The Ragtag Crokabek Crew

This group of five travelers formed slowly and sort of by accident over time but they've stuck tightly together ever since. They travel in seek of work and adventure, despite the fact that they wander fairly aimlessly and have never had a mission that lasted longer than two days due to their low attention spans. The Ragtag Crokabek Crew was coined after the time a passing Crokabek took a poo on Baysko's head and everyone thought it as really funny. the crew

The Saddest Song by Streetlight Manifesto

TIMELINE

Baysko leaves home at 16, working at an inn before being kicked out and doing odd jobs.
Four years later, Valdorik starts his gap year and meets Baysko. He returns home for a bit before finding her again a year later.
Three years later, the two of them meet Jynlio.

Later that same year, Mazalle recruits the three of them for a job, after which they don't really leave.
The next year, after occasional encounters over the years, Shrewlet decides to stick with the group permanently.
Adventures ensue.

GROUP INVENTORY

Cherry Granola Bar	Neopoints (earned)	Super Shiny Shampoo	Golden Dubloon Necklace (stolen)	Sleepy Neopet Blanket
Cartography for Beginners	Jewelled Heart Pendant (stolen)	E-Z Brand Lockpicking Tools	Neopoints (stolen)	Snacking Bread
Pocket Instrument Multi-tool	2/3 of a Green Pepper Omelette	Strange Boots	Simple Dark Decorative Daggers	Jewel-Encrusted Key (forgot what it's for)

Baysko

NAME Baysko	AGE 26 years old ♒︎
Species & Colour Brown Xweetok	role Leader, thief, sneak attacker
strengths ‣ charisma ‣ stealth	weaknesses ‣ impulsive ‣ gambling addiction
likes ‣ winning ‣ fire ‣ staying on the move	dislikes ‣ orders ‣ promises ‣ being mistaken for a Wocky

Punkin and Bumkin

Baysko is the official unofficial leader of the Ragtag Crokabek Gang. Like, she's definitely the leader, but it's sort of an unspoken thing, and even though Mazalle actually thinks it's herself who's the leader, it's really always been Baysko. She's rash and witty and quick to action, often to a fault. She has a mild gambling problem when it comes to Food Club and has an obsession with Gooblah the Grarrl. She's used to having to be very street smart and self-sufficient, but since falling in line with the Crew she has to admit that it's nice not being alone for the first time in a long time.

Planning My Death by Bomb the Music Industry!
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Baysko hails from a small town on the outskirts of Meridell where her parents ran a failing farm on tainted land. They never thought much of their only daughter. Money was tight, food was scarce and only getting scarcer with each crop cycle. They had larger concerns than their kid who didn't know how to behave and didn't show any interest in salvaging their livelihood. So no one was surprised when Baysko left at a little too young of an age and tried to make a life for herself based on odd jobs and lucky breaks.

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Angy Baysko (2021)	Lookup Art (2019)	Vulnerability (2022)
Baysko & Mazalle (2020)	by faerierainbow3 :D	by xaziul (offsite)

Baysko doesn't try to do bad things, but being dealt the hand she has, sometimes her needs and "the law" don't always match up. She spent five years trading her labour for a room to sleep in at an inn outside Brightvale, but the gambling she got into in an attempt to make some real cash got her booted out. She has a strained relationship with her Food Club bookies, and a handful of Neopian villages she can't step foot in again.

Baysko met Valdorik at a tavern outside of Brightvale on her sixth year away from home. She enlisted him for a job that needed a magic-user, and Baysko figured an airhead was a better partner than someone clever enough to attempt to double-cross her. They never really parted ways after that, and while she wasn't paying attention another five years passed and her duo expanded into a group.

Baysko's biggest issue, besides the gambling addiction and the unstable lifestyle, is the way she will develop a crush on almost anyone in spite of herself. It's a little bit "I have feelings for you" [The feelings were friendship, but neither had ever experienced it.], but that doesn't make things less excruciating for her.

Valdorik

NAME Valdorik	AGE 25 years old ♏︎
Species & Colour Split Draik	role Wizard, Fashionista
strengths ⋆ magic potential ⋆ loyalty	weaknesses ⋆ incompetent ⋆ short attention span
likes ⋆ having fun ⋆ boots ⋆ glitter	dislikes ⋆ people being indirect ⋆ cold weather ⋆ cheap things

Willamson & Marie

Valdorik simply does not know what is going on at any given moment. He could be an extremely powerful wizard if he took like two seconds to try and hone his abilities, but much like the rest of his little group he would prefer to shirk his potential and just have a good time. He's a little vapid and self-absorbed, but he does manage to truly care about those around him. One thing about Valdorick is he WILL be wearing the most stylish and/or outlandish boots you've ever seen.

