Lignus Stormsent

*Do not read beyond **this point** if you want to avoid being **spoiled!***

*"On my gravestone it wasn't my idea!"* - Lignus Stormsent, leading a boarding action

**Lignus Stormsent** is an airship surgeon and dwarf druid, and part of the crew of the *Nightingale*. The most grounded of the crew, he attempts to keep in leash Captain Versailles' schemes while balancing his own anger towards Novo Albia and his personal values.

## Biography

### A Druid of Lemora

Lignus is the surgeon and pilot of the *Nightingale*, having served with Captain Vermillion Versailles and Zinsy Sparksprocket for some time. When Saara Smallwick was hired to replace the deceased former navigator, Jamie, she brought along a strange map which Lignus identified as being in the dwarven alphabet but ciphered somehow and which he could not decode. When the others docked in Valt to ask Zinsy's contact, Widow, to decipher it, Lignus expressed dismay and discomfort at the industrial morass of the island and later, the metal cable-based "web" structures that The Widow resided in.

In the discussions with The Widow the information broker approached Lignus for information about the map, grilling him about it; he stated that he knew it was written in the dwarven alphabet and ciphered, but could not decode it; the Widow assured him that he was correct in these assumptions, but managed to easily decipher the map regardless. In the negotiations for any potential treasure found as a result of the map Lignus did not contribute much, but only signed the contract after his captain had done so.

When the group was waylaid by Novalbian soldiers under Billingsworth, Lignus spent much of his fight healing or trying to stabilise Captain Versailles and Zinsy, who were both quickly felled by the Imperials. After the fight, Lignus tried to drag the much-taller and heavier Versailles away, but was accosted by the local constabulary under Captain of the Guard Victoria. Victoria questioned Lignus about their involvement in the disturbance; while he failed to convince her that they were not involved, he managed to secure an escape by conjuring illusory fires around the place, causing a group of fire cultists to swarm the area, blocking the Captain of the Guard.

After Versailles woke he immediately ordered Lignus to buy a medicine kit after learning that Lignus somehow hadn't bought one beforehand. When they cast off Versailles also ordered Lignus to act as the ship's pilot. Later when the crew encountered the wreck of the *Farmer's Fortune*, Lignus was ordered to remain onboard the *Nightingale* to accomodate an escape for the search party if necessary. When Zinsy triggered a spectre, Lignus was ordered to position the *Nightingale* and use its swivel harpoon to kill the spectre, which he successfully managed to do.

When the ship arrived at Isla Verde, an island of green unaffected by industrialisation and the wars, Lignus was happy to see it so untouched. He decided to knock on the door of a nearby house, to get information about the "Great Lord" and "the Twins" that they sought. When the owner cautiously opened a door viewer to speak to Lignus, Lignus introduced himself as a travelling healer, which the owner recognised, and opened the door on mention of the "Great Lord". The fellow, Roxas, took a liking to Lignus, who offered his assistance to Roxas after stating that he was helping Captain Versailles after Versailles needed healing. Roxas was pleased and stated that he would appreciate but not require a healing poultice as he lead them up the island's peak so that they could see the constellations that they were looking for.

When Roxas departed Lignus gave him some medical supplies, telling the tiefling that he hoped he never had to use them, and the shepherd bid goodbye.

After they had figured out their next destination, a trio of islands, they reached the first, Bright Coral, where they spotted some whalesharks offshore. After Vermillion suggested hunting them for food and blubber, Lignus harshly shut it down despite the whalesharks being post-Breaking creatures. Arriving at Whale Corpse, a flat island with a corpse of a giant whale leviathan on it, Lignus piloted the ship through the ribcage, noting uneasily that it was completely barren of life, even scavengers or microorganisms on the ship's remains.

With no luck on Whale Corpse, they set off for the next island. After encountering engine problems as they neared the fog-covered island, they landed and snuck across it. After encountering Sever Wickham after resting on the island overnight, Lignus confronted Vermillion on lying to Wickham over why they were there, but Vermillion reassured the dwarf that he didn't want Wickham to take advantage of them in any way, and did not trust him enough for him to do as Lignus suggested. After Vermillion led Wickham off to investigate a stone leviathan on the island, Lignus and the other two forged on ahead to the coordinates written on the map. They encountered skeletal horses that Lignus managed to fight quite decently against, turning his staff into a shillelagh, but when he tried to hit the legs of the second he missed and the horse bucked him into unconsciousness. After being stabilised by Zinsy he was carried by his two female shipmates, though they tired of his weight rather quickly and moved him onto a crude impromptu stretcher. Approaching a small abandoned stone settlement, they encountered a giant bone snake and quickly carried Lignus into a building as Saara cast an illusory door. Aware that it would take hours for Lignus to wake, they left him on the upper floor after it was clear that it was free of hostiles, with Saara draping her cloak over him.

Unfortunately, Lignus was too tall and the cloak did not cover his legs. Saara decided to take all of his money as Zinsy told the unconscious dwarf to stay safe. After visiting the belltower the two returned with Lignus still under and rested there until he was awake. They filled him in on the information before heading back to their campsite. After Wickham left, having discerned the group's desire for the spyglass he had taken from the belltower, the group had a debate over what to do. Lignus was unhappy with killing Wickham, and wanted the leviathan dead as he saw it as unnatural.

In the fight on the leviathan Lignus provided a valuable support role. On entering the beast, he noticed slimy slug creatures paying attention to them, and realised that Versailles' light was the cause of this. While this problem was initially dealt with, some slugs eventually cornered them as Lignus tried to determine which way to go at a junction due to his keen sense of smell. In the fight Lignus went down, only be to revived by Zinsy. When they approached the heart of the beast, Lignus initially offered to help with ranged combat, but it was decided not to. Lignus spent the fight healing Vermillion and attacking the eyeball with his melee weapons.

