Ward Butcher (Terrorshard, Palumbton)
The son of Palumbton never saw eye to eye with Koth, and when he became the defacto leader of their homeland, Ward was relegated to his simple yet important task of slaughtering animals. He had dreams of becoming a great huntsman, but the loss of an eye ended those hopes. He was skilled at what he did and earned a living in the family business.
Fate smiled upon him during the plagues, by which time Ward in his middle age with family and children. Palumbton was spared many of the plagues, as it interacted little with the rest of the world, despite efforts to build a meaningful port. It already dealt with most of life's difficulties in mundane ways and therein lay Ward's luck. One plague that struck was that on animals, specifically goats and sheep. In Palumbton, that plague seemed not to have an effect. The plague didn't kill the animals in meaningful number, but it did spread from the to consumers.
A merchant from Icefia passed through the port one cold day in 809 and lingered long enough to see sheep and goats. Shocked, he asked to buy some meat and was directed to the butcher. The two struck up a long conversation, that started mainly over price. By the end, the merchant, an overweight human who was a purchaser of uncommon items for another unnamed noble of Icefia; said he would return.
Months later, the merchant did return and Ward was paid a large sum to sail to Icefia, along with a shepherd that tended the animals. Taken to the bardic college, out of his element, Ward wanted to run. Coin kept him there and the result was four months of experiments. Finally, a breakthrough occurred, as these things often do, by chance. Helping in Luigi's Pantry, a specialized eatery offshoot of the main restaurant, Ward was trading tips with the head chef. The two were butchering when the chef, who also happened to be a burly human as the nipits that had run the place had fled with Luigi some years prior, was confused by Ward's process.
Calling in some others, they watched a few times as Ward went about his normal business. A bardic explosion of excitement occurred and soon the college concluded something they never suspected. The plague that had caused them to all but wipe out their herds could be avoided by a slaughtering technique that would not allow the plague to be passed to consumers. Ward was hailed a hero, despite having done little but his normal job to earn the praise.
Returning home after a year, with contracts and wealth, he received the hero's welcome he long wanted. He lived out the last few years of his life in comfort and peace, dying at what was a normal age in the hardscrabble town on Palumbton.
Crafter 8/Fighter 2/Ranger 2
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