Boloma Intira
Profile
Basic Information
Name:
Boloma Intira
Nickname(s):
Bo, Auntie
Age:
347
Birth Date:
27th Seeds, 7947 (Brenthos the Albatross)
Height:
5'8 (173cm)
Gender:
Female
Race:
Wood Elf
Class:
Illusionist
Occupation:
Innkeeper / Smuggler
Guild(s):
Enhancement(s):
Wood Blossoming
Likes
Spicy Food, Cooking, Drawing and Painting, Sailing
Dislikes
Cold weather, Birds, Reading, Cilantro
Personality
[=] Proud,
[-] Short-Tempered, Inflexible, Judgemental
[+], Loyal, Driven, Outgoing
Boloma is a proud, haughty woman, who expects nothing but the absolute best from others. She can be cutthroat in her business practices, and is quick to snap if something isn’t going quite her way. That said, she treats her employees well, quick to care for their needs and paying very well, but maintaining even higher standards for them. While she is distant to her blood relatives, many of her employees have been with her for a century or more and she recognizes them as family.
She is very stubborn and set in her ways, and expects others to bend to her will rather than the other way around. She is of the opinion that she knows the best way to do things, and questions others who do things differently. She is not afraid to be critical of others, but is easily offended by people criticizing her. Despite her judgemental nature, she is not cruel, preferring more diplomatic solutions than resorting to violence as is sometimes common in the smuggling business. That said, she’s not afraid of violence when absolutely necessary (though her increased age means she’s not likely to be in a fight herself).
Even if she can be snippy, Boloma still enjoys going out and speaking to people, as running an inn and tavern business requires. She’s well known for sitting down to a game of cards with her patrons or otherwise mingling with people, rather than distancing herself from the patrons. She’ll never miss the opportunity to hear some of the most recent gossip or news.
The current upheaval in Alva, along with her increasing age, has set her on edge. Her plans for retirement and her business have been put on hold, if not currently impossible. She is even quicker to snap at others, less talkative and friendly, and prone to nightmares.
History
Boloma was born the middle daughter of a pair of innkeepers in Estraude. She was always considered the ‘odd one out’ of her sisters, and was often broody and jealous of their talents- her older sister, Malai, for her status as heir to the family business, and her young sister, Kamon, for being ‘the favorite’ as her parents allowed Kamon to pursue magic where Bo could not.
Bo had a knack for illusion magic at a young age, but the practice’s connotations as unstrustworthy and her parents' general distaste for the more arcane side of magic prevented her from pursuing the study. This led to somewhat of a falling out with the family, and she eventually left her hometown to find work elsewhere in Estraude. For a time, she worked in transport and shipping offices, her skill with numbers allowing her to quickly catalog shipments. This work led her towards smuggling as coworkers introduced her to others in the business. Smuggling in small amounts of illicit substances seemed harmless, and the she couldn’t help but feel the little extra gold lining her pockets was well worth it.
She had begun to establish herself, until her older sister’s sudden death left her the heir to the family inn. At first, she was uncomfortable with taking over the place she had run from in her younger days, but eventually she began to realize the benefits of owning her own business, and the freedom of not having anyone to answer to. Over time, her experience working in shipping lowered the inn’s operating costs, and she managed to grow the business from a simple inn to a large tavern and entertainment center. Using her connections from shipping and smuggling, she expanded their operations into theatre and entertainment - and if a patron wants something specific, be it small luxury goods or illicit substances to make the show a bit more fun, she can provide. Competition prevents her from expanding her imports much further, and she avoids contact with the larger crime syndicates when possible.
The inn’s growing intake provided a way to smuggle small amounts of many restricted goods. In the 200-odd years since taking over the inn, she has amassed a fair fortune and a bit of a reputation in underground circles, occasionally going so far as Song-Lu or Amedra to get her materials. This travel introduced her to many people, chiefly of whom is her most trusted friend (and occasional lover) Eomann O’Halloran, a dark elf airship captain. They both often don glamours, either for minor appearance changes or full disguises, as the tension between the Federation and other kingdoms can make work… difficult. For the purposes of these long trips (and to reduce the transport costs of smuggling), after many years in operation, she bought an airship, The Rapace, captained by Eomann.
It is this airship Boloma takes to Linhythe to participate in the Fantastic Bazaar event. She is sometimes considered a bit of an odd duck for one primary reason - she has on occasion purchased slaves, taking them back to Estraude only to release them once they arrive. Many of her most trusted circle are these former slaves, as she gives them the opportunity to work at the tavern or in the smuggling business once they are freed. A wrench was thrown in her plans when Xander Duvarian, a fellow slavebreaker, freed a couple of young slaves and gave them to her for transport. The heavily loaded Rapace quickly left Linhythe. Thankfully both Boloma and most of the crew had donned glamours as an extra precaution. Bo has since gone from an old spinster to matron, caring for the young Iska and Aesin as her charges at her home in Estraude. This trip to Linhythe was to be her last expedition, after all, and she is even beginning to wind down some of her side business in preparation to retire.
Current Story
The rising of the gods has troubled Bo greatly, as even from this great distance she can feel the slight tug of Aurea at the back of her mind. The burning of Cantor has especially wounded her, as she believed Kamon, the last of their family, had perished in the flames. Once finding out that was not entirely true, she has started putting more of her own resources into helping refugees and uncovering the ancient secrets that have led Alva down this path.
More recent events in Estraude have been... Interesting, to say the least. She participated in the quest in the Irana caves and had a grand old time wandering in another world, accidentally participated in a murder, almost died herself escaping that place, and almost lost her mind when her partner, Captain Eomann of the Rapace, also almost died in the subsequent crystal zombie invasion of Estraude.
She's not very happy with Aalok at the moment, but in the mean time she has been attending to the Rapace and the Old Grasshopper as usual, perhaps a bit more generous than she would have been in the past.
Additional Info
The inn is named “The Old Grasshopper” - it used to just be ‘The Grasshopper’ when her parents owned it, but some of the old timer’s started calling it “Ol’ Grasshopper”, so it stuck.
She can make glamours, usually used for the Grasshopper’s shows, but Eomann has one so he’s not a dark elf wandering around Estraude lmao.
She usually wears a glamour to make her look younger, to the point some patrons thought she was much younger than she is.
Perhaps some minor clarification; Bo normally does everything not to piss off other crime groups, hence why she purchases slaves instead of… stealing them… (xander pls).
