The wilds are full of dangerous animals. Adventurers are in ample supply, but most seem to just kill a beast, check its pockets for loose change, grumble something about drop rates, and move on. The carcass, left on its own, will then attract scavengers, parasites, and disease, which could cause a much worse problem than the creature originally posed on its own.

Balina Pervola prefers a more holistic approach. Killing the monsters, she argues, is just the first part. Your job is to remove them entirely from the ecosystem. This is a fancy way to say that she advocates eating just about everything. She has made spring rolls from dire wolves, fried samosas made of flame spiders, and her swamp hydra tenderloin with a basilisk glaze has been described as a religious experience.

Her skills in combat and cookery have been honed together, and she has shown herself capable of going toe-to-hoof with any beast or butcher she has come across so far. She can strip a wild boar into its component cuts in the time it takes most adventurers to steel themselves to engage. Her keen noses can pick out the rarest herbs and spices. Most importantly, she knows how to combine flavors and textures to make nearly anything delicious.

Ever on the lookout for the next big meal, she travels the world, stalking the wilds and searching for new flavors. When she comes upon a town, she hauls her wagon into the market square to sell her surplus comestibles and rent out her expertise to anyone feeling adventurous enough to see what they’ve been missing.

Ludocrow was an absolute delight to work with, and his help in both the early stages of conceptualizing the character and then in doing this fantastic concept art were both equally invaluable. He also deserves a medal for BATTLE APRON. He is taking commissions right this moment, so I would highly recommend his services to folks.

Art: Ludocrow (original)