Raal

Raal is a Grrrlf who runs with the pack of his father, Krrrfrrrlaaak, in Betrayal at Antara. He appears in several chapters of the game, and is a playable character (alongside Kaelyn Usher in chapters 5 and 7.

Biography

As a young cub, Raal was chased up a tree by an angry bear. When Kaelyn Usher chased the bear away and helped him down, the two became fast friends, her father treated Raal as a sibling to Kaelyn, and Raal's pack, that of his father Krrrfrrrlaak, eventually accepted the human girl as their own.

After growing up together, Raal refers to Kaelyn as "little archer" and "skin-sister," and is "fur-brother" to her; she likewise refers to Krrrfrrrlaak as her "fur-father." The two hunted and trapped together, and Raal recalls how deeply Kaelyn was affected the first time she performed in the Karrruf.

Chapter Three

Raal is the first NPC the party meets on their arrival at Ticoro at the time of the Festival. Introduced to William Escobar and Aren Cordelaine, Raal explains that he is in town to perform "The Ears" in the Karrruf, and invites them to meet up with him some night. If the party rescued the wounded Grrrlf in Chapter 2, Kaelyn passes along his message to Raal.

Chapter Four

In the intro to Chapter Four, Raal follows follows an Imperial convoy in the dead of night, knocks out the guards using darts smeared with nudberries, and frees the party from captivity. He explains that he was worried when Kaelyn didn't contact him, and, asking around, discovered that she and her companions had been arrested for allegedly abducting the Imperial Consort.

Proof of their innocence depends on rescuing the Consort, but Raal has also brought news for Kaelyn. Their home forest, the Ridgewood, is under attack by Wraiths, and her father hasn't been seen since the first attack. Arranging to meet William and Aren later in Grandeur, she departs with Raal, leaving the chapter to William and Aren.

Chapter Five

In the intro to Chapter Five, Raal travels with Kaelyn toward the Ridgewood. Her memories of their childhood together resurface. Raal warns her that the road is not safe for Grrrlf lately due to Shepherd activity. She reassures him, and asks after his family; he tells her that his brother, Gaarrrl, found his spirit song two moons ago and is now Faagaarrrl, an adult. Raal also has a message for Kaelyn from his own father, but that it she must hear it from him in person.

Four sneering Shepherds block their path; they call Raal an animal and tell Kaelyn to step aside so they can dispatch "the dog," calling her a dog-lover when she refuses. As the chapter starts, Raal and Kaelyn face the four Shepherds near the fork between Camille and Durst. Unless an extra suit of armor is reserved for Raal in Kaelyn's inventory before the end of Chapter Four, Raal starts Chapter Five with Senwater, Healing Powder, a Grrrlf Staff, and a Leather Jerkin.

Raal and Kaelyn can visit the towns of Grandeur, Eastbend, Camille, Durst, Friole, and Darvi as they travel toward the Ridgewood.

DURST: ° If the party visits Phoebe, Louie the cat fluffs up defensively at the sight of Raal. He makes a bad joke about Grrrlf being very fond of cats... for lunch. Phoebe, flustered, does not invite them in. ° Raal's Melee can be boosted by 5 points for each Pearl the party can give to Adrian the swordsmith. ° Raal offers to find an adventurous child who has wandered too near to the Waste. The party finds him and rescues him from Fire Wolves; he is frightened of Raal, who tousles his hair in an attempt to cheer him up, teasing that it's a good thing they rescued him because he'd barely have made a mouthful for the wolves. To his dismay, the boy bursts into tears and flees. Kaelyn reassures Raal that they were tears of relief at being rescued. Raal's Melee, Scouting, and Stealth can be boosted by 5 points each by returning to the boy's house and reading a book his father gives them.

CAMILLE: ° The blind prophet recognizes that Raal is a Grrrlf and greets him with equanimity.

DARVI: ° A group of human musicians enrage Raal with their awful rendition of a Grrrlf drum-tune called the Mafffurrr, which they had thought sounded new and exciting. Raal, his ears flat with anger, tells the cowering humans that the Mafffurrr is one of the oldest Grrrlf traditions, a deeply spiritual experience with more power than they could possibly imagine, and that humans may share the experience but only at the invitation of Grrrlf. He forces the penitent humans to swear by their gods never to perform it again. After leaving the house, Kaelyn asks Raal if the Mafffurrrr isn't just a song used to pass the time while waiting for the meat to cook; Raal, eyes twinkling, says that even though it is, there's no excuse for bad music. ° If the party can afford books, Raal can increase his and Defense by buying and reading Carlith Mating Rituals and Ponaka's Last Stand at the Reliable Couriers shop. ° Of Archibald Feathersby's glorious accounting of creatures that live in the Waste, the only one Raal recognizes is the Fire Wolf. ° Raal's Assessment can be boosted by finding (in the Feral Duck Inn) and reading A Social Analysis of Organisms. However, if the party returns the book to its owner without reading it, they receive a bag of supplies.

Outside the Ridgewood (north of Darvi or east of Grandeur), Raal and Kaelyn find Krrrfrrrlaak. After telling Kaelyn his message for her and her father, Krrrfrrrlaak permits Raal to continue accompanying Kaelyn on her quest, and tells the two to keep their ears to the ground and their muzzles to the wind.

Garvin Usher, found in his workshop-cave north of the Ridgewood, greets Raal as a family member. After revealing some family secrets to Kaelyn and explaining his activities trying to understand the Wraiths plaguing the forest, Garvin enchants Raal's staff and Kaelyn's sword so they can kill the creatures. Raal and Kaelyn find and kill five Wraiths, and return to Garvin to report that the forest is safe.

In the chapter's epilogue, Garvin invites the travelers for dinner and discusses family history with Kaelyn. Kaelyn ultimately agrees to stay the night at her father's house, "even if we have to cook up old Raal here." Raal, for his part, is happy and honored to stay over, as long as he's staying to eat and not be eaten.

Kaelyn and Raal do not appear in Chapter Six.

Chapter Seven

In the introduction to Chapter Seven, Garvin Usher tells Raal to consider the Usher home his second den. In a subsequent conversation involving Kaelyn, Raal agrees with Garvin's assessment of Kaelyn's exciting life, prophesying that whoever marries "our Kaelyn" won't die in bed. Just for that, Kaelyn vows to run the paws off him as they travel.