Ihtiabaris

[Ihtiabaris]

Ihtiabaris Race: Eypharian Gender: Male Age: 20 Birthday: 1st day of spring 493 Birthplace: Ahnatep Appearance Ihtiabaris is a four-armed Eypharian male, 20 years old, not particularly tall, but neither short by Eypharian standards. His body is relatively lean, but not too much so, and then he is quite skinny, which does help to conceal his actual strength. His face is long, rather than short, and his chin appears to stretch down, far below the part where the lower jaw bone is widest, which makes the lower half of his face appear rather long and triangular, and his lips vertically stretched to a somewhat abnormal extent. The area between the nose and the mouth is also stretched. The nose has narrow, high nostrils which seem as if they were being pulled down by the upper lip. If one wanted to get a picture of what the general impression of his face is like, all that one would have to do is – provided that his face isn’t already similar to Ihtiabaris’s (which is unlikely) – step before a mirror, then distance his lower teeth from his upper teeth as much as possible without opening ones mouth, and at the same time, keep his chin stretchet forward, away from his neck as much as possible. Finally, one would have to think away the strange, immovable shape of the mouth, and a pretty close picture of what Ihtiabaris’s face looks like, would appear before his eyes. Ihtiabaris’s somewhat bizarre facial features, combined with his posture that somewhat resembles a skeleton with muscles; – especially when his face assumes a more disaffected expression – add a slightly threatening, demonic air to his figure, the kind that gives one chills and makes one feel strangely uneasy (in the same way as a creepy looking mask might). Character history Ihtiabaris was born on the 1st day of spring, in the year 493. His father's name was Maasym and his mother's Khiba. Both worked in a perfumery owned by one of the father's cousins. (The men were good friends since childhood and were both apprentices of the cousin’s father, a master perfume maker, in their youth.) Ihtiabaris’s mother was the only daughter of a married couple, both of whom were ‘Jackals’, members of the Pressora’s armed forces. Ihtiabaris grew up as an only child, following in his father’s footsteps. At age ten, he started as an apprentice at his father’s workplace. Besides learning the art of concocting bottled fragrances, the boy also took a few lessons in armed combat, lead by his grandfather – just enough to show him what one can expect when challenged to a duel with light swords –. The only other skill he acquired in his youth was reading and writing in Arumenic, as well as the ability to understand and speak the common tongue. (His uncle’s small private bookshelf was of great assistance in the previously mentioned language learning). Ihtiabaris was already well on his way to becoming a fully matured scent-mixer, when an unanticipated accident occurred at his uncle’s scent-plant. The fireplace, the source of heat for the large fractionating column at the innermost wall of the workshop, caused a fire that destroyed everything inside the workshop and even caused the roof to cave in. The owner was unable to scrape together even a fraction of the funds necessary to renew it, because he had, at that moment, very little money put aside in his treasure chest as savings. The revenue from the shop was and had been modest ever since the current owner’s grandfather founded it back in the year 400. The reason for this was that, at the time the workshop was founded, a written permission was given to the grandfather, specifying that he may produce no more than 5% of all perfumes produced in Ahnatep. Thereafter, the percentage remained the same for the whole time until the fire, which occurred in year 513. In the days after the fire, on the first day of spring year 513, in which the workshop was destroyed, Ihtiabaris’ uncle wrote a few letters to authorities in charge of industry in Ahnatep, and also to some well connected people that he had been acquainted with. Sadly, he couldn’t manage to get a loan from anywhere. On the first day of summer, year 513, however, something happened that gave the employees of the perfumery fresh hope. Pupillo’s father was invited to the home of a man named Ehtul. Ehtul was forty years old at that time, and he had been a slave trader since his twenties. Pupillo’s father agreed to come, and during the lunch they had together, mister Ehtul convinced the perfume maker to accompany him on a dangerous, yet lucrative adventure. The man claimed to know, from reliable contacts, that a trading caravan was due to leave the city of Yahebah in five days. The plan was to intercept the