Durisea the Strange
Durisea is the only surviving child of a common prostitute from East-of-Sky. She has only vague memories of her early years, but life with her mother was harsh. Necessities were always in short supply, and her mother would leave her alone in the dark each night while she went out to ply her trade. One night when Durisea was five, her mother never came home. After a few days passed, their landlord kicked the starving child out of the squalid room her mother had been renting, and Durisea's time on the street began.
Life with her mother had been harsh; life without her was indescribable. The child survived by rooting through garbage for scraps and begging, but only barely. Sometimes, weak from hunger, she would tuck herself into a corner near the fish market and watch the passersbys, hoping for one to drop something edible. It was on one of those days that she first noticed Jacob Ack-Simore the Mage. The thing about him that most caught her attention was the remarkable difference between his mind and the minds of the other, more normal denizens of the square.
After a few days of observing his visits to the various merchants, she startled him as he walked near her by calling out his name. Surprised, Jacob looked down at the waif he had never seen before, and almost fainted when she pointed to a weed at his feet and it doubled in size. Unbeknownst to him, Durisea had unconsciously called upon a spell of enlargement that lay dormant inside her. Recovering quickly, Jacob asked for her name. She did not know it, so she instinctively selected the name of Jacob's younger sister, who had succumbed to pneumonia in childhood. Amazed by Durisea's talent, and horrified by her physical condition (which had become obvious as he examined her more closely), Jacob asked her if she would like to visit some of his friends in the country. The idea of traveling with Jacob was immensely appealing to Durisea, so she agreed. After feeding her (and cleaning her up) he took her to his friend Cpt. Hamo's country estate, where Jacob was hiding out and secretly raising his son Borel as a mage, illegal during the Dark Conquest .
Borel and Hamo were equally impressed with the girl's talent, which seemed to improve each time it was demonstrated. While she was far younger than the 20-year-old Borel, Jacob decided that he would train her and determine if her abilities could be expanded. Durisea soon proved to be a remarkable student. Not only was she naturally very bright, but her latent telepathic ability frequently flared up and transferred knowledge directly from others' minds to hers. After nine years of close association, Jacob has begun to suspect that some hidden power in Durisea's mind is aiding her efforts to learn, but he does not know exactly how. In any event, Durisea's progress and girlish charm have made her a popular person in East-of-Sky since the end of the Occupation when it became safe to bring her back to the town.
Unfortunately, all is not as rosy as it sounds. Durisea is often subjected to blinding headaches and dizzy spells as the forces in her mind tumble against each other. The frequency and intensity of these episodes and the angry outbursts they sometimes provoke seem to be increasing as puberty runs its course, and the recent death of the noble Hamo and imprisonment of Jacob only increased the frequency and duration of the girl's outbursts. Jacob does not understand the exact cause, but he fears that she may self-destruct without help. To that end he has sent a message requesting advice or aid to the newly-founded Wizard's College in Dragonspur, and is waiting anxiously for a response. Unfortunately, the impending invasions from the East and West have indefinitely delayed any response from the Spur.
Durisea the Strange
Medium humanoid (human), chaotic good
Armor Class 13 (15 with mage armor)
Hit Points 44 (11d8)
Speed 30 ft.
STR 9 (-1) DEX 15 (+3) CON 10 (+0) INT 15 (+3) WIS 11 (+0) CHA 17 (+3)
Saving Throws Con +4, Cha +7
Skills Deception +7, Insight +4
Senses passive Perception 10
Languages Kelevan, Dark Speech
Challenge 7 (2,900 XP)
Innate Telepathy. Durisea can cast detect thoughts without components and without using a spell slot. She can't cast detect thoughts again until she has completed a short or long rest.
Spellcasting. Durisea is an 11th-level spellcaster. Her spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 15, +7 to hit with spell attacks). Durisea has the following sorcerer spells prepared:
Cantrips (at will): dancing lights, mage hand, mending, message, prestidigitation, ray of frost
1st level (4 slots): burning hands, charm person, mage armor, magic missile
2nd level (3 slots): blur, ddarkness, mirror image, suggestion
3rd level (3 slots): dispel magic, fear, lightning bolt
4th level (3 slots): dominate beast, ice storm, polymorph
5th level (2 slots): cloud kill, telekinesis
6th level (1 slot): disintegrate
Sorcery Points. Durisea has 11 sorcery points. She can transform or convert spell slots using her sorcery points according to the rules for the Sorcerer class. She can also spend l or more sorcery points as a bonus action to gain one of the following benefits:
Empowered Spell: When Durisea rolls damage for a spell, she can spend 1 sorcery point to reroll up to 3 of the damage dice. She must use the new rolls. She can use Empowered Spell even if she has already used a different Metamagic option during the casting of the spell.
Twinned Spell: When she casts a spell that targets only one creature and doesn’t have a range of self, Durisea can spend a number of sorcery points equal to the spell’s level to target a second creature in range with the same spell (1 sorcery point if the spell is a cantrip). To be eligible, a spell must be incapable of targeting more than one creature at the spell’s current level.
Actions
Quarterstaff: Melee Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 3 (1d6) bludgeoning damage.
Dagger. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d4+2) piercing damage.
Possessions. quarterstaff, dagger
