The Dain family was granted a tract of land and a lordship outside the town of Brighton in exchange for a forgiveness of debts by Earl Harkin Long 89 years ago. They have since made a name for themselves as shrewd and successful, albeit fair, family of business men.
The two eldest Dain sons have taken up their mantle as heirs to their family’s legacy, but the youngest Dain children, a pair of fraternal twins, have a reputation of being the troublemakers in the family.
You don’t know a lot of what your father and brothers do, since you have actively avoided learning anything about the family business. Your older brothers, quite unlike your father, actually support your choice to go your own path, and you have a good relationship with them. Your sister has taken to living the life of a partying debutant and you rarely see her anymore since you decided to do more traveling.
You have made short journeys throughout the Vales, never running into more of a problem than a rampaging Basking Beetle, and have met quite a few people in your journeys. You are especially fond of a sleepy little village called Willowbrook a few days ride north of Brighton. The people and attitude there is more relaxed and less concerned with the dos and don’ts of society, which is a welcome relief from the posh and haughty Brighton.
You decided to journey to Willowbrook for their Harvest Moon celebration, which is their one and only claim to fame. Each year hundreds travel to the village to witness the ringing of the Harvest Bell, which sits atop their town hall and is rung to start the official harvest season. Not wanting to take the journey alone, you asked your childhood friend Falcar, who recently returned from The Bardic Academy in Longford, and Estoril, a bowmaker’s son who lives outside of Brighton you met during one of your trips, to accompany you. They both happily agreed, with Falcar even inviting along a friend of his of Longford named Geraint.
The journey was uneventful, other than the southern Maiden’s Way being busy with traffic of all sorts. This morning, you arrived at Willowbrook, two days before the festival’s official start. The small village was already overflowing with visitors and harvest decorations. Grand tents had been set up throughout the streets with vendors already hawking their wares to the “early birds”. Your group made for the Red Birch Inn to inquire about lodging when Geraint lit up with a smile and exclaimed, “Night take me, if it isn’t the little Gnome” before heading to the front door.
Character Questionnaire
1. What is your character’s full name?
Markennan Dain
2. Who are your parents and what do they do to make money?
Alimer and Josephina Dain. Alimer is the most minor of nobles with shrewd mercantile accumen.
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3. Do you have any siblings or extended family? What do they do and where do they live?
*Two older brothers and a twin sister who was born first.
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4. Who do you look up to? Why do you admire this person?
*Quentin Malam, the weapons master my father hired to instruct his sons in weapons training. He saw me for who I was
and treated me like a son, unlike my own father who only saw me for what he wanted me to be.
5. What schooling or training do you have?
The typical of a nobles son. Reading, writing, mathmatics, sciences and history. None of which I paid much attention to.
6. What do you do for money or to help out your family?
Nothing yet. I have no interest in my fathers mercantile pursuits.
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7. What is your favorite season? Why?
*Spring, It’s crisp and new and green. Rife with life and possibilities.
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8. What do you like to do in your leisure time when you are alone? With friends?
*My personal pursuits are private. I enjoy reading. Just as much I enjoy drinking and carousing.
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9. What do you think your best physical feature is? Worst?
*I work constantly at weapons drill to stay strong and nimble. It covers for the fact that I am not as robust as I appear.
10. What is your favorite possession? Where did you get in and why is it your favorite? Does anyone else know about it?
My favorite possession is a short sword given to me by Quentin. It was his first given to him by his master. It will always
have a place on my hip.
11. What is your favorite animal? Why?
Meh…….
12. Where would you like to be in 10 years? 30 years?
Probably dead on a battlefield or back ally somewhere.
13. What would you do in the following situations?
1. You are being repeatedly picked on by a bully who can most likely beat you up. His taunts are verbal so far, but you know he is not above violence.
My father can’t beat me anymore. But that doesn’t stop him from trying to run my life.
2. A rich merchant who is traveling through town drops a gold coin when paying for a meal at the inn and doesn’t notice when it rolls underneath a chair. He gets up to leave, not realizing he lost the money.
Pick it up, His loss, my gain.
3. Your younger sister has been absent from school and you find out she has been sneaking to the swimming hole with other kids to spend the day gallivanting around.
You’re kidding right? I was probably with her!
4. A minstrel is passing through town and is performing tonight, but it is a holy day and you are supposed to attend a religious ceremony that will cause you to miss the performance.
Go see the performance. Holy Days are a silver a dozen.
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5. You come across a dead mother bear and her newly born cub. You know if you leave the cub, it will surely die.
*Keep walking. I have no skill at skinning and I sure as hell don’t need a pet.
6. Your best friend stole an apple from a fruit cart and was witnessed doing so by a bystander, when the town guard arrive, they ask you as a witness what you saw.
Tell them I saw nothing and the merchant must be mistaking, I won’t sell out a friend. I will thou buy an apple and pay double for it.
7. While delivering a package to an innkeeper, you realize he has unknowingly paid you too much for your service.
Tell the fuckhead he paid me too much and next time I will keep the extra.
8. A group of bandits are attacking the town and everyone is expected to help in some way.
I guess it’s time to put that sword and training to work!
9. You have been asked to help transport a merchant’s goods to a far away city for a large sum of money, but you know that without your help, your family would have trouble with their harvest.
I don’t honestly know. I guess I’ll find out if it happens.
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10. You witness the man who accidentally killed your brother in a drunken brawl get wrongly accused for a crime of thievery.
*Im sure that whatever the sentance for thievery is it’s not near what he deserves.
