Hutwil's page

It was a fine summer Starday morning, and Khundrugar was playing his very first dance number at the Rose and Rake in the Ordellia district of Magnimar. It was a matinee performance, as he was but a junior player in the company - having just arrived from Riddleport. The producer, Kassiel Iylmrain, gave him the role of Guramapa - the man-eating giant in the dance piece Zhuki o Zechko - "Zhuki and the Giant". It is a favourite pantomime tale in the Varisian canon but the story has Ulfen origins. Khundrugar is - of course - typecast for such a monstrous role and, with his knowledge of Ulfen culture and Giant mannerisms, he was confident that he would knock them dead with his performance.

But when he stepped onto the stage he realized - to his horror - that his audience was mostly made up of very young children, mothers and wetnurses. He wisely toned things down so as not to frighten them too much...relatively speaking anyway...most of the children were still wetting their pants and clinging to their mothers in terror by the end of it. But not this one child! A little boy - about 7 years old maybe - was stomping around in delight. And when the show was over he ran around the stands chasing his little sister, biting her, getting scolded for it and yelling "muuaaarg! I am Guramapa! bwaaarrg!" He loved it!

The next Starday matinee was the Roop Tarashi - a swashbucking pirate romance - another Varisian favourite. Khundrugar played the antagonist Sukhil the Black. He loved the role because one of his scenes was an extended dance with Patal Kan - the Girl from the Deep, played by the beautiful Vanya. He loved to dance with her - a Varisian beauty who normally would not deign to even look at him....but she was professional and danced it to perfection. Knowing this was a matinee crowd - Khundrugar tried to tone down the sensuality of the dance a bit....but that is difficult for any man to do when dancing with Vanya. Sweating in the summer heat he glimpsed out at the crowd once or twice. He noticed that most of the children were blushing profusely and hiding their eyes from the spectacle. But not that child, who was sitting there agape. And when the show ended he saw the boy leave, lewdly dancing his irate sister out into the street .

Things continued this way for 2 more weeks until complaints started to come in about the age-appropriateness of the matinees at the Rose and Rake. Kassiel politely asked Khundrukar to find different work and referred him to an associate at the Dockway district, where audiences expect more outree entertainment. He makes barely enough coin to get by singing at these Dockway gigs now. He finds that the bouncers are expensive....but that's because when Khundrugar gets a crowd going the bouncers expect decent remuneration from him afterwards....

Two months ago he received a summons from a paid messenger to perform at a private venue in the Marble District.....

Half-orcs from across Avistan have made Averaka on the Isle of Flintyreach their home port, and the number of languages spoken and customs observed by its residents makes it as cosmopolitan as any major cities. While these half-orcs of Averaka eschew the more violent and destructive traditions of their orc heritage, they are far from a peaceful and sedentary lot. Indeed, their raiders rank among the Ironbound Isles’ most ferocious citizens. Yearly raids to Nidal are rites of passage for young Averakan warriors, and their booty brings economic riches to the Isle. This diversity can be heard in the taverns by the docks where drunken longshoremen belt out ribald shanties in Polyglot, Varisian and Chelaxian. At night the Averakan longhouses ring with the voices of their Skalds, as they chant out the long lays of their ancestral heroes . It is a savage and beautiful music, yet sophisticated at the same time. It draws from ancient Orcish, Giant and Ulfen traditions all mixed together. And on the longboats the Skalds set pace to the rowing strokes with great rhythmic chants...deep and powerful, driving the mariners along and building them into a fury before engaging in battle.

Khandruge the young half-orc is one such Skald from the Orcmoot on Flintyreach. His love of the musical traditions of his homeland is deep. But he was not prepared for what he discovered when he landed in Riddleport for the first time with a battered crew and a leaking vessel. While on shore he discovered the folk music of the local Varisian people and fell in love with its sound as well as the beautiful dances of the women. He has since deserted his ship and embarked on a new career of adventure in Varisia. Tagging along with a band of travelling Varisian players he made his way south to Magnimar. He is ever seeking new material in order to expand his repertoire and to find a wider audience for his talents.

Recently, a child from the house of Caedmon saw him perform at a local Magnimar fair and became his biggest fan. The house of Caedmon frequently hires him now to entertain the boy.