Crephi Ritsk

Dark Hair

Skin the color of a 2-shot latte

In Kerringhelm: Dame

In the distant city of Kementsy (on the continent of Driden), my family (the Ritsk family) had been primarily living off of investments for generations and had done quite well for themselves, in large part due to their Elven servant, Merellien. While lacking proper nobility, (as the city was generally too poor for that type of thing) my family was as close as it came and did occasionally get invited to gatherings of other nobility from nearby towns. In early adulthood, my father (Warrick) met my mother (Kristiane) at one such gathering and fell in love. Kristiane was initially hesitant, but after Warrick's unceasing promises of devotion, she finally fell for him too.  ​

From the start there were challenges, as there are with all marriages. But the mystery surrounding Kristiane didn't clear up the way Warrick had hoped as they continued to live together. Occasionally mysterious people would show up at the Ritsk home looking for Kristiane, after the visit, she would leave on a journey alone and be gone for several days, returning to never discuss where she had been or what she had done. Warrick was initially greatly troubled by these  absences, but Kristiane was able to convince him that they were unavoidable  obligations from her past and that nothing occurred on them that would put her or the family at risk.

​ It was after one such journey that she returned home with a tiefling baby (me) named Crephi. Hesitant at first, Warrick was pretty quickly won over by the new baby in his life, in spite of it's tiefling features, in large part due to the obvious love that Kristiane had for the child. He accepted me as his child, though over the years it was obvious that he favored his (eventual) biological children more than his adopted. ​

Shortly after this, a famine hit the surrounding lands causing starvation for  many in the city and eventually leading to a peasant revolt. Warrick made the difficult call that, to protect his family, they needed to immigrate to Pineme. ​

The move was not as difficult as it could have been, given the Ritsk family means, and Warrick was anxious for a fresh start. Through Merellien's far-reaching network they were able to establish themselves in the city of Bardford and with the contacts that the family still had in Driden they were able to quickly re-establish investments, primarily in trading, to continue their comfortable lifestyle.

The fresh start was nice, however the mysterious meetings and journeys of Kristiane started almost as soon as they were settled in their new home. Before long, however, she became pregnant with my first sister, who they named Lailah. Warrick doted on his new daughter, and she always loved the life of ease that he provided for her. Never wanting more than to be typical nobility, she often acted above her station.

​ A few years later my youngest sister, Nizhu, was born. She always looked up to  me, much more than Lailah.

​ As I grew my desire for adventure grew as well, by the age of 10 I was regularly sneaking off of the family grounds to play with kids from a nearby commune. I would dress myself down and take on the role of one of their own. It was a lot of fun figuring out how these children had learned to maniupulate the people around them to help the commune. Before long I found myself leading the children in different confidence games, coming up with schemes to fleece people around the city.

Throughout my teens and into my 20s I continued pulling off grifts and began going on more adventures that took me farther from home. Unknown to me, my youngest sister Nizhu had begun emulating me, even though she didn't have the natural ability that I had. One of her misadventures led to her being captured and put to the question by a man who called himself a Cleric of the Chalice; in part because they found out that Nizhu was the sister of a tiefling, but mostly because she just angered someone from the order. The interrogation left my sister scarred, both physically and mentally. When I returned back home and heard the story I swore to Nizhu that I would avenge her, I tried to track down the cleric responsible, but they had left town and the trail went cold. I'll never forget my promise for vengeance, though.

During another early adventure that I was on, I was tasked by a group in Warrington with breaking into a wizards tower to steal a magical orb which they claimed they'd use to somehow help the common people of the city, but I was caught by the wizard and polymorphed into a mink. I was able to escape in that form, however, the spell didn't wear off for several weeks... I still do not care for any sort of non-illusion based shape changing. As a mink, I was able to spy on the group that hired me for the job and it definitely seemd like they were more interested in their own fortunes than in helping the common people of Warrington, so after annoying them in their homes a bit in my diminutive form, I just moved on. ​

One evening, back in Bardford, after spending some time hanging out with local friends in our favorite pub, I took a shortcut through a dark alley on my way home. A half-orc with a scarred face, dressed in casual finery, stopped me to offer me a job. He called himself Mr. Jade and claimed that I didn't need to know who his employers were, but they would pay handsomely if I could uncover the mayor of Bradford's secret.

​ I did actually discover what it was (See the entity notes for Bardford), but, as a Tiefling, I understand what it's like to be hated because of what you are, even though you had no choice in the matter... Knowing that this mysterious group would likely only use this information to harm the mayor, who otherwise seems to be a pretty great guy (as far as I can tell), I decided not to deliver it.

​ Shortly after that, the city got much more dangerous for me... It seemed that I suddenly had become the target of every street tough and thief in town and I avoided returning to the family home in an attempt to keep them safe. ​

I decided that it'd be best to leave town until things cooled off, so I signed up to join the army. Recognizing my talents, they quickly threw me into an  infiltration unit.

Warrick's great-great-great-great-grandfather Arminius Ritsk was an adventurer of some renowned. It's from him that the family fortune stems, though the generations since have spent much of what he gathered, by far the most valuable asset won during his adventures was the undying loyalty of the elf Merellien Sylvalur who devoted his life to the service and preservation of the Ritsk family line. ​

Me: Crephi Ritsk (28 yrs)

Father: Warrick Ritsk (51 yrs)

Mother: Kristiane Ritsk (46 yrs)

Middle Sister: Lailah Ritsk (26 yrs)

Younger Sister: Nizhu Ritsk (22 yrs)

Father's Servant: Merellien Sylvalur (Elven, ~650 yrs)