The Other Side of Rainbow by Gogol Bordello
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Valdorik's mother was an extraordinarily powerful mage whose resume boasts feats such as imprisoning ancient spirits and one-shotting those who dare challenge her. Valdorik inherited some of her power but none of her drive. As a child he had high expectations placed on him, but through his adolescence the other high-ranking sorcerers started giving up on the idea of cultivating a decent successor to his mother from her kin and moved on to other candidates.

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snazzy (2024)

Lookup Art (2020)

old design (2019)

Despite it all, Valdorik did complete his basic magic exams and certification before embarking on what he called his "gap year" to focus on travel and fashion (where he lacks prowess but is abundant in passion). He has this wizard-jester aesthetic thing going on that no one really gets but he has a vision. He met Baysko early on into his trip, and while he did return home as promised after his one year was up, he found his way back to her pretty quickly to indefinitely extend his gap year (something that deeply touched Baysko, whether she'd admit it or not).

Valdorik tends to simultaneously play all sides and no sides within the Crew, flitting between agreement and disagreement depending on who manages to be slightly most convincing in the moment. For this he is annoying, but also sort of everyone's favourite.

Jynlio

NAME Jynlio	AGE 24 years old ♋︎
Species & Colour Royal Lupe	role Musician, Reader & Writer
strengths ❧ deception ❧ staying level-headed	weaknesses ❧ selfish ❧ apathetic
likes ❧ making music ❧ herbs ❧ summer	dislikes ❧ responsibility ❧ hierarchy ❧ broken strings

Leo and Aria

Jynlio was an instant addition to the group by Valdorik on account of her being super chill and pretty good at a variety of musical instruments, which is great for travelling background music. She's friendly and funny and smart, and she has an air to her that makes people want to do favours for her. Despite her nonchalant demeanour, there's something a little closed off about her that shows in the way she laughs off and diverts from certain questions or topics about her life.

Post Party Depression by Night Gaunts
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Jynlio is the infamous runaway Princess from the [Royal Kingdom], fleeing from her duties as heir to the throne. Not that any of her current travelling companions know that yet. Jynlio couldn't take the pressure of royal life, couldn't handle another tea-based social, another highly scrutinized public ball, another day where every minute is planned out for her and laid out around every minute of every day after that. So she left her enemies and her one mistreated friend behind in the middle of the night and tried not to look back.

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Simple Ref (2020)	Lookup Art (2020)	Vulnerability (2021)
By my friend Paige :)	Old lookup (2019)	by faerierainbow3 :D

While everyone in the Ragtag Crokabek crew is running away from something, no one is doing it quite like Jynlio. Her parents passed from a plague when she was young, and her next decade or so was spent trying to shape her into something she never wanted to be. After making the decision to ditch everything, her goal was to stay as distracted as possible through music and anything that could numb her consciousness a little. Valdorik first noticed her at a beloved tavern's open mic night, and she figured a strange and off-putting duo who didn't stay in one place for more than a couple weeks at a time would be the perfect company for staying on task.

Jynlio does genuinely love playing music, and through listening her friends feel closer to her than they may really be. She can play pretty much any string instrument, most simple woodwinds, and also dabbles in the concertina, all while accompanying her own singing. She's effortlessly cool in that way that makes people want to impress her, and as such she can tend to lead people on a little, though they don't always realize it.

Mazalle

NAME Mazalle	AGE 28 years old ♉︎
Species & Colour Skunk Kyrii	role Melee Fighter, Ranged Fighter, Hug Giver
strengths ↣ ripped as hell ↣ brave	weaknesses ↣ not perceptive ↣ naive
likes ↣ cooking ↣ physical affection ↣ doing the right thing	dislikes ↣ perceived cowardice ↣ bad customer service ↣ borovan

Thimble and soon Flankin

Mazalle recruited the group for back up on a job one day and then they just never really left her alone. She appears very "rough 'n tough" on the surface but she is ultimately a very gentle soul. She's got a very pure heart and puts a lot of emphasis on her and the gang's moral compass (despite everyone else clearly having a much lower standard). She's very touchy and huggy with everyone, but is also an immensely powerful swordsman & archer. Her abilities are probably wasted on the gang's very low-stakes adventures but she's having fun.

