Willa

Willa was a young member of the Nurmendemar who took part in the riot of Agnoor in AeP 441 and the trip to recover the Shield of Sandamar in the winter of AeP 447. She was an expert fighter with twin handaxes. Using this talent, Willa was able to take down the Chief Knight of Carufell. Unfortunately Willa suffered from a disease called the Blinding Blight. She was susceptible to bouts of nausea and blindness. The Nurmendemar did not have a cure and she was forced to search elsewhere.

Along with Alekiai and his family, Willa moved to Port Thresthelm. There she got involved in a plot to assassinate Lord Gavin Bellest. Willa killed his bodyguard Mobius. After the plot was concluded, Willa and Ricard went south to Dorlon, following a lead on her cure.

History
Willa was born in the town of Agnoor in AeP 424. When she was seventeen she took part in the riot against the Order of the Burning Palm and later the battle at their citadel. She used the old axes of her father. After the return of the Nurmendemar she began training with Morgar. But a few months later she started having bouts of nausea, sweating, weakness, and blindness. The Lorekeeper diagnosed her with Blinding Blight. He said that once the Nurmendemar had known a cure but it had long since been lost. He did what he could to treat her. As the years passed the bouts became more intense and more frequent. Finally in Nezus of AeP 447 she joined a trip to Tarabrenth to recover the Shield of Sandamar from the king. She was hoping that there would be a cure or at least a good death.

She met the other people who would be going on the trip in the longhouse of Agnoor. They were Alekiai and Aspen who would be leading the trip, Calvin and Valera of the Nurmendemar, and Tiihbid and Staavin who were travelling Poi’Mareath. From there they went to Morgar. Willa was glad to see him again. He told them more about the shield. The trip after that lasted weeks. Several days in the winds began to pick up. The group sought shelter in an old tower. Though it gave Alekiai an uneasy feeling, Willa strode confidently in. The next day they got caught in a blizzard. Willa helped Tiihbid and Calvin set up a shelter. She used her glare blinders to see and guide Aspen and Valera to the rest of the group. A week later the group was trying to cross the Emerin River when they were attacked by two monsters. Two White Badgers of Nezeril. When one exploded from the snow it hurt Willa badly. Still she held her ground and hit it before moving back. Her wound was healed by Aspen.

When they reached Tarabrenth, Willa met Luka. He was their guide and spy in the city. Luka had set up a way to get into the castle but needed their help rounding up some things. Willa and Alekiai went to go speak to one of his former Winter’s Hand mentors. As they walked through Mercenary Town, they discussed her sickness. Alekiai wanted to help her find a cure but was impressed by her resolve. However they couldn’t find one in the limited time they had. Carufell was simply not the place to find medicine. But they did meet Ritaak. She was the Winter’s Hand captain who gave them a key to the secret castle passage in the tunnels. Ritaak made them promise to only kill castle guards and not any mercenaries. The next day they went through the tunnels to the castle. Willa took down one of the guards but did not kill him. When the entered the keep she was disguised as a mercenary. Right before entering she drank a vial of Berserker’s Brew. At the vault door she took down another guard after the mercenaries left. Tiihibd killed one guard though. Willa and Alekiai went to hide the body. After hiding the body the two ran into Quinta Yon-Suk who they knew as the Chief Knight of Carufell. She demanded to know who they were. Willa and Alekiai pretended to be new guards. But when Quinta led them to the vault they were supposed to be guarding she saw something was wrong. Alekiai took on the guards and Willa took on Quinta. She knocked over the knight and took her two axes to the knight’s ankles. Willa cut them off. With Quinta unable to chase them, Alekiai and Willa escaped the castle.

After the events in Tarabrenth, Willa and Alekiai had to flee Carufell for safety. Along with Alekiai’s family, they moved to Port Thresthelm. This Mordish city had a sizable Carufellan population, and plenty of jobs. Willa and Alekiai were recruited by the Mordish Birding Society along with Ricard Joyce and Jorso Dunn. They followed a note to a building in the Narrows where they met Waxwing and Stellars Jay, the Society representatives. The first mission of the group was to intercept a note from Count Shevenor to the Kaiser. Willa acted as Ricard’s bodyguard when they went to Hilltop to find out information on the courier. After getting lunch, where Willa ordered a sandwich and large glass of juice, they put the plan into motion. Willa waited a few blocks away to act as backup in case the courier escaped. She wasn’t needed and returned to the Lair to spend the night.

The next day the group learned of their true goal, to kill Lord Gavin Bellest and his Islander bodyguard Mobius. Bellest was the head of the Kaiser’s shipyards in Port Threthelm. Ricard and Willa went to scout bars around the Shipyards. Willa was distracted by a fish seller, insisting that Ricard buy her some food. After the scouting they found a knife dealer and with Willa acting as muscle, Ricard recruited him as a spy. After that they returned to the Lair and along with Ricard and Alekiai, went to scout inside the Shipyards where they met Bellest. The following day they did more scoutiung and Willa went with Alekiai and his kids to the blacksmith who supplied Gavin’s militia with arrows. While Alekiai and his kids bought a knife as a distraction, Willa sabotaged the arrows.

The next evening they put their plan into motion. They infiltrated the Shipyards. Willa and Alekiai defeated the guards and local militia they encountered. The Carufellans tried not to kill anyone. They made their way to Gavin’s workshop where Willa defeated more guards. The group stole what they could and lit the building on fire. Then they ran to the main boulevard where they would ambush Gavin and his soldiers. The beginning of the fight went as expected and Bellest was pushed towards the alley in which Alekiai and Willa hid. But as the assault began, Willa was struck by the Blinding Blight. She collapsed and was only brought back after Alekiai hit her to put her in a berserk rage. With her two axes she killed Mobius and threw his head to Bellest. Then she collapsed. After the successful assassinations he collected her money and went south with Ricard to follow a lead on her cure. Her new goal was to get into the Kaiser’s library.

Appearance
In the winter of AeP 447, Willa was a young woman, only twenty two. She had long wavy red hair, was of average height, and was muscular. She wore well made hide armor and a green cloak around it to protect herself from the cold. Her eyes were focused and grey. But she always looked pale and seemingly a little uncomfortable. This was due to her illness. For weapons she had two axes with polished steel blades and fine wooden handles inlaid with silver twine. The only difference between them was that on the flat of one axe head was the Elder Rune of determination, on the other the rune of bravery.

Relations
Willa was a proud member of the Nurmnendemar. She learned to fight because of her heritage. When she first noticed the signs of her sickness she spoke to Morgar. The shaman respected Willa and her desire to learn. After the trip to Tarabrenth, Willa and Alekiai became friends. The two were very similar. Both were reckless but effective warriors. Alekiai wanted to help Willa find a cure for the Blinding Blight.

Ricard was another member of the assassination plot. Willa respected Ricard and went south with him to Dorlon. They each had their own personal reasons for going, but were glad to have someone watching their backs.

Powers
Willa was a dangerous axe fighter and berserker. In addition to being very strong she was also reckless and could go berserk. She added to this effect by carrying Berserker's Brew. With this help of this potion and Alekiai, she was able to defeat Quinta Yon-Suk the Chief Knight of Carufell.

List of Appearances
Campaigns
 * 1) Of Shields, Stories, and Hammers
 * 2) One Crime at a Time Session One: A Storm is Coming
 * 3) One Crime at a Time Session Two: Revelations
 * 4) One Crime at a Time Session Three: Honor Among Thieves
 * 5) One Crime at a Time Session Four: Rat in the Trap