***
The matriarch of the Steamgear clan is an archdruidess, so some of the Steamgear children learned to combine nature and technology. Ella idolized Granny and always wanted to be a druid; she loves all animals and wants to adopt all of the cute, fuzzy babies.
Ella's temple is said to be the oldest temple of Gond in Toril, and upon joining the clergy, she was given a gear that is said to have been blessed by Gond. It is part of her pocket watch.
In the alternate strand of Fate the Raven Queen merged with Ella, she was a wizard because she found a dusty old spellbook in the family library. Ella has a spellbook made of sheet metal and each spell is inscribed on gears. She wants to become the greatest wizard of her generation.
Ella loves to take apart anything mechanical to learn how it works, and she loves to talk at length about her work. While mechanical things are her main focus in life, she still loves people and will do anything for someone she cares about.
When the twins were younger, Bella killed Ella's little pet worm named Squirmy. Ella still carries the dead worm in a pickle jar and often pulls it out to shake angrily at Bella when they fight.
The twins are 61 years old, with Ella 57 seconds older than Bella. They both stand at 3'4 and weigh about 40 lbs. The twins have aqua hair and gray eyes, pale skin. They have a slim, toned figure with minimal curve. Ella has several eyebrow piercings.
***
Bella Steamgear is Ella's identical twin. She is a Paladin to what she believes to be Gond, but it is really to Haagenti, the Demon Lord. Bella is a sociopath, and she kills anything that she thinks might take Ella away from her. She was who caused the explosion in Ella's lab, because she didn't want her sister to leave. She was killing Ella's wife to force her sister to stay behind. Unfortunately for Bella, her girlfriend walked into the lab at the wrong moment, and as Bella went to move her out of the way, the explosion went off. Her girlfriend died, and she almost did. Ella reached out to Gond to save them, and her prayer was answered by Gond.
In the separate strand of fate the Raven Queen merged into Bella, she believed herself to be a Warlock of Gond, but it was truly a Solar of Haagenti she made her pact with. In the alternate timeline, Bella was never turned into a gearforged, so the merging turned her into a cyborg of sorts. A seamless blend of gnome and machine.
***
Tekandyl Al'Tayn is a male drow who was cursed, compelling spiders to attack him on sight. In one fate line he was a Champion Fighter who worked for Bregan D'aerthe. In the other, he was an Arcane Trickster working for the Coldfire Initiative.
He is a private person, as most drow are, so the party knows little about him. Tek is one of the people who mostly leads the party, and several of the guides the party hires end up being loyal to him.
***
Wartle of Clan Koopa is a tortle who is looking for glory and adventure. He uses shields to fight instead of swords, and is always willing to go charging. Wartle is fearless and is overly confident in his abilities, which makes him easy to manipulate into walking into dangerous situations.
Wartle is searching Chult for the lost artifacts of Koopa, to return glory to his clan.
***
Xandala's magic traces back to a draconic bloodline, and parts of her skin are covered by a thin sheen of protective scales. She has befriended a pseudodragon named Summerwise, who thinks that Xandala's quest for the ring is dangerous but has given up trying to talk the sorcerer out of it.
Xandala asked the party to help her find Artus Cimber, a man she claims is her father. Artus can't be found using magic, but Xandala has heard that Artus left the city with a reptilian man who doesn't talk and smells funny. Both were last seen heading into the jungle.
Artus possesses the Ring of Winter, a powerful artifact that Xandala wants.
