# [[Maret]] Maret is a quiet washerwoman who lives by herself on the edge of [[Otari]]. She speaks very little, the town's children call her odd names, and she keeps deliberately apart from everyone — because she is a **ghast**. The party sought her out because [[Brelda Venkervale]] remembered the name Sythra and pointed them her way; Maret turned out to be descended from the line of [[Graveknight Armor|Sythra]] and [[Vayle]]. ## Appearance & Habits - Wears a long-sleeved, high-collared dress and headgear that covers her head, hiding her undead nature. - Her hands are wrinkled with age and washing; she is not human. - Makes her own perfume from ingredients gathered in the hills so she doesn't leave her scent on the clothes she washes. - Eats only berries, rabbits, and other small things she can catch — never humanoids. - Tries to make herself useful to the town despite hiding from it. ## Her Curse - Became a ghast **gradually and against her will** — not through the usual means, and notably *without* the typical ghast compulsion of having eaten her own kind. She doesn't know what happened to her and named no god as the cause. - Does have urges to eat anyone she meets, which is why she lives apart from everyone. She is strong-willed and has resisted those urges. - Confided to [[Vayle]] that she often feels ugly; Vayle admitted to feeling the same way, forging a moment of kinship between two undead outsiders. ## Connection to Sythra - Gave Vayle a hair spike (hair pin) that had belonged to Sythra — a piece from Sythra's hometown or city, with a design unique to that place, serving as proof of the shared lineage. ## The Rebirth Potion - Vayle offered Maret the [[Rebirth potion]] (the one [[Zuhri]] had carried). Maret accepted and drank it, beginning the eight-hour transformation into a [[Sarangai]]. - During the transformation she is clumsy, enfeebled, and stupefied — vulnerable. The party spent the night guarding her hut through the eight hours, with Vayle staying inside with her. ## Rebirth as a Sarangai (Session 121) - An hour before dawn the transformation completed and her hut **collapsed** under her new size — she is now broad, roughly twice the width of [[Grumblebum|Grumble]], a minotaur-like [[Sarangai]]. [[Vayle]] took bludgeoning damage in the collapse. - A **soul-gem now sits in the centre of her forehead** (sarangai gems are said to house their souls). Grumble and Vayle pulled her clear of the wreckage; her gem **pulsed and dealt psychic damage** to Vayle and Grumble, and she was confused and yelling — not yet in control of her reborn body. - The transformation drew **werewolves** to the site under the full moon, leaving the still-disoriented Maret exposed; two wolves ambushed her from hiding as she failed to escape. Her fate hangs unresolved as the session ended mid-combat. ## Swarmed (Session 122) - As the werewolf brawl continued, the pack swarmed the still-vulnerable Maret and dropped her to **Dying 3**. The party fought to hold the line around her — [[Grumblebum|Grumble]] charging in and [[Vayle]] healing — but her fate remained unresolved as the session ended, still mid-combat. ## Revealed as a Psychic (Session 123) - Maret **survived** the fight. Confused and frightened but glad the party was okay, she proved to be a **Psychic** whose abilities focus on the **Silent Whisper** — she can hear the thoughts of those around her and speak mind-to-mind. She thanked [[Zuhri]] telepathically for everything the party had done. - The party is **wary of letting Maret rejoin society** because of an explosive psychic attack she loosed while out of control — a danger they haven't yet resolved. ## A New House (Session 124) - At [[Zuhri]]'s request, the freed [[The Gallowhops|Gallowhops]] ex-werewolves gladly agreed to **build Maret a new house**, replacing the hut that collapsed during her rebirth — their way of repaying Zuhri for curing them.