Dottie Copperlocks

Madwoman. Scholar. Scribe. Surveillance survivor.

Origins: The Quill Before the Dust

Once known with respect across the learned circles as Dame Dorvessa Copperlocks, she was a dwarven mind of frightening clarity. Records show her service in the Sealvault Library was unblemished—she drafted legal frameworks, reformed oathbound script laws, and authored the binding clauses of the Spiral Accord.

And then… one day, she simply stopped.

She left the law behind and vanished into Gutterbrew Alley, dragging behind her a chest of red ink and a library of books that no one remembers authoring.

Present Persona: Mad Dottie of the Inkblot

Now called Mad Dottie by locals (sometimes lovingly, sometimes not), she exists as the soul of the Inkblot Bindery. She mutters about the alphabet’s betrayal, argues with books about their own endings, and brews tea that somehow smells like warnings.

She wears multiple cloaks at once, usually with notes sewn into the linings. Her glasses are perpetually cracked. Her cane doubles as both pointer and defence mechanism.

But don’t let the disarray fool you. Every fragment is placed with intent. She is not mad. She is insulated.

The Network: Her Quiet Army

Dottie trusts no one with titles, and no one with polished boots. Her agents are the forgotten:

• Street children with perfect memory for shadowed conversations.
• Gnome papermancers who smuggle ink with encoded breath.
• Kobolds trained to shelve false books in royal libraries.

They bring her fragments. She weaves tapestries. She never rewards with gold—only knowledge they didn’t know they needed.

Concord Connection: A Mirror in the Fog

It is difficult to say whether Dottie fears the Oblique Concord, or admires them. Perhaps both. She never claims to oppose them. In fact, she praises their methodology with uncomfortable precision.

She might be their creation. She might be their counterweight. She might be—gods forbid—their echo.

She has written volumes on their techniques: misdirection through misinformation, the planting of dreams, the orchestration of coincidence.

When asked if she serves them, she often laughs and says: “I’d know… unless I wouldn’t.”

Story Hooks

Adventurers may overlook Dottie early on, but if they dig into any deeper mystery involving power, corruption, or vanished truth, her name will start to appear—buried in footnotes, scribbled in margins, or mentioned by those who “remember something they shouldn’t.”

She is never surprised to see them.
She only ever says, “Oh. It’s you.”

And then offers them a biscuit.

• Knows Silke Handyleaf (Mother of Poppy Handyleaf)

Personality Notes (Observed)

• Refers to ink as “liquid memory.”
• Speaks in riddles when nervous; speaks in full legal precedent when serious.
• Has predicted four major political collapses via paper fortune-teller.

Rumours & Theories

• The Whispered Theory: Dottie’s entire life has been fabricated by the Concord as a research device. Even she doesn’t know it.
• The Second Quill: She’s not the original Dottie. She’s the second. The first was too dangerous.
• The Silent Agreement: She is under Concord protection because her respect renders her harmless. For now.

Final Notes

When you meet Dottie Copperlocks, you are not meeting her. You are meeting the narrative she wants you to remember. Every word she says is bait or balm. Every silence is measured.

And if she ever offers you tea, remember:
She already knows your answer.