Cassidy

“Oh, look all you want. Not as if I’ve got anything to hide - I’m pretty proud of this place, y’know. Name’s Cassidy, and I run The Pale Flame. You can call me Cass if you like, though.”

Cassidy is the owner of the weapon shop in Rigard.

Cassidy
FoE character
Created by	The Observer
Information
Nickname(s)	Cass
Species	Salamander
Gender	Female (Reverse Trap)
Occupation	Blacksmith
Family	Dad, Mom, 'Big Bro'
Relatives	Helia (Great-grandmother, fate unknown), Helspawn (Grandmother, deceased)

Cassidy's combat portrait.

Description

Cassidy is the cheerful, tomboyish owner of The Pale Flame in Rigard, having come into inheritance of the rather famous blacksmiths' establishment following her father's retirement. Her salamander lineage gives her a natural affinity for working metal, which she leverages to great extent in continuing her father's legacy. Cass is planned to be one of the two main equipment crafters in the game, creating uniquely powerful weapons and accessories from special and exceedingly rare materials that grant abilities to their wearers.

Because of her appearance, Cassidy is often mistaken by others (including the PC at first) for a rather effeminate young man; this has led to embarrassing situations in the past and has become something of a bugbear for her.

Appearance

Cassidy the salamander - or “sally-mander”, as he pronounces it - is a bit of an oddity for a smith. Standing at five feet and seven inches, his face and torso are human, but his arms and legs are distinctly reptilian, with thick red scales covering them like a suit of flexible armor. A fiery, prehensile tail swishes gaily behind him, as animated as he usually is and burning with a merry, bright orange glow, although the heat doesn’t seem to get any more than pleasantly warm.

Cass’ hair is a fiery red, and sits upon his head like a disheveled mop of wavy locks. Rather than keep it groomed with all the exhausting work he does, Cass has chosen to snip it short instead and have it end just below his ears, saving him the trouble of tidying it up.

A few stray strands fall from his brow and over his eyes, prompting him to brush them away with a sweep of his fingers. Moving onto Cassidy’s face, you can’t help but feel that his features are quite androgynous, although that’s probably not his fault. It takes all kinds to make a world… and unfortunately, it would seem that young men with effeminate faces are one of them. Well, at least Cass isn’t a sourpuss about it, judging from how much he smiles and grins.

A smattering of tiny, flexible scales are scattered all over Cassidy’s cheeks, chest and collarbone, reminding you of freckles. Completing the ensemble is a pair of goggles which hangs around Cass’ neck - he usually uses them to shield his eyes from soot and ash while working the forge, although right now they’re just for show.

As usual, Cass is wearing his forge outfit, consisting of a thick apron, a tunic, and boyish shorts held up by a large belt - all of them fashioned from leather of some sort. That makes sense, considering the heat the runed forge is able to generate; while Cass may be impervious to heat as a salamander, that protection isn’t shared by his clothes. Padded gloves shield his hands from wayward blows from his hammer, their fingers open to let his short, sharp claws through. Similarly, he goes around barefoot - those claws on his toes would easily rip any footwear to shreds, and anything that would pierce the tough pads on Cass’ feet wouldn’t be stopped by a boot sole, anyway.

Most of Cass is streaked and smeared with soot and ash, badges of his time at his craft that he wears with pride. He definitely doesn’t look like your stereotypical blacksmith - his shoulders are a little too rounded, his build on the lanky side rather than the stout, built-like-a-barrel body you’d expect. In fact, he looks dangerously close to looking quite effeminate… but you guess appearances are deceiving.

Despite not having a lot of meat, there’s a lot of power in those salamander limbs of Cassidy’s. There has to be, for him to effectively beat and hammer his goods into shape; what muscles exist under skin and scale are tough and wiry, packed with power just waiting to be let loose.

All in all, Cass is as cheerful and calm as ever - back straight, head up, and tail off the floor. Just being around him, you’re quickly discovering his mood is quite infectious…

History/Personality/Information of Note

Cassidy was born in Rigard when the last throes of the civil war were dying down, and for her and her brother's safety were taken by their mother to stay with their relatives in the countryside for a while. It was there that Cass grew close to her paternal grandmother, who has had a significant impact on her personality and outlook on life. While Cassidy's grandmother has passed away from old age by the start of the game, Cass still speaks of her regularly and fondly.

Good-natured and perpetually cheerful, Cass can always be found with a smile and grin on her face. Almost always, that is... it may be possible that she's just saving up all her nastiness to be unleashed all at once. She's usually light-hearted, calls people by all kinds of pet names (mostly "ace" and "champ"), and is not above getting physical with those she knows well - in a friendly way, of course.

When Cassidy's father decided to retire, she was the more skilled of her siblings at the family business, and her skills haven't let her down since. In the short time that she's run The Pale Flame, Cass has turned out a number of masterpieces, beauties in both form and function. What drives her, though, is also the reason for her erratic work schedule - while run-of-the-mill items are no problems for her, Cassidy needs to be inspired into a strange, creative mood before she can truly get to work. This leads to her often not knowing what she'll end up making with the materials she's got at hand - only that whatever comes out, it'll be amazing.

Despite - or rather, because of - the racial susceptibility to overindulgence that salamanders have, as well as her grandmother's influence on her upbringing, Cassidy is a teetotaller. She refuses to touch any alcohol knowing that once she starts, she won't be able to stop.

Interactions

Sex

The player may have sex with Cassidy once they discover her true gender. This is accessed from the back room, in case of normal scenes, or after beating her in combat, if rough sex is desired.

Sparring

Cassidy can spar one-on-one with the PC, gaining in strength and special attacks with repeated bouts. Beating her unlocks special sex scenes.

Cassidy is equipped with a war hammer, which she uses to great effect in conjunction with her innate racial traits.