Bellaria Carthax
Bellaria Carthax (a.k.a. Dame Bella)
Bellaria Carthax is a female Gnome that works at The Three Hammers Inn in the Town of Dunhill. She is (by her own estimation) at least 388-years-old and has lived and worked in the town for more than 260 years. She is responsible for the laundry and room cleaning at the Inn, and is considered to be as important to the Inn's operation as the owner, Argus Duff.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Very nearly four centuries old, Bellaria looks rather ancient but is still quite spry and energetic. She stands just 4' tall and weighs less than 80 lbs but can still manage to haul sacks of bedding up and down the stairs of the Inn that weigh as much as she does.
Special abilities
Bellaria has the seemingly magical ability to read nearly everything that is put in front of her, regardless of its language or alphabet. She explains this ability as something she learned through (literally) centuries of reading everything she could get her hands on, but there are a few experts that are aware of this ability that doubt it is that easily explained. She has shown the ability to read and understand scripts written thousands of years ago in languages that haven't been spoken the many, many centuries accurately and with almost no intellectual effort on her part.
Specialized Equipment
Bella wears an enormous clear gem on a braided chain around her neck that she has never been seen without in living memory. She passes it off as a bauble given to her by her long dead husband, Bellarix Carthax, and that it couldn't possibly be a "real" gem simply because of how large it is. Some knowledgeable tradesmen have estimated the gem (were it a real diamond) to weigh in excess of 1,000 carats and to be worth (were it a real diamond) at least 10,000 guineas.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Bellaria was married to a Gnome artificer named Bellarix Carthax. About 135 years ago, Bellarix became involved with some the most prominent and influential members of the Clan Hardhelm then living in the region. These Dwarves were very secretive about their actions and plans, and it is known by Bellaria that her husband had real concerns about what the Dwarves were planning and doing, but he did not share all the details of what he was involved in. What Bellaria knows very well is that one night Bellarix came home to his wife in a mad rush, and handed her an intricately carved box that contained a massive diamond-like jewel on a braided chain. He swore her to secrecy, promising to explain all very soon, and left the home on some secret errand. His body was found, broken and cold, at the bottom of a deep gorge where he had seemingly fallen to his death from a high path.
Bellaria has not removed the giant gemstone from around her neck ever since, and refuses to discuss or display her "bauble charm" whenever it is noticed.
Employment
Bellaria is the laundress and house maid for The Three Hammers Inn. She cleans the rooms, scrubs the floors and does the laundry at the Inn every single day, her smile and cheer never faltering.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
Bellaria is old, even for a Gnome, but she is still quite able and confident in her ability to complete her duties at the Inn as expected each and every day.
Social
Contacts & Relations
Having been a resident of the Dunhill region for more than 250 years, Bellaria is known by everyone in the community and is much loved and respected.
Family Ties
Widowed for more than a century, and having outlived several of her children, Bella does not have any living family in the region. She counts the staff at the Inn as her family now.
Wealth & Financial state
Bellaria is paid a shilling a day for her labors at the Three Hammers (about $20), and all her food, clothing and lodging costs are provided by Argus.