After the fight Lignus collected his rope, which had been used to help them descend further into the beast, before leaving the creature. When they came across Sever Wickham again, Lignus took charge of the conversation when Vermillion left to get the harpoons back, telling him that there was treasure in the beast, gaining Wickham's gratitude. Later, as Zinsy tried to steal Wickham's spyglass again of her own accord, Lignus expressed dismay.

When Vermillion returned and the others returned to their ship, Lignus was receptive to Versailles' idea of joining the Scarlet Claw, harbouring some anger against Novo Albia for the loss of his homeland. Lignus also opposed Versailles' idea to bring one of the necromantic pumps around the island onboard the ship, and expressed that he wanted to return to the island to destroy them in the future.

## Unheeded Advisor

Back in Valt, Lignus accompanied the group ashore, where he noticed that a bounty poster of them was posted, and alerted the others. He "disguised" himself by pulling his hood over his head after advanced efforts proved unfruitful. He visited Zinfandel Perriwinkle, an armour artisan, where he bought ironwood armour before rejoining the others, expressing concern at the newly-hired Miller Collins' lack of experience and giving him his old leather armour. Lignus shadowed Versailles as they bought beds, initially unwilling but eventually giving into vice to buy goosefeather beds.

When the group went to investigate One Eye Willy's, where a Novalbian surgeon was apparently staying with information on Billingsworth, they saw a group of cultists who attacked them after the two failed to disperse the group by projecting the wrong icon onto Saara's forehead. Lignus tried to druidcraft their torches out, but was attacked and forced to flee. Eventually Lignus manage to dive into a bush which the cultists set alight before turning into a rat and fleeing to Versailles' side. There he assisted in melee combat before being knocked unconscious when fighting a large group of cultists, causing Versailles to start laying into the cultists. Saara revived Lignus with a health potion, and Lignus entered a wolf form, "Wolfnus", to savage the cultists.

As Lignus urged Versailles to leave the island, Versailles took it upon himself to try and blow up the HMS *Tireless Pursuit* in harbour, which Lignus voiced great unease over. After Versailles' plan appeared to have failed, Lignus prepared the *Nightingale* to move to assist, triggering a running fight between the two ships, the larger *Tireless Pursuit* damaged by the gunpowder barrel Versailles had taken aboard it. After giving the helm over to Saara, Lignus helped in gunning in the ensuing fight, but eventually enough damage was dealt to the larger ship for Versailles to declare a boarding action, which Lignus uneagerly led.

After the deck was cleared and the lower decks surrendered, Lignus went below to find a white dragonborn woman with blue frills in the brig, wounded from a gunshot in the stomach and with a rune collar around her neck, with blue dead flowers growing out of the deck. Recognising her as a fellow member of his circle of druids, Lignus took her aboard the *Nightingale* to try and revive her. Lignus was called back by Zinsy and Saara to investigate an item they had found in the stores, a vineheart which will manifest a living weapon and similar to things his home, Lemora, had researched into. On touching it, it reacted sympathetically and a green and black ironwood scimitar was displayed which he took.

After Versailles set off a lightning trap, Versailles yelled for Lignus to save Tinder, who had been caught in the blast. Unfortunately, Lignus could only save Tinder or the dragonborn woman, and he was conflicted, ultimately deciding to save Tinder and eventually stabilising him. Lignus eventually buried the dragonborn woman in one of the forests left on Valt with the traditional druid rites, planting the blue flowers and a tree over her grave.

Lignus helped Versailles and Waldein Samkeit in the hurry to prepare Valt for the incoming Novalbian task force, visiting the Widow with them before being sent to speak to Captain of the Guard Victoria Valentine, whom Lignus managed to convince, with some magic enhancing his charisma, that the Valtswell Flintfolk had to fight with them. Valentine's condition was the capture or removal of the leaders of the Cult of Anvil on Valt, Floyd Doppler and Ben. Lignus came up with a plan to drop a glowing, hot anvil onto Floyd as a sign of Anvil's disapproval of Floyd, to Versailles and Waldein's roaring approval, and the three went to One Eye Willy's to prepare the place before the cult meeting.

Unfortunately, the plan was thwarted when Versailles was spotted in the crowd by Floyd such that when Waldein kicked the anvil, it fell on and crushed Ben instead. Lignus followed it transformed into a mouse and used this to appear from behind the anvil, proclaiming himself as both man and beast and thus the prophet of Anvil. This failed and they were forced to beat up Floyd and an acolyte as the cult apparently disseminated. After dropping off Floyd at the guardtower, Lignus helped heal Tinder back to health, telling him that he had a second chance and should not waste it.

## Personality and Traits

*"They are not fair game, captain."* - Lignus Stormsent

Lignus is, unusually, a dwarf druid, hailing from Lemora, before a tragedy took it approximately a decade ago, though he is not the only survivor, having another friend who survived named Marian Obstale. He dislikes mechanical constructions and overexploitation of natural resources; this is often the source of a number of prolonged discussions between himself and Zinsy. Despite this, however, he appears to have some knowledge of ciphers. He is a member of a group of travelling healers. As a decent cook, he has also turned the ship's galley into a pseudo-greenhouse.

Lignus largely serves a role as a straight man and a moderating influence to the rest of the crew.

In combat Lignus usually provides healing as well as some melee support, usually in the form of his quarterstaff, a shillelagh or a scimitar. He also carries a small carbine for minor range support, but has yet to use it. He has also recently gained the ability to shapeshift into animals.

Unlike most dwarves, he has a suspiciously short beard, leading some to suspect that he is in fact, not a dwarf.