Sedgewick

Stat Block

Name: Sedgewick the Small
Age:
Concept: Concept
Lifepaths:

Gear:
Affiliations:
Reputations:
Property:
Notes: Fate:?, Persona:?, Deeds:?

Background

Sedgewick was born on a Kardian Trade Cog. His mother died shortly after she gave birth to him. She unfortunately drowned because as everyone knows a woman at sea is very bad luck, unless of course that woman is with child. The question of Sedgewick’s father remains a mystery to this day, but it was a topic hotly debated shortly after Sedgewick’s conception. While several men claimed to have “given ‘er more’n a few minutes fun” each was completely certain they had not impregnated Sedgewick’s mother.

A scrawny newborn, Sedgewick was subjected to life aboard a Kardian Trade Cog. The fact that he survived his infancy defies all logic, the whole of the crew took a hand in raising him from time to time. When they remembered to or the crying irritated them, Sedge nearly died on several occasions from either malnutrition or the inevitable accidents which occur on a boat.

However against all odds Sedgewick did live to youth, eventually performing odd jobs for an occasional copper or crust of bread. However he was paid relatively little for his services, and before a few years he was several bread crusts in debt to most people on the ship. It was obvious, even to Sedgewick, that he needed more money to get ahead in life, and in his view, maybe get the opportunity to eat until full.

So it was that eight year old Sedge joined in one of the crew’s occasional games of cards. He’d brought his life’s savings 8 maggots, a dead rat he found, 4 copper, and some rock hard bits of biscuit. While it barely covered the ante the crew obliged him and even gave him a very favorable exchange rate of silver to decaying food matter.

That being said Sedge even won a few hands (though he had no clue how the game was played) unfortunately he did not know when to stop (or even that in the case of gambling, unlike other forms of work, spending more time at it does NOT automatically generate more money). So it was that Sedge lost all his hard earned savings.

It was then that Garin the Grizzled offered to cover his bets for the next hand… provided that if he lost he would agree to be Garin’s manservant for the remainder of Garin’s life. It took a few hands for Sedge to decide but ultimately he felt it was a good plan, because if he won he could get a lot more money than the amount Garin was offering him just to cover the next hand.

Fortunately Sedge lost and began a very educational period of his life where he never went hungry, as Garin also happened to be the ship’s cook. Apart from the fact that he sacrificed his freedom it was a pretty good arrangement for Sedgewick: plenty of hard work, a caring hand and willing teacher, and three square meals a day.

Garin’s arm had been crushed by a falling mast on one of his previous tours of duty, so Sedge was responsible for much of the lifting and two-handed jobs that Garin needed done. His other duties included popping boils, bathing the old man, much of the unpleasant scrubbing and cleaning work, and other less than pleasant work. Fortunately in his many years Garin had worked a myriad of jobs on the ship and offered Sedge helpful advice on almost any task on board. Garin was particularly knowledgeable as to omens and portents for the future and was superstitious to a fault. He explained to Sedge how Sedge’s life had been entirely laid out in advance, the death of his mother, the fateful game of cards, the losing bet… each event was all part of something much, much bigger. Sometimes things happened well, sometimes badly… all in all it was the duty of each to do as they were made and fulfill their own destiny whatever it might be. Not that they had any choice in the matter… but sometimes you could see what was around the corner and meet it on your own terms… even if we are merely players from a script we can make sure the audience damn well remembers our lines.

So Sedge the Small grew into a big young man… still called Sedge the Small in jest by the crew. They had a lot of fun at his expense, as he was a permanent unpaid servant to Garin the Grizzled, and had to bathe the old man. So Sedge got better at beating silence into some of them if they became a problem… overall Sedge was a welcomed and accepted member of the crew.

When Garin died and Sedge was freed of his bonds he was a little confused of how to react to his newfound freedom. For a short time he tried to adjust to the sailor’s life as it was all he knew… it didn’t work though. Garin had been too much a part of his life. So Sedge began to notice several signs that seemed to be pointing at something… something too abstract for him to figure out. It wasn’t until the crew reached a small backwater port and during one of the usual drunken nights on the town that Sedge went to see a medium to help him learn what he was destined to do next.

The response he got was jumbled and mad but contained snippets which he latched onto… he thanked the learned grandmother many times over and paid her far more than she was due: a practice that Sedge always keeps when in the company of crones.

Your blood’s not your own: bought and sold, sold and borrowed, borrowed and shared. Shared with all.

When she admits she’s wrong then you risk it all, you’ll know when.

Always try on jewelry when offered.

Remember the hairy oxen… run when you see the hairy oxen… fates worth than death follow them.

In addition to those cryptic sayings she also told him to pursue a career in the military and even told him who was looking for a few good meat-shields… I mean brave souls willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good.

So it was that Sedgewick joined the Micronian war, battling to reclaim the ancient and tiny lands of Micronia for the only slightly larger nation of Belligistan. Much of Sedgewick’s duties included crushing the Micronian militias and clans by fighting them at their tiny farm house hide-outs throughout the Micronian countryside. Sedgewick and the rest of his volunteer brigade scouted out the countryside and when they did encounter resistance such as someone farming land or generally doing much of anything other than helping to secure Micronia for Belligistan they set to torching whatever buildings they could find and killing all men of fighting age, and really anyone who got in their way.

Sedgewick’s “elite” volunteer force traveled into Micronia first, acting as shock troops to soften the resistance up for Belligistan’s heavier fighting forces. They did their job well and succeeded even in destroying a sizeable Micronian fortress. This was surprising as all military intelligence on Micronia suggested that they had at most 2 or 3 fortresses only and none as far west as Sedgewick’s forces were at the time, which is probably because… at the time… Sedgewick was actually in Kardia.

After their major victory Sedgewick’s force struck back for the Belligistanian capitol… it was a long journey, directions were asked for several times, by the time they reached the capitol they found that Kardia had already swept in and conquered the tiny nations of Micronia and Belligistan, the Kardian’s felt this was the easiest solution to “deal with those irritating nation-state squabbles”.

Sedgewick found himself unemployed but fortunately not put to death or imprisoned. As he’d been a simple conscript and was perfectly willing to lay down his weapons rather than take on the much larger nation of Kardia, the Kardians let him go.

With the limited money he’d earned from Belligistan and pillaged from Micronia Sedgewick spent some time back on the seas traveling the world and looking for work.

And that’s how Sedgewick ended up in the slave trade… … … …