Nimbra the Nimble

## Nimbra

Art by @watery\_day on twitter

Nimbra is a tiefling rogue who has been in the thieving business for most of her life. Although mystery shrouds her past, her name is not unfamiliar to the right crowds-- well known for her heisting exploits around the land of Faerun. With her trusty companion and long time friend Crow the crow at her side, she has travelled from city to city in search of a good pay off; as well as a particular group of humans she seems to hold a strong grudge against.

## Biography

Not much is known about Nimbra's past before she was found by Alastor-- a blind tiefling who took her in at the age of ten and subsequently raised her. Before that, she lived as an orphaned urchin; surviving on the streets with only her quick wit and evasiveness at her disposal. Stealing what she could, be it scraps of food, money or jewellery from unsuspecting targets was the only way the young tiefling could keep herself from death; and perhaps it was her natural set of skills that helped Alastor notice her in the first place.

After failing to steal their coin purse, the leader of the town's notorious thieves guild invited Nimbra to their secret hideaway, where she stayed for the next eight years of her life. Honing her skills with each passing day, Alastor raised Nimbra to be the thief she is now-- teaching her things beyond her wildest imagination. She was able to enact such abilities with each mission she carried out for them; growing closer to her mentor, their partner, and the rest of the guild who had become like family to her. On one particular mission, in the dark of the night, Nimbra and the others were leaving a particular lord's home with their treasure in tow-- when the tiefling heard the cries of a baby bird calling to her. It seemed that, in the middle of the scuffle between the guards and the guild's best archers, a mother crow had been shot with an arrow and killed-- leaving her baby and their nest on the ground to die alone. Feeling kinship with the animal, Nimbra decided to take responsibility for its life and took it home with her; though Alastor warned her if she could not keep up with her missions, she would have to set it free. Determined to be able to do both, Nimbra nursed the baby crow back to health, becoming yet another new family member to her. Only ever referring to him as 'Crow', the name eventually stuck and became the only one he would go by. Nimbra began taking him on missions when he was old enough, becoming a very valuable partner for scouting and picking locks-- the pair forming a bond that no other person could touch.

Life, as she knew it, had become happy for Nimbra. She was surrounded by people she could trust, and hadn't felt alone in years; though a particular sadness always seemed to hold down some part of her, no matter how hard she tried to move past it. On the morning of her eighteenth birthday, before any of the other guild members had awoken, Alastor appeared in her room to greet her; instructing Nimbra to bring her things and meet them outside.

As the light of dawn slowly began to creep upon the dewey hill her mentor stood on, asking why they had brought her there, Alastor simply told Nimbra that she was no longer welcome in the guild. She had spent enough time there as it was, and was not considered a member anymore. Enraged and heartbroken, the teen begged her mentor to reconsider, asking them what she had done to make them do this. Alastor refused to answer, however; saying what was done had been done, and if she returned, she would be forced away without a moment's hesitation. With that, the tiefling left Nimbra alone as the sun finally began to rise; falling to her knees as she wept over the second family that had been ripped from her.

That moment changed Nimbra's outlook on life entirely. She swore to never let herself ever be that vulnerable again, to trust anyone who offered her shelter-- and would from then on only rely on Crow or herself. The pair travelled by themselves from then on, taking on job after job to keep their funds afloat, whether that meant stealing or assassinating a target who was in her buyer's way. Nimbra would not question the work she was given, instead focusing on what she got from it; although a large majority of her earnings would go to villages and people she came across who were less fortunate or struggling, always given to them in an anonymous way. Now at the age of 24, Nimbra has been travelling with the party for quite some time; never having intended on staying with them long after their first job together.

## Design

Standing at 5'4", Nimbra is a dark grey, almost purple skinned tiefling who is rather short for her kind; though her height has only ever aided in her sneaking tactics and abilities. She has a pair of black spiral shaped horns that protrude from the top of her head; the bases of both covered by tresses of lavender hair. She keeps it cut at a bob length, though one piece is grown out longer than the rest; hanging in a single braid with the bottom tied off by a red bow. There is a very noticeable scar over her left eye, which can be seen on the top lid when it's closed. Her eyes are a deep red colour, often plagued by rather deep bags underneath them. She has a mole on the right side of her mouth.

## Relationships

**Crow**

Crow is an ordinary bird with an extraordinary set of skills-- he is proficient in scouting, lock picking, and finding various treasures. He's been Nimbra's partner since she was a teenager, and after raising him as a baby, the pair have been practically inseparable. He is the one being that she trusts more than anyone-- confiding all of her secrets to him, regardless of what they've ever been. They're best friends, but more importantly, they are family-- and the strength of that bond has allowed them both to understand each other without the need of spells or anything of the like. Nimbra is fiercely protective over Crow-- he was all she had after she was forced to leave the guild, and has been with her through the not so pleasant times of her life without ever judging her. She can let her walls down around him without worry, and can show the emotion she always tries to hide from others. If anyone were to ever threaten Crow, Nimbra would most likely kill that person without hesitation. When she and the others were pulled into the whirlpool conjured by Poseidon, Crow dove after her, despite how dangerous it was-- and when they woke on the beach shortly after, Nimbra shed tears out of relief that he was okay. It has been the only time in the campaign that she has openly cried.

**Alastor**

Nimbra's former mentor and guardian. Their relationship has been almost completely destroyed since Alastor kicked Nimbra out of the guild. She's given up on asking them why they chose to do so, and keeps them at arm's length as much as possible-- though Alastor has proven to be a particularly annoying thorn in her side recently. It hurts her more than she'd like to admit whenever they try to feign a familial relationship with her to other people's faces, though they've always been one to lie and deceive people, so perhaps she shouldn't be so surprised at their attempt to stay in other's good graces. She doesn't understand their motives, however; once thinking that they no longer wanted anything to do with her. Unfortunately, there's a part of her that still cares for Alastor, though Nimbra wishes they would just cut ties for good and finally leave her alone.

