The Kraken

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 Pog Champions 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 Pog Champions 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
(tba)

Goals
When the Pog Champions 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.

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. Though she can be extremely strict, she treats Aske very fairly and pays him well for his work on her vessel, as her crew is very precious to her.

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.