Bertrand

(Last update: 16/11/96)

Bert is a young stable boy who was taken on in 1234 when he ran away from his home in Belabre. He doesn't say much, prefering the company of horses to humans.

Basic Stats

Name: Bertrand Leufort (or just Bert for short)
Gender: Male
Current Year: 1241 AD
Age: 15
Year Born: 1226 AD
Decrepitude: 0
Size: -1 (adolescent)
Confidence: 3
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 135 lbs

Appearance

A scruffy young boy wearing a rough leather jerkin. His dark brown hair is unkempt and has little bits of hay in it. A shifty pair of eyes stare out from under his long fringe and his face usually bears a sullen expression. His clothes and body bear a stale smell of horses.

Origins

His father is an ostler living and working on the edge of Belabre. His mother died when he was young, so he was brought up by his father (a rather cruel man). He helped out in the stables from an early age, but his father didn't look after the horses very well - not feeding them well and keeping them too tightly penned up. The lad was much more kindhearted towards the beasts, but he would be beaten whenever he complained about their conditions. A lonely boy, he didn't get on very well with the other children of the town. Instead, he would take one of the horses whenever his father wasn't around and ride off into the nearby forest, where he would take comfort in the animals that he managed to befriend.

When he was eight years old, his father finally got fed up with the disobedient lad. In any case, he was poor and could not afford to feed him properly, and a few rumours were circulating about just what the boy got upto in the forest. Therefore he didn't really mind when Bert decided to run away one autumn day, and went to live with the nearby `scholars' on the hill.

Characteristics

Int: +4 (Quick witted)
Per: +5 (Intuitive)
Str: -2 (Small frame) (-1 when full grown)
Stm: +2 (Wiry)
Prs: -1 (Shifty eyes)
Com: -3 (Sullen)
Dex: +2 (Nimble fingers)
Qik: 0

Personality Traits

Brave: -1
Loyal: 0
Reclusive: +3
Sullen: +2
Kind-hearted: +1

Virtues and Flaws

Bert seems to have a natural talent for befriending and understanding animals. However his reclusive nature and stale smell tend to put most humans off. The fact that he is Gifted and can talk to horses seems to have gone totally unnoticed by the magi, despite the fact that he lives right under their noses!

Sensitive (Cruelty to Animals) -1
Reclusive -1
Social Handicap (Smells of Horses) -1
Latent Magical Ability (Can talk to Horses) +2
Exceptional Talent (Animal Ken) +1

Abilities

Alertness (Woods) 1
Animal Handling (Horses) 3
Animal Ken (Horses) 4
Athletics 1
Brawl 1
Dodge (Wild animals) 1
Etiquette -2
Folk Ken -1
Leadership -2
Ride (Agility) 3
Search (Woods) 1
Shortspear Attack (2H) 2
Sling Attack 1
Speak Latin 1
Speak Provencale 3
Stealth (Woods) 2
Survival (Woods) 1
Track (Woods) 2

Combat Stats

Soak: +2
Fatigue: +2
Active Dodge: +4
Load: 0.5
Encumbrance: 0
Body Levels: OK 0 -1 -5 I
Fatigue Levels: OK 0 -1 -5 U

Weapons

Short Spear (2H): 1st +8, Atk +7, Dam +5, Par +3
Sling: 1st +3, Atk +3, Dam +0

Armour

Leather Cuirass: Protection 1, Load 0.5

Notes

Having lived in the town of Belabre all his life, his first expedition - to the Tribunal at Doissetep in Spring 1235 with a bunch of strange wizards - was a major eye-opener!

He still prefers to stay in the stables at Malinbois (where he knows all of the horses by name), but he is occasionally dragged out for weapon training with the grogs. Since no-one else goes into the stables, I won't mention the other strange things which are going on in there.

On a recent expedition he befriended Uuh (like a wild animal) and actually managed to kill a soldier! (although he did charge him in the back with a magical spear when he wasn't looking)

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