caravan about 70 miles outside the City of Ahnatep, which was its final destination. The caravan was to be protected by at most two or three men armed with swords and crossbows. The number of the robbers was to be 10. The caravan, Ehtul told Pupillo’s father, would at first glance appear small and humble, not at all promising; however, on the three or four wagons, covered by blankets, there was to be found jewelry and jewel-cowered silver statuettes. The combined value of all the wares was to be expected at around 10 000 gm. When Ehtul explained all this to Pupillo’s father, he was told that the next morning he would get the answer. Ihtiabaris’s father told the entire story to his colleagues, who, after some hesitation, all agreed with the plan. One of them even offered to come along. Father replied that there was no need for additional help, and that he would only take along his son, as he had promised Ehtul. On the fifth day of summer 513, Ehtul, Pupillo, Pupillo’s father and seven other men left Ahnatep and rode out into the desert. They set up a camp seventy miles outside of the city, and a mile off the road. Once about every six hours, someone rode ahead so he could warn the others when the caravan would be nearing the ambush point. On the fourth day of waiting, the lookout returned to the camp with news that the caravan was only six miles away. The men prepared their crossbows and hid behind a mound that was near the road, and just high enough to prevent their mounted figures from being visible from the road. Only one man remained out of hiding; he’s job was to completely unarmed and without a horse, watch for the caravan and meet it on the road, just beside the hiding place of his company, so that they would be able to spring the trap at the right moment. When the unarmed member of the raiders spotted the caravan start to become visible across the vast flat clearing, he retreated towards the city only to turn back soon and start riding towards the caravan. When the caravan was approaching the ambush spot, the rider commanded the camel to go faster by tugging on its reigns. The mount started running towards the caravan at a pace that would suggest a friendly greeting. Stopping right before it, the rider joined eyes with the man walking in front. He greeted him and told him that he was a member of the city guard and was just returning from a lookout mission; then offered to escort them to the city. When the leader of the caravan was inquiring with the decoy-man, how alive the market square was at the time, sounds of 36 camel hoofs hitting the sandy ground could be heard in the background, and simultaneously, voices of one man shouting: “Everybody drop their weapons! Right now!” When everyone looked to their left, taking their eyes off the decoy, they spotted nine riders, already coming to a stop close by, with their crossbows aimed and ready to fire. The caravan’s crew, completely caught by surprise, dropped the loaded crossbows that were hanging by their side, held, just in case, with fingers near the triggers. That however was of no use since, already, the three armed guards were staring at nine tips of poised arrows. They dropped their weapons, then the raid leader spoke: “The five wagons you have been pulling along with you and everything on them now belong to us. As for you: We will escort you to Ahnatep, then walk you to the harbor in chains as if you were captured slaves. In the harbor, a ship belonging to a good friend of mine will be waiting to take you back to you home town. You will be set free and sent off on a rowboat just outside Yaheba’s harbor. Are there any questions?” The captives had no choice but to follow their captors to the camp. The raiders with their captives among them, arrived back at the camp when the sun was just an hour short of setting behind the flat horizon of the desert. Each ate a piece of dried bread before going to sleep at one of four campfires. Two campfires were for the raiders, and two for the captives. For the first half of the night stood guard Pupillo, Pupillo’s father and the raid leader. After a few hours, a trio of Eypharian brothers, all of them sailors by profession, and the raid leader’s once before employees, took over the guard from the raid leader, Pupillo and Pupillo’s father, all of whom went to sleep. Next morning, when the sun started to emerge from above the line of the horizon, the three brothers that had been alert and waiting while the rest of the travelers slept, started to execute the plan they had had in store since the day Ehtul invited them to join the raid adventure that was currently in motion. The brothers woke up their unsuspecting sojourners – each and every one of them still asleep