Name: Cedric Amberstone
Gender: M
Age: 25
Role/Position: Longbowman
Appearance:
Cedric stands at 5'11" and weighs 190 lbs, much of which is lean upper-body muscle. He is surprisingly pale for someone who should have spent so much time outdoors. His hair, which is straight and nearly shoulder-length, is a dark brown, with equally dark eyes and furrowed eyebrows that suggest he is constantly in thought. Though he bears no blatant scars, there is an ugly red burn along his left forearm, reminding him of the time he gripped his bow incorrectly and the bowstring raked a good six inches of his skin. The mark is now covered by a long glove (see Equipment) that he refuses to take off.
Personality: Cheerful and optimistic, Cedric tries his hardest to find some good in whatever the situation. He has a great deal of respect for those older than him, as they are more experienced and hardened than he is, and trusts them to make the difficult decisions. He never shows a great deal of enthusiasm or excitement, as his time with the Fools has taught him that the world is a bit dimmer than he had initially believed, but he does his best to enjoy his work, and will always manage at least a grin.
History: If one were to look up the definition of "common peasant," they would find an excellent description of the first twenty years of Cedric's life. He was a farm boy, raised on a small farm on the western outskirts of the woods between Forlinger and Greenwick, that provided just enough of a profit to keep him from severe poverty. He took to archery at a young age, since wild game was a major source of food. He soon learned how to string, unstring, draw, and maintain a bow, as well as craft and carve arrow shafts and forge arrowheads (given the proper tools, of course). Survival was nearly as critical, since wild animals did not have a habit of sitting about, waiting for you to shoot them, and no one else was going to clean and cook your kill for you.
Two days after his 20th birthday, Cedric left home, travelling west and taking only his equipment with him. The reasons for this are an absolute mystery to anyone else, since it is the one and only subject Cedric refuses to expound on. The location and health of his parents and siblings (if he had any) are well-guarded secrets to him. All that is known for sure is that he has not returned to his home since he left five years ago.
Cedric had never much liked the idea of roving, moving from town to city and taking anything a stranger would hand out, but that is what he found himself doing. It was not a pleasant life, but there were always farmers looking for a good set of hands to help with work, so he always managed to find a reasonable place to sleep. He worked any odd job he could find, including a few months as a blacksmith (from which he learnt almost nothing and enjoyed none of it). He saved up a good bit of money by choosing to hunt rather than buy food and sleep at his place of employment rather than an inn.
His luck expired during the second winter, at which point the work seemed to dry up and he found himself paying out of pocket to stay somewhere warm. Desperate, he took a try at gambling, where he discovered that he was absolutely incapable of bluffing and lost every coin within an hour. One of the gamblers felt a faint tug of remorse and return a single gold coin to Cedric before he left. It was a hard lesson, one that he would never forget.
On his way out, he encountered another archer who looked surprisingly similar to him. Cedric recognized the other man's longbow and kit and struck up a loose conversation. Cedric asked if he was some sort of guardsman, as he had seen no other guards armed with such a weapon. It was here that he learnt of the existed of the Band of Fortune and the benefits that came with it. Cedric had never dealt with mercenaries before, though he had heard both good and bad stories of their behavior, but any decent source of food merited investigation. Curious, and completely out of other things to do, Cedric asked around the town for information.
"Oh, I've heard of them," a stranger said, whom Cedric later realized was an existing member. "But these days, they're called the Band of Fools."
Cedric couldn't resist a smile as he tossed the man his sole remaining coin and asked if they could use one more fool.
Skills and Abilities: Many years hunting wild game has given him tremendous skill with a longbow, though a normal bow will do if he has no other option. He is an excellent hunter, a skill that includes tracking, cleaning, and cooking. His strongest trait is his eyesight, and he has the ability to see small movements at a considerable distance, though his sense of hearing is nearly as sharp. He has a peculiar habit of cocking his head to the left and narrowing his eyes when he hears something.
Weakness(es): Though he has some skill with a hand ax, Cedric is completely untrained in using his fists or his knife as anything but a tool. He has poor endurance and stamina and cannot run at full speed for very long. In the realm of war and death, he is still very ignorant, having never set foot on a front line. He is also incapable of bluffing or lying in the sense that he just cannot keep a straight face.
Equipment: A steel-plate brigandine, steel greaves, and a studded leather bracer on his right forearm, with the left sporting a
leather arm guard shooting glove. He totes along a steel
sallet on a leather strap for actual combat. He carries a
longbow (120-lb draw weight) and
reverse-draw quiver for combat, along with a small one-hand ax with a hook on the opposite side. For cleaning and skinning animals, he carries a
large hunting knife in a sheath on the back of his belt.
His horse, Maggie, is a red-brown thoroughbred mare with a black mane and tail, a wide white blaze, and a white sock on the front left leg.