**Aelius Hawke**

Alastor's right-hand man, partner, and also former guardian to Nimbra. The pair have always been on a similar wavelength; their stoicness seemed to bring them closer at one point in their lives, and Nimbra would often confide in Aelius whenever she felt she couldn't speak with Alastor. He personally taught her how to engage in combat, and made her the shortbow she still uses to this day. His complete lack of effort to bring her back, or to even fight to keep her in the guild broke her heart completely, and shattered any semblance of trust she ever had in him. She believes that all the elf only cares about Alastor, and is too cowardly to speak out against them. Recently, Aelius sought Nimbra out after years of silence, though something strange seems to be going on with him. There are things that he won't, or rather, cannot physically tell her; though she believes in some way that he's attempting to ask her to come home. This is the last thing Nimbra wants, however, and has blown Aelius off with every attempt he's made.

**Rose**

A member of the guild Nimbra once belonged to, and a longtime childhood friend. At one point in their lives, the pair were practically considered siblings; though their relationship was put on hold once Nimbra left. Rose is a changeling, and suffered a similar past to the tiefling; when she arrived at the guild after being found by Alastor, she was completely mute, and could barely look anyone in the eye. With some gentle coaxing, Nimbra was eventually able to get her to open up-- even going so far as to learn sign language so that Rose could communicate without needing to speak. With time, the young girl began to speak again, and refused to leave Nimbra's side-- she was often like a little duckling following her, but Nimbra never seemed to mind. Nimbra was also the first person Rose ever showed her true form to. They've reunited recently, after Rose was tasked by Alastor to tail Nimbra-- following the party on the train to Rockport. After revealing that Alastor told Rose it was her fault Nimbra left, citing that her being unable to keep up with missions was frustrating her, Nimbra was enraged at the revelation-- insisting to the girl that it was because of them that she left, not Rose. They embraced, promising to stay in contact from then on. Not wanting to return to the guild after finding out about Alastor's lies, Nimbra suggested that Rose join The Resistance, where she would be safe and welcomed by people she could trust.

**The Party**

**Captain Antolio Rortugal**

Nimbra's relationship with Antolio has always been a bit.. complicated. Though they are both tieflings, Nimbra never felt a strong kinship with the man at first; more often being annoyed and infuriated by his unpredictable nature. Even if the entire party often tries to reign him back from his bombastic ideas, Nimbra has always been the one to be a little less soft with the captain; never afraid to call him an idiot or to yell at him if he gets her riled up enough. She refers to him by his title only, and tries her hardest to stay out of his line of sight-- though she is unable to deny how kindhearted and intuitive he really is. As they've spent more time together, Nimbra has been coming to see that a lot of what Antolio does is an act; perhaps to distract others from their feelings of helplessness, or his own. There is a long, complicated past behind the man that he does not seem to want to face; and though Nimbra is not one to force people to be open with her, there's a part of her that teeters over the idea of offering to be there for him if he decides he needs it. Someone who will listen without judgement, who will support him from the shadows-- though she is conflicted over the matter, thinking that with the way she's treated him, that's the last thing he would ever agree to.

This feeling of uncertainty only increased during the party's time within the alternate plane, when they were all trapped in the school. Upon regaining her memories, Nimbra unfortunately came to remember the many times she had been partnering with Lilith-- the very person the party feared had trapped them there. When she revealed to the others what she had been keeping secret, Lio said nothing to her, and immediately walked away. At this point, she knew of the past he shared with her-- the terrible things she had done to his friends, that he had been the one to kill her, and Nimbra felt immense guilt over the entire thing. Though to her surprise, Lio's trust in her did not wane-- it only strengthened over the fact that she told them something she was afraid to. Relieved more than she expected herself to be, Nimbra and Antolio then began working together in secret; passing one another notes written in Infernal as they unraveled the mysteries around them, trying to figure out who they could and could not trust. However, just as Nimbra was beginning to feel that she could truly rely on Antolio, when it came to who would be sacrificed to keep take everyone home, he acted without telling her-- filling the woman with rage and hurt. When sacrificing himself did not work and he tried again, she grabbed at his wrists and yelled at him to stop-- and while she was distracted, Mars was able to rip Jim's heart from his chest and kill him.

Nimbra has held a great deal of resentment towards Antolio ever since that day. Resentment out of keeping his plans from her, from forcing two different children to watch their fathers die, to having Jim end up in the state he is now. Though she does not blame Lio for the latter two, she's been wanting to give him a piece of her mind ever since they woke up-- though has refrained from doing so, only because the man seems to already be blaming himself for it all and so much more. Antolio has suffered greatly, and Nimbra is not blind to that fact-- she has been trying to be kinder to him, but won't allow herself to talk to him for longer than is necessary.

**Enid of Solari**

**Asumyn Sequoia DeNereia**

**Others of note**

**Kay Curtiss-Malkuth**

**Colonel Jim Curtiss**

**Emperor Peony IX**

**Scalde Belrose**

**"Eve" / Lilith Connor**

## Trivia

* When Nimbra was first being created, she was originally meant to be a half-dragon, and had a completely different personality.
* The scar over her left eye was given to her by a human she killed. She received this scar before meeting Alastor.
* Nimbra's name may in fact be her virtue name, and not the name she was given at birth.
* She found Crow as a baby at the age of 12. Currently, Crow is 12 years old.