Auntie Ally

Auntie Ally, born Alexandra Bower, is former housewife-turned changeling who is obsessed with providing for others.

Overview
"Don’t worry, dear, your Auntie Ally’s here to help with everything!" Once an average 1960s housewife, Auntie Ally was taken to tend to the household of her Keeper, who at that point went by the name Raul Escobane. Eventually, her desire to see her family again enabled her to escape into the Hedge. Unfortunately, her two years away had been thirty-two in the mortal world, and her family was gone, her husband of a plane crash and her daughter of ovarian cancer.

When the Spring Court got her back up on her feet, Ally latched onto the freehold as a new family. She gives back by making life easier for others in whatever way she can. Her dangerously low Clarity, however, has warped her views — if she sees no one as needing her, she will ensure that she is needed by nonfatally poisoning her target; she can then nurse her victim back to health.

After her durance, Ally is fiercely protective of her privacy, refusing to let others into her dreams and maintaining a small, secret Hollow where she keeps a shrine to her dead family and a garden where she grows her poisonous goblin fruits.

Appearance
To mortals, Ally looks like an average housewife in her late 30s, albeit one who dresses in 1960s fashion. She ties back her long brown hair with either a ribbon or headscarf and often wears an apron. Under the Mask, she is shorter than average, with a slightly longer nose than normal and gently pointed ears. Otherwise, she is on the attractive side for a Wizened.

Character Sheet
Seeming: Wizened Kith: Chatelaine Court: Winter* Mental Attributes: Intelligence 2, Wits 3, Resolve 2 Physical Attributes: Strength 1, Dexterity 3, Stamina 2 Social Attributes: Presence 2, Manipulation 4, Composure 2 Mental Skills: Crafts 1, Medicine (Pharmaceuticals) 2, Occult (Goblin Fruits) 3, Politics 1 Physical Skills: Larceny 1, Stealth 3 Social Skills: Empathy (Emotions) 3, Persuasion (Emotional Blackmail) 3, Seduction 1, Socialize 4, Subterfuge 2 Merits: Court Goodwill (Autumn) 1, Court Goodwill (Summer) 1, Harvest (Goblin Fruits) 2, Hollow (Hollow Size 1, Hollow Amenities 2, Hollow Wards 4) 7, Mantle (Spring) 2, Resources 1 Willpower: 4 Clarity: 3 (Derangements: Depression, Irrationality, Obsessive Compulsion) Virtue: Charity Vice: Pride Initiative: 5 Defense: 3 Speed: 9 Health: 7 Wyrd: 3 Contracts: Artifice ••, Fleeting Winter •••, Hearth •••• Glamour/per Turn: 12/3

* Ally's character sheet marks her as a Winter courtier with a corresponding Fleeting Contract, despite her Spring Mantle and history with the Spring Court.

Goblin Fruits

 * Slumberberries: These small, dark green berries grow sparsely on parasitic vines that spread through the Hedge, appearing in clumps of five or six. Eaten raw, the berries cause drowsiness; if eaten just before sleeping, they will cause a character who eats them to fall into a deep, dreamless sleep. If the berries are boiled and the liquid drunk as a tea, it will cause vivid nightmares, usually involving the character suffering immense pain or physical torture.


 * Bloodbane: This pale yellow lichen tends to grow in moist areas, and needs to be scraped off using a sharp knife. When dried and ground up, it is easily mixed in with other foods and prevents the blood’s clotting agents from working. The single dose can cause gut cramps or minor bleeding into the lungs and the effects wear off after a day and a night. If consumed regularly, it attacks the bone marrow, preventing the creation of new blood cells, and potentially causing intense internal bleeding. Though recovery is possible after consumption, it still takes some time. Bloodbane is Toxicity 3 with one dose, but rises to Toxicity 6 if taken more than once in a month.


 * Fuguespores: These brown spores come from a type of fungus that grows on the briars of the Hedge. When ingested, they tend to lodge in the intestines, growing slowly through the gut wall and releasing toxins into the bloodstream. These toxins, over time, can cause hallucinations or dizzy spells. When the fungus matures inside the body, more spores can be released into the bloodstream to grow in other parts of the body. If a spore lodges in the brain, the fungus destroys memories, leaving the victim in a fugue state (see World of Darkness Rulebook, p. 100). In extreme cases, it can put the victim in a coma or cause permanent brain damage. Fuguespores are Toxicity 5.