblin, and she uttered several threats and insinuations of what she would do to them. The conversation was abruptly cut short by yet another wave of goblin assailants, and in the aftermath, the cold body of the would-be goblin monarch was found at the feet of the strange woman.

She maintained her innocence, claiming that other goblins killed their kin. Qazra, however, had her suspicions. Having finally taken care of the goblin menace, the four adventurers found themselves in the former throne room, where the goblin crown lay on the floor. Qazra quickly deduced that the crown held magical powers locked in its frame, and that she - given time - could unlock that, and perhaps even use her vast knowledge of magical artifacts to discern the item's history and creation.

No such luck, unfortunately. The foursome and the troublesome woman were soon interrupted by five gilded Lathandrites from the nearby temple, along with their leader. They demanded that the adventurers handed over the crown for their safeguarding. The helmite prostrated himself before the Lathandrites and swore his obedience, and the strange woman declared her intentions to be of similar nature. Qazra, though, frowned at the Lathandrites, and argued that the relic would be much safer with her, what with Beregost being a war zone with Amn nearby, and that she should safeguard the item, and use her abilities to pry any knowledge out of it.

The other adventurers, even Quin, protested - some even threatened her! And Qazra quickly realised that tired and out of spells, she would have no chance against the powerful band of Lathandrites, the servile Helmite, and the crazy woman - who all seemed keen on her blood - and she grudgingly handed over the relic to the Morninglord's servants.
In their immense rudeness, she and her fellow adventurers were rewarded with five hundred gold coins each for their efforts. Five hundred! That item was worth at least a hundred times more, and the Lathandrites knew it! The thought of that insult still burned her like the lash of a hot whip.

Well, she thought to herself, at least we made it out of there with our lives, and perhaps those Lathandrites have not yet seen the last of me.

(Thanks to the DM who made the fun happen, I am sorry to have forgotten your name ^^)

[Carbondk]

"Demonic Bargains."

"By Azuth's grey beard, kill the channeller!" Qazra yelled over the din of battle, as she aimed her crossbow at the extraplanar summoner that the band had accidentially come across, during one of their explorations of the goblin mines outside Beregost.

The bluish, spiked being howled in an infernal tongue, throwing vile spells left and right, descimating the adventurers with fiery lashes and blasts of utter cold.
One of the band, the talkative rogue who went by the name of Jaden, already lay lifeless next to the abomination, the right half of his body looking a burned mess. He would surely die soon, if he were not aided.
The barrel-shaped dwarven paladin shouted prayers for his god while carving a slice out of the fiend with his axe, while Quentin pierced through its leathery chest with his giant sized sword. The fiend fell, and lay still. The three remaining adventurers breathed havily and tended to their wounds, of which most were grave. Jaden had fallen unconcious, and there was nothing they could do for him at the time being.

They quickly spread out and searched the room for any clue as to why this being had decided to lair in the old goblin mines. Qazra's sharp eyes soon caught sight of something out of place, an ancient and worn scroll laying on top of a pillar. She hesitantly unfurled the scroll, and caught sight of the abyssal symbols and runes that were scribbled across the surface of it. "Tanar'ri," She murmured to herself, "he was summoning Tanar'ri."
Qazra briskly set a pace down the long corridor, determined to unravel the mystery, and her two companions quickly follower, dragging the unconcious Jaden between them.

It was not long before they came to another room, the sound of a roar booming behind the stone door. The trio opened the door, entered, and were greeted by the worst stench imaginable in the planes both beyond and below. There, before them, veiled in a miasma of green pestilence and noxious gas, was a gigantic fiend, its hulky body towering over the adventurers, its toad-like face filled with needle sharp teeth.
Qazra, very well versed in demonology due to her Thayvian education, instantly recognized the Tanar'ri - a Hezrou demon, a powerful denizen of the Abyss.

