Legum
i
Race:   Human Class:  MU/Pighter
STR:  13       INT:  14       WIS:  8        CON:  9 DEX:  21       CHR:  10       ALT:  13       LUC:  12
Hit Points:    12
Social Status:  Freeman Seaman
You are the son of a seaman, who was the son of a seaman, who was the son of Stalgetti the Manipulator. Your father was on the Heavy Merchant "Jaded Whale", which would ply the routes between Kethem and the Evael forest (the Sindarin Elves). Your father was what many called a "straight arrow" and some called a "stuck up asshole". Still, he got along well with the Elves, a very handy thing, and was moving up the company ladder out of the rowing pits and into the cargo bay. He would bring you little magical trinkets occasionally from Evael. His pay allowed him to enroll you in the Hcetlac University of Magic for several semesters when your intelligence proved above average. Still, the high cost required you to work summers, and your father almost always managed to find you a billet on the Jaded Whale. The only time he couldn't was the summer of '01, about nine months ago. There was something afoot, as your father's worried attitude and constant pacing attested to, but he would only say that there weren't any billets open for the next few months. Fortunately, you managed to sign onto a Hcetlac expedition to Tawhiem. You were one of the ship handlers, and thus did not get to go inshore with them, but during the six weeks your ship was in dock, you managed to get a good working knowledge of Nol, the Tawhiem Trading Town, and a few of the Tawhiem traditions. You also managed to make fairly close friends with Fargo Firestomper, a junior witchdoctor of the Kazanti tribe. You were almost sorry to leave when the Hcetlac scholars returned, with two of the eight man party "missing and presumed eaten". Still, a last round of the incredibly sour local brew with Firestomper and the inevitable headache the next morning reminded you of the advantages of home, like drinkable beer at reasonable prices (Kethem Beer is available in Tawhiem, but very expensive). Your pay for the expedition, however, was less than expected, and you were very happy to find the Jaded Whale in port in Kethem and stocking up for another Evael run when you returned. Your father welcomed you aboard, the dark cloud that had surrounded him recently apparently gone. You left two days later, missing the Kethem Navy Escort because of the late delivery of armour from Ostenar. The wagon driver apologised profusely, blaming the late delivery on a freak storm that force him to delay leaving by two days. It was infrequent but not unusual, and the Jaded Whale left port without escort and without incident. After the first day out, however, a storm began brewing. The ship's Talakis cleric, old Far Seeing Art, walked around muttering angrilly as his usually effective spells did little to quell the rising winds and waves. Finally, the Jaded Whale headed for the Gozyda-
Hordiri pass to shelter in the ring islands overnight.
You were lashed to the Main Mast while lightning bolts rained down about you, tossed by laughing gods of dark, electrified cloud, while the pilotless ship slowly approached the rocks...Suddenly, a lighting bolt struck the mast with jarring force, and with a splintering crash the heavy mainstay fell directly toward you...with a start, you awoke with the dreadful knowledge that something was wrong. The crash was not just from your dream...the continuing screams of tortured wood and the rapid list of the Jaded Whale told you that the ship was dying on the rocks of Gozyda. As the ship continued to list, however, you heard the sudden crackle of fire beams and the scorching blast of flamebolts from the decks above. The wall in front of you bulged. There was the sudden loud snap signifying the final release of the overloaded keel, and you were flung about like so much paper as the Jaded Whale split in half and immediately sunk. You fought the dreadful suction pulling you down into dark oblivion. Just as the urge to breathe became unbearably strong, you broke surface.
The storm still raged, and by the occasional lightning flash you saw the dark intruder ship hauling crewmembers aboard in nets. You swam for your life away from the wreckage. Flashes of white to the side announced rocks amoung the water, and hopefully shore. You struck towards them, and a tired, wet, and lucky half hour later you dragged yourself out of the surf. In the light of day, you found yourself on the melted rock of Gozyda. You lived off of birds eggs for a week before the Kethem Light Warship Youngstown, searching for the Jaded Whale, approached close enough for you to hail it.
When you told your story to the authorities, they wouldn't believe it. First, they said, there are no warships capable of cutting a Heavy Merchant in half. Second, they added, other ships sailing on the same day reported excellent sailing weather. Finally, they shouted, the Ship's Log Chest, the waterproof and floating chest in a float released storage bin (to release the chest and allow it to survive if the ship sank) that was required by law to have updated log entries placed in it every four hours under the prevention of loss of information to Kethem act of 10478 had been recovered, with no log entries for the last two months. Therefore, they finished, your ship was engaged in illegal activities that resulted in some sort of battle (they found scorched wood floating amoung the wreckage). You stuck by your story, but were "blackballed" (not allowed on a Kethem Government Ship for employment, although Lesser Holder and Free Trader ships are fine) anyway.
Now you are on the street, looking for employment...
Spells:
Firebeam I
D Mag, 15 sec duration ("yes" or "no" answer)
D Mag Type, 15 sec duration (tells were magic is)
Str +D2, 15 sec duration
Skills:
Basic Seamanship:              80%
Swimming                      90%
Speak Elvish                   20%
Speak Barbarian                40%
Card Tricks                   50%
Items:
1234 silver pieces
Live in barracks housing, 5 silver a night
Leather
Small shield
Axe
Dagger
Charged Magic Item, Pyrotechnics, Elvish, 2 charges
Weapons Training:
Sword Spear Axe Dagger