Thomkin Ballyforth stood in the middle of a tent that had become his inn, busily painting the new bar a neon blue, when a hooded man in a gray robe came up to him.
“The new inn is looking quite nice, Mr. Ballyforth,” remarked the monk as he pulled back his cowl, revealing a bony face, a beaky nose and a bald head.
Thom didn’t even look up as his said, “Go to the abyss, Brother Vincent.”
“Ah, I see. You still blame the Brethren for your...misfortune. I can not for the life of me understand why. It was all just an unfortunate...accident. However, that is not why I come. I was wondering if you have perchance seen...Brother Sylvester.”
“He’s not your brother anymore. And he’s not calling himself Sylvester anymore either. You know very well Jamie works for me now. He’s going to cook for me, and maybe even act as a guard when I have to go out on the road. He’s rather good with a mace,” Thom said a bit louder than he had intended. “Leave the boy alone,” he added after a moment.
“Stay out of things that are none of your affair, Thomkin. All I want to do is...speak to the boy. I must say, though, that I can not fathom why you would want him as a fighter. He has never actually fought anyone.”
“Yeah, well, he’s got the weapon training your lot gave him, even if he hasn’t used it on anybody yet. Anyway, he’s not here,” answered Thom as a tall, thin young man with curly hair came in carrying lumber in his arms. “Where do you want this, Guv’ner? Bloody ‘ell, it’s heavy...oh, dear!” said the boy as he noticed that he and Thomkin weren’t alone. Quickly he dropped his load and lowered his eyes timidly as he greeted his former superior. “Beggin’ your pardon, sir,” he said softly.
“Now, now Jamie,” soothed Thom as he gave Vincent a sharp look. “No need to act that way anymore. You’re not with his lot now. You’re with me,” he said with a smile.
“Yes sir,” whispered Jamie as he continued to stare at the floor.
Brother Vincent returned Thomkin’s look with a raised eyebrow and a look of his own. “Ah, there you are, Brother Sylvester. Come along boy, there’s work to be done,” he said with a snap of his fingers, as if he were calling to a dog instead of a person.
“Now see here, you pompous sack of wind, this was a free country last time I checked. You just can’t come barging in here ordering people about,” Thom shouted as he waved his paintbrush at the monk. “Oops. Sorry. Well, the old robe need a bit of color, didn't’ it,” snickered the halfling.
“Beggin’ your pardon, sir, but temple life just ain’t for me,” interrupted Jamie. “Anyways, I got a good job ‘ere now. So, I reckon I ain’t goin’ back,” he said as he dared to look up for the first time, but then quickly looked back down again.
Vincent glowered at the little halfling, but retained a portion of his dignity as he leveled his gaze once more on Jamie. He stared at the boy for a long moment before he said, “Have it your way, boy. But know this. Nothing good can come from turning your back on your god. Nothing! You will return some day, begging forgiveness. May our god be merciful to you on that day. It would be more than you deserve,” he intoned as Jamie turned red and hunched his shoulders, trying to make himself shrink.
Thom put his little frame between Vincent and the boy. “I hope you are quite finished,” he said, trying to look fierce and threatening, “because even if you’re not, you’re leaving. Right now!”
“Very well,” Vincent said as he turned to leave. “I won’t be back, by the way, and neither will the Brethren.”
“Promise?” Thom shot back as the monk disappeared through the door.
Jamie slowly sank into the nearest chair. Thomkin walked over to the despondent boy, and smiling his most encouraging smile, put a fatherly hand on his knee. “Don’t worry, boy. You’ll make it, you’ll see.”
Jamison McCall
Neutral Good 3rd level Cleric/1st level Fighter (dual class)
Human Male, 18 years old
6’3”, 180 lbs.
Str 17 Con 16 THAC0 20 Wis 16 Dex 13 Hp 17 Int 12 Cha 9 AC 6
Weapon Proficiencies:
Footman’s Mace, Morning Star
Non-Weapon Proficiencies:
Read and Write Common, Healing, Herbalism, Cooking, Spellcraft
Languages:
Common
Equipment:
Bracers of AC6 , Footman’s Mace, Morning star, backpack, tunic, breeches, riding boots, belt, several small pouches filled with various spices, cooking pot, water skin, iron rations, money pouch with 5 silver, flint and steel, 50’ hemp rope, riding horse, saddle, saddle bags, saddle blanket (all supplied by Thomkin)
Hooded robe, holy symbol, sandals, prayer book (all kept in a chest in his room),
Background:
Jamie McCall was born in the poorest district of Guardian’s Grove. He hated the squalor of his surroundings and sought any way to escape them. He dreamed of living somewhere that was clean, and where he could get enough to eat. Most of all, he wanted to learn to read. When clerics from the local temple came recruiting in his neighborhood, the 14-year-old boy leaped at the chance to get away. Religious life had always fascinated him anyway. The things that went on at the temple were so much more glamourous than the things that happened in the grubby little shack his family lived in. And it would make his mother, who was particularly devout in the faith, so very proud. All-in-all, it seemed like a good move.
Once Jamie got to the temple, however, he found that he’d made a big mistake. He’d never been so lonely in all his life. He found that life in the temple wasn’t all that different from life at home. Oh sure, everything was nice and clean, and there was plenty of food to eat and books to read. But the elite fighting force within the temple, the Brethren, treated the mere clerics as if they were lower than themselves. These monks got all the advantages, while it seemed the clerics did all the drudgery. The novices in particular worked very hard at the temple, and their lives held the most restrictions. They weren’t allowed to make friends with their fellow novices. They weren’t even supposed to talk or look at each other. All their thoughts and efforts were to be directed at their god, and to the service of the Brethren. Only the Brethren were allowed any kind of diversion or freedom. Jamie found himself dreaming more and more about what life on the outside must be like.
However, as disappointing as religious life had turned out to be, Jamie hung on to it. He still wanted all the knowledge he could cram into his head, hoping that some day he could use it to better his station in life. The only place he knew he could learn things for free was at the temple. And he really didn’t want to disappoint his god...or his mother. So he studied, learned and did his duties, which mostly consisted of cooking for his fellow clerics and the Brethren.
Eventually, there came a day when Jamie was so miserable that he found himself contemplating, not the morning devotions, but the best way to break each tenant in the temple’s code, one-by-one. It was then that he realized it was time for him to leave.
One day, he confided his feelings to Thomkin Ballyforth over at the Traveler’s Rest, mostly because Thom had been the only one who treated him kindly in the four years Jamie had spent as a cleric. Thom rather liked the boy, and felt sorry for him because he was so obviously out of place at the temple. Upon hearing how the boy felt, Thom urged him to make good on his plan to leave, and suggested Jamie hook up with the old halfling. They have quickly developed sort of a nephew/favorite uncle relationship with each other. Thom has even promised to take Jamie out to see the world and have a bit of an adventure, even though Thom hasn’t even thought about doing such things in years. However, before he can go adventuring with the ex-cleric, Thom has to buck up Jamie’s self-esteem. Life at the temple has left the naturally shy boy ill-equipped to deal with the outside world. And quitting the temple has left him feeling like a selfish bastard and a failure.
(c) 1999 by Erica Woollums