<!--upper-class dispossessed, refused a bad marriage -->

<NPCCharacter
id="spc_wanderer_empire_11"
name="{=e84pvBYI}{FIRSTNAME} the Dispossessed"
voice="earnest"
age="28"
default_group="Infantry"
is_template="true"
is_female="true"
is_hero="false"
culture="Culture.empire"
occupation="Wanderer"
skill_template="SkillSet.spc_wanderer_empire_11_skills">

<!-- empire 13, aristocrat who fled bad marriage, lord is nemesis -->

<string
id="prebackstory.spc_wanderer_empire_11"
text="{=CAiFXWEf}Yes... I can tell you my tale..." />
<string
id="backstory_a.spc_wanderer_empire_11"
text="{=FybsZ7yK}My father was an imperial cataphract. Alas, he died in battle against the Aserai, and I was placed under the local archon's guardianship. He had eyes for my father's estate, modest as it was, so he arranged for me to be married to his cousin." />
<string
id="backstory_b.spc_wanderer_empire_11"
text="{=omEoa2q7}But this cousin... I would not marry that man! He was a boor, a drunk - never there was a night that he did not reek of wine, never a morning that he did not reek of vomit! But a cataphract's daughter is not some chit you can marry against her will. I took a horse from my father's estate - my horse, legally - his old sword, and rode off." />
<string
id="backstory_c.spc_wanderer_empire_11"
text="{=j7cE9DTZ}So, here I am. Perhaps I am not the most experienced of warriors, but I can learn. I cannot go back - I learned that the archon filed suit that I stole a horse - my own horse, by right! - which shows you what a cad he is." />
<string
id="response_1.spc_wanderer_empire_11"
text="{=tx6L29wu}You've got spirit, I'll give you that." />
<string
id="response_2.spc_wanderer_empire_11"
text="{=O3Pkql2y}Takes more to being a warrior than a horse and a sword, young one." />
<string
id="backstory_d.spc_wanderer_empire_11"
text="{=UWWgML2g}So, here I am, looking for a captain under whom to serve. I know the ways of an archon's court, and I know how to ride, but I am looking to master the ways of the sword. And if I learn my trade well, perhaps I shall one day reclaim my birthright!" />
<string
id="generic_backstory.spc_wanderer_empire_11"
text="{=wRS9yqyx}I fled a bad marriage. There are many like me; I meet them in every tavern in Calradia. I am lucky in that my father was a cataphract, and taught me to ride and fight before he died, and I suppose that's how I must make a living." />

<!-- companion #3, Haldaea -->

<string
id="str_npc_intro.4"
text="{=MjSlFqAl}Yes? I'll have you know, I'm not normally in the habit of talking to strangers in taverns." />
<string
id="str_npc_intro_response_1.4"
text="{=30PC7qqc}I find it a good way of picking up useful information." />
<string
id="str_npc_intro_response_2.4"
text="{=oxNAJ1Ha}In that case, I shall go bother someone else." />
<string
id="str_npc_backstory_a.4"
text="{=9vcC9WNE}Ah yes, I suppose it is. Well, if it interests you, my name is Haldaea, and I have resolved to become a warrior." />
<string
id="str_npc_backstory_b.4"
text="{=cXKvmJGb}I'm sure it has not escaped you that this empire of ours is in a dreadful state. Men have lost all sense of duty and self-respect, and regularly turn their tail in the face of rebels, barbarians, and other such rabble." />
<string
id="str_npc_interrupt_1.4"
text="{=Upr8OV6G}Sorry times indeed, madame. Pray continue." />
<string
id="str_npc_interrupt_2.4"
text="{=vqC3imQv}Rabble? Barbarians? These are my friends you're talking about!" />
<string
id="str_npc_backstory_d.4"
text="{=2oniHsNe}My late husband, the Heavens bless his memory, raised a force of his own to help guard the frontier. He ensured his men exhibited a proper sense of discipline, duty, basic personal hygiene, and respect for our moral traditions. Alas, his career was cut short by an Aserai javelin, but I intend to continue in his footsteps. " />
<string
id="str_npc_backstory_d.4"
text="{=xlJEkqH9}I intend to find the captain of a company who will take me on as an apprentice. I will thereupon master the arts of war, and raise a company of my own, and thus shame the males of the empire into recovering their lost manhood." />
<string
id="str_npc_backstory_response_1.4"
text="{=Db8cb8w6}Well, you have the right attitude. I might take you on." />
<string
id="str_npc_backstory_response_2.4"
text="{=v86ZaoFv}I think you are wasting your time, madame. Good day" />
<string
id="str_npc_signup.4"
text="{=cI8YERnL}If you do so, I promise to always be in the front rank of your battle line, to never shirk duty even in the face of death." />
<string
id="str_npc_signup_2.4"
text="{=Ho8MFOOi} I will ensure that your men fear my scorn more than they do the spears of the enemy." />
<string
id="str_npc_signup_response_1.4"
text="{=A7ToDPfN}Splendid. That's the spirit. Gather your belongings." />
<string
id="str_npc_signup_response_2.4"
text="{=hR7mKQPs}Scorn alone does not make men brave, madame. I think you'd best find another captain." />
<string
id="str_npc_payment.4"
text="{=K0Eh3eYs}Splendid. I will need a small amount of money in advance - {NPCPAYMENT}{GOLD_ICON}. I have several servants, who have been with our family for years, who cannot accompany me. Honor and basic humanity require that I give them a small amount of money to get on their feet. " />
<string
id="str_npc_payment_response.4"
text="{=IcBPLx2R}Very well, here's {NPCPAYMENT}{GOLD_ICON}." />