Illera Martiory

This is my first time DMing, and Illera was one of a few characters that I used that I did not make. She had very little interaction with the PCs, but she did a lot in the campaign. I expect this page to go through a decent transformation since this is User:bwh's character than it is my character.

Descriptions
Ilera: a half elf woman with chestnut-brown hair. Not the sort of woman to stand out in a crowd, but heads would still turn if she were inclined to make them do so. Growing up, she wore the leathers common in that part of the Silver Marches; later, she would wear fine silks and obvious jewelry, including a mesmerizing pendant.

Fen: a Calimshite man with short black hair and dark eyes. His face made him appear almost humble, but his business sense never suffered for it, as he proved himself quite acute in his business dealings. When his storefront was open, Fen was dressed in traditional Calimshite garb, usually in mustard yellows and desert browns.

The Blue Orchid: originally of unknown gender, this master thief was believed to be half-elven and blond. He/she is clothed from head to toe in navy cloth which does not rustle regardless of movement.

Personalities
Ilera is a charming, witty and urbane socialite -- but frightfully intelligent. She often makes connections with people to further her ends though he is not morally opposed to a mutual beneficial arrangement.

Because of her ability as a Montebank, she has two other identities. Fen Winton male merchant who handles black market dealings to which the Martiory family simply cannot be tied who speaks in a gutteral voice with a Calimshite accent. He'll be looking to make 10% above the asking price of whatever he's selling.

The Blue Orchid is a cat burglar operating in Ordulin; it's said she can acquire anything, for a price. The Blue Orchid will never speak, even if crying out in pain.

Family & Relationships
Ilera's half-elven son, Zaq, was born later in the year 1376 DR. His biological father is not listed; he was officially adopted by Jeffer Martiory in 1377 DR.

She married into the Martiory shipping family in Sembia and lived with them and added to their company before their eventual murder in Vindication of the Merchant Nation.

Upbringing
She was born in the town of Nesme', the daughter of the town constable. The death of her mother at an early age inspired a rebellious streak. She was promised to marry a Silverymoon nobleman at the age of 15. Illera met Mozariq at the age of 22, during his case to recover a particular pendant.

After the Nesme job
Mozariq caught Ilera Adlar out at her own game, seeing through her subterfuge ... but only too late. By the time he realized the awful truth -- that she'd stolen the Mezril Necklace -- she was long gone. He returned to Silverymoon, dejected not only at losing the only woman he'd ever loved, but in realizing he'd ultimately failed in his mission.

Ilera bolted due south, in that year of 1376 DR, and was in Iriabor when morning sickness caught up with her. She subsisted as a thief, working her way across the Western Heartlands and into Cormyr. A misunderstanding with some of the local guard in Suzail caused her to flee directly to Sembia, where her kind was more tolerated.

She quickly created a back story for herself: that she was the widow of a powerful Heartland merchant (hence her wealth) (and her pregnancy), but she'd lost her home when her husband was slain in a price dispute. Using her charm and wit, she was married within a week to Jeffer Martiory, the heir to a shipping fortune.

Meanwhile, Mozariq walked the entire Path of the Tome. Upon arriving home in Silverymoon, he found a letter from Ilera, explaining her whereabouts, and maybe he would consider pulling her out of Sembia? He never read the letter, though; he burned all of his mail without opening it. He recognized her handwriting, and was glad she was alive, but ... he knew better.

Mozariq's tower completed its build at the same time his son, Zaq, was born into the Martiory shipping family.

Trials of the Merchant Nation
Illera has been working inside her marriage to raise her son and outside to direct Sembian politics to her advantage. After working a great deal of time under Bartholomew and speaking with members of the Sembian Merchant Council, she was given the opportunity to work in their ranks.

Her jobs as the Blue Orchid and political gossip in Ordulin helped her ability to give coherent advice to almost all the parties acting against each other during conflict with the Sembian Merchant Council. Illera spent time with both Barthomew and Duke Derekson. She had already known Tiroir before he resigned from the council. As the Blue Orchid she worked for Bartholomew independently from Illera's mingling, and she also did a job for Rubbin Kaizer in the Devil's Laugh.

Though widowed after the death of the rest of the Martiory Shipping company, she has gratefully inherited their companies and spoils to her name with her only son. Despite the Kendrick's gift, she would end up betraying his side in the civil war and support the winning side against the war effort in Cormyr.

Rise of the Family Martiory

 * TBD

The End: 1454 DR
Ilera left Sembia as an old woman and traveled along the remants of trade routes, using fey tricks to avoid monsters and brigands. She left no notice to her family of her intended routes or whereabouts; her Sembian offspring believed her to be heading toward Cormyr, to make amends with the "other" branch of the family.

In truth, her plans were much more grand. She had received the news, of course, but needed to see the grave of the Blue Wizard for herself.

She arrived in Silverymoon a weakened woman, but determined. The Knights of Silver graciously escorted her around the city (as appropriate for someone of her wealth), but she was stunned to learn that Mozariq had no gravesite, nor a marker. In response, one of the guards pointed to the Arcane Spire. "Legend says he's still in there," they told her; "there are occasional flashing lights coming from the windows, and have been for at least fifty years now. But no one has ever managed to break inside."

"He'll see me," she declared. "He owes me that much."

The guards glanced at one another, but shrugged, thinking to humor the old woman. They brought her to the Tower and up the stairs to the landing; a greak oaken door covered in runes had blocked this path for longer than any of the guards could remember. The old woman strode forward and knocked three times on the door.

Nothing happened.

The guards exhaled as one. Then one reached forward and said, "Lady, if you'll come with me--"

"I think," a voice called out, "that she'd prefer my company."

A man dressed in blue robes stepped out of the shadows and offered his elbow to the half-elf. "Care to join me?"

She laughed - a surprisingly young sound coming from an old woman. "Why not? --jerk."

The guards watched them step through the door; the runes flared momentarily, then went silent. The story spread like wildfire throughout the city and soon became a part of local legend. Ilera Martiory was never seen again -- but some say that, wherever it is that the diviner has gone, the thief is not far behind.

Miscellany
Illera Martiory is a character developed by User:bwh and she is one of the two characters he added into my campaign. She was an interesting character because she not particularly important in any facet of the plot, but she had more connections than any other NPC in my campaign.

Most of her page is actually a slight adaptation of the notes that Brian gave me. I am not really clear on more of the details, but it was more than enough to work with in campaign. In a personal note, I gladly welcome this kind of character intervention if I run other campaigns. It is fun with work with other people's ideas.

I am not clear on what a Calimshite accent is, but I gave Fen an kind of Indian accent. Now that I think about it, more, it makes more sense for people in the Shaar to have that kind of accent, and to have Fen sound like he is Middle Eastern. I am sure that the PCs remember a single shop owner who had that accent. There was another side to his shop that had black market kind of goodies, but that never came up during the campaign.