Aug 3

Aug 3 Hadiza (Planar Explorer) & Stamatia of Hyginus (Medusa)

Header Art: Nocturne by Jackson Tjota and Absalom: City of Lost Omens by Paizo Publishing

Hadiza - Planar Explorer

Owner of Inner Facets, Hadiza is a bit of an enigma in Ferrum. Her shop specializes in rare and beautiful crystals. Some are in their raw and natural shape while others have been cut, polished and set into exquisite jewelry. It is a matter of great curiosity on how she can be so wealthy when so few in this region of Talia, let alone Ferrum, can afford to buy her wares.

**Art Inspiration for Hadiza;** Nocturne by Jackson Tjota

Physical Description

Tall and graceful, Hadiza has cropped golden hair and honey-colored skin. She maintains a wicked grin, and her green eyes sparkle even in the dark. Hadiza normally dresses in brightly colored fine clothing, always wearing her eleven chain underneath.

Backstory

Like most eldarin, Hadiza has never met a beautiful or rare object she has not wanted to possess. She set off at a young age to travel the planes in search of treasures others could only dream of. She found her way to the Nexus of the Planes which she made her base of operations for over the last 200 years. During this time Hadiza visited every plane of existence she could find a portal to.

But the Nexus can be a dangerous place and Hadiza had amassed quite a few valuable and magical items. Hadiza wanted a place to call home, keep her treasures safe, and still be able to travel the planes. After a skirmish with a nefarious gang in the Nexus, Hadiza set off to find a new home. Following rumors of a lost portal, she set off to locate and quietly claim this portal for herself.

Once Hadiza discovered a portal from the Nexus to Ferrum, she purchased the existing buildings on both planes. In Ferrum, she shuttered the business and under the guise of remodeling, excavated the ground underneath the structure and built a hidden room around the portal. Once the portal was secured, Hadiza opened Inner Facets, using the store as a cover and place to store her acquired artifacts. She still spends much of her time traveling the planes looking for new treasures and is quite pleased when she sells the occasional crystal.

Quick Reference Traits

Personality Traits. Gregarious and boisterous, these traits mask her secret life.
Ideals. Adventure and treasure are her lifeblood.
Bonds. Superficial connections with most she meets, nary a single true relationship in the multiverse.
Flaws. Hadiza can be a bit brash and overconfident.

Adventure Hooks

Hadiza has been enlisted to find out why portals throughout the planes are being destroyed and needs your help.
A shifting portal to the Abyss is causing havoc wherever it ends up. Hadiza needs the party's help to track the portal down and destroy it.
A wealthy baroness who is one of Hadiza's best customers informs the party that Inner Facets has been closed for weeks and Hadiza is missing. She is willing to pay a pretty penny to find Hadiza so she can reopen the shop.

Stamatia of Hyginus - Medusa

Tired of living life outside the boundaries of proper civilization, Stamatia has developed gifts to allow her to blend into proper society where she knows she belongs. Taking on the moniker of the Lady of Stone, Stamatia has built up a reputation as one who grants wishes and riches.

Physical Description

**Art Inspiration for Stamatia**; *Absalom: City of Lost Omens by Paizo Publishing*

Stamatia is a beautiful, young woman with long black hair and exquisite clothes and jewelry. Her very look seems to measure anyone that approaches her, judging not only their physical beauty but their desire for beautiful things.

Backstory

Stamatia has spent decades frustrated that she was forced to live on the fringes of the world when she became cursed. She had sought to find everlasting beauty, and what she received has been far from what she had envisioned. As the only child of an Earl, she had been given everything she ever wanted, but even that wasn't enough for her. She wished to be the most beautiful debutante of her season. Fearing to be upstaged by Elena Polena, Stamatia wished and prayed every night for an answer when she was approached by a dark entity.

The dark entity, who introduced themselves as Fashioner, offered Stamatia beauty that would last the entire season and ensure she won her season. Without waiting to hear what the cost was, Stamatia sealed the deal and her beauty was magnified. The season went off without a hitch and Stamatia was the favorite of the season, and she was to wed her favorite suitor. Everything was perfect until the day after the season ended and she awoke to a screaming servant who saw her new form and was promptly turned to stone.

Fleeing Her Life. Attempting to find help, she inadvertently turned her father and mother to stone. Aghast at what she had done, Stamatia fled her city, her home, and her family. She ran off to the hills and mountains where she found a cave and wallowed in her misery. She had had everything she wanted but had lost it all. For months and years, she begged for Fashioner to return to her, to fix what had broke.

A decade passed before Fashioner bothered to return to her. They were unmoved by her plight, merely responding that they had offered beauty but for a season and that she had had that. Of course, such beauty came with a cost, but Stamatia hadn't seemed concerned to hear what that was. She tried to turn Fashioner to stone, but they merely laughed and left.

Reshaping Her Life. Several more decades passed before Stamatia had decided on her next course of action. She had petrified dozens of adventurers and monsters by this point and had learned all there was to know about her powers and stone. Thanks to petrifying a recent adventurer, Stamatia was able to acquire a hat of disguise and began her plan to return.

Re-entering the society she had once fled was difficult at first, but she quickly developed an eye for beauty, stonework, and her charm and charisma. While she sometimes would 'create' statues out of adventurers and unlucky servants, she prefers to keep her work closer to rare jewels and gems that she can trade for with the inhabitants of the Dark Below from the old cave she first fled to.

Her New Life. Now that she has returned to society she once fled, she has quickly become known for her riches and exquisite tastes. She can procure far more jewels than most others, and many even whisper she can fulfill wishes for the right price. These wishes are often twisted and cursed, as Stamatia has no other power that she can grant without it eventually backfiring. While the wishes she could grant started small, now that she has spent a decade granting them, they are much larger than before. While this new found power is exhilarating, Stamatia can't help but think about her own wish and what happened to her. Instead of softening her heart, it only made it harder. If she had to suffer, so must others.

Quick Reference Traits

Personality Traits. Stamatia knows that others are jealous of her beauty and riches, she cultivates this feeling out of others to gain power over them.
Ideals. She wants people to love and be jealous of her beauty and the beautiful things she keeps.
Bonds. Stamatia's bond is only to herself and what she can gain in a situation. If it furthers her beauty in the eyes of others, then it must be had.
Flaws. Stamatia hates anything ugly and has no problem informing someone if they are lacking in her standings.

Adventure Hooks

Stamatia, the Lady of Stone, is looking for adventurers willing to travel to an old mine of hers and investigate why her latest shipment was not sent. Stamatia trades often with the denizens of the Dark Below, but for some reason, they have not appeared in some weeks.
The Lady of Stone has heard of an impossibly beautiful stone, known as the Heart Rock, which will be arriving in town as part of an exhibition. This stone is blood red and said to be the very heart of a god's child. She wants it and is willing to pay handsomely for this item.
In her anger, Stamatia has turned a rival into stone and destroyed it. Unfortunately, all evidence is currently pointing towards her, and she needs that remedied. If the party can halt the investigation and destroy evidence, she'd be more than happy to reward them.

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