User:Xu Davella/Characters/Oomoo

“

Seek cover in shades of brown, gold and rye

Blanket movements beneath rustle and sigh

Hold silence in tenure and stalk warring sky

While sparring the night with slender and sly.

Be weary of Dragon, for he is nigh

The one who taints and tricks the eye

Make one false move, or mistake a try

And Grenth will come bracing, and you will die.

— Footnotes from Flaux: "This was sent to me by Oomoo: The Crippling Ostrich. This person's name is familiar. My abilities find no trace on it, so she must be in hiding. I will study this and try to find out more."

“

A lot of people view thieves under a weary eye, but the truth of the matter is, much like any other profession, they do have talents and skills that are highly sought after in the workforce. You see, my mother is a noble thief by trade, and her main profession is what you would call, a "policy and trade consultant" for the legate minister. In short, she seeks out information from other civilizations, and gives advice to help influence decision-making across the board. My mother got the position because she acquired written information about the practices of a Canthan minister of wind, back when there were no dragons, and trade routes were alive and well. She wouldn't even bother mentioning minister Tao's name if it wasn't for her "supposed" high influence in ending Shiro's plague. That's obviously a lie, but if people weren't so stupid to believe that, my mother probably wouldn't have gotten so high in office, so quickly.

My father is also a thief by trade. His operations are covert, like my mother's, but in a different manner of speaking. He leads an exploration group known as the "Specialist Mobilizers Of Known Exquisiteness", also known as SMOKE. He seeks out and delivers rare and unique materials, and sells them to interested parties. Getting such materials into Lion's Arch can be done without too much paperwork required (it is Lion's Arch, after all), but getting them into Kryta, you have to pay a rather expensive import tax to the ministry beforehand. The greedy paper pushers even have a minister appointed who oversees imports into Divinity's reach...

...And that's how my parents met.

— Footnotes from Flaux: "I discovered one of the safe houses that Oomoo resided at. This one was found wrapped in parchment, buried under one of the floorboards and has a strong scent of fresh bread. It appears to be an extract from Oomoo's journal. After reading it, I realize how damaging this information could be if it reached poor hands. I must search for more of her documents if I am to find her, before someone else does..."

“

My father used to recite an old merchants tale that he heard about when he was little. The tale, is about small, round and hollow stones known as Jade Wind Orbs. These particular orbs were presented by the emperor, to commemorate the defeat of Shiro Tagachi after the Jade Wind swept the nation. They were also released not long after Cantha opened up its borders to Tyria and Elona for trade, attracting many adventurers to seek these small precious globes. Because the emperor had so many produced, people were able to hoard them so easily. After a short while however, the value of these orbs dropped quite dramatically. My father explains this sudden occurrence due to two main reasons:

• Once the dragon festival was over, everyone saw the orbs as a constant reminder of how the Jade Wind killed and transformed so many of those that they held dear to them. Canthans were especially reluctant to trade for them.
• Jade Wind Orbs were harvested from the Jade Sea by carving hollow rounds and filling them with the essence that morphed Cantha. Because there was quite literally a sea of jade, there was no good reason for a tradesman to pay for a small orb that anyone could mine for themselves - especially when they were filled with putrid air.

As a result, many merchants and adventurers would simply dump the orbs. People found that it was more efficient to harvest fresh jade than to re-shape the orbs into something more useful. And once it had already been cut down, it was nearly impossible to reform.

The most interesting part of this tale was that a few years after the plague, people started noticing that the Jade Sea was returning to normal again. In reaction, everything that was made out of jade; houses, weapons and even jewelry, began to disintegrate into nothing more than sparkling water. Everything...except Jade Wind Orbs - it was the essence contained within them that effectively blocked its deterioration. Unfortunately, once Cantha went into isolation, along with the rise of the elder dragon over the waters; what was once a worthless and over-abundant material soon became one of the rarest and inaccessible treasures to date.

— Footnotes from Flaux: "Another extract from her journal - there are a few more pages in the parchment this time. I have not heard of these Jade Wind Orbs before, but I know how rare jade is. Doesn't reveal too much information to help me track her down. I've hired another tracker to help me find her. Hopefully that will quicken the search, as long as he doesn't get on my nerves."

“

My mother recently infiltrated a meeting held among corsairs. As she lay in the shadows, she learned something extremely valuable - the corsairs were close to securing a new route into Cantha! The corsairs found that while Zhaitan's army reign the seas, underwater was a different story - there were crevices, dark caves and blades of dense seaweed that litter the ocean floor, providing some relatively safe cover for travel. The sad ironic thing is that every time a corsair died on these expeditions, they became part of that undead army, adding yet one more obstacle that they've had to get past.

Not long after, my mother resigned from her position - much to the regret of the ministry, and has focused her talents on spying on the corsairs. My father has been forever restless as well. He's recalled the SMOKE guild from their duties, and tasked them to amalgamate any information that my mother brings in. Everything...it's is happening too quickly! I can see them in their prime; when my parents get that hunger in them, they can do wonders - terrifying wonders. I'm scared for them and I fear they may be putting greed before value. I don't want them to risk their lives for some stupid tale, but in the same token, the wonder of seeing Cantha again...We would be the first asura to walk atop the land of isolation and trade. That thought, it's just too exciting not to go through with it. But I know we're not the only ones seeking this information. Certain members of SMOKE are only as loyal as the reward they get at the end of the day, and I feel that the information is being snuck out. My father has asked me to keep a careful eye on them.

— Footnotes from Flaux: "Another extract from her journal. We have followed up on Oomoo's parents and have been unable to reach either of them. I managed to retrieve some information about a woman of high position who worked under Lord Caudecus, but I have no name. The ministry officials get angry and refuse me whenever I try to find out information about her - she must have quit in a rush. As for her father, him and his guild seem to have disappeared altogether, again, no name. According to my mantras, this journal entry seems to have been written only recently. Mana discovered this note from yet another one of Oomoo's safehouses, and he believes there is evidence that a shadow minotaur had recently been here. Our recent encounters with one were startling, but we know that we're dealing with someone who is also interested in finding Oomoo. We've got to get to her, soon."