Ashley

Ashley is an NPC first met by party one in the woods near the Sanctuary.

Backstory
Ashley's parents were long-time members of the Luminaries, a group whose motives are currently unknown to the parties. Nevertheless, one or both of her parents angered the wrong person or people by being in this group, and their house was burned down, killing both of them, Ashley just barely escaping after finding them dead from smoke inhalation. She heavily suspects that this incident was arson.

Since this event, which took place when she was only 10 years old, she has drifted from town to town, and has become a bard in effort to express the pain she lives with.

Personality/Motives
Ashley is kind and thoughtful towards the player characters, but always seems somewhat wistful and the disconnected. She has been searching for information about the Luminaries for a long time to little success, and asked the party to tell her what they find out in Sanctuary when next they meet.

Interactions
Ashley met the initial Party 1 on their way from Noxalas to the Sanctuary. They heard her playing one of her songs in the woods surrounding Sanctuary, and approached her, finding her sitting on a large rock next to a pool of water. They startled her into dropping her lute in the pond, but apologized and got it back. After talking for a while, she explained her backstory and asked the party to gather information for her about the Luminaries before leaving.

Trivia

 * Ashley's name is stolen from Ashley Barret, the real-world singer of all of the songs that I play when she's around. This is not the first or the last time John has stolen from Supergiant Games.