Breaking Even by Larry and his Flask Reference Image

Mazalle is the second of five siblings, born to a long-standing family of blacksmiths and swordsmiths. Her general education was limited, but her specialty training alongside the family business is thorough and intensive. Her dream was always to travel, but her family obligations and dedication to her siblings kept her grounded for a long time before she finally left for a temporary stint as a freelance sword-for-hire.
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Simple Ref	Lookup Art (2020)	Baysko & Mazalle (2020)
by virlii :D	by beetcavy (offsite)	family portrait

Mazalle has a heart of gold, but despite all her talent in fighting, spending her entire life surrounded by her exceedingly kind family has left her confused when anyone behaves in any way remotely not in line with utmost goodwill. She spends a lot of time chastising the group for their decisions, hoping to steer them in a better direction, but at the end of the day Baysko is the unofficial leader. Sometimes Mazalle struggles to work out whether she's appalled or thrilled at the direction of their adventures.

As a result of her loving and supportive family, Mazalle is the most open person in the group, both emotionally and physically. However, she also has the most sense of duty out of everyone, and is often torn up about feeling like she should return home. When she gets in these moods, the gang usually has to make up any sort of excuse or mission as a reason to get her to stick around a while longer. For her abilities of course, not her hugs or affection or anything like that.

Shrewlet

NAME Shrewlet	AGE ??? years old ♎︎
Species & Colour Mutant Xweetok	role The Wild Card
strengths ↬ chewing ↬ clawing	weaknesses ↬ lazy ↬ unpredictable
likes ↬ dirt ↬ being nude ↬ running	dislikes ↬ noise ↬ bedtime ↬ money

Creature and Freak

There's no way to say this without being a little demeaning, but Shrewlet is like the gang's wacky pet. She's on her own rules and schedule and does as she pleases since she has no intention of being told what to do. She walks around nude most of the time and her prized belongs are equally made up of stolen trinkets and random sticks and rocks. The rest of the gang is surprised she hasn't fully gone rogue and disappeared into the night yet, but they're glad she's stuck around.

Dark Days by PUP Reference Image

Shrewlet's been fending for herself for as long as she can remember. Her independent and intense attitude never made her popular with less dysfunctional groups, and she didn't have a lot of desire for company after being left for dead by her siblings as a kid.
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pondering her gem (2025)

Lookup Art (2020)

by faerierainbow3 :)

Baysko and Valdorik actually first met Shrewlet while they were still just a duo, but they unceremoniously parted ways almost immediately as Shrewlet had no interest in them. They only crossed paths again years later after Jynlio and Mazalle had joined the group, and at that point Shrewlet was in dire enough straits to approach them again.

Upon realizing that no one was really trying to tell her what to do, Shrewlet figured she could make a new arrangement work to let a little back up into her life. Besides, it really was a big perk to have background music while scavenging for food, trash, and/or jewels.

Sir Walurbie

NAME Sir Walurbie	AGE 29 years old ♍︎
Species & Colour Royal Meerca	role He doesn't go here
strengths ➢ holding grudges ➢ having a goatee	weaknesses ➢ irrelevance ➢ everyone hates him
likes ➢ feeling tall ➢ revenge ➢ hearing himself talk	dislikes ➢ fiends ➢ scoundrels ➢ knaves

Umiez and shortly a Greevix

Sir Walurbie is a nuisance. At some point during their travels, the Ragtag Crokabek Crew drew the ire of a low-tier nobleman of a small kingdom. They don't even remember what they did. But Sir Walurbie remembers. As a result he's made it his mission to follow the gang around and present himself as a mild inconvenience that they have to deal with before they can get on with enjoying themselves again. They usually just kinda beat him up and leave him wherever he found them, but he always comes back at some point.

The Main Character by Will Wood Reference ImageI don't think I will even make him one. Don't draw him.
Sir Walurbie uses a pair of enchanted boots to appear taller. He tries and fails to hide his jealousy of Valdorik's boot collection. His obnoxious monologuing is only interrupted by the wails of his twin Kadoaties who travel everywhere with him, or by getting beat up mid-sentence.
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by soycowboy :D

In his heart of hearts, Sir Walurbie just wants to be included. But he never will be because everyone literally hates him because he is genuinely just so annoying. Even Mazalle can't be bothered to try and tolerate him.

Perhaps Sir Walurbie would be better off if retired back to his own Kingdom for good, but unfortunately he is similarly unpopular over there.

Others

Baskae is Baysko's home-town cousin turned estranged bail-out. Despite the fact they haven't spoken directly in years, Baysko can expect to find a sack of neopoints when she's most desperate for it left stealthily by Baskae, much to her irritation. She's not irritated enough to not take the money though.
(art by soycowboy)

Tsirokos is a ranch keeper who lets the gang stay at his place now and then. He's not used to having so many guests at once, but he steps up to the challenge of being a good host for them, even though he really doesn't have to.

Jynlio's Abandoned Kingdom