Hortensa

is a member of the Barathrumites and an inhabitant of.

Character
Hortensa is a "liquid-tinker", a scientist who works with and studies liquids. However, Hortensa thinks of herself "as a wisewoman in dialog with" liquids, and says that she "manage[s] their moods and phases".

Hortensa claims to have lived in Grit Gate for "decades on decades" or perhaps "centuries". She states that most of the other Barathrumites, who she refers to as "wet-earred cubs", were "merely sketches in their mothers' dreambooks when [she] arrived to study under Barathrum". Due to this, she seems to know quite a lot about the other Barathrumites, and will briefly describe each of them to the player upon request.

Wares
Hortensa primarily stocks random liquids in, as well as a couple other odd items. She will not restock.

* ''Hortensa may equip this item if it is a piece of equipment, and thus will not sell it to the player. ** This indicates there are two seperate 5% chances for one phial to occur.

Hortensa will also possess the following items, which are given to her by the same table. However, she will almost always equip them and thus will not sell them to the player.

Combat
Hortensa will begin neutral to the player, but will become hostile if the player attacks her or a Barathrumite within view of her. Hortensa can also become hostile if the player's reputation with the Barathrumites falls low enough, or if the player is seen stealing their belongings or damaging their property.

Equipment
In addition to the items listed above, Hortensa will always spawn with a, slotted with a at 100% charge, which she will utilize in ranged combat. She will not list this item if the player trades with her.

Skills
Hortensa possesses the Bow and Rifle skill, which will additionally grant her the Draw a Bead and Steady Hands skills. The latter will increase her accuracy when using her laser rifle, or any other bows or rifles she may utilize. She also possesses Poison Tolerance, which will reduce poison damage she suffers by 25%.

Mutations
Being an urshiib, Hortensa possesses the Quills mutation at mutation level 6 and the Triple-jointed mutation at level 3. Quills provides Hortensa with damage reflection, immunity to the quills of other creatures, and the "Quill Fling" activated ability, which allows Hortensa to fire a portion of her quills to deal damage to adjacent creatures. She will also possess, natural equipment worn on her body that can't be removed, providing her with an additional 4 AV. Triple-jointed will grant Hortensa an additional 3 Agility.

Self Preservation
If Hortensa's hitpoints fall below 35% of their maximum, she will cease combat and will begin to actively flee from threats.