Rayle "The Charmed" Bancross

Rayle "The Charmed" Bancross

Race: Human Gender: Female Age: 29 Profession: Treasure Hunter/Expert and Consultant on History, Artifacts, and Legends

Description: Rayle stands at a solid six feet high, and looks every bit like a woman with a reputation – what that reputation might be is anyone’s guess, but she definitely leaves an impression.

She sports reddish brown hair with an unusual cut, is fair skinned – although usually heavily tanned from spending a great deal of time outdoors, and has eyes that, if you pay close attention, change color from day to day. Her attire is distinctly unladylike, built for functionality rather than form. Brown trousers are tucked into knee-high boots, and a white poet’s shirt with an oversized collar rests beneath a large sleeveless sailing jacket chosen partially for protection and partially for the number of pockets – visible and hidden – that it possesses. A sword belt and a regular belt with pouches hanging from it keep these garments in check, and a dark headband completes the ensemble.

Background: Who is Rayle Bancross? It all depends on who you ask.

-To the nobility and the church, she's a consultant, for the rare occasion that they’ve discovered – or think they’ve discovered – a relic from a past age.

-In slightly less rarefied circles, she’s a useful agent for acquiring valuable information and even more valuable relics.

-To the town gossips, she’s a treasure hunter, with all of the overly romanticized and dramatized connotations invoked by the title, blessed by a surfeit of good luck. Such people rarely devote much thought to what her adventures must really be like, but Rayle does little to correct the impression.

-To her rivals, she’s a shameless grave robber and cheat, doing little good and giving proper study of the past a bad name.

-And to a woman long since dead, she’s an intruder with too little respect for the spiritual aspects of the world that mortals take for granted, who will learn her lesson or die trying…

Rayle Bancross shares little of her history personally, but five years ago, she entered history when she uncovered the Teljan manuscripts – a collection of scrolls which, once deciphered, indicated that the number of surviving Ancient artifacts might be higher than anyone had anticipated. From then on, she devoted her time and energies to exploring the mysteries of the past in whatever forms they presented themselves – legends, recorded histories, and of course, the priceless artifacts themselves.

For seven years, she explored in and around the area, graced by incredible fortune and a solid knack for tracking down leads and putting puzzle pieces together. Her travels were not always welcome – her tendency to hire out to the highest bidder and acquire things from under the noses of others who had devoted more time and effort to finding them angered more than one person of some power, and started more than one fight. Still, Rayle “The Charmed” Bancross usually found a way to come out on top - until six months ago.

This is when the facts get sketchy, the details become blurred, and the accounts begin to differ, but everyone agrees that Bancross hired a ship and crew to take her to a rather nondescript and barren island out of Wayfarer's Point. They did – and returned without Bancross. According to the sailors, Bancross had indeed located… something. From there, no two stories seem to agree. The crew states that she heard voices and insisted that they make some nonsensical trip halfway around the world. The captain says she wandered back and collapsed, victim of some new sorcery. When she turned up in the Point a month later, dehydrated, starving, and slightly delirious, those who cared for her stated she’d been cursed by the Creators themselves, blinded and insane.

It all depends on who you ask.

Which one is true? Bancross isn’t saying. She certainly appears to be normal now, save that she’s occasionally caught staring off into the distance, as though she can see something everyone else can’t. She’s had a hard time finding work since her last job went so wrong, and she’s found herself back in her hometown of Wayfarer's Point, with a mysterious new partner and a mission she can't tell anyone about...

Personality: Rayle has a predominantly boisterous personality. She takes insults and praise alike in stride, rarely becoming outwardly riled up about anything - or at least, that was true until she returned from her most recent sojourn. While still quick-witted and active, she's less personable and more focused than she used to be. Whether this is a permanent change or not remains to be seen.  

Rumor has it that there’s no challenge that she’ll back down from. In reality, that’s an outright fabrication – she’ll back down from plenty of things. That said, she’s willing to risk a great deal and put herself (and even others) in danger to pursue a goal. Rumor also has it that she rushes into everything without thinking; this is another falsehood – Rayle is calculating by nature, but usually comes to decisions quickly enough that it looks like she’s “winging it.”

Rayle’s ultimate goal is a lofty one – she's aiming to save the world from the upcoming doom that she has foreseen. This, however, means gathering allies who won't believe a word she's saying...

Advantages:

Rogue: (Rank 1) (Common Profession Advantage) (+1 Various) - You can't get ahead in the kind of business Rayle is in without learning a few tricks that completely savory and wholesome characters can do without. Rayle knows the basics of picking locks, messing with traps and other mechanical devices, saying the right things to the right people, and occasionally outright stealing.

Cunning: (Rank 2) (Common Advantage) (+1 Various) - Rayle is quick witted, which comes in handy in all kinds of situations. In combat, it only applies in an environment where she could theoretically outwit her opponent, using the tools and terrain available.

Agile: (Rank 2) (Common Advantage) (+1 Various) - Part of Rayle's (in)famous luck is actually fast reflexes and a great sense of balance.

“Archaeology” Expert: (Rank 1) (Rare Advantage) (+3 when dealing with Legends/History/Artifacts) - Rayle spent years studying these topics even before getting in to the treasure hunting business. She's a walking repository of data on the history and workings of the world, artifacts, and even some truly obscure legends and myths.

Brawling: (Rank 1) (Uncommon Advantage) (+2 in combat) - Long ago, Rayle learned all about "fighting fair" and quickly decided that she wanted no part of it. Rayle fights with little formality but a great deal of spite and energy, as well as anything that happens to be nearby if Aethersprite isn't handy.

Artifact, Aethersprite: (Rank 1) (Uncommon Item Advantage - Concealable) (+2 in combat) - Designed for a long-dead elven prince, this weapon looks to be a very well made, if rather plain, glove that wraps from the hand to the elbow, with some small reinforcing metal plates - effectively a fingerless leather gauntlet. The wrappings and plates, however, conceal a long, thin, coiled chain that will shoot out with a flick of Rayle's wrist and can be brought around with the force and speed of any whip. More than that, though, the chain is extremely durable and delivers a powerful and dangerous shock to anyone it touches. The mechanism by which the chain fires is entirely magical, and the chain will never shock the wielder, making it an esoteric yet valuable aid in combat.

Foresight: (Rank 1) (Uncommon Advantage) (+2 in combat) - Rayle can, in moments of great stress or danger, see events before they happen. The way she does this is not something that she's willing to discuss.

Well-Traveled: (Rank 1) (Special) - Rayle has been to many, many locales and profited greatly from the experience. She's familiar with a huge number of cultures and can speak and read several languages, and many people in the right circles have heard of her, too...

Story Elements: The Ancients and the Forge Resplendent, The Crossroad Isles, Amatu, Elaine Inverness, The Calendar