Kalypso (@shadowoutlaw)

Name:

Kalypso

Role:

Leader of Dread Harbingers

Species:

Tiefling

Gender:

Female

Age:

Late Twenties

Abilities and Skills:

Trained as an assassin and thief, Kalypso uses shadows and cunning to achieve her goals. Escape artist and actress, she relies on her skills to get what she wants or to escape a sticky situation. She speaks fluently in Refugi, her native tongue, and of course English, but also tries to pick up anything she can learn in other languages.

General Appearance:

(coming)

General Personality:

Kalypso is often sarcastic and mouthy to those she dislikes or considers their actions annoying. It is noted that she is extremely protective of beings that work as part of Dread Harbingers, often flying to the faces of those in authority to protect the Harbingers. Kalypso can become angry fairly quickly, especially if insulted. Most of the time she keeps herself on a short leash but once she lets go, all hell breaks loose. It is noted that she has a fear of spiders, big or small, and avoids Lolth's followers if at all possible.

History:

"Dinner, imp." The voice was rough as food was shoved through a small barred window of a cell door. There was a low irritated growl as a female Tiefling picked the food up and began to eat. The dry bread was hardly a delicacy, but it was better then trying one of the rats to sate her hunger. Swallowing the last of it, a silhouette of a man's head blocked what little light that came from the torches. A smirk crossed her features, "Is it torture time already? I think you are a few minutes fast, Captain." Her voice was bold and sarcastic, making it clear that this man disgusted her in every way possible. The Captain ignored her words as he spoke, "Your execution is at dawn, Kalypso." He left her as suddenly as he had come, leaving her alone once more.  

She sat on her cot heavily, a hand rubbing her throat slowly, "I like my neck at it's current length, no need to stretch it out in the hangman's noose..." Her voice trailed off, her mutterings ceasing as the Tiefling was silent. Kalypso was no stranger to death, she had seen it many times and had even caused it on occasion. But still, the afterlife was yet unknown. It was different when she went from predator to prey. Leaning back against the cold stone walls, the Tiefling was deep in thought. This was never her choice, sitting in the dungeon of Lord Neverember for her crimes. Kalypso did not deny that she had not stolen, manipulated, and assassinated so many beings. But, she would like nothing more then to have never been put in that place. Glancing about, she looked at a spider web in the corner of the room. Her eyes narrowed, glittering angrily. In a deft movement, she had destroyed the web and viciously stomped the spider several times, her eyes betraying her rage. Slamming into her cell door she snarled, "I do not serve! I will never serve! Do you hear me? Never!"

Sinking down, she sighed and leaned against the cell door. Her hand brushed her throat again, but this time to feel the scars where a slave's collar had rubbed her skin raw. She had been captured while trying to steal a Sunite artifact. They had removed the collar roughly before placing her in a cell, also taking her various daggers, knives, and weapons of all sorts. It felt odd to not have the cold metal there after so many years. But she would still die for those that enslaved her. Closing her eyes, her mind returned to a day many years prior.

"27....28....29....30! Ready or not, here I come!" Kalypso darted off to find her friends. Childish giggles and squeals filled the air as the children played. "Found you!" Tapping the boy, Kalypso ran to find other friends. In a few minutes, the children were back together and deciding who was 'it' next when someone called, "Kalypso, you forgot Keiruh!" Kalypso smiled sheepishly before darting off to find her best friend. "Keiruh? You can come out now, you won! Keiruh?" She kept looking before seeing a crouched form half hidden in the brush, "There you are! You won, Kei- Keiruh!" Kalypso opened her mouth to scream before a hand roughly clamped over her mouth and nose. The little girl squirmed and tried to scream. She could see Keiruh struggling in another man's grasp. The girls never had a chance.  

As the slavers roughly bound and gagged the girls, the two stopped fighting and instead sobbed in terror. The tried to plead to the slavers through the gags, begging them to let them go. They wouldn't tell, they would be good, all they wanted was their families. The slavers paid no attention to the Tiefling girls except to threaten them or mock them heartlessly. Kalypso was able to watch her home, the forest with her small village, fade into the distance. She did not know it then, but she would never see her village again.

