Bavol lived on the fringes of Korvosa. Orphaned young, he was forced to live by his wits, which mostly meant running from danger and seeking scraps. He was taken in by Charlie, a shambling, drunken, and homeless oracle of the sewers. From early on Charlie's friend, Eries taught Bavol the ways of the ranger.
He was especially fond of learning how to hunt. He quickly became quite adept at bringing home fistfuls of squirrels and other small game. One day while he was waiting silently in the trees, a wild boar came snuffling through his grove. His heart jumped with fear as he took frenzied aim. The first shot was so bad, the animal didn't even notice, but the second shot was pretty good. He eventually tracked it over a few miles and, with a couple more hits, brought it down. From then on he was hooked. He wasn't satisfied with anything smaller than a deer.
He enjoyed the free-wheeling lifestyle of living on the streets. He found people who cared for him and was able to contribute something to the group and that was as good as he had ever experienced. As he grew older the wanderlust that began in his sojourns to the forest grew. This manifested in his frequent forays up the roof top neighborhood of Korvosa called The Shingles.
When the troubles began, he found himself often hassled by the queen's Grey Maidens. This sent him increasingly to the canopy. When he did, however, he noticed the other inhabitants of the city floor getting increasingly violent attention from the dreaded Maidens.
He changed his prey from pigs to officers. When a troupe would leave the castle walls he would follow them. When they inevitably began hassling the locals, he took action, plinking them until the denizens had a chance to escape. He struggled with keeping arrows in his quiver, risking his life after the combat was over collecting his spent ammo. Doing this caught the attention of the resistance who happily traded arrows for information. Bavol went a step further and learned about tactics and being a soldier.
The queen was defeated by Charlie and his friends. Bavol split his time between the roofs and the sewers for a time. He noticed, though, that as he tried to regain the life that was demolished by the Troubles something was missing. The freedom that he once had was not quite there. He further realized that it wasn't just the queen's authority that rankled.
After Charlie's party cleared the Grey Maidens off the bridge to Old Korvosa, Bavol fought alongside Femi, a spell-chucker and fellow missile enthusiast. After the battle they kept in touch, periodically getting together to share meals and war stories. It was during these meetings that Bavol began talking about his emerging wanderlust. Femi was a nomad by nature and helped to convince him to hit the road. Femi also offered to travel together for a while and it was settled.
