Jani's Story
Jani and his twin sister Chery were orphaned at the age of 7 when a flood carried their parents away to their doom. Luckily, or perhaps not, a travelling carnival volunteered to take the two Fuzzy children in. Jani and Chery grew up with the performers, charlatans, and other strange folk of the carnival. If not exactly loved, they were treated fairly and with respect.
The two soon became the star acrobats of the troupe, working well together. Jani learned to juggle, do horse tricks, and use a variety of weapons in order to entertain the paying customers. He also learned a few more unsavory tricks, such as pickpocketing, from Morlan the Quick, the troupe's best Stage Magician. The troupe spent most of the year travelling from town to town in the Western Empire, dipping across the border into Dor along the way. Jani learned to speak the tongues of both lands, and even learned Orcin from Thuk, the Half-Orc Strongman.
Jani soon also became the best in the troupe with a sword. However, his Bentyr heritage remained true, and he never once drew his blade for any reason but to entertain until one late summer night in his 19th year...
The troupe had just finished a week of performances in Juster, a small Western Empire town near the Dorian border. They had set up camp just a few short hours away from the town and, exhausted from their finale performance, were just turning in for the night. Jani had just about fallen asleep when he heard shouts and commotion coming from the middle of the camp. As he blinked himself awake, he noticed that Chery's cot was empty. Trepidation and a quick surge of protective fear blossomed inside him.
Jani grabbed his sword and leapt for the tent flap. As he gained the night outside, he heard the ring of steel, and the shouts of fighting men. Fearing for Chery's safety, he ran as fast as he could towards the sounds of conflict.
When Jani stumbled into the ring of firelight in the middle of camp, he recieved two shocks. The first came as a result of tripping and landing across the body of Morlan the Quick. His hands were clasped around the broken shaft of a spear protruding from his breast, looking much as he did at the end of one of the troupe's mock combats. From the blood, though, it was obvious that this death scene was all too real.
Jani's second shock, though at this point, perhaps it shouldn't have been a shock, was the sight of half a dozen dark-clothed men engaged in a fierce fight with Thuk, Saren the Juggler, and Brutus the Cook. Even as he watched, Saren recieved two bad cuts on his chest from a large smiling man wielding a quick sword. Jani saw a frying pan spin through the air and strike the man square in the chest, staggering him and probably saving Saren's life in the process. When he turned to look, Jani was quite surprised to see Chery standing in the Cook Wagon, preparing to throw one of Brutus' pots.
Jani's surpise quickly turned to fear, and then horror when he looked back to the large man and saw him jerk a knife free from his belt and launch it towards the small Chery. It seemed to Jani that time slowed as he watched the knife sail through the air and plant itself firmly in her throat. Jani himself could not have managed a more perfect cast. He watched in utter horror as his sister slumped out of the wagon, the light of life fading from her eyes even before she hit the ground.
Jani's fear turned almost instantly to utter fury as he heard the big man laugh. His eyes sought out the smiling figure even as he turned his attention towards Thuk, who had just knocked out one of the other brigands. Jani's vision seemed to narrow, focusing on the big man, and in that instant he recognized the stranger. It was James the Quick, ousted by the troupe months ago for beating a customer witless. James had sworn his revenge upon the troupe, and it seemed he had come to claim it.
As James turned to take care of Thuk, Jani's fury coalesced into motion. He became a blur, streaking towards the as yet unsuspecting marauder who had killed his sister. Jani went right through the thick of the battle, his sword striking out as he flew past, crippling the legs of the attackers that got in his way. Cries of pain followed Jani straight to James, who soon found himself without support, facing an apparently crazed fuzzy whose sword moved as though possessed of magic.
Jani slowed his heaving chest long enough to point his bloodstained sword at James' face and grate out, "I swear on my sister's blood, you shall die for your deeds this night."
Normally, James would have laughed at such a statement coming from a Bentyr, but tonight, it seemed that his humor had deserted him. Jani launched a furious assault at the man as the others dealt with the crippled, but still dangerous brigands who had already tasted his steel. It was all James could do to fend off the pint-sized demon assaulting him. He broke and ran for the darkness beyond the camp. Jani gave persuit, but lost the villian in the dark woods about Juster.
Jani returned to the troupe's camp just before sunrise to learn that the only deaths caused in the night were those of Morlan and Chery. Of course, the brigands didn't manage to survive either. Though Thuk, Brutus, and Seran were all injured, they would live. Jani's heart hung full with the knowledge that his sister would not.
After burying his sister and Morlan with the surviving troupe members, Jani prepared to leave the troupe. He would not give up the hunt for James now. The man had forfeited his life through his actions. Taking his sword, sling, and knife, along with his few other posessions, Jani left the troupe that very day, assisted with a small purse given him by Carlin the Troupe Master.
Each night, Jani's dreams relive that terrible day. He hopes that if he gains vengeance for his sister, the nightmares will leave him be. And so has James the Strong found himself in the somewhat odd postition of a man hunted by a Fuzzy with Fangs.
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