Bob is an old hermit said to live somewhere within The Death Marsch, most people along the Marsch's edge know little more than that and generally consider that sufficient enough. He is commonly described simply as the cannibal. Stories place Bob throughout the lands surrounding the frontier keep and the nearby caves, usually appearing alone and often in places where others have recently died. Travelers, patrols, hunters, and adventurers occasionally report finding him among abandoned bodies or the aftermath of violence frequently already searching through whatever has been left behind. Whether Bob is responsible for any of those deaths is rarely known, most assume he is.
His reputation is considerably older than most reliable accounts of him. He is oft blamed for missing travelers, unexplained bodies, grave robbing, and occasional disappearances for which no body was ever found. Some of these accusations are surely little more than convenient explanations for the many dangers of the Death Marsch. Others are harder to dismiss however, what is generally accepted is that Bob eats human flesh. This fact alone has prevented much interest in determining which of the other stories are true. Those familiar with the Marsch usually advise travelers to avoid him, avoid his home if they should somehow find it, and most importantly avoid giving him any reason to take an interest in them.
Bob is unusually comfortable moving through the Marsch, reports have put him in places considered dangerous even by experienced scouts and travel alone through regions where larger and better equipped groups sometimes disappear. Attempts to follow him are notoriously unreliable, tracks will vanish, witnesses lose sight of him in fog, brush, ruins or broken ground. Occasionally Bob simply just seems to disappear. This has led to claims the hermit possesses great magical powers, though few agree on the specifics involved there. Possibly he is a demon, possibly a lone crazed druid, or mad wizard. Many have made similar accusations, but none of those accusations have proved true as of yet. Whatever the explanation Bob appears to understand the Marsch exceptionally well.
Rumors say that Bob's home is inside a hollowed out tree somewhere within the Death Marsch, descriptions vary considerably and few trustworthy accounts come from anyone claiming to have actually entered it. He is also associated with a cougar known only as Cat. Sometimes the animal is seen traveling with him and sometimes entirely absent, whether Bob actually owns the creature in any way is uncertain. Though little is truly known about Bob, that does not stop Westreachers from putting humor to things, Bob's Cat is often shortened to Bobcat. Despite that it still remains very much a large cougar.
No reliable accounts or records can tell when Bob first appeared in the area, older residents often remember hearing stories about him when they were young while similar stories exist in the childhood memories of their parents. Few have considered the matter worth investigating closely, the Marsch produces enough strange people, creatures, and other circumstances that a hermit ranks fairly low amongst the other mysteries.
Bob appears occasionally, he disappears again, bodies are found, blame falls to Bob. Life along the Marsch edge continues. For most that is plenty enough knowledge of the cannibal hermit.