Real Name: Jayla Mistrom
Nicknames: possibly many, none currently known
Occupation: proprietor of Jayla’s coffee shop, information broker, drug
dealer, possibly others
Homeplane: Sigil
Known Relatives: none
Group Membership: memberships in numerous power organizations, all under
aliases
Background: So many people know Jayla as the human adept who runs the
coffee shop that they’d be surprised to know she is neither a human nor an
adept. She is, in fact, a doppelganger factotum/chameleon, and has several
identities under which she gathers information, which she offers to anyone... for a
price.
Jayla’s past is largely unknown, but she’s been running
the coffee shop on Greenwood Plaza for years. Most people know that it’s famous
for its good coffee and bad beat poets, and most people who care for such things
know she has some of the best stuff for sell under the counter. Those who need
to know, know that she sells all variety of information, as well.
Almost no one knows any of her other identities. Her cover as a hitman with the
Goblinetti Family, or her membership in the Society of Sensation or the Xaositects, or any of a dozen other identities, both common and seldom seen.
Nope, she’s just the congenial, if tight-lipped barista
at the coffee shop with that good stuff from the Beastlands, if you know how to
ask her.
Appearance: Jayla appears as an attractive woman in her late 30s, with
black hair and black clothes, usually floor length dresses, and often
accessorized with silver jewelry. Her skin is pale, but not unhealthy looking.
She tends to maintain an aloof yet somehow approachable persona.
Role-playing Jayla: Jayla is a friendly, if somewhat close-lipped woman,
who, on the surface, seems to be quite content as a server of hot beverages.
Underneath, though, she’s quite shrewd, and even among her closest friends,
she’s generally trading, in some manner. She has lots of information, and though
she frequently sells it, she’s also willing to exchange it for other useful
tidbits, or for favors. Her dealings are not always legal, but she’s got enough
authority figures in her debt, or on her good side, that she’s seldom even so
much as investigated.
Owing Jayla a favor isn’t as bad as, say, owing
Shemeska a favor, although there’s no guarantee there won’t be danger involved.
She seldom asks someone to violate their own moral code, though her own morality
is seldom an issue. She’s called for hits against enemies in the past, and
generally knows exactly who to contact in each case. For instance, when the
vampire Hamilton Beck started interfering with her business, she arranged for
Yffub the Ranger Who Has Chosen Undead as Her Favored Enemy to owe her a favor,
so she could then coerce Yffub into dealing with the vampire. She usually
plays the part of a low-level Adept, but most people who know her know she
simply knows too much to be as low-level as she claims. Few suspect her
power is in the epic range, however.
Known Jayla Aliases
Alice: A creepy little girl in all black, quiet and direct. She speaks as a somber, melancholy adult, though she has the body of an 8-year old.
Tarot: An infamous burglar who stole a number of artifacts, leaving a tarot card as a signature. She never actually commited the crimes herself, but did pose as the criminal in a manner as to be witnessed here and there. She eventually killed this identity off because it became inconvenient.
Jayla Supporting Cast
Snoopy (juvenile black dragon): Jayla's cohort. Raised by Jayla, Snoopy guards the stockroom from nosy patrons, thieves, and narcs.