Silverload's backstory
These are dangerous times and Krynn is a dangerous world. I don’t blame anyone who does what they have to do in order to survive. Survive, I said, let’s be clear. That may mean more once you have heard my tale…
When the world was broken, many of my kind were left out in the cold. The gates of Thorbardin closed and even the bloody end of the Dwarfgate War could not budge them. Defeated, my people split into small groups and wandered the world in search of new homes. My mother, Amber, grew up after, in a family scraping by a pitiful existence barely better than the Gullys. Her one chance (she often told me) was when she fell in love with my father Adrik, a great warrior who proudly named himself a Hill Dwarf and who battled not only for good but to return honor to our kind. But he was killed, she said, in a great battle and his body was looted so he left nothing behind for her or his unborn child.
Cold and hunger are all I remember from my earliest years. The cold was fixed when we were taken in by Arrold and his circus of oddities. He found us on the road and thought at first that my mother was holding the hand of a goblin, so skinny and bedraggled was I. He saw the opportunity right away and I became Gobbo - half dwarf, half goblin - and was displayed either individually for 2 coppers or as part of the larger freak show for a sliver. Yes, that alleviated the cold. But not the hunger. Our share of the take was always pitifully small and towns always overpriced supplies to circus folk. That is what mother often told me.
Years went by and I grew taller, but always thin. Always weak. Barely enough food to scrap by. I took on extra duties to try to earn more. Taking care of the beasts, although I was never allowed to feed them, did earn extra. Unfortunately, mother took ill and she needed all of the extra to pay for her medicine. Years more went by and I gained many skills helping out the various acts, performers, and animal trainers. However, mother never got any better. At least the medicine kept her from getting any worse and a larger share of our food seemed to keep her spirits up as well though she was too weak to put in much work each day. I did my best to put on a good show for the gawkers and sometimes even got tips. Mother was always especially happy when I brought those home. Once, though, I spent a tip on extra bread and ate it all by myself. She somehow seemed to know. The shame I felt when I saw her tears. I didn’t let myself eat for 3 days after.
I suppose things would have kept on that way had my cousin Cudgel not found us. She was in between adventures with her friend Ispin and decided to take in the show as we happened to be in the same town. Mother was very surprised to see her. Not as surprised as Cudgel seemed to be when she saw me. Cudgel was amazing! So big and strong and I guess just exuding power would be the only way I could describe it. She hung around for several days and even gave me several silver pieces (which I of course took right to Mother). She told stories of her adventures and seemed to be relaxed, but I could always catch her watching me closely. I thought perhaps she was making sure I didn’t take any food - a thought that lasted until our final day in town. She convinced Mother to let me go for a walk in the nearby woods where it was less likely I could be seen by potential customers.
In the woods, Cudgel asked many questions as we walked. About Mother and her expensive medicine, and how much the show made. I could not walk far in my weakened state and I was embarrassed by how much she had to slow down for me. As we began to head back though, she began to speak very quickly. She said awful things about Mother. I did not believe her… at first. She asked me if Mother had any special boxes or chests that I was not allowed to look in. I proudly told her there was only one, where Mother kept the few scraps of clothing from my father that he had left behind. They were precious to her so I was forbidden to look in the box. Cudgel told me to look in the box and left it at that. She told me how to find her if I was ever in need but by then I was furious about how mean she was being to Mother and suggested she should leave (it's not like I could make her leave or anything).
It gnawed at me for weeks. I tried not to think about Cudgel’s words. About how she doubted there was any medicine and that it made no sense that we were not making plenty of money to feed us both properly. But that it did make sense to keep me hungry as a normal healthy dwarf was not much of a side show. I hated her for it. But I could not deny the logic…
Two towns later, mother left me for the night to go into town and find a medicine shop (or so she often told me to explain when she needed to step out for an evening). I broke into the chest. I tried to pick the lock but could not figure out how. In my frustration, I accidentally broke it and then it was too late. Must have been one weak ass lock for someone like me to get the better of it. When mother returned, she found me sitting on the floor next to a good sized pile of coins. I watched her face carefully as she took it in. There were many expressions crossing her face. None of them included shame. She walked back out and we didn’t speak for the rest of the day.
That night, I pretended to be asleep when she came back in. Kept pretending as I heard her pack and gather up the coins. In the morning, I was alone. She left me one small pouch with a handful of coins in it. That was all it took to salve her conscience. I have not seen her since. I spent one more week with the carnival. I ate as much as I could to build strength before setting out in the middle of the night. I loosed all of the animals on my way out. They all knew of course. How could they not have known? Bastards had it coming and I hope it cost them or even forced the carnival to close entirely.
On my own, I headed for the forest. Even followed by a few of the animals who did not know how to make it on their own. We made a small home away from everyone and I learned to get by. Not always alone, of course. I did make contact with Cudgel and set up a place where I could get messages. She would visit me from time to time when in between adventures. Once she came with a druid friend. An elf if you can believe that. When she headed out he stayed behind. Ten years I learned from Salion, opening my eyes to the true wonders of both nature and the teachings of Chislev. By the time he left, my animal companions from the carnival were all gone as well. None were young when they came with me but I was happy to give them a better home in the time they had left.
I spent most of the next 40 years alone. The occasional animal companion, visit from Cudgel or Ispin or Salion, and rare traveler wandering through my grove have given me all of the conversation that I have needed. However, recently I have found myself making more frequent forays into Dargaard Keep to check on messages and hear the news. The animals of the forest whisper of trouble coming and there are rumors of skirmishes in far off lands, perhaps portending the return of worse days. Still though, it was a surprise to learn that Ispin had passed. Without even returning home first, I hopped the first boat that would take me North in exchange for goodberries for the crew and the promise of help if there was trouble.
Now I am here, staying outside of town and avoiding as many people as I can until the hour of the funeral arrives. I thinned some saplings during one of the brief shore stops on the trip up the Inkwater. They are in good soil near the holes - waiting to be planted in remembrance.