Mel

Fan Art of Mel by NutCaseArt

## Mel the Kobold Necromancer

*"We black-scale kobolds are the masters of Necromancy. It's so much fun!" ~ Mel*

Mel is a black-scale kobold Necromancer and former member of the Underbelly. By her own account, she was kicked out from her original clutch in the Underdark, possibly for her unusually cheery attitude. She traveled with a group of humans before coming to Alivast.

Mel, and her companion, Merchant, were regular residents of the Underbelly in Alivast. Despite her attitude, the Underbelly seemed to be the perfect setting for her, as every person killed in a bar fight, victim of a stray arrow, or person who broke Avryman's rules became another corpse for her to add to her collection.

She met The Unexpectables for the first time in the Underbelly, coming to their table and offering the newcomers drinks, which were not-so-subtly poisoned. Despite not convincing anyone to drink and allow her to collect a new corpse, she remained upbeat and was happy to see a new kobold and share some information regarding her travels.

Mel is currently in the possession of a Bead of Hoketh, stolen from the custody of that clergy, a powerful artifact that has direct links to the world of the dead. She asked The Unexpectables for their assistance in the heist, but she still was able to obtain it despite their refusal. This act has had tremendous fallout: Mel was exiled from the Underbelly because the heist broke the informal truce between the Averyman and the city guard and also the Hoketh Clergy in Alivast is actively hunting her down. She sent Somalisks to kill Avryman and the Unexpectables, but was unsuccessful in both attempts and accidentally gave Aila a lead on her whereabouts. She also appears to have ties to a creature known as the Dancing Death, a boogeyman that terrorizes the living as an agent of Necrecta.

## Personality

Mel is odd for a necromancer; she's cheerful, upbeat, and always on the lookout for new bodies. Mel also tends to get very excited when someone dies in the Underbelly because of her craft. Despite her cheerful disposition and friendly interactions with The Unexpectables, Mel has no problems betraying and attempting to kill her "friends" and acquaintances to cover her tracks. She is completely amoral, and to her, "friends" are only zombies that haven't been reanimated yet.

## Relations

### Avryman

Mel is employed by Avryman to reanimate corpses as security for the Underbelly. Despite this, Avryman claims that Mel is not entirely under their control due to her excitable nature. This loose control was severed entirely when Mel stole the Bead of Hoketh without Avryman's ok, resulting in her losing her protection in the underbelly. Her attempt to kill Avryman via Somalisk assassin resulted in a death warrant on her head.

### Merchant

Mel has a friendly relationship with Merchant, even though the two have contrasting personalities. Mel is outgoing and chipper while Merchant tends to keep to himself outside of business. When Mel was exiled from the Underbelly, Merchant also disappeared, much to the annoyance of Avryman. Merchant was later found dead by Panic and Remy in Mel's lair, strung up to the wall with barbed nails and most of his organs removed. The degradation of his body suggests he has been dead for a very long time.

### Task and The Unexpectables

When he first met her, Task had an interest in learning necromantic magic from Mel because his older sister Gnaryel had used it. Mel was also the first kobold that Task encountered since coming to the city and he contemplated visiting Mel and Merchant on occasion so he could spend time with his own species. Mel's attempt to kill the party and her ghoulish behaviors were ignored or dismissed by Task who extended seemingly unlimited tolerance for her deadly quirks. His actions were a combination of his bias in favor of other kobolds, his loneliness and isolation after losing his clan, how she reminded him of his elder sister, and perhaps even some sexual attraction.

The rest of the Unexpectables also dismissed Mel's murderous behavior because of Task's apparent trust in her, though they expressed varying degrees of apprehension about visiting her when she posted a job offer for a "heist". Based on Borky's coin flip, they agreed to follow Task to ask about the job. When they learned she intended to steal a Bead of Hoketh from the Hoketh clergy, they declined, citing their desire to keep a positive reputation on the surface as their reason, though Greckles gave her an idea how to steal it on her own, and Task was extremely apologetic about not helping.

Mel stole the Bead of Hoketh on her own and sent a Somalisk to assassinate the party and their employees in the Sweet Dragon. It is unknown if this was malice, revenge, or if she was simply tieing up loose ends to cover her tracks. At one of their first meetings, she had given the party a skill pendant that allowed them to interact safely with her flesh golem servant, "John". This pendant provided a means for her to track them, and housed the shadowy assassin, meaning they had been carrying around their doom since their first encounter with her. When they learned Mel was the one that sent the creature, Task finally saw her true nature and labeled her a, seeing Mel as a traitor who he intends to repay with death. His companions have echoed this sentiment.

## Trivia

* Mel is missing two fingers on her right hand. She finds this appealing due to the tradition among black-scale kobolds that treat wounds and lost body parts as marks of honor.
* Mel created John from dead bodies
* Mel is also "wanted" by Hoketh clerics because of her necromancy
* Mel would get very excited when someone died in the Underbelly. When the Unexpectables were fighting in the pit, two people were killed by stray weaponry and one in a fight about a bet, to which Mel yelled out "Thank you!".
* As the Unexpectables were fighting in the pit, two people were killed by stray weaponry and one in a fight about a bet, to which Mel yelled out "Thank you!".
* Mel currently has a bounty of 25,000 gold on her, set by the authorities of Alivast. Her crimes include graverobbing, leading an evil cult, and other acts related to necromancy. This predates her theft of the Bead of Hoketh, so her bounty could now be even higher

## Gallery

* Mel fan art by @SaichaEevee
* Mel fan art by @SirMalervik
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