Nella
| Nella | |||||||||
| Nella the fisherwoman · the fishing-boat mother | |||||||||
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Nella is a fisherwoman the party rescued from a wrecked fishing boat on the open Sapphire Sea in session 17 [1], named at L920). She was sailing with her two young children — Pim and Leo — toward Gloamhearth after her husband was detained three nights earlier by Aurelian “road officers” on an “unauthorised studies” charge for keeping old tide charts, weather notes, and copied pages from his father’s journal [16]. She is herself a lay Aurelian devotee — she made “the sign of Aurelia in the air” after Mike’s cleric-presenting Mending cantrip repaired her sail [7]. The party gave her two trail rations and sailed on; she gave Mike a parting gift of Captain Stone, a painted pebble, via her daughter Pim [13]. Status: alive, off-screen, sailing north.
Overview
Nella is the fisherwoman the party encountered drifting in a wrecked fishing boat on the open Sapphire Sea during session 17, several hours south of the Eldwythe sewer outflow. She is travelling with her two small children, Pim and Leo, after her husband was detained by Aurelian “road officers” on an “unauthorised studies” charge three nights before the encounter. Her boat’s sail was torn and the family had no remaining food when the party found them.
She is a lay Aurelian devotee — she made the sign of Aurelia after Mike’s cleric-presenting Mending cantrip repaired her sail [7] — and visibly disturbed by any apparent arcane casting. The party’s social cover (Steven’s 26 Deception, Terry’s “holy person, look at that” framing) was load-bearing for her cooperation; without it she would plausibly have warned the next Aurelian patrol the party encountered.
Appearance and demeanour
A human-presenting woman of unspecified race. Stood in a small fishing boat with a torn sail, one hand raised, two children huddled under a wet blanket beside her [1]. Watchful, weighing trust — “a kind of nervous kind of weighing the yes and the nos” [8]. Her opening line on first contact was “please don’t hurt us” [9]. She panicked momentarily on seeing Steven and assumed the party were from Arcanthys (transcript-rendered “canvians” / “Arcanvis”, [10] — Steven’s 26 Deception denied the suggestion [11].
Encounter — session 17
The party’s skiff approached at dusk on Day 1 of the southbound voyage. The DM’s narration [1]:
“you spot a small fishing boat drifting loosely on the water. It sails, hangs, it sail hangs torn and you see a woman standing with one hand raised and two children sitting under a wet blanket beside her. And she doesn’t shout at you anything. She just watches and waits to see what kind of people you are.” — Nick (DM), [1]
After Steven defused her initial panic with the holy-water cover story and the party’s nervously-supportive register, Nella introduced herself:
“My name is Nella and this right here is Pim and she points to a small girl that seems very quiet and watchful. And that right there is Leo.” — Nella, [5]
Mike handed her two trail rations for the children [12] — Pim then produced from her pocket the painted pebble named Captain Stone and gave it to Mike as a gift [13]; the pebble is documented at Captain Stone). Mike then cast Mending on the torn sail under cover of “holy” framing (Caelumn was the cleric-presenting register and Mike’s Light cantrip on his own armour sold the disguise, [4]. The sail mended; Nella made the sign of Aurelia and thanked them.
Then she explained why she was at sea. This is the canonical worldbuilding piece of the scene:
“my husband was taken three nights ago into the road offices they searched our home and found old tide charts weather notes and a few pages copied from his father’s journal and the officers called it unauthorized studies what does that even mean … and he hasn’t returned three nights” — Nella, [6]
She then explained her travel plan:
“so I took Pim and Leo and we’re going to Eldwife sadly we got hit by some weather and well you see you’ve seen what’s happened we’ve no food boat can’t sail. Well, it can now, thanks to the holy man over there. And she makes the sign of Aurelia in the air.” — Nella, [7]
The party briefly debated whether to bring the family aboard the skiff or to leave them with the mended sail. They chose not to take her aboard (the skiff is small; the destination is hostile). Terry briefly threatened her with a finger-across-throat mime not to tell anyone she’d seen them [14]; Caelumn explicitly refused to harm her — “I will not be part of killing an innocent citizen” [15]. Nella sailed on toward Gloamhearth with the two rations and the mended sail.
The road-offices testimony
Nella’s testimony is the campaign’s first on-screen confirmation that the Aurelian Conspiracy operates a road-office small-town arrest infrastructure distinct from the Eldwythe-style urban garrison occupation. The official charge in her husband’s case was “unauthorised studies” — the evidence was tide charts, weather notes, and pages copied from his father’s journal [16]. This expands the conspiracy’s targeting profile from “magically-gifted persons” (the Mira Hale case at the Dawn Mercy Clinic) to include documentary scholarship.
Structurally, the case parallels Risa’s family loss but from the survivor side: Risa was on-screen with the abductee’s urn in Umbrafall, one step into the cover-up; Nella is on-screen with the surviving family fleeing the abducted father’s silence three nights later, one step out of the road-offices door. Together they sketch the conspiracy at civilian-impact ground level.
Relationships
- Pim — quiet, watchful young daughter. Gave Mike the Captain Stone pebble as a parting gift.
- Leo — younger child, half-asleep at first sight, visibly malnourished.
- Nella’s husband — unnamed; detained three nights prior at the road offices on “unauthorised studies” charge. Has not returned.
- Aurelian forces — religiously affiliated (lay devotee) but personally victimised by the road-office arrests.
Disposition toward the party
Initially terrified; warmed after Mike’s Mending and the party’s holy-person cover. Departed alive, sailing toward Gloamhearth with two rations and a mended sail. Sees the party as “holy people” thanks to Caelumn’s cleric register and Mike’s cleric-cantrip framing — she does not know they are arcane casters and would plausibly turn against them if she found out. Most likely the next time she’ll think of the party is when she’s asked by an Aurelian official whether she saw any travellers on her crossing.
Status as of session 17
Alive, off-screen, sailing north toward Gloamhearth with Pim and Leo. The party did not bring her aboard the skiff.
See also
References
- ^ Session 17, line 818 — First appears — small fishing boat with torn sail, woman standing with one hand raised, two children under a wet blanket.
- ^ Session 17, line 887-894 — "please don't hurt us" — fears party are from Arcanthys; Steven's deception (26) lands a cover story.
- ^ Session 17, line 901 — "Oh, was it some sort of prayer your friend was doing then?" — accepts Terry's cover that Mike's casting was prayer not arcane.
- ^ Session 17, line 912-918 — Mike Mends her torn sail; lights up his armour to sell the holy-man framing.
- ^ Session 17, line 920 — Named introduction: "My name is Nella and this right here is Pim and she points to a small girl that seems very quiet and watchful. And that right there is Leo.".
- ^ Session 17, line 973-975 — Husband taken three nights ago by road officers for "unauthorised studies" — old tide charts, weather notes, copied pages from his father's journal.
- ^ Session 17, line 978 — Sailing toward Eldwythe ("Eldwife") then revised toward Gloamhearth; makes the sign of Aurelia after the Mending.
- ^ Session 17, line 971 — Inline citation.
- ^ Session 17, line 887 — Inline citation.
- ^ Session 17, line 889 — Inline citation.
- ^ Session 17, line 894 — Inline citation.
- ^ Session 17, line 926 — Inline citation.
- ^ Session 17, line 927 — Inline citation.
- ^ Session 17, line 1041-1046 — Inline citation.
- ^ Session 17, line 1074 — Inline citation.
- ^ Session 17, line 973 — Inline citation.