Flickering Quill

Name: Flickering Quill
Aliases: Quill, The Alleycat
Race: Tabaxi
Age: 21


Appearance and Style:

Quill is a tabaxi of average build and height who makes his way of life in the streets and alleys of Waterdeep. His attire and belongings are simple and functional, but not sloppy; as he is one who works for his living, though others may not see it that way. Whether it be playing some tunes at one of the many local taverns, or maybe swiping a few things from a shop window on the way by, Quill gets by. He wears simple loose-fitting shirts and trousers, skipping boots or gloves. He takes some amount of pride in his appearance, as it is difficult to find a decent gig or a draw the attention of a lady of one does not. As such, his fur is kept groomed and smooth, and his leather chestpiece is kept clean and largely hidden by his flowing attire. In his shirt pocket lives his companion: Roquefort. He found the little mouse in an alley and considered eating him, but found the little fellow charming and unafraid of him. The irony of a cat befriending a mouse isn’t lost on him, and has even won him the coin of a few passersbys.


Significant Qualities:

Quill’s demeanor could be described as confident, or boisterous even. He needs to be in his line of work. It is his belief that if one does not believe himself up to a task, they are correct. As such, he rarely shirks away from a challenge, even if it may end in him running from an angry shopkeeper or worse, the town guard. His voice is smooth, with a slightly odd way of pronouncing some words due to his anatomy and background around those of so many cultures. At first glance, one would have a difficult time pinning him as homeless or from a great palace, but the horn across his back and rapier at his side is instantly telling that he is a performer and an adventurer.


Living Relatives:

Though he left home as a teenager to prove that he did not need anyone else to baby him, he still writes the occasional letter home to mama in Payit. He has a brother and sister there as well who never wanted anything more than to stay in their village and live as most Tabaxi do.




Five Things Your Character Fears (in order from least afraid to most)

• • I fear that I may slip up and be captured by guards or soldiers of any nation and imprisoned, stripping away my precious freedom.
• • I fear that I may make a fool of myself before wealthy townsfolk and lose my reputation as a good musician.
• • I fear that I may never make any impact on other’s lives in any meaningful manner.
• • I fear that mama and siblings back home may fall ill or injured.
• • I fear that I may end up enslaved or otherwise have freedom stolen.

Four Things Your Character Loves Dearly (in order from least beloved to most)

• • I love every aspect of personal freedom in action, speech, song, and emotion.
• • I love the rush of a good performance and the sound of gold coins in my coffer.
• • I love the rush of pocketing a particularly pricey bauble from a rich schmuck who will likely never miss it.
• • I love the emotion of freeing a brother or sister who has found theirself enslaved or in a jail.

Three Things Your Character Is Embarrassed About (from least embarrassing to most)

• • I am embarrassed about the times when my skills aren’t as sharp as I claim them to be.
• • I am embarrassed about how I have not yet made it big as Waterdeep’s finest performer.
• • I am embarrassed about the fact that I have few friends to socialize with in my solitary lifestyle.

Two Things Your Character is Proud of (from least to most proud)

• • I am proud of the achievements that I have completed so far, though maybe not what I had hoped.
• • I am proud of the skills and attributes that I do very well, and will always advertise those to others, even if it gets me in trouble.

One Thing They'd be Willing to Kill or Die for (state whether they'd kill or die for it)

• • I would die before I surrender my freedom to become a slave for life.

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Birth:

Quill was born in Payit in a lair near Ulatos to a clan of Tabaxi. He lived and traveled with them until his teens.


Childhood:

He was raised by his clan, rearing him from a cub into his young adulthood. The savanna of Payit is home to tabaxi and it was no different from him. He learned the essentials of self-sufficiency and balanced it with the dependence of the pack to survive and thrive. His childhood also taught him, like so many tabaxi, the catlike inquisitiveness that defines them so often. He always seeks a new adventure and a new story or song


Young Adult Life:

Early in his young adulthood, his inquisitiveness took the better of him and he left his clan telling few beyond his best friends and family. He found his way to the city of Ulatos and lived there among all the different races and peoples for some time before finding his way onto a merchant ship, The Redstout. A stowaway at first, he found a place with the crew after they thought him amusing. It was from the crew that he first learned of music as many of the races knew it, as the chef aboard played a dirty accordion when the work was finished for the day. He fulfilled the basic functions of a cabinboy and for it was given passage to see all the ports that the trading ship would visit between Ulatos and all the ports of the Sword Coast.


Where you are today:

Though the ship helped him shape his taste for adventure and a hunger for new experiences, he found a way to a new environment in the streets of Waterdeep, one of the greatest ports he came to visit. After bidding adieu to the crew of The Redstout, he wandered the streets learning what he could, eating what different foods there were, and taking anything that would buy him a new trinket or a full belly. One time, he found a travelling merchant who specialized in knowledge of music and magic, and using what little scraps and baubles he carried, he purchased a book that spoke of using music and magic to influence the weave of the world, and bend things to his will. He studied and began to find that he could use songs and lyrics to make people listen to him, drop him spare coins, and even fall under his influence.



Using this newfound knowledge to aid him in his quest to explore the continent and find freedom like few had before, he set off throughout the city to reap its benefits and drink of its pleasures.




Views on the world:

Quill finds that the best life is a simple one. There is something to be said for the finer things, but those who relish exclusively in them are repulsive. Those who amass wealth at the fortune of others should be stripped of their goods as the only those who can accumulate their wealth to benefit others deserve it. In his eyes all of the races are, in a way, of the same clan. It benefits oneself to benefit others, and those who hoard only hurt the clan. Not that he would shy away from a pile of gold for himself, but that he would balance his own gain by helping another who missed out, or perhaps doing another generous act in light of his own fortune. The gods are real and out there, but play little role in his life beyond influencing the little things of his life. He does not actively worship any god beyond his vocational duties to do so. He doesn’t care for nobility, at least to the point that he would rather they do their own thing and stay out of his life.

He appreciates above anything else following the way that the wind blows, and adding a touch of flair to any situation that he may find himself in. He has an innate desire to communicate with nature, but there is something very natural about the underside of a city to him. Almost as if the city has become his savanna. He dislikes anything that would prevent himself or others from doing similarly to what he would want.