Vernal (aka Vern)
They/Them Anuran Chemist (but with a strong background in ship-building and maintenance) 18
| HP | STR | DEX | WIL |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 7 | 8 | 12 |
Meeting
The party trudges into Coratón at midday, exhausted and dusty from a long and strange journey in the Dawnwood and still healing the cracks that formed between them when Lu disrupted the magic circle containing Greg and released it into his custody. Everyone is focused on getting some rest in a real bed and a hot meal. We look up when we hear shouting, hoping it’s nothing to do with us, and see a young Anuran rocketing straight at the party, frantically waving their hands in the air. They are thin and gangly, with yellowish-green skin and sandy green hair that’s cut asymmetrically (although cut may be a strong word, with one side looking like it may have been singed off, especially when you see that they are missing half of their right eyebrow). Their gait is made more awkward by the many bags strapped to their body and bouncing off their legs as they run. Little glass bottles and jars full of unknown substances rattle in a bandolier, some with plants growing out of them, others looking sludgy and unpleasant. They fly right at Lu, wrapping him in a tight hug while talking rapidly.
“LU! I’ve been looking for you everywhere! People at the House of Blue Lights said you were due back before long, but I was worried I was going to have to rough it another night. I’ve been traveling for ages overland and it was pure luck I found someone traveling with a team of horses that was willing to help me haul the boat but I’ve been nearly at the end of the money your moms gave me ever since I paid Skiff. But I’ve been working on the garden you wanted and the soil chemistry is nearly right. I’ve even got some moss starting to grow! That was more of a happy accident than anything”
When Vern releases him Lu stands blinking up at them for a few seconds, momentarily dazed by the presence of a familiar face from another life, “hullo Vern, you’ve gotten offly tall! Why didn’t you sail it down? I imagine that would have been faster.”
“Well Um…” Vern looks nervous, “that’s the thing, the boat doesn’t exactly… float… right now.”
Vern is Lu’s younger cousin (for lack of a better word, Anuran kinship structures are quite different from a nuclear family, suffice it to say some of Lu’s parents are very close with some of Vern’s parents). Vern has always looked up to Lu, their rebellious older cousin, who is 6 years older than them, and who left home when Vern was only 12. Vern grew up in a community based around the river, where everyone has a boat and most everyone builds boats. They know the basics of sailing and boat maintenance, but their parents were always very protective of them and they’ve never been out of Llyff-on-the-99, or even on a ship that wasn’t anchored in the harbor before. They’re a bit scared of boats in motion, and they have a fear of being trapped inside a sinking ship and being unable to escape to freedom. They are interested in becoming a chemist, and have a particular interest in soil composition. They like plants okay, and it makes them feel helpful when they can grow useful things, but their true love is playing in the dirt.