Naku is a TrKaa courier in Betrayal at Antara. The party encounters Naku in Chapter 4 and Chapter 7.
He is voiced by Mike Shapiro, who also voiced Paolo Verazza and Gar Warren.
Appearance and Personality
A tall TrKaa whose brown feathers are flecked with red and blue, Naku carries a brown courier's bag.
Naku greets the party with a cry of "Ka-kuu!" and is polite, if excitable, sharing news and calling William Escobar "sir." While most TrKaa seem to be isolationists, Naku, who firmly believes that "humans are always on an adventure," is one of the few who enjoys being called in to carry messages back and forth whenever something interesting happens, and relishes getting to be there to see the excitement.
Among other courier stops, Naku delivers messages from Reliable Couriers, an establishment in Darvi.
History
After learning that Child Simon Liana now lives in Ravenne, William and Aren Cordelaine can encounter Naku on the road just south of Melay. Naku describes a recent run to Levosche as "dull as eggshells... not a single Mantis attack or anything!"
The party asks for news of Ravenne, where they're heading. Naku asks them if they're going there to help build the new temple, but doesn't consider the subject very interesting. Naku had gone there to bring a message from Ticoro to "a Ravenne priest," also a boring task, and hopes for a Grrrlfland errand next.
Naku's news from Ticoro is more exciting: the Imperial Consort has been kidnapped, and Imperial soldiers are looking for the escaped kidnappers everywhere. William stammers that he may have heard something about that, and that he's pretty sure the escapees are still at large. Naku hopes to be around when the capture occurs, because that would be really exciting.
Upon departing, William claims to be headed for Cardone instead of Ravenne, and hopes the remainder of Naku's day is exciting, but not too exciting.
Later, upon arriving at Grandeur to rejoin the rest of the party, Kaelyn Usher and Raal find Naku waiting at the gates with a Note for "a Grrrlf with a pet woman in tow." Kaelyn deduces that she has William to thank for this turn of phrase; Naku happily exclaims that William was right: "Your nostrils do flare when you're angry."
Describing the party and William in particular as anxious, Naku, sensing excitement, asks what's going on. Despite a gracious, complementary brush-off from Raal, Naku offers to help with whatever it is: "There's a lot I can do. I fought off an army of mantises once." Raal declines, wishing Naku fair winds; their road must be walked, while the "air dancer" must fly.
Trivia
- When William mentions TrKaa villages, Naku corrects the term to "wicks."
- After reaching Ravenne and being ambushed by Imperial soldiers, William wonders how the troops could have known to look for them there. However, the party learns at the game's end that someone else was to blame.