Widow Mactan

Widow Mactan, the Solutions Broker, is a Goblin Merchant.

Biography
"How can I help you, my dear?"

Rumors abound about the Widow’s true origin. Some believe she’s a very powerful hob or Hedge Beast; others claim she’s a Venombite Lost who took to the Markets after losing (or possibly murdering) her one true love. The most outlandish rumor pegs the Widow as a banished True Fae, barred from Faerie and yet unable to adapt to a life in the mortal world. She’s settled into Market life as a halfway ground, where  (at least nominally) she can atone for her former sins by aiding those who come seeking her help.

It’s possible, however, that she’s actually causing as much turmoil as a merchant as she once did as fully Fae, and she simply wears the veil of purported compassion as a disguise to lure potential victims into her parlor. Unlike many  Goblin  Market merchants, Widow Mactan seems genuinely interested in the happiness of her clientele. She is personable, sweetnatured and kind, a bastion of compassion and concern in the brutal Market environment. Of course, it is a Goblin Market, and nothing is entirely as it seems.

Mactan serves as a twisted version of the classic fairy godmother. She is  more  than  happy  to  help  potential clients obtain whatever it is that they believe they want most. Riches, fame, love or power – everything is possible with the  Widow’s  wares. When they  discover  that  the solution they’ve purchased brings its own inherent complications, she’s more than happy to sell them a solution to those issues as well.

Appearance
At first glance, the Widow Mactan seems every  inch  a  beautiful  human  woman. Her skin is pale, offset by thick black hair that has been woven into intricate braids down her back. Her lips are blood red, and often drawn up into a sweet smile of concern directed at those who enter the silk-curtained canopy that serves as her stall in the Market.

A second  look,  however,  reveals  several  disturbing features about the Widow. Although they are often concealed beneath her voluminous floor-length skirts, Mactan moves around on four long, black, chitinous legs, each ending in a sharp point. In addition to two graceful humanoid arms, she has four shiny black cartilage-covered limbs that extend from either side along her upper spine and end in delicate pincers which the Widow can use to manipulate objects.

She keeps a close eye on her stall in the Market, a task that is facilitated by the presence of no less than eight tiny black, faceted eyes set in two clusters on an otherwise beautiful human face. Her elegant waist is impossibly small; some claim this is a result of extreme corsetry, while  others  believe  that  beneath  her  elegant ball gowns her body is far more arachnid than outward appearances would suggest.

Character Sheet
Widow Mactan, Solutions Broker

Mental Attributes: Intelligence 4, Wits 5, Resolve 4

Physical Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 4, Stamina 4

Social Attributes: Presence 4, Manipulation 6, Composure 4

Mental Skills: Crafts (Fiber Arts) 3, Investigation 5, Medicine (Toxins) 2, Occult (The Gentry) 5, Politics 3

Physical Skills: Athletics (Climbing) 4, Brawl 1, Larceny 2, Stealth 2, Survival (The Hedge) 3, Weaponry (Dagger) 5

Social Skills: Animal Ken (Arachnids) 3, Empathy 2, Expression 2, Intimidation 3, Persuasion 6, Subterfuge 6

Merits: Fleet of Foot 3, Striking Looks 4, Toxin Resistance 2

Willpower: 9

Clarity: 3

Virtue: Charity

Vice: Envy

Initiative: 8

Defense: 4

Speed: 12 (Species factor 6)

Health: 9

Wyrd: 7

Glamour/per Turn: 20/7

Contracts: Darkness 5, Fang and Talon (Spiders) 3, Fleeting Autumn 1, Fleeting Spring 1, Fleeting Winter 1, Vainglory 4 Glamour/per Turn: 20/7