Kinsa

=Character Summary= Kinsa is a halfing ranger from a small village in Dargent. A skilled archer and tracker in both wilderness and cities, she was out adventuring in the world, and sort of vaguely looking for her half-brother Perrin, when she essentially stumbled into a world-changing adventure.

Physical Description
Kinsa is 24 years old. She's 4' tall, with dark skin, dark curly hair kept braided, and dark eyes.

Backstory
Kinsa is the only child of Lindi and Corrit. Well, strike that: she's Lindi's only child. Corrit was considerably older than Lindi, and if you ask Kinsa how many times he was married or how many children he had, she'll have to think about it. For a while. And even then, she might not be right. Corrit's family lives in Portmeirion, and presumably the rest of his children were born there. Lindi was from Gaster's Bend, a small riverside settlement in southern Dargent. Corrit and Lindi met at Gaster's Bend, where Corrit was arranging a trade (he was a merchant of sorts; that, too, Kinsa knows very little about), and Kinsa was born there. She has only the vaguest familiarity with most of her half-siblings, only a few of whom she's even met, and it is not entirely uncommon for her to meet a fellow halfling and discover that they're related in some way.

Corrit died shortly after Kinsa was born, and Lindi left her largely in the care of her grandmother at Gaster's Bend, preferring the wild. When Kinsa was eight, Lindi began taking her on trips, teaching her how to track and hunt. She enjoyed time with her mother, and loved nature, but never took to solitude the way Lindi did, and she knew from an early age that she would eventually look for something other than her mother's life.

When Kinsa was sixteen, her half-brother Perrin arrived in the settlement. Actually, he wasn't really heading there – just happened to be passing through. He offered to take her with him, though, and she jumped at the chance.

Perrin, it turned out, often hired out to adventuring parties as a tracker and guide, less in wilderness areas (he was, in fact, kind of hopeless at wood tracking) than in cities, and in particular, in dungeons. It was from him that Kinsa learned to track in stone corridors, to sense traps meant for humans rather than animals, to hide from things more dangerous than any bear and in a true bind, to fight. Or, if needed, to run away. She also learned to lighten people's burdens. Well, that's how Perrin put it, anyway. "Rob people blind" might be more accurate. Kinsa wasn't overly fond of stealing, but she was less fond of being hungry, and hunting in cities was scarce.

They did scattered work in Eastern Dargent, but did even more in the Disputed Lands, and even the odd trip to Lichtenstein, although neither Perrin nor Kinsa was very comfortable there. The one city Perrin would not go to was Lansing, and when Kinsa asked why, he plainly admitted he'd had bad business there, and that showing his face could be hazardous.

Three years after they first began adventuring together, Perrin suggested a trip to Cheval, a city where they'd found work on more than one occasion. The night after they arrived, Perrin abruptly told Kinsa to go home to Gaster's Bend. When she asked why, he only told her that he had something to take care of, and the people involved preferred he work alone. For the first time since she'd known him, he seemed nervous. This actually made Kinsa nervous, nervous enough that she did as he asked and went home.

She didn't stay long. Her grandmother was still living happily in her small house, Lindi still spending most of her time alone, and the place that had once been her home now seemed too small and familiar. Kinsa picked a direction and went. She started by copying Perrin's work in cities, but soon found she could do just as well guiding parties through forests. Given her preferences, she would rather work in the wilderness, but circumstances don't always allow.

She did eventually return to the city where she left Perrin. None of his friends had seen him for quite some time, and to this day, she has not been able to find a single word of him. She's not tremendously concerned, but she keeps an ear to the ground for him wherever she goes.

Kinsa's primary reason for traveling is the travel itself. She grows bored if she stays in one place for too long. She likes to be around other people, of all races, and makes friends easily. She values money as a means of keeping herself fed and clothed, but has no real dreams of wealth. She can read and cipher, but has little interest in esoteric knowledge beyond that which would help her find her way through a forest or dungeon.

Like most halflings, she is baffled by wars fought for territory or glory. However, she is loyal to Dargent insofar as she believes the interests of her loved ones are best served by Dargent remaining as it is. She may have found life in Gaster's Bend rather boring, but she knows the value of its peace and security, and she would go to considerable lengths to protect it.

Archery
Kinsa is a skilled archer who generally hits what she aims at. She can fire two arrows in rapid succession, or two arrows at once to hit different targets. As long as she has space to maneuver, she can be a potent force in a fight.

Tracking and Stealth
Because of her upbringing with Lindi and her subsequent adventuring with Perrin, Kinsa can track and move undetected in both natural and city settings.

Acrobatics and Athletics
A life spent in the forest (to say nothing of running from authorities) has given Kinsa a nimble sense of movement. She's particularly adept at climbing trees, one of her favorite vantage points from which to shoot.

Weapons

 * Short Bow
 * Northman's Quiver
 * Short Sword
 * Sling

Relationships

 * Perrin - Half-brother, adventurer
 * Vani - Half-sister, innkeeper in Portmeirion