Though nauseous by the vile fumes exuding from the fiend, the adventurers managed to catch that the demon was adressing them instead of ripping them apart, at least for the time being. "Set me free", it demanded, "and I shall not destroy you." Obviously it had been bound to this place, and was unable to escape by its own volition.
"I'll set ye free, with me axe!", the dwarf paladin roared, and grit his teeth. Qazra tried to explain to the dwarf that even if he did manage to kill the form of the Hezrou - a most unlikely outcome - the demon would not die here on the prime material plane, but instead be banished back to the Abyss, and the adventurers would have accomplished nothing.

There was no time for a greater lecture in the planes, the nature of Tanar'ri and the summoning and binding of demons, however, as the fiend grew continously impatient. Qazra left it for Quen to explain the greater detail to the dwarf, as Qazra decided to negotiate with the demon. Years of summoning Tana'ri, Baatezu and even worse beings from the various planes, had left Qazra with something of a talent regarding dealing with extraplanars. Red wizards were notorious for their consorting with all things fiendish and supernatural, and even though her grasp on the conjurative school was not that tight, Qazra still understood that most demons would give anything to be able to escape bonds placed on them by mere mortals.

Qazra allowed a small grin to appear on her face. "I will set you free, demon, allow you to return to the Abyss. But before I do, I want a reward. Something magical from your home plane." The demon had clearly dealt with mortals before, its toady face leered in a toothy grin as it laughed; a deep, rumbling laughter. "I feel the arcane weave in you, mortal. I accept your terms." It conjured up a brazen necklace out of thin air, and made it hover next to Qazra. "Free me, and this will be yours, mage", the demon spoke.

The dwarf protested, claiming that this did not seem right with him, but in the end, he complied. After the demon told Qazra its true name, in order to make her able to banish it, the wizard began her chanting, and started unravelling the bonds that held the Tanar'ri prisoner on the prime material plane. The demon started to grow transparent, and with a thunderous boom, it vanished back to whatever layer of the Abyss that had spawned it in the first place. Qazra caught the necklace in mid-air, and pocketed it with a satisfied smile.

The way back to the Burning Wizard in Beregost was uneventful. Qazra ordered a few rounds of ale to her companions to celebrate their success, and the priests of Lathander saw to Jaden's wounds. Yes, it has been a good day. Not only had she secured herself an artifact of immense power - the necklace veritably throbbed with power under her robes - but she had also aquired the true name of a Hezrou demon, Mohg'zah'gothas, as well as the scroll that was used to summon it. Commending herself on her wits and abilities, the mage made her way to her study chamber at the Thayvian enclave, and decided to dedicate the rest of that evening to unravelling whatever secret lore she could from the extraplanar scroll ...

(Many thanks to DM Grave - this was an awesome event ^^ Also thank yous to Jaden, the dwarven paladin, and Quentin. You guys did real good)

[Carbondk]

"Just a Drop of Blood."

"Ow, that hurt!". The tiefling known as Merrok complained, as he drew his knife over his left palm, blood welling up in the cut. Qazra had met the tiefling a tenday ago, and they had since then spent some time in the company of one another, alone or with the sorceress Tahlia. Merrok squeezed his hand tight, letting the blood drop from his hand and into the small glass vial that Qazra had given him. "I think ye got enough now." He replied with a wince, and held it out to the young Thayan. She nodded her agreement, and corked the vial, before placing it in the leather holster of her pack.

With the hair sample and the globs of saliva that the tiefling had already provided, she would - as per the agreement they had formed - use her magical talents as well as alchemy skill to help Merrok determine just what kind of fiend that lurked somewhere in his distant family tree. The matter should prove somewhat easy, after all, each fiend had its own signature characteristic, and Qazra would only have to find a hint of that characteristic somewhere in the tissue samples that Merrok had provided. And who other than a skilled transmuter as herself would have the knowledge of the various physical properties of your average fiend? Qazra could not help but feel a small burst of pride at that.

"Very well, that would be all," the Thayan replied with a nod of her head. "Once I get back to my laboratory, I will immediately set up the experiments that I need to conclude, you should have your answer within a tenday or two. With any luck, I might even be able to pinpoint exactly what plane or abyssal layer your ancestor hailed from as well."

The two adventurers exchanged a few final words before once again preparing themselves to lay waste to the nearby village of Xvarts.