Tövna Skildrak

Tövna Skildrak, called Tov'

Tov' could empty the heaviest purses in the quarter. She prefers the funniest ones. To her, a good job is measured neither by the take nor by the danger, but by the look on the victim's face when it finally dawns on them. Her favorite marks are those who take themselves seriously: a magistrate too proud, a merchant too fat, a guard too stiff in his boots. She never takes much from them. Just enough to laugh about all winter.

Describe her

Her expression resembles nothing you know: a smile that won't say whether it's mocking you or fond of you. You see her in a dress and hat at a street corner, you look away for an instant, and all that's left is a little old lady pulling her market cart. You'll never know which of the two brushed past you. Your purse, however, does.

Play her

Speak little. Snicker often, low and impish, especially right after a trick, even in the middle of a conversation: if she snickers in front of the players, she has just got them. Go for embarrassment rather than profit: a belt that gives way, a compromising object slipped into the wrong pocket, a nobleman paying for a round he never ordered. And keep, underneath, her one rule: the worst she'll risk is a scolding from the guard. Beyond that, it stops being funny.

What she says (rarely)

"Oh, pardon me, dear. You dropped this."
"Gold weighs you down. A good story travels anywhere."
(snickering as she shakes his hand) "Charmed. Oh, was that your ring?"