Trouble in Ferenze
fast talking bard
So Oswain was actually born in the Galic village of Dunedain. He was born poor and of low class even by northern standards. His mother passed away during the birth of his sister when Oswain was only six (Oswain also has an older brother). Oswain’s father’s noble profession was to collect leeches and sell them to the local barbers, healers and apothecaries (often making the children walk 10-20 miles to the larger towns to get the best prices). So they lived by a bog, and the method for gathering leeches was to have the children strip down and enter the water up to their neck and then stay there for a couple of minutes. When they came out covered in leeches, their father would pluck them off and put them in a jar. On a good day, they would catch some frogs to add some meat to their diet. On a great day, they would come home with a small fish.
At a young age, Oswain realized that this was not a good life.
Oswain’s family was universally looked down upon by the community. The only exception to this was that Oswain had an excellent singing voice. The druids often had him participate in the seasonal rites. When Oswain was 12, it happened that a band of mummers were passing through the local village during the summer solstice festival and heard Oswain singing. They told Oswain he could join them if he wished, and Oswain did wish, but his father refused. One of the performers told Oswain where they were heading. Oswain waited two weeks, and then set off on his own and eventually found them. The mummers treated Oswain poorly and he was little more than a slave (though they did teach him to perform and play and taught him many songs). Still, it was much better than gathering leeches and Oswain loved to perform. He was with them for a year when they reached the city of Aachen. The old bard Connor, happened to catch the group’s performance and heard Oswain sing and play. He observed the group after the performance and saw how poorly Oswain was treated. He invited Oswain to his own performance in a high end tavern. Oswain was entrance by the performance. When Connor offered to make him his assistant and train him to be a Bard, Oswain accepted at once. The two stole away in the middle of the night. Oswain came to view Connor as both his role-model and adopted father.
Six years later, Oswain was nearly fully trained, he adopted the name of Octavio to better fit into his new surroundings. He had mastered the lyre, acting, extemporaneous speaking and a complete repertoire of songs. Since northerners were so looked down upon, due to his natural talents “Octavio” was able to obtain complete fluency in Imperial and could pass as a local born. It was only when he got particularly upset or animated that his speech gained an accent (and often Galic swear words). Octavio was still traveling with Connor, but Octavio was beginning to establish himself. While Connor would go and perform in the households of the nobles or the high end establishments, Octavio would perform in the brothels or low end taverns. So it happened that they were in the city of Ferenze. Octavio and Connor were wandering a market in the late afternoon. Octavio’s attention was momentarily distracted by a vendor and he did not notice or pay heed to the horsemen rapidly advancing up the busy street. While everyone else dove out of the way, Octavio was run down. He came to on the ground with a pounding head and a broken arm. He saw Connor standing over him and screaming at an older, well dressed horseman. That horseman drew a sword and cut down Connor and the group of horsemen rode off. Witnesses later told Octavio who the men were — they were the head of and heir of one of the most powerful families in Ferenze (and many witnesses swore that rather than trying to avoid Octavio, the son actually adjusted his horse to purposefully run Octavio down.
Oswain naively tried to pursue justice through the system, but the results were beyond laughable. The noble was charged 5 sp for the equivalent of littering (not disposing of the body) and Oswain was put in prison for two weeks for interfering with the right of way of a noble.
Oswain swore revenge and has spent the six years since building up the skills and connections that will let him bring justice to this family that thinks it is above the law.