[Lalwendë]

Hope this is all laid out as it should be! I'm hoping to play as a Pro-Corsair (bad-guy) Lossoth.

Character Description Form:

1.) Have you ever played in an RPG at the Barrow Downs? – NO

2.) How many RPG’s on the Barrow Downs are you currently involved in?
None

3.) Have you posted in The Green Dragon Inn – YES
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For your character please include:

NAME: Tarn

AGE: 37

RACE: Lossoth (Men), Pro-Corsair

GENDER: Male

WEAPONS: Tarn does not possess any finely wrought weapons of war, however, the tools of his trade have proved more than adequate for defensive purposes. He is equipped with two knives: one long and sharp, the other serrated, for skinning and cutting. He also has a harpoon, from his time whaling. Tarn is also known, and feared, for his fists.

APPEARANCE: Tarn is a tall man, and of average build, yet he looks much larger due to his bulky layers of clothing. He wears felt breeches with over-breeches of pale coloured hide, tucked into long, heavy boots. His layers of clothing include a linen undershirt, a thick woollen jersey, a leather waistcoat, an old, weathered overcoat made of reindeer leather and a wolfskin cloak about his shoulders. His hands are large and he wears rabbit skin gloves, the fur on the inside to provide protection from the cold. The four remaining toes on his left foot have turned black from a severe case of frostbite. He has dark hair, with a smattering of grey at the temples; he wears his hair to his shoulders and it is unkempt and wiry. Tarn has a square face, with a broken nose, and a wry smile which reveals his remarkably white teeth. His eyes are deep set and dark blue, and he has a habit of squinting, from the many times he has been abroad in the depths of the winter storms.

PERSONALITY/STRENGTHS/WEAKNESSES: Tarn is a useful man to have around, as he is a skilled seal trainer, and he also has a deep understanding of the environment of the Ice Bay. He is a man who will not run from a challenge or a fight, although he is able to turn on the charm when needed. Tarn’s biggest weakness is that he is prone to arrogance, and he resents the Lossoth chieftains deeply, thinking himself superior to them. Tarn attracts other malcontents, and though he prefers to be alone, and is quite aloof in their company, he is often at the centre of plotting and scheming.

HISTORY: Tarn is of pure Lossoth blood. His forefathers were born, lived and died on the ice. He was brought up by his grandfather due to the brutal, but not unusual, deaths of his parents. Tarn believes that they died while trying to take one of the great white bears during a hunt. He was a child at the time, and it was natural that his grandfather should take responsibility for his upbringing. A tough man but with a deeply hidden soft heart, he taught the boy all the hunting, survival and fighting skills that would see him through life, but he also took the time to tell him many of the old tales, and to make sure he could read.

At sixteen, Tarn was an adult and began to take a full part in the life of the extended family, but soon, his grandfather passed away. The headship of the family passed to the next elder, Tarn’s Great Uncle, a man who had a weakness for the drink. Tarn’s resentment grew each day he toiled hard, only to see his share become smaller while his Great Uncle’s nose grew redder and his temper shorter. After a while, he took off on his own, so much had he grown to loathe his Great Uncle. He found work doing jobs for other groups of Lossoth, including journeys on whaling ships, but he always felt isolated and excluded. He saved all that he could until he was able to buy his own sled and team of dogs. From then on by choice he became increasingly isolated from the rest of the Lossoth as he went on his own independent hunting trips, returning with all manner of furs and hides.

In the past few years he has taken to training seals to search for treasure amongst the shipwrecks. He noticed it was a good chance to gain himself much wealth, and was determined to learn the skill. This determination, coupled with a natural understanding of animals, did indeed prove to be valuable, and he has profited from his latest venture, pulling several treasures from the ocean.

When the Corsairs arrived, he tried to keep a distance from them at first, being naturally wary, but upon seeing how most of the Lossoth appeared to be uneasy about the incomers, he decided that perhaps they might not be so bad after all. To Tarn, something that most of the Lossoth disliked, especially something that the chieftains disapproved of, must surely be a good thing.

One morning not long after the arrival of the Corsairs, he decided to show off his seals, who managed to retrieve some silver plate from the ocean in full view of the Corsair captain. Later that day he was invited to speak to the captain, who was interested to know if Tarn could help him locate the treasure he sought. As Tarn spoke to the Corsair he was impressed by his authority, and began to think that this kind of power was something he would like himself. The captain did not really need to make many promises, as Tarn had already silently decided he would like to work with the powerful Corsairs, but just one look at the swords and knives that the captain promised was enough to get Tarn's allegiance.

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Carry on Character:

NAME: Thynne Tarlsson

AGE: 14

RACE: Lossoth (Men), Pro-Corsair

GENDER: Male

WEAPONS: One bone handled pocket knife

APPEARANCE: Thynne is a little more well-fed than most low status Lossoth youths. He spends a fair amount of his intelligence in seeking out the tasty food he relishes. Thynne is quite strong, but is not tall. He has dark hair which he keeps trimmed short using his pocket knife; this makes his hair uneven. He has a small scar on his chin as a result of an accident with a harpoon. Thynne wears plain breeches, two heavily patched woollen jumpers, one with an attached knitted hood, and an old bearskin cape. These are his only clothes and they were not made for him, so they are both well worn and slightly too big for him.

