Name: Busana Grifyth
Gender: Female
Age: 32
Occupation: Leader of the Red Rose Assassins
Equipment: Jar of Lamp Black, Mortar & Pestle, Rope and Grapple, Empty Jars, Wineskin, Traveling Clothes, Hooded Cloak, Short Sword, Chasind Blade, Hand Crossbow & Quarrels.
Description: Busana is attractive to most people. Her smooth skin and sharp facial features hail from the Talmnh Bui gentry, but her dark green eyes, tribal tattoos, and black glossy hair betray her background with the Chasind savages of the north. Her hair is extremely long, and tied into a thick intricately braided top knot with several gold ornaments woven throughout. She dresses in clothing that suits her purpose, and allows for freedom of movement.
Biography: Busana Grifyth is the result of one of the border raids into the Talmnh Bui territory. Her mother, a minor noble's daughter, was taken as a prize by her father who was a ferocious chieftain of one of the Chasind tribes. Her mother died giving birth to her, and she was raised by her father and his most trusted witch. She learned hunting, tracking, stealth, and fighting from her father. She learned herbalism and sorcery from his witch. She became a Chasind Wraith, one of the most feared of the Chasind savages. Nighttime stories, meant to stay frightened children in their beds, spoke of the Wraiths as solitary creatures who hunt the nights, preying upon the unsuspecting and enemies of the Chasind.
This was not too far off the truth, as the Wraiths were the scouts and assassins of the Chasind. Busana's father was killed in a raid, and per custom, she became the spoils of war for the enemy. By this time, she was a gilded adult of the Chasind, as indicated by the gold rather than silver ornamentation, and she escaped at her earliest convenience. She joined an assassins' guild in Foxwith, a massive city in Franziskan, where she learned to read, and the arts of investigation, intimidation, and the seedier sides of the underbelly of crime. She succeeded on a mission in Talmnh Bui, but was betrayed by the thieves' guild and subsequently caught. She escaped the hangman's noose via trickery, and was approached by Victris, a Sentinel who recognized her talents. He played upon her subtle feelings of patriotism from her mother's side, saved her from further persecution for her past crimes, and she has been a loyal member of the Sentinels for the past several years.
What exactly happened to Busana during the Rise of the Sentinels is mostly rumor and vague. The last any of the Sentinels saw her was the fateful night Ragnar and she parted ways on a dual mission they had agreed upon. Busana brought along Matheld, a failed assassin who belonged to Lucien. The mage Mark recalled seeing Matheld briefly during his own adventure, and that was the last time Busana's name had been spoken to any knowing her.
Busana and Matheld did continue on their own mission, after failing at killing Khal Rhayder. The long seeded hatred between Lucien and Busana was finally resolved through his demise several months after a tantalizing game of cat and mouse. Their adventure continued, as Busana decided not to return to the Sentinels, and instead chose a new path as leader of the Red Rose Assassins.
Under her leadership, with Matheld as her Lieutenant, the Red Rose Assassins continued at what they did best. The underlying corruption and brutality faded quickly, after several very messy abject lessons within the ranks, until the Red Rose became a truly efficient killing organization. The Red Rose Assassins became lesser known and feared by the general populace. Only the enemies of Red Rose, much like the enemies of the Chasind wraiths need worry about that which might go bump in the night.
PHYSICAL
Strength 2 Dexterity 4 Stamina 2
SOCIAL
Charisma 1 Manipulation 2 Appearance 3
MENTAL
Perception 3 Intelligence 3 Wits 4
TALENTS
Alertness 4 (2) Athletics 2 Dodge 1 Intimidation 3 Leadership 2 (4) Streetwise 3
SKILLS
Tracking 3 Shooting 1 Melee Small 4 Stealth 5 Discipline 1
KNOWLEDGES
Academics 1 Herbalist 3 Investigation 2 Sorcery 3 (2) Linguistics 1
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Busana sat at a work table, busily scratching a response to an urgent message from a cell in Talamh Bui. She shook her head and paused. She said, "Matheld. After five years, you'd think you'd have learned you're never going to sneak up on me." She glanced over her shoulder in the direction of her lieutenant and grinned. Matheld had changed well over the years they had known each other. Though she was of the northlands, she looked all the else a Chasind Wraith. At the urging of Busana, Metheld had grown her blond hair long, and fashioned it into an intricately braided topknot that matched her mistress's, and she favored the clothing of the wraith. Utilitarian leathers and a green hooded cloak. Though Busana still thought of the woman as her apprentice, and had not yet granted her release from that relationship; she accepted the woman as her closest friend.
Busana knew Matheld probably would kill her in an instant, given the chance; but Busana had long ago decided that wasn't going to happen any time soon. She watched the woman relax and move up alongside her. Busana returned her attention to the message and shook her head. She muttered, "It's no good Matheld. Things are unraveling all over, and while I know we could all part ways and live out somewhere obscure... I keep having this nagging feeling I should be doing more. It's the past I tell you. Old Victris has been gone these last what... two winters? It made it easy to remove myself from any obligations to my past, and yet it still haunts me."
Busana raised her left arm and absently massaged the scarred flesh of her hand, which only pained her in winter and during rainfalls now. She stared at the parchment and said, "I think it might be time to let the Reds go about their business for the time being and rise again." She looked up at her lieutenant and raised her eyebrows.