Malla Nettlelark

**Malla Nettlelark** is a Paladin Half-Elf. Once a young noblewoman she took up her armor and weapon after finding her life in danger due to some old connections. She is a backup character to Neb.

## Background

### Life as a noblewoman

Malla started out as the rather normal daughter house Medani, living in Eston, until the rainy night a skinny girl in a muddy dress stumbled into her garden and caught her eye. Malla opened her window and called for the girl to hurry inside, where she then offered her a bath, a change of clothes, and some food. It took some coaxing, but eventually Malla got the girl's name, Meya Thornsong. Malla offered Meya a place to stay and a job to hold, if she wished to become her new handmaiden. For the next several years Malla and Meya lived practically as sisters, until the day came where Meya's greatest secret was revealed to her benevolent faux-sister.

A day out in the market together, when the two of them were suddenly accosted! Pulled into an alley off to the side there was no telling what was going to happen to them. But whatever it could have been, what actually happened was beyond Malla's imagination. Before her eyes Meya suddenly started to change her form, becoming a roaring goliath in the grips of the bandit and scaring them off. Malla fell to the ground, dazed, staring up at what had been her best friend only moments before. The daze got no better as the roaring goliath slowly shrank into a pale creature with dark rings for eyes, and a great puff of white and purple hair, rushing over to her side.

### The unexpected continues.

Malla never told anyone about Meya's secret, and the two remained close until the day when Meya finally decided to leave the house and pursue her own life. Malla always assumed it was in part because of the secret, that Meya was no longer comfortable there, but she never said it out loud. Instead she gifted her friend a calligraphy set and saw her off. For the next several years things were rather ordinary for Malla, though her curiosities had been stoked by her old friend. She had begun to study more and more obscure history and information, trying to learn about the things hidden just out of sight of the average person. Then one day her father died, and she found herself the new head of the home.

### A Target is Painted.

It had hardly been six months since her father's death that Malla had the first attempt made on her own life! She had narrowly escaped death thanks to her quick reflexes and a nearby letter opener on her desk. The event was so shocking she assumed it could never happen again. She was very wrong.

Unbeknownst to Malla, her name had been found in connection to a potential assassin of the head of a Medani House, and so she had been assumed as some sort of accomplice. Fearing the safety of not only herself but her family, Malla abandoned her place in her own home, gifting the estate to a cousin, and began to travel under a new name. Constantly being accosted by would-be assassins and bounty hunters, she honed her skills and turned from a delicate Noblewoman to a hardened warrior. This was her new life, until a messenger that nearly lost his head to her swing brought her a request to meet from some dragonmarked kid. The only thing that made her agree to it was the attached message "Meya needs your help."

### A Letter Long Overdue

After meeting with Aloan d'Cannith, Malla discovered that Neb was in Xend'rik, and possibly was in danger. She is currently discussing with the young Changeling what they need to do.

## Rumors

During character creation, we were asked to create 5 rumors about our character. 3 of them should be true, 2 of them false. The other players do not know which is which.

1. Has never had a romantic entanglement.
2. Is actually from a Dragonmarked house, but hid this away with her name change.
3. After being attacked while in camp, she struck her assailant so hard that the hatchet she had been using got stuck halfway down his skull.
4. Is an absolute gourmet, and loves to practice her cooking.
5. Has a tattoo somewhere of a strange figure she refuses to explain

## Mechanical Stats

AC

17

HP

84

Initiative

2

Speed

30

Passive Perception

15

Attributes

Strength

8
-1

Dexterity

15
2

Constitution

18
4

Intelligence

8
-1

Wisdom

14
2

Charisma

14
2

Skills
Acrobatics: 2Animal Handling: 2Arcana: -1Athletics: -1Deception: 2History: -1Insight: 5Intimidation: 2Investigation: -1Medicine: 5Nature: -1Perception: 5Performance: 2Persuasion: 5Religion: 5Sleight of Hand: 2Stealth: 2Survival: 2

Saving Throws
Strength Save: -1
 Dexterity Save: 2
 Constitution Save: 4
 Intelligence Save: -1
 Wisdom Save: 5
 Charisma Save: 5

Proficiencies

Simple WeaponsMartial Weapons

Light Armor
Medium Armor
Heavy Armor
Shields

None

Unknown class (or class abilities have not yet been added)

Half-Elf (Mark of Detection) Traits

Darkvision:
You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Fey Ancestry:
You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can't put you to sleep.

Deductive Intuition:
Whenever you make a Intelligence (Investigation) or a Wisdom (Insight) check, you can roll a d4 and add the number rolled to the total ability check.

Magical Detection:
You can cast the Detect Magic and the Detect Poison and Disease spells with this trait. Starting at 3rd level, you can also cast the See Invisibility spell with it. Once you cast either spell with this trait, you can't cast that spell again until you finish a Long Rest. Intelligence is your Spellcasting Ability for these spells, and you don't require material components for them.

Spells of the Mark:
If you have the Spellcasting or Pact Magic class feature, the spells on the Mark of Detection Spells table are added to the spell list of your Spellcasting class. These spells are:
* 1st lvl: Detect Magic, Detect Poison and Disease
* 2nd lvl: Detect Thoughts, Find Traps
* 3rd lvl: Clairvoyance, Nondetection
* 4th lvl: Arcane Eye, Divination
* 5th lvl: Legend Lore