PERSONALITY/STRENGTHS/WEAKNESSES: Thynne is intelligent, although he often puts this to use in the wrong way, trying to get what he wants rather than what others want of him. He is very subdued, learned from years of submitting to the whims of his drunken father, but he is willing to turn his hand to most tasks. His weakness is a good meal.

HISTORY: Thynne has been brought up by his father since he was five, although his mother and sister live close to the Ice Bay, and he sees them now and then. When his father left his mother, he took Thynne with him, as he could see the boy would be useful in helping him earn money. His mother was too scared to say otherwise. Thynne has spent most of his life carrying out whatever work his father wishes of him, from gutting fish to carrying messages.
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Lalwendë's post

Tarn looked out of the door at the brewing storm with an angry look on his face. He had to go and feed his seals and leave the warmth of his new stone hut behind him. He felt such pride in having been able to build this humble dwelling that he did not like to leave it. One of his cronies, Talsson, was slumped by the fire in a drunken stupor. They had been playing knucklestones and Talsson had lost his money to Tarn. The agreement had been that if Talsson wanted another game then he would have to offer the labour of his son, Thynne, to Tarn. The man, drunk as he was, knew that the labour would not be handsomely rewarded, and he knew that he could lose the profits he normally gained from hiring out the lad, but he would not lose face, so the deal was done.

Thynne, a well-fed fourteen year old, sat in the corner of the hut on a pile of furs, staring at Tarn, wondering whether his new job was a good thing or a stroke of bad luck. Tarn looked at the lad and motioned with his head towards the door.

“Get yourself wrapped up, there‘s a storm coming in. You will come with me now and start by learning how to feed the seals” Tarn watched as the youth scrambled into his warm clothes. “I suppose you can swim?”.

Tarn was the seal handler, but he rarely went into the water these days. He paid those with little hope, such as Thynne, to do this for him. He himself had survived by carrying out hard labour such as this when he left the family, so he didn’t see any harm in others making a living this way. Sometimes, he thought he was doing them a favour. If he’d had any children of his own then he’d have had them working with the seals as soon as they could walk, and that would be for free. But this lad looked strong and bright enough, he might have hired him anyway, had his father not been such a drunken idiot and offered him at half the going rate.

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Tarn stood a bucket of fish on a flat rock by the side of the water and let out a long, piercing whistle. The lad pursed his lips and tried to copy him. Tarn laughed. “I suggest you get some practice in, though I doubt you’ll ever truly master it the way I have. Watch me.”

Again he whistled, and ten sleek bodies came towards them through the water. The dog-like faces of the seals surfaced; they could smell the fish and came right up to the edge of the rock, circling and crying. The smallest one heaved itself out of the water, and his head bobbed up and down expectantly.

“This is the youngest, I think you could start with him,“ Tarn said to the lad, who had stepped back a little from the creature. “No need to be afraid of him, he’s learning just like yourself”. Tarn put one of the silvery fish into Thynne’s hand and the lad gingerly offered it to the young seal, who carefully took it, and slipped back into the water. Tarn quickly threw more fish out to the older seals, to keep them from taking the fish from the youngster.

“Why did he have a golden tag in his ear?” said the boy, suddenly finding his voice.

“That,” said Tarn, “Is how they are identified as my own seals. As soon as one is born I put the golden ring into his ear, and then anyone knows that he is mine. If one were to be hunted, then that hunter would have to pay dearly, probably with more wealth than that of five chieftains.” Thynne looked shocked. “But that, thankfully, has never yet come to pass. And these fine sailors, they seem to appreciate their worth as much as I do.” Tarn looked solemnly towards the cliffs, where the masts of the Corsair ship were rolling to and fro in the swell.

Tarn admired the Corsairs, with their proud bearing and fierce talk. He was eager to do well for them, partly because he might get greater rewards, but also because he wished to earn their respect. He was starting to form notions of making some kind of allegiance with them. Tarn did not exactly fawn around the Corsairs, as grovelling was not in Tarn's nature, but he made sure to impress upon them how invaluable he was, and made great show of both his skill with the seals and what he considered his status among the other Lossoth.

Tarn and Thynne threw out more fish, and several seals came out of the water, nudging Tarn’s legs with affection, which prompted him to scratch their necks. He started to do a few of his training rituals while the lad stood and watched, shivering in the driving rain and wind. He was hungry and licked the remains of the fish from his gloves. Having finished this, he squinted out to sea, where his attention was caught by a ship being tossed about on the waves.

Tarn soon noticed that the lad wasn’t paying him any attention. “Look sharp, lad, or it’s just the diving you’ll be doing. Thought you were brighter than that.” He looked up to see what Thynne was peering at and he soon picked out the shape of a white ship trying to tack into the bay.

“By the stars…”