Synopsis
He who pays the piper calls the tune. He who doesn't will be left in ruin.
Description
You may call me The Piper, if you feel so inclined. Unfortunately my name is neither important nor any of your business. If I must describe my physical appearance, you would hear me say that I am quite tall and somewhat lanky. Standing at a good 6'6" yet weighting very little more than 190 pounds. I am a relatively toned man but am also quite lean. This combined to my pale skin and dark hair leads some people into believing I am somewhat cadaveric. Personally, I find the claim rather ridiculous. I am of sound physical and mental health. Perhaps I should consider eating a bit more... Maybe contact lenses would help. My black irises tend to look a little intimidating, especially in the gloom of the evening.
I am in my early thirties and no, I will not give you a more precise idea of my age. I'm sure you'll understand that in my line of business the less people know the better. Similarly, I have no siblings, defined home or any other form of attachment. I travel a lot, it's kind of my thing. You don't need to worry about me too much, at any rate. Don't forget to pay me and we're going to get along just fine.
Personality
What's this? More questions? Oh and why not? I have the time...
Not to toot my own horn, but I'm quite the charismatic sort. I'm also the patient type as you can see, otherwise this conversation would be over by now, wouldn't it? Let's see now... what else is there... I'm a confident, talkative, humorous, and verbose man. I'm also quite loyal, and by that I mean that I don't bite the hands that feed me.... what? Not enough? Well, I guess if you have the time to go into detail I imagine I have the time to humor you. It's a good thing too, for your sake more than mine really. I am really good at convincing people and, to the extent of reason. I'm quite gentlemanly, really, I assure you, in the right circumstances. I never raise my voice, even when I'm angered.
Well, I guess if we really must make a complete assessment of my personality we might as well go through the trouble of making a quick revision of my bad points. I'm somewhat scheming, a little bit flirtatious, occasionally deceitful, I do tend to be flippant at the most inane of times and some have called me out on being the merciless type and... Oh! I don't particularly respond well to those who don't keep their contracts. I am many things, but I am nothing if not vengeful, particularly when it comes to money. Business is business after all and if you're bad business for me, I'm going to be bad business for you. Some call it cruelty, I call it even trade.
If it means anything to you, I am a casual smoker and drinker. I'm a bit of a connoisseur when it comes to things like wine and tobacco.
Equipment / Abilities
Equipment and weapons
Oh dear lord, this could take a bit of a while... Well, there's my trusty pipe of course, which I use to charm all sorts of minds to do my biding. Unfortunately, adult humans, witches and things of a similar level of intellect are immune to its effect... to a degree of course. I can still take control of their emotions, but having them do exactly what I want is an entirely different matter. For that reason, I also carry a few weapons handy. For instance, I have a pair of glaives. Two feet for a blade might not be much, but I assure you the reach of my arms more than makes up for it. I also carry a revolving shotgun handy, since I must admit I'm not a very fair shot. I also have a grappling hook, collapsible battering ram, A few explosives of varying intensity... You know, what's needed to get things done.
Abilities and skills
Hmm, now about those, you might be surprised to hear it, but piping, while definitely my most useful, is far from my only talent. I'm also quite acrobatic, rather capable in the art of fencing, have an excellent sense of direction and am a capable dancer, singer and musician. It's not a practical talent, but I'm very good at holding my liquor and am partially immune to most forms of poison. You'd be surprised how often people put those in your drink after you've done the job they promised to pay you for. Apparently a few pounds of gold are worth more than a human life. I also have an eidetic memory, something which comes in handy when you need to remember names, addresses, locations... All of that boring stuff. Of course, because I am a musician, I happen to be blessed with a very extremely good hearing. Last but not least, and you'll be shocked to hear that one; I'm immune to magic... to a limited degree, of course.
Weakness
Bloody type writer... Weaknesses? Alright... As mentioned earlier, I'm a rather poor shot. I can't really seem to rely on my abilities as a gunner when it comes to battle. If you're more than ten meters from me, all I can hope to do is get close before you've shot me down. I'm also a rather bad swimmer. I tend to sink...
History
A lot of people know of what I've done in the city of Hamelin, but very few actually know my background.
Believe it or not, when I was younger I was an upstanding man of few words with a thing for loyalty. I was a knight under a king and I performed my duty to the best of my ability. As I've come to grow in importance I was given the all important duty of slaying a witch. At the time, witches were relatively unknown in terms of "good" or "bad"... so we presumed anybody capable of magic to be bad. When I encountered the beautiful young woman I was tasked to slay however, I could simply not bring myself to it. Oh, I was young and naive. When I explained the reason for my coming, she was scared. Any witch could've simply taken out a lone man armed with a sword, but she appeared genuinely terrified. I explained to her I had no intent of following through with my order and as a form of task she granted me an enchanted pipe. Yes, you now know the reason I hold this precious item.
Though I was convinced I had done the right thing, I could not bring myself to return to my liege with my task uncompleted and so I began to wander as a mercenary, making use of the pipe I had been given to rid people of various animal problems. I did my duty and I was paid. Those were the simple rules of my agreement; I don't question your orders, you don't question my fee. I was relatively wealthy, but like most men at a young age less was never more and I began to succumb to greed. Sometimes, people refused to pay me and, needless to say, they would come to regret it.
An instance of this was my visit to the city of Hamelin which, at the time, was known for a grave rat infestation problem. If it were simply for the animals themselves the issue would not be so big, but they carried the black plague with them and the population was ever decreasing. I came to the mayor and promised him that for the low sum of 800 pounds of gold, I would rid him of the animals which pestered his people. The mayor agreed and I performed my duty, charming the rats to follow me to a river where they all drowned. When the time to pay me came however, the mayor did not follow his end of the bargain. Enraged, I promised I would return and they would suffer the consequences.
I was young and did not use my money very responsibly, so with this job unpaid I was out of money to pay at an inn or even feed. I was starving and had caught a cold on an earlier night. I was in a moment of weakness and fury when women came to me disguised under cloaks. Witches, I would soon come to realize, whom fed me and nursed me back to health. They then asked me to bring them the children of Hamelin. This way, I would get my revenge and they would have a sacrifice for the coming Sabbath. I complied under the promise of being paid tenfold what the mayor had promised me for the rats. They dressed me, they sent me off, and they wished me well. I knew the deed I was to do was a cruel one, but he who fails to pay the piper will be left in ruin.
I returned to Hamelin, used my pipe to charm the children and brought them to the witches. The witches sacrificed and ate the children at the Sabbath before my very eyes. While I had partially understood the ramifications of my actions, it was only when I saw the acts before my very eyes that I realized what a cruel thing I had done. However, it was too late to go back and the deed was done, so all I asked of the witches was the sum I was due.
The witches, did not, pay the piper.
Extra
Theme song:
The plague of HamelinThe piper is left handed.
My pet and comrade Rog. He is actually very friendly and surprisingly smart if you don't mind the "not talking" bit. He helps me out and I let him eat my left overs. Just don't be too shocked if a few stray cats go missing when I walk through a city. Oh, and don't get him wet, he hates that.
Refreshing Feed...
