About Tobar KobzariTobar Kobzari
To escape the quirks of his family, Marko decided to flee his homeland of Korvosa to Magnimar. Quickly realizing he aspired to more than the life of a beggar, he joined the Sczarni gang "The Creepers" after one of their agents witnessed him filching money from a barkeep. As he began to learn the ropes, he gradually accepted that he was going to be surrounded by disreputable people, so in order to protect his own sense of self-worth, Marko began justifying the unscrupulous actions of his compatriots as "things one does to make money." He didn't realize until weeks after agreeing to work for the vile Haugen that he'd signed on to a group of particularly nasty Sczarni. As he learned the dirty tricks the Creepers employed to make a quick coin, he discovered a natural talent for smuggling petty coin, extorting protection money out of shop owners in the Underbridge district, or even tailing potential marks to feed information to his associates. He particularly enjoyed a good mystery, and took great relish in tracking down eloped agents, though most of those cases resulted in bloody crime scenes that he'd quickly slink away from unnoticed. However, as time continued he never quite supported the Creepers' notion of imprisoning children (especially orphans) to use for labor. He took a liking to a particular urchin: Kiela, a young half-elven girl. In the dead of night, he'd sneak down to the bunkhouses and teach her some of the tricks he knew. He'd bring her scraps of food and small gifts to keep up her spirits. He became enamored for her passion for life and her perseverance to escape Haugen and her captors there. Marko planned to help her escape and explained that he'd be happy to adopt her after they were able to flee. After all, he reasoned, he knew how to be a better father than his own, and he'd finally be able to leave and lead a more upstanding life. Unfortunately for them both, a little boy--eager to please his captors to curry favor--overheard their plans to escape and informed another agent. Word quickly spread to Haugen that one of his new agents was attempting to liberate some of his property, and he had an agent shake down Marko in his apartment while he was sleeping. The greasy, hook-nosed man explained that if he didn't want Kiela to disappear, he'd agree to some jobs with extra...responsibility. The following morning a note appeared stabbed on to his door with a bloody knife and a list of three names with only the word "Kill" at the top of the parchment. Begrudgingly, Marko agreed to carry out the murders and then plotted to escape The Creepers with Kiela in tow. Magnimar was a large city and he was determined to make them pay for what they'd done. The first two jobs were easy; neither of the victims seemed to have much compassion: a greedy, corpulent judge who consistently sent the wrong people to jail for bribe money but refused to make donations to the gang, and a barmaid who regularly exposed members of their operation by seducing men into revealing their secrets and then reporting them to the authorities. He didn't particularly like the job, but carried them both out with poison. Poison was an elegant weapon, and it was simple enough to sneak into a home and spill a few drops into his marks' favorite decanters of wine. When he arrived in the Alabaster district at the estate of the third mark--the key witness in an investigation into smuggling operations of one of their allied gangs--Marko climbed over the fence around the garden and traipsed up into the house. He slowly inched open the door, trying his best to avoid detection, and in the bed he saw a human boy of no more than ten. Marko sighed and wrinkled his nose, disgusted that his employer would send him to murder an innocent child. He traveled directly home and gathered his belongings and resolved to explain to the city watch what he'd uncovered; their operation, agents, all of it would become clear when he explained their involvement. He would give this information to them in exchange for a job and protection, of course. Both he and Kiela would need the security of a steady job and the support of the Magnimarian guard, and they would reason that he'd need to be protected based on the quality of his information and his deep gang connections to the situation. While he had relocated, Marko was still observing his old apartment for any leads or communication for several days after leaving the young boy untouched. The greasy-haired man who had appeared sent to shake down Marko must have caught wind of his defection and after three days another note appeared on his door. It plainly stated, "Your little friend was naughty and went to the place bad children go." True to his original intentions, the half-orc went directly to the captain of the watch with his insider information and was rebuffed; they wanted nothing to do with a vagabond who professed to have information on some of the cities most powerful crimelords. He immediately suspected the man he spoke with was in the pocket of his unscrupulous brethren, and sought to avoid suspicion with repeated visits to request other audiences. He changed his name to Tobar Kobzari in an attempt to avoid detection, and avoided further mention of his original name at all costs. Tobar reasoned that abandoning his former gang would likely not be met with passive acceptance, so he fled back to Korvosa and abandoned all hope of seeing Kiela again. Despite his differences with his father, he was welcomed back by his family, but has lived alone in Old Korvosa for the past five years. A few months ago, Tobar's father Petre was accused of murder. He frequented the docks of Old Korvosa along the Jeggare river, and an eyewitness account from a fisherman identified Petre as the murderer. Tobar, convinced of his father's innocence, began an investigation into the goings-on. After discovering that his father had a somewhat solid alibi, Tobar confronted the fisherman himself and tricked him into revealing the truth: he had been intimidated into providing false testimony and planting the murder weapon by Gaedren Lamm. Armed with this information, Tobar fully intended to go to the authorities to exonerate his father. Lamm's thugs killed the fisherman before he could recant his testimony. Without the evidence to prove his father's innocence, Tobar has embarked on a mission to confront Gaedren Lamm. Description The twenty-five year old Tobar stands at an impressive 6'4", which he finds to be more of a hindrance than a boon where anonymity is concerned. His skin hides a touch of green--complemented with the olive skin of his native Varisia, but his facial structure instantly betrays his orcish heritage. His brow slopes forward prominently to shroud his inquisitive violet eyes, and his black hair is trimmed though a beard neatly adorns his jawline. Two ivory tusks jut from his broad, off-set jaw. A wry, toothy grin often adorns his face, but he rarely elaborates in his distinctive booming cadence as to why he is smiling at the time. He has a muscular frame, but rarely does any heavy lifting himself; he walks with a limber gait and occasionally reacts to stimuli before his companions realize something is amiss. He wears plain brown breeches and a cream-colored shirt covered over with a sturdy set of leather armor. He prefers to observe and gather information before making judgments or statements, but occasionally loses his temper when faced with those who ignore reason or