Mossacross Dire-Dirge

"Ah yes, Crime Time. The time for crimes. It's one of my favorite times."

Despite their external smugness, Mossacross actually has no clue what they're doing at any given moment.

## **Appearance**

With eyes that gleam greedily in the darkness and skin of a strange green hue, it's fairly obvious from a glance that Mossacross Dire-Dirge is a Goblin. Despite this, they're rather well-groomed and well-dressed, and are thus leagues ahead of their less-civilized kin in terms of charisma. Standing almost as tall as an average Gnome, Moss takes great pride in the clean, dark hair that flows freely out from under their wide-brimmed hat.

Though it's nearly impossible to discern Mossacross's gender based on appearance alone (even more so than for other Goblins), their fashion sense is clearly inspired by the hags and witches that occupied many of the Goblin's favorite stories; They're most often fitted in a long dress comprised of thick cloth and a thin, off-pink blouse. A maroon sash lays around their waist, matching the shade of Moss's lovely silk hat.

## **Background**

Born to a clan of Goblinoids in a place far from Absalom, Mossacross was never meant to lead the life of a normal Goblin; Taken from their parents by a wise old Hobgoblin Wizard named Cazurna, the infantile Goblin had been chosen for a greater fate. Growing up under Cazurna's watchful, disciplined gaze, Mossacross would become the wizard's apprentice and learn the ways of arcana from one of Goblin-kind's greatest masters... or, that was the expectation, anyway.

Cazurna, a Hobgoblin, was extremely by the books. He was a rigid-minded scholar of the art of Evocation magic, and saw spellcasting as an important weapon to be wielded only by the most worthy minds. He was honorable, only seeking to fight when he knew that there was glory or worth in the defeat of an opponent. Cazurna possessed a will stronger than granite and a mind sharper than any tool that Goblins or any other race could forge. His student, Mossacross, was... exactly opposite. Their attention span was diminutive, their appreciation for magic as a weapon lacking. Instead, Mossacross gravitated toward obscure, esoteric arts. They fell in love with stories about Hags turning those who defied them into newts and witches laying baleful hexes upon arrogant barons, and they quickly came to crave that sort of power for themself.

Cazurna, impressively patient, believed that his student would come to pass through this 'phase' and would soon turn to a truly honorable appreciation for magic. This time never came, unfortunately; Moss was only interested in the strangest magic, the sorts of magic that Cazurna could not and would not teach. Seeking a clever solution to an otherwise impassable issue, Cazurna decided to send his student out into the woods near their abode to 'seek a real witch'. Of course, the mentor didn't believe that his student would be in any sort of danger, and had ensured well beforehand that everything would be safe in the forest. This mission was merely intended to frighten the young Goblin out of their strange desire to practice occult magic... However, Moss was unfazed by the dark shadows that seemed to creep through the woods, and made a habit of visiting the area between lessons with Cazurna.

Strangely, the woods were almost always dead-quiet. They were, as such, a perfect place to go and think or study when needed, but something about the unnatural silence was both worrisome and fascinating to Mossacross. Every time they visited the forest, they'd travel a bit further into the trees, inch-by-inch, until they'd find something new that didn't seem to belong in this otherwise empty, lonesome place. One day, it was what appeared to be the tooth of some strange predator. Another day, a pair of ruffled, decayed feathers from some long-gone bird. The day after that, Moss almost tripped over what could only be a femur... Too large for any forest-bound creature. Of course, they never reported any of their findings to Cazurna, who'd surely find some way to spoil the fun. Slowly but surely, Mossacross would find more and more bones and dropped parts in the forest until, one day, they stumbling upon the epicenter of this strange scattering of corpses and bits of bone; An altar, sitting alone in a dark glade, pulsing with some sort of strange... 'potential', maybe. Though they didn't fully understand the sight, Moss knew that this *must* have been what Caz had wanted them to find. They laid their hand on the altar, expecting that a coven of witches or something like that would come out and pronounce Moss a certified witch! Instead... they blacked out.

Waking up, Mossacross found themself at the edge of the forest, just a short walk away from their home, where Cazurna would surely be awaiting their arrival. By their side, however, was the strangest piece to this odd new puzzle; A doll, comprised of simple rags and pins, was held in Mossacrosses hand, only found once the Goblin woke up. Once again, none of this was reported to the mentor, who'd surely steal away Moss's soft new friend if the truth were to come out about how it was found... if that was even the truth.

After their fateful encounter with that altar, Mossacross seemed to become more magically proficient, somehow. They'd 'relay' each of Caz's new lessons every day to their stuffed poppet, who of course never spoke back. The act of sharing these lessons, though... it somehow brought Moss comfort, and helped them remember spells better. The process of performing spell components, be they verbal, somatic, or material, also became easier, somehow... Wishing to see the altar that seemed to bestow this poppet and this talent unto them once more, Moss would occasionally revisit the forest, only to find that the old paths they'd memorized were simply no longer there. No amount of searching would bring Moss back to the altar, and no amount of thinking would bring them a logical answer as to where it could have gone.

Eventually, Moss's curiosity got the better of them. What was this strange new talent? Who's poppet was this, and why did it seem to have some sort of connection to that altar? Cazurna wouldn't be of any help, of course; He'd merely write the occurrences off as some sort of 'worthless vision' and enforce more strict curfews for his mentor. If Moss was going to find answers, they'd have to search elsewhere on their own. Thus, one cold morning, Mossacross packed their bags and reported to their mentor that they'd be traveling abroad to 'study the true nature of magic'. It was a flimsy excuse, but Cazurna didn't seem to mind, and before too long Mossacross was on their way to a city named 'Absalom'...

## **Personality**

As implied before, Mossacross's personality is in great contrast to their mentor's. They're curious and inattentive, full of energy that's never directed at any single thing for all too long. The wonders of the arcane world and the occult are fascinating to them, and they'll never turn up an opportunity to find something amazing. Impatient, Moss is always ready to do something new, and often uses magic as a form of entertainment when things around them are just a bit too dull.

Moss, raised away from other Goblins, only knows of their kin's greed and violence through stories. Though they believe themself above such petty acts of aggression, Mossacross isn't always a polite little scholar. They are vindictive and cruel to those who'd get in their way or 'oppose' them, unafraid to use their magic to deceive, manipulate, and harm people who'd try to somehow impede their ever-important research. While they're certainly no thief, Moss feels no moral wrong in taking something from someone who wasn't clever enough to keep their items away from the grasp of a curious Goblin.

Feeling slight resentment for their master's set-in-stone ways, Mossacross likes to think that they're more flexible and willing to work with others than Cazurna would have been. They're always willing to learn from others, and think that they're much better off with friends than without. The young Goblin is also usually receptive to the ideas of others, even if they're really bad ideas. Worst case scenario, someone fails and Moss gets a good laugh out of it.