The Kraken

For the actual kraken encountered by the Champions Valoris, see Kal'dazzum.

The Kraken is the human captain of the Desperado. Once a renowned pirate, she now runs a (mostly) legal fishing business.

Appearance
The Kraken is a tall human woman with dark brown skin. Her black hair is long and tightly braided, and her eyes are dark brown. The Kraken’s features are usually quite stony; her gaze is often set into a glare. She wears a sleeveless, dark red shirt held up by straps tied behind her neck, paired with black pants. Typically, a worn, long black jacket is over this ensemble, tattered in some places due to years of use at sea. She wears knee-high black boots, and a round silver locket is always around her neck.

Personality
The Kraken has a strict moral code and is unrelenting when it comes to it. She’s physically strong and easily angered - many consider her to be highly intimidating, and she genuinely likes it that way. Despite her general mannerisms and attitude, she cares about her crew immensely. When it comes to seafaring, she enjoys taking risks, as she loves challenging her capabilities.
 * Strengths: Formidable, steadfast, caring
 * Weaknesses: Uncompromising, gruff, unsociable

Background
The Kraken was once a renown pirate who saw a great deal of success in the buccaneering lifestyle. It is unknown as to why she abandoned the trade, though quite a few theories exist.

After converting the Desperado into a fishing vessel, she now makes a mostly honest living. Working alongside the wizards of Atemcester can put her particularly on-edge, but some say she might secretly enjoy arguing with them.

Atemcester Arc
The Kraken met the Champions Valoris during their time in Atemcester. A huge storm over the Eadrenan sea had her and the rest of the Desperado's crew stuck there. Aske brought the group of adventurers to her, vouching for them as they sought to charter the Desperado.

Jorah told her that they heard she'd be willing to brave the storm for the right price. His first offer was triple the normal rate. The Kraken kept counting her gold, listening to Jorah as he spoke and as the rest of the group introduced themselves. Once she was finished with her counting, she said that triple the normal rate was still not enough. Kilwin also offered our services helping out on the ship, but even when he told her that his healing magic would work on wood, she dismissed his abilities as not fast-working enough in that kind of storm. Reides told her that it would be a legendary challenge, which seemed to get her attention. Jorah explained that they were seeking passage to a hidden place in the center of the storm, but then Reides interrupted, saying that he didn't need to keep their destination secret this time. He pointed out that he's obviously not from the surface, and the Kraken agreed that this was, indeed, obvious. He then revealed that the place they wanted to get passage to was his home - and that it's a very isolationist place, surrounded by seas that most ships dared not enter. He said that he thought her crew - especially Aske - seemed very capable, so the Desperado was their first option in terms of transportation.

After Reides provided this information to the Kraken, Jorah upped the offer to eight times the normal rate - namely, 200 gold. The Kraken was still unconvinced, taking out a map and asking Reides for the exact place that they wanted to go. Reides showed her Aquos' location on the map, and the Kraken pointed out that ships were barred from that area by international treaty. This increased the element of risk associated with the already-dangerous voyage, as it required breaking the law, too. When Reides said that she had been there before, she stared at him. Reides claimed that he's a triton, so he saw the Desperado there before. He also said that his memory is great! The Kraken narrowed her eyes at this, then named the final price of the voyage: 1500 gold total. She turned down all of the other offers - including Jorah's counteroffer of 1250 gold and a bottle of magma wine - and ended up getting paid the full price.

Upon recieving payment, she told the group that she'd need time to round up the Desperado's crew and ordered Aske to help her with that. When Jorah reached out to shake on the arrangement, she gave him the firmest handshake of his life. She stated that her price ensured that the livelihoods of her crew were all secured, as they all had families on shore if the journey went wrong. They set the time of departure to Leaffall 28 at 8 AM. As the Champions Valoris left, Reides thanked the Kraken for taking the job, and Jorah commented that it's rare to go to sea with a legend. The Kraken smiled slightly at this.

