- "Well met, April Ryan. Have you come to meet someone? A handsome young suitor, perchance?"
- ―Benrime Salmin[src]
Owner of the Journeyman Inn, Benrime Salmin is a native of the Southlands, where she earned the money to buy the Journeyman Inn by trading in tobacco, wine and slaves. She takes April in when she accidentally Shifts back to Marcuria in her underwear at night during the Feast of the Balance. She also allows April to work at the Journeyman Inn to earn some aren, and gives April a new set of clothes.
Benrime is a Seer, a talent passed down the female line in her family. When she looks at April, she claims she can see many paths, "but they are all dark". She tells April lore related to Magic and the Balance, to which she is fiercely devoted, and suggests that April could become a powerful Artisan with the proper training. She has a hatred of the Vanguard because they are gradually eroding the Arcadian people's faith in the Balance. Like the Dark People, Benrime identifies April as a Wave, so she may have been educated in their doctrine at some point.
Dreamfall[]
- "Have faith in yourself, and in the Balance."
"I had faith once, Benrime. Look where it got me. What's left of the person I used to be?"
"I still see the same girl who walked through that door, a decade past." - ―Benrime Salmin and April Ryan[src]
The last ten years under Azadi occupation have seen Marcuria become a meaner place, although Benrime prides herself on still serving Magicals in the Journeyman and surreptitiously supports the Rebels by providing it as a safehouse for them in the four bedrooms upstairs. To avoid the attention of the Azadi, Benrime has toed the line by installing a steam-powered beer tap (which she never uses), and stocked her bookshelves with Azadi-approved literature. Rather than swearing by the Balance, Benrime now swears - out loud, at any rate - by the Six.
When Zoë first travels to Arcadia, she appears among the ancient ruins in the Underground Caverns beneath Marcuria. Mysteriously, these connect through a magical door (opened by what Na'ane describes as Banda magic) that leads through an empty room into the cellar of the Journeyman. The state of this empty room and its jammed door would seem to indicate that Benrime never uses it, so she is most likely unaware of the ruins beneath her inn.
She is the first Arcadian Zoë meets, and recognises by the latter's confusion that she is a denizen of Stark. Her familiarity with Shifters (which she assumes Zoë to be) is an obvious reference to April's similar Shift in TLJ, although she had never discovered April's origins in that game. It must have occurred some time in the intervening decade. She suggests that she visit Minstrum Magda, no doubt because the Sentinel are still in contact with Magicals, although she does not want to discuss such matters out aloud: fearing the wrath of the Azadi. She suggests that Blind Bob might know where Magda is, and when Bob demands Mulled Wine made from Mrs Mullins' Mixed Spices as "tit-for-tat" to divulge the whereabouts of the Minstrum, comments that "for a beggar, Blind Bob is quite particular". She is out of spices, so Zoë must find some elsewhere, but she boils the wine and provides a bottle for when she has.
She acts as a mother-figure for April's band of Rebels: chiding her for wanting to shirk the responsibility of looking after Brynn and help Zoë. Strangely for a Seer, Benrime does not notice the Prophet enter the Journeyman when April is following him, even though he would have had to have walked right past her post behind the bar to gain access to the cellar stairs. This is emphasised by her confession when April asks her advice regarding her role in Zoë's dream conspiracy: Benrime tells her "I'll do the best I can, though I'm no Wisewoman." This would seem to indicate that she has lost her abilities between games, or perhaps the writers are stressing some new distinction between Seers and 'Wisewomen'. This indication is added to by the fact that Benrime apparently does not see the Prophet pass her on his way to the cellar of the Journeyman, although perhaps stranger forces are at work in that case.
She suggests that April ask the Guardian about her role in the conspiracy, and that the White Dragon might be able to help her gain access to his realm. It is at this point that Brian reappears and informs April of his second-hand knowledge of the White's whereabouts. He and Benrime have a catch-up chat, and she teases him about his large bar tab. He promises her that he is owed some gold, and will repay her soon. During their discussion of his travels, he recounts a drinking session with a native of the Southlands who was incapacitated for 3 days from imbibing fermented pig's blood. Benrime replies with a derisive "Southlanders", so it is possible she moved to the Northlands because she felt her homeland was too provincial.
When the Azadi raid the Journeyman in their search for the Scorpion, Benrime is cold and unhelpful to them: loyal to the Rebels to the last. When Kian asks her if she has anything further to say, she says coolly "You're trespassing." When he corners Na'ane he convinces her to lead him to the Scorpion by threatening to try Benrime in Sadir as a traitor, and execute Brynn and Chawan as smugglers. She acquiesces, and when Commander Vamon arrests Kian one of the crimes he accuses him of releasing Benrime and the others. We can only assume she has gone into hiding somewhere, although the Swamp City is no longer a safe haven.
Dreamfall Chapters[]
Although Benrime does not appear in Dreamfall Chapters, it is revealed that she is in Azadi custody, and was sentenced to five years in prison at Cold Stone. We also learn that she has a nephew, Jakai, her sister's son, whom she helped raise and has joined the rebellion after her imprisonment. The game does not disclose her eventual fate.