after a strenuous day of travels – and while scarcely saying a word of explanation to any of them, including the leader - ordered them to pack up their things, and watched with loaded crossbows while the thirteen disarmed men prepared the now for the second time hijacked caravan to embark on the journey back to Ahnatep. When everything was set and ready to go, the men that arrived at the scene on camels, remounted their animals, while the ones that were leading wagon-pulling camels took their places on the wagons. The three armed brothers and their camels positioned themselves at the rear of the caravan, with their crossbows still ready to fire. Thus assembled, and even more silent then it had been on the previous day, the caravan proceeded to pull towards Ahnatep. The only sound that disturbed the silent traveler’s silent thoughts for the length of the entire day was the voice of one of the three hijackers, asking one of the wagon handlers whether he can have the camel pull a little faster. The man turned around, told the questioner that it can’t be done, and then immediately turned around again, fixing his eyes on the road in front. When another impending sunset was fast approaching, one of the hijackers turned his face towards his brother and reminded him that it was time to stop and set up another camp-site. The brothers were left with no choice but to prolong their journey to Ahnatep by another day, even though they certainly weren’t anxious to spend another sleepless night – this time, with thirteen prisoners they would have to watch. When camp was once again established, the hijackers took a rope, which they had stored into one of the camels saddle packs before departing from Ahnatep, cut it into pieces, and with the pieces; tied the prisoner’s hands behind their backs. By the time it got dark and myriads of stars started to appear on the night sky, fires were already burning at full force and the men sat around them. They formed three circles, one around each fire, and each circle was guarded by one of the brothers. Thus, the highjackers taught they were safe, but little did they know, that Ihtiabaris’s father had in his pocket a small knife, folded into a handle shaped like a fish. Within an hour of nightfall, all the men were asleep; all that is, except the three ever-vigilant hijackers, whose suspicious eyes tirelessly rested on their (seemingly) sleeping hostages, and, with the exception, also, of Ihtiabaris father, who, without a single movement betraying him to the eye of the one that was watching him, made the folded knife that was in his hip-pocket, fall onto the ground by moving his legs, then, while concealing his movements from the observer and pretending to be asleep, with hand-movements that originated in his wrists, proceeded to cut the rope that held his arms together just above the hands. Once his arms were free form the grasp of the rope, Ihtiabaris’s father remained still for a few minutes while he was assessing the situation. He concluded that he would achieve nothing by assaulting the guard that was watching him - along with four other men that were lying around the same fire -; the guard would be able to summon the help of his companions even if he was caught by surprise. The only viable option seemed to be to throw the knife while the man wasn’t paying attention. With sufficient good fortune, the knife would hit the man in the chest, and the lucky knife-thrower would be able to get his hands on the loaded crossbow that was lying beside him and the short sword that hung at his belt. All this, hopefully, before the guard with the knife in his chest would manage to alert his companions. Finally, Ihtiabati’s father resolved to try his luck with the only option that he saw as open to him. All he had to do was wait for a moment when the guard’s eyes would be fixed on one of the other fires or on the sky. Soon enough, a good opportunity arouse for Ihtiabaris’s father to take action: As the guard turned his head in the direction of the other two fires, Ihtiabaris’s father, who had been laying in wait for just such an opportunity, counted to twenty in order to confirm if the guards eyes intended to remain fixed on the fires for a considerable amount of time. When he counted to ten, the guard was still looking at the fires, seemingly buried in taught. In the instant when he got to twenty, Ihtiabaris’s father taught it was certain enough that the guard wouldn’t shift his gaze for least the next ten seconds, and – in the same instant as he concluded that – sprang up from the ground into a sitting position, threw the knife over the flames, hitting the guard in the shoulder. The guard with the knife stuck in his shoulder shouted, but by