The Desperado Arc
The Kraken reconvened with the Champions Valoris on the assigned date of departure. As she busied herself with paperwork, she told the group of adventurers to assist with loading cargo onto the ship. Once preparations were complete, she emerged on deck and called anchors aweigh. She stayed on deck, watching the horizon with her arms crossed as the Desperado set off. On the second day of the voyage, the Kraken was in her office when she heard a knock on her door. The person there turned out to be Jorah with a bottle of magma wine. Though the Kraken initially seemed a bit dismissive of him, she opened up upon learning that the wine was meant to be shared between the two of them - and upon hearing that Jorah wished to know specifically about the Desperado and her past as the vessel's captain. The Kraken wasn't looking to confirm or deny any of the gossip that Jorah may or may not have heard about the Desperado, but she did confirm that she built up an esteemed reputation - even if she occasionally still took jobs that weren't strictly legal. She also said that she is no pirate, pointing out that members of the crew - like Clive and Aske - were too "soft" for such a lifestyle. Jorah agreed that he couldn't envision either of those two boarding another vessel with cutlasses in hand. During their conversation, the Kraken was unfazed by the strength of the magma wine, saying that she had stronger alcohol in the past. Upon being urged to share some of her stories, the Kraken told Jorah about a voyage she undertook down in the Forsaken Gulf, describing the massive vortex at the center of it and the close call that the vessel had with said vortex. She said they only survived the expedition due to a wizard who was able to propel the ship away from the vortex. The two bonded over their distrust of wizards, with Jorah saying that working for them and working with them were two different experiences. Jorah then briefly shared some of his stories with her, including his run-in with the dragon north of Malino're, the tournament in the Exeter, and Port Valor. At the mention of Port Valor, the Kraken asked if Jorah was there for the city's fall, which Jorah confirmed. When the Kraken said that Jorah should hope that Eadro prevents the Desperado from becoming a miniature Port Valor, Jorah said that him and his companions would take all of the bad luck onto themselves when they jumped off the Desperado, leaving her and her crew safe. Her expression shifted upon hearing this, though she was her usual stony self almost immediately afterwards. She expressed some interest in why the party was going through this much trouble so as to jump in the sea, but Jorah said it was better if she didn't know the details. Jorah re-introduced himself to her, opting to change their conversation to a lighter topic, but this exhanged was cut short, as the Kraken looked out the back window of her office and noticed that another ship was tailing the Desperado. The Kraken informed Jorah of this vessel and the two began making preparations for dealing with it. Under the Kraken's orders, the Champions Valoris were to disembark from the Desperado and take down the enemies on a nearby island.

After the Champions Valoris dealt with the people who were tailing them, the Kraken herself disembarked on the island, checking in on them. She was glad that they decided against taking prisoners and left them to bury one of the fallen members of the group that challenged them. Once the Champions Valoris were back on the vessel, Jorah went back to her office in order to continue their conversation, but saw no sign of the magma wine when he did so and the Kraken denied it being left with her. He asked the Kraken if she ever ate with the crew and she was quick to ask him if he was expecting some sort of celebratory feast for his performance on the island. Jorah claimed that he was just wondering, revealing that he still had a bottle of firewhiskey, and the Kraken said that it might be for when they finish their voyage. Jorah thanked her for her time and left. Due to the added element of danger to the voyage, the Kraken re-summoned the Champions Valoris a few hours later on. She assigned the night watch to them, which they accepted as fair, as they needed to keep her crew safe, too.

As the Desperado entered the storm proper, the Kraken was on deck of the Depserado far more often, commanding her crew with an unquestionable air of authority. Even in the face of the treacherous conditions, she remained stone-faced and in control of the situation. Right as the Desperado was going to enter the eye of the storm, a legion of sea monstrosities attacked the vessel. During this time, the Kraken was below deck with the rest of her crew and was able to slay many of them with her scimitar. She re-emerged on deck first, meeting up with the Champions Valoris, who had successfully slain the enemies who were on-deck. While she didn't know the reasoning behind the attack, only noting that the "odd priest" who attacked the ship was now a normal, deceased triton, she noted that the Desperado had finally arrived at the eye of the storm and allowed the Champions Valoris to rest for an hour. She then left for her quarters.

The Kraken re-emerged after the hour passed, commenting that she didn't realize that the adventurers were still on her ship. Jorah said that they were on their way out, and she nodded. She noted that the group of them were quite strong and wished the Champions Valoris a safe journey. The Champions Valoris also wished her and the rest of her crew a safe journey, and Kilwin pointed out that they may even be able to clear the storm up for them. Jorah began to offer his help to the Kraken if she ever needed it in the future, but she cut him off by holding up her hand. She told him to bring another bottle of the drink he left in her office, and to tell her the story then.

Goals
When the Champions Valoris chartered passage to Laverathian waters, the Kraken was uncompromising when she named the price of the voyage. She therefore takes receiving payment for her seafaring skills very seriously and wishes to compensate her crew as fairly as possible. During the voyage, she repeatedly expressed wanting to keep her crew safe, as well.

After successfully dropping the Champions Valoris off in Laverathia, the Kraken set her sights to Davenport. The Desperado is currently en route to the port city.

Abilities
Given her status as a seafaring legend and her aptitude in captaining the Desperado through the storm near Laverathian waters, the Kraken is a highly skilled seafarer and an excellent captain - though she runs a very tight ship.

She utilizes a scimitar in combat, which she put to use when sea spawn attempted to swarm the Desperado.

The Kraken and Aske Chales
The Kraken described Aske as “soft” to Jorah and has no qualms with ordering him around. She once slapped him with a fish. Despite her strictness, she treats him very fairly and pays him well for his work on her vessel, as she cares immensely about her crew.

Quotes

 * (To Aske) “Aske… Who are these people and why are they on my ship?”

Trivia

 * The Kraken is briefly featured in the second Reides-centric short story.
 * She hates being called a pirate but is extremely proud of her legacy - hence why she refused to leave her alias behind.
 * She hates being called a pirate but is extremely proud of her legacy - hence why she refused to leave her alias behind.