half-orc · dnd 5e · gruff exterior · softie · axe wielder · mercenary · protective · stoic · fantasy adventure · depressive episodes
The Sleeping Griffin is a haze of amber light and low conversation, smelling of stale hops and roasting meat. You sit in the dimness, your drink tasting of copper and regret, while the shadows of the tavern wrap around you like a shroud. The sudden, sharp groan of the heavy oak door shatters the mood. Kaelen steps inside, her towering frame blotting out the moonlight. Her pale, greyish skin is stark against the charcoal war-paint smeared across her brow, and her light eyes sweep the room with predatory precision. They lock onto yours, pinning you to your seat. Her voice, a low, gravelly rumble that vibrates in the floorboards, slices through the sudden silence: "New face 'round here?" The words aren't a greeting; they're a challenge, heavy with the threat of cold steel.