the time his companions picked up their crossbows, Ihtiabaris’s father already shoved the injured one aside and disappeared into the darkness with the loaded crossbow which he snatched from the ground right next to him. To Ihtiabaris’s father’s terrible misfortune however, the two brothers who still had crossbows in their possession, reacted swiftly and efficiently. One of them ordered all the captives – who were awakened by the injured one’s shouting – not to move a muscle, while the other one immediately ran after the fugitive. As Ihtiabaris’s father heard the threats the pursuer was shouting after him, he was afraid that the man really was mad enough to reclaim his run-away captive regardless of the risk to his own life. The fugitive immediately knew that he would not choose to match such boldness; he was unwilling to participate in a man to man clash, fought in near-pitch black darkness, where both the contenders have a loaded crossbow at their disposal, and the enemy also has a short sword at his belt. Therefore, due to all these circumstances, Ihtiabaris’s father didn’t hesitate long before he dropped his crossbow onto the ground and started slowly walking towards his pursuer with his hands in the air while shouting words of surrender. The hijacker, however, had never intended to bring Ihtiabaris’s father back to the camp alive. He taught that nine captives were enough trouble, so he shot the captive in the heart when he approached him to within the distance of around two feet. He then picked up the body and carried it on his shoulders back to the camp. At sunrise next morning, the first thing that the hijackers ordered the caravan to do was to dig a shallow grave for Ihtiabaris’s father. After concealing the dead man’s body under the sand, the three brothers explained the others how the rest of the journey was to proceed. One of them was to take two camels and one wagon, and with that wagon he was to embark to Ahnatep, where, upon arrival, he was to buy provisions necessary for his and his brothers’ escape trip. He was to return on the second evening after his departure. Meanwhile, the other two brothers and all the captives would wait for his return, 15 miles outside of Ahnatep. Upon his return, the captives would be sent on the estimated three-day long trip on foot back to Ahnatep, while the camels would take the wagons and the brothers out of reach in an undisclosed direction. Through the course of the next six days, the above described plan was impeccably executed. The one brother that had taken the trip to Ahnatep, returned just before the second sunset after the morning of his departure, exactly as planned. The captives were released the following morning, and by the time they reached Ahnatep, the sun was just short of setting for the third time since they had parted ways with their kidnappers. The brothers had by then increased their distance from Ahnatep to 50 miles. Hope still existed, however, that the double-crossing trio of brothers might not have managed to escape without leaving the slightest clue as to where they were headed after all. The leader of the double-crossed raiders told Ihtiabaris that someone who knew the brothers once told him, that the trio reportedly had some relatives in Zelitva, and as far as Ehtul could tell, the traitors didn’t know that that person and Ehtul ever met. To Ihtiabaris, that seemed as good a clue as he could possibly wish for. By his second evening back in Ahnatep, he was determined to find the quickest way to travel to Zelitva and, once there, locate his father’s murderers. The Benshira tradesmen, who arrived into Ahnatep with the Eypharians that robbed them, but were later robbed themselves; were not cheated of the things which Ehtul promised them as he seized their treasures. On the morning that followed the evening on which the company of five Benshira and six Eypharians reached the walls of the city, Ehtul escorted the five Benshira to the docks, where they were taken on board the ship that Ehtul had arranged for them. The ship set sail in the morning, on the very next day. Language Fluent Language: Arumenic Basic Language: Common Skills Skill EXP Total Proficiency Perfumery 26 SP 26 SP Competent Short sword 10 RB, 4 SP 14 SP Novice Poison 15 SP 15 SP Novice Camel handling 5 SP 5 SP Novice Lores Lore of Ahnatep Streetplan Possessions 1 Set of Clothing - Lightweight Linen kilts (Men) - Lightweight Linen Undergarments - Lightweight Linen Coat - Simple Leather Sandals -1 Waterskin 1 Backpack which contains: -Comb (Bone) -Brush (Bone) -Soap -Razor -1 eating knife -Flint & Steel -500 Gold Mizas Housing Location: Zelitva(fresh off the boat) Ledger Purchase Cost Total Starting +500 GM 500 GM Thread List /