Age: Early 30s

NOTE: This character will also return for the next (final) chapter

Lydia Proudmore is a Trader with the New Liberty Trading Company, and second in command of an expedition to the Commonwealth. The NLTC is a corporate-structured society that values the written contract and trade above all else.

Lydia is an effective negotiator and trader, cold and focused on her objective.

Unlike her boss, however, she does have a hidden conscience. At some point during her life, she realized that the NLTC had true potential to usher in civilization and prosperity by uplifting communities and trading partners - but that the potential got crushed under greed and short-sighted exploitation. She has carefully attempted the experiment of real goodwill many times, only for Mr. Glatton (her current boss) to swoop in, exploit the burgeoning community, award her accolades for 'setting up the score', and leaving empty husks of the place she had tried to truly do something with.

She is disillusioned, cynical, careful, and distrustful. Exhausted by the lack of progress in her goals, it takes extraordinary circumstances for her to open up about her real motivations.

Currently, she's come to the conclusion that she won't make any progress while she is subordinate to Mr. Glatton. Displacing him, however, is a delicate political maneuver, and the man is too well-established and profitable for the Home Office to simply give her a promotion. She knows that to accomplish what she set out she needs several things to fall into place at once: For Glatton to return home, and for her to be promoted to Chief Trader of the outpost. In the player, she sees a perfect partner.

When speaking, she is typically eloquent, cold, and professional. She will sometimes try to ‘overwhelm’ her client and keep them off balance in the conversation while she remains cold as ice under pressure. Even her approval is outwardly lukewarm, but she does have good intentions under them.