The girls jolted as the cart came to a stop. Huddled together, bound as they were, the two shivered not from cold, but from fear. They could hear female voices arguing with the slavers before the two groups seemed to agree on something. The cage was yanked open and Keiruh's ankle grasped as a man yanked her out and onto the ground. Kalypso felt a cold clammy hand grab her and do the same. She landed on top of her friend. Kalypso's heart dropped, not wanting to bring Keiruh anymore harm. The girls whimpered as they were grabbed and firmly marched through a dark gloomy place. Spiders were everywhere, on the walls, the ceilings, the chairs, even the women themselves. Kalypso did not know it yet, but she was now owned by the High Priestess of Lolth.
Entering a large chamber, the girls tried desperately to go back the way they came in, muffled cries of fright as they saw several large spiders with a large spider in the middle of the nest. The priestesses forced the girls toward the immense spider, then throwing them at the spider's hairy claw like feet. Kalypso's eyes shut tight, expecting to feel the venomous bite, but it never came. One eye opened as she peeked up to the spider. The Priestesses were all kneeling, "Daughter of the Demon Web, we did as asked. These two are as you demanded?" The spider stared at the girls for several moments. A leg was raised, poised to touch Keiruh, but stopped short when there was a muffled growl. The Priestesses moved as one, reaching to grab the one who had dared show disrespect for a Daughter of Lolth. But the spider looked at them and the women backed off like beaten dogs.  

Kalypso regretted it as soon as she had growled. But she wanted so much to protect her best friend, to take on anything so Keiruh would be alright. The small Tiefling child trembled violently in fear, but fought back tears and even managed to look at the spider for a brief moment. Closing her eyes tight once more, she felt the spider's leg grasping her. Kalypso was surprised when her bonds were cut. Removing the gag, Kalypso slowly stood but remained half crouched as so to be ready to go down again if the spider didn't want the girl to stand. An odd rasping voice came from the spider, it sounded like some old hag, "Spirit, courage, bravery, things we can remove. Do you know why you are here?" Kalypso swallowed hard and shook her head. In a moment, something hit her hard on the head, "I am your mistress, you will address me as such." Kalypso blinked to clear her head as she stuttered, "Y-yes m-m-mistress..." The spider continued, "Your kind have powers and abilities that are of chaos and shadow, as we do. I wish to have a Tiefling slave trained as one of my own and eventually, use you to reconnect a demonic pact to my advantage. It is a long shot but one I have already been willing to take." The spider snickered, motioning to one corner of the room. A pile of Tiefling remains of all types, age, and build was mounded in the corner. Kalypso and Keiruh were not the first brought here.  

Kalypso stared before it dawned on her, "M-mistress...?" The spider seemed to smirk as the child was learning her place as slave, "Spit it out, worm." Kalypso took a shuddering breath, "You said Tiefling slave. One. Please, let Keiruh go free. I..." She choked, tears in her eyes, "I will serve willingly." The spider gave a rasping cackle, "A deal? You may actually be one stupid or daring enough to make my plans a success. However... I agree. We have a deal, she is freed and you are mine." Keiruh was screaming and begging through her gag for Kalypso to not do this, but Kalypso gave a slow solemn nod. The spider chuckled again, "Take her away, send the other away." Kalypso began to quietly follow a priestess before the spider called out, "Oh, slave?" The Tiefling paused and turned to look at her mistress, "My mistress?" The spider picked Keiruh up lightly, "Lesson one... never trust anyone's words..." Kalypso screamed and lunged forward as the spider bit Keiruh and began to feast. The priestesses grasped her and dragged her away, Kalypso screaming and sobbing, "Keiruh! No! You promised! KEIRUH!"

Eyes clinched tightly, fists formed, body tense as Kalypso remembered the sounds of her best friend being eaten. The cries as Keiruh was not yet dead as the spider ripped her apart slowly as to enjoy the sound of bones cracking, the muscles snapping. That day marked her own hell from then on. They broke her, molded her, created her as something new and terrible. Kalypso became a monster like those she hated so much. A mindless killer who followed orders. Her training had been deemed complete only months before now. A small smile flickered across her features. At least if she were killed this dawn, the Daughter of Lolth would not have her Tiefling to experiment on. Kalypso had been ordered to steal a Sunite artifact, it was to be reformed and used in the ritual that had been planned for Kalypso. An attempt to merge the demonic pact in all Tieflings with the powers of Lolth, to make her a weapon and monster to all against the Demon Web.

But in truth, Kalypso had let herself be caught. It was an act of suicide if nothing else. She did as ordered, but she hated Lolth and her followers with every fiber of her being. Her captors had tormented her for information. Torture was nothing new to Kalypso, it would have taken more then Lord Neverember could ever imagine. But Kalypso had told them anything she could that they might have asked. This had seemed to surprise her captors. Unlike others hat served Lolth, she openly spewed her hatred and disgust for the spider goddess. But, she was still sentenced to death by hanging. Kalypso had no desire to continue living, but to die for forced slavery? To die for those horrible women? It was worse then anything that she had ever been through.
Hearing footsteps, Kalypso stood and moved away from the door. It was unlocked and yanked open. Four guards entered, placing shackles on her wrists and hands. A dark hood was pulled over her head to symbolize her fate. The Tiefling made no move to escape. Walking quietly, guided by the two guards grasping her arms, Kalypso muttered, "I am sorry Keiruh... They got me too..."  

Her hood was yanked off suddenly and she was shoved forward. Stumbling, she found herself kneeling on a richly decorated rug. A flicker of confusion crossed her eyes before she looked up with a stony gaze. This wasn't the gallows, they were in a large sitting room. A large fire blazed in the fireplace, it's light reflecting on the various decorations about the room, the room that was clearly of someone of status. The guards remained by her and as she tried to stand, they pushed on her shoulders. A man in a large armchair, legs crossed and finger steepled, raised a hand, "No need for that. You will have to forgive them, Kalypso is it? They tend to be overly zealous at times." The Tiefling stood once again, her body had straightened and tensed, standing tall and proud. She appeared fearless, "You know me, but I've nothing about you." The man laughed, 'How rude of me, I am the Lord Protector, Open Lord of Waterdeep, and Heir t-" "Could we skip the ego and go to where I die?" He paused, looking at the cheeky woman who had raised an eyebrow as if saying 'Done now?' and leaned back in his chair, "I've an arrangement for you."

Her eyes narrowed as he continued, "It was noted that you shared information openly, you repeatedly say you hate Lolth-" "Because I do." Her tone dry and he merely continued, "-which coincides to the slave collar at your throat. You seem knowledgeable about others as well, I suspect it is because you gathered information." He paused as if giving her chance to reply but was met with an icy stare, "Ah yes, well then, I'd like you to head up a group of beings. Beings that aren't afraid to do dark deeds." Kalypso stared at him for a long moment before snickered, "Giving Valindra competition?" Lord Neverember's jaw tightened, "No. I need someone that can... help remove issues." "You want someone to do your dirty work." Her tone flat. He winced, "Not really dirty work... gathering information, collect bounties, locate artifacts for our mages to use..." The Tiefling tilted her head, "If that isn't dirty work, you are a very sick man. But you said lead, lead who pray tell?" She motioned with her head to one of the guards, "There is no way you can get them to listen to me." Lord Neverember nodded, "Oh, I know. But other prisoners given the chance to rot in prison until their execution or walk free again as part of this get together? They would be interested." "Question!" He sighed, 'Yes?" She stared at him in all seriousness, "Who the hell thought it a good idea to let criminals run wild and free?" He turned red, "Enough! Take it or leave it!" Kalypso shrugged, "We can try it." He nodded once, "Release her." He looked to her, "At twilight the prisoners will make their choice. There are some shady places to find recruits as well." The shackles removed she gave a small nod before bowing dramatically and vanishing.

The guards were sent to the prisoners to call out the agreement. Die or work for the greater good. It wasn't long before some began to accept the offer...

Special Notes:

N/A