Description and Background
Description:
Umrick Histix is quite tall for a gnome, coming in at just under four foot tall (hecamethisclose to being the first gnome anyone could recall to break the four foot ceiling, but fell just short). Not a particularly handsome gnome...well, his personality isn't that great, either. He does seem to know his way around an armory, decked out in chain mail and wearing a bastard sword that is taller than he is strapped to his back. He has a spear that doubles as a walking stick as well. Add in a crossbow hanging from his belt and a couple of strategically placed daggers, and he would look pretty deadly...if he was a little taller.
Background:
Growing up, Umrick was picked on for being taller than the other kids. This led to him getting into a number of fights. As a result, nobody wanted him around their tinker's shops or their labs as he was apt to find trouble, and he didn't really have the fine dexterity needed to manipulate the intricate pieces of gnomish inventions anyway. He also didn't enjoy playing pranks like most gnomes do, as he was a frequent recipient himself. Not really fitting in with gnomish life, he went to live with the dwarves. Unfortunately for Umrick, he didn't really take to the traditional dwarven lifestyle, either. He did, however, take to combat training. He learned to spar with the young dwarven warriors. They tried to get him to use a hammer or an axe, like proper dwarves do, but he had to remind them that he wasn't a dwarf at all, let alone a proper one. He did find a rusty bastard sword lying in a dark corner one day. This was the weapon for him! Despite (or maybe in spite of) being laughed at by the dwarves for using a weapon taller than him, he trained hard with his sword. It wasn't a dwarven weapon- no one could recall how it came to be in their armory- and that appealed to him. If he was a misfit, he would use a misfit weapon! He spent many an hour, cleaning and polishing and sharpening his sword, until it became a weapon a warrior would be proud to own. But he was not a warrior. At least, not yet. Through rigorous training, he eventually became quite skilled with the blade, using it two-handed, like the dwarves do with their battle-axes and warhammers. Eventually, the time came to say goodbye to his dwarven friends and set out on his own path, so last Thursday (it was going to be Wednesday, but mutton was on the menu for that evening and he does so fancy a good mutton chop, so Thursday seemed like an excellent time to leave instead) he strode forth, looking for adventure, fame and fortune wherever he may find it. Unfortunately, all that he has found so far is a small, backwater village by the name of |
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