thealfsonpellar

[thealfsonpellar]

It had been said of Agatha Alfson that she had a certain knack for finding trouble. That she attracted it. Truthfully, she felt sometimes like she just lacked the instinct other people had that made them keep their head down or walk the other way. The instinct that kept them from noticing those situations that might end up dragging them into some kind of trouble. That wasn't to say she was complaining, however. Sometimes she could feel that moment when she ought to turn around. She tended to ignore it.

So when an arm shot out and stopped her from walking down a back alley on her route, she heard that little voice that said she should turn around rather than let herself be pulled into that doorway and whatever scheme was happening. She glanced down, trying to determine what was happening, before crowding in beside the stranger. "What's going on?" she hissed, curiously.

Time: Midafternoon Location: Back alleys of Novigrad Open!

Umaia kept herself pressed to the rough stone of the doorway, the grey-blue of her cloak and tunic blending in with the pallid stonework of the city and providing her a modicum of cover from any bystander that might spare her a glance. Further down the alley her trap lay primed and ready. 

A niggling voice in the back of her head, that sounded an awful like her waspish mother who, delightfully, was deceased, told her she had better things to occupy her time with. Frankly, Umaia disagreed. 

As the time neared, she felt herself tense in giddy anticipation, only to hiss as a figure appeared in her peripheral. She stuck her arm out, barring their path before gesturing beside her in the large doorway. “You’ll fucking ruin it. Hide.”

[thealfsonpellar]

For much of Agatha's life, she had avoided the hospital. She was tended to by those around her, and in turn learnt how to treat wounds and sickness once she was old enough to understand. She had made a living of it, of mixing medical knowledge, folk knowledge, and what little magic she could access. In the Bits, there was always enough injuries and sickness to keep her afloat. But recently, she had seen an increase in a particular story; those who had gone to the hospital only to be turned away. It was unusual and Aggie needed to know more.

The voice drew her attention to the doctor eyeing her off. Agatha in turn regarded her back, taking stock. Hands behind her back, as if hiding something, Aggie noted. Strange. "I heard the hospital was... experiencing troubles. I wanted to see if the stories were exaggerated or not."

WHERE: The Hospital WHO: Anyone

Keeping up appearances was the only strategy Cordelia had managed to come up with that didn’t involve a public and fiery death, but the swing of every door had her jumping within her own skin. Her magic boiled beneath the surface, begging for the chance to shine at the most inconvenient of times. Which, if asked, Cordelia would say was always the way; as if the magic wanted her dead. The patients groaned and pleaded for more medicine or death, but neither Cordelia or her fellow staff could keep up with the sudden demand placed on them. The best she could do was offer a calming presence, as difficult as that was. Reassuring words were mumbled to a patient, a spell for healing on her tongue when the door to the floor swung open, hands quickly shoved behind her back and spell forgotten.

“This place is for the dead or dying,” her eyes regarded the intruder, narrowing at their form. “And you appear to be neither, what is it you need?”

[thealfsonpellar]

Aggie stared at the flames, wanting to look away but finding herself unable to. The screams burn themselves into her memory in a way that lights her own fire deep inside her. It was cruel, this crime of magic. How many among those cheering them on had turned to magic when it benefitted them? More than would care to admit it, Aggie would bet good money. She scowled. Hypocrites.

A whisper woke her from her thoughts, bringing her sharply back to the present. "That's what they claim. And apparently they know the will of the gods better than the rest of us." Agatha sighed, shaking her head. "If this is what the gods will..." She managed to bite her tongue, a feat for her, but her expression gave away her distaste.

open to : everyone .

they are watching from afar, their eyes hardened to what is before them, but still a terror erupts, inflames and burns at her skin in the way the fire licks the bones of those below. what is done in the name of the gods has shaken her to the core.

her return to novigrad was to be one of relief, of comfort. months away tracking a particularly tricky bounty had led to miles of discomfort, cold and a homesickness they hadn't thought possible. to find the eternal flame's obsession having escalated so... something in freya is disgusted, and she has seen her fair share of bloodshed. "what has happened?" a whisper, to no one in particular, the fire reflecting in the grey of her gaze. "surely they do not think that this is the will of the gods."

[thealfsonpellar]

[ kathryn newton, cis female, she/her, 25 ] we've followed [ AGNES "AGGIE" ALFSON ] for awhile now, the [HUMAN] has been in Novigrad for [ 25 YEARS ]. they're known to be [ IMPULSIVE ] and [ ALTRUISTIC ]. We find it fascinating that after all these years they [ ARE NEUTRAL ABOUT ] the gods. They often remind us of [ THE SMELL OF DRYING HERBS, THE WARMTH OF FLAME, A COMPASS ALWAYS POINTING NORTH ]. Our thread has already been woven on what their future is looking like, but we're eager to see the [ PELLAR ] experience it.

FULL BIO TO COME! QUICK INTRO HERE!

Agatha Alfson is the youngest of her four siblings, and as such could get away with everything and nothing at all. No one is quite sure if that's why she's always gone for more than anyone expected she could handle, or if that's a side effect of growing up in the Bits. Probably both. Life had always hit her hard, and Aggie intended to hit back with every piece of her, fighting for what she saw as right no matter the opponent. Like her eldest brother, she was loathe to back down from a fight, but in her case it was less about anger and more about principles.

From a young age, she had an eye on medicinal arts. She learnt from anyone she could, at first mostly grannies and their wisdom of cures to common ailments that one could make at home when there was no way to afford anything else, but then finding anyone she could who would train her. A proficiency towards the magical--far less than anything that would make her a mage but enough to be useful in her healing and protection work--pushed her towards becoming a pellar.

She's still young, but to those who know her, she's the one to turn to when you can't afford the services of anyone else. Or if you fear consequences should the wrong people find out what happened. Her little practice in the Bits isn't much to look at, but it affords her a living and a sense of pride.

The Eternal Flame's push against magic has affected business, but she's never been one to let anything get in her way, nor let someone frighten her away.

Connection ideas:

Childhood friend(s): Someone who also grew up in the Bits, around her age, who got into trouble with her or tried to help her stay out of it. Also open to a group of friends. Could still be in the Bits or have moved away.

Regular client(s): Your character, or someone in your character's family perhaps, is a regular client at Aggie's place. A treatment or protection or remedy of some kind needed regularly and they've become a familiar, hopefully friendly face, around.

Emergency!: Aggie came (or will come) to this person's aide in a time of dire need to help them as best she could, saving them from what would otherwise have been a likely death.

Threat to business or life: Aggie's views on magic and the Eternal Flame may have attracted the wrong kind of attention here, and it's getting her in some hot water. Perhaps her impulsive bluntness has put her squarely on someone's bad list. She's no mage, but that might not stop someone intent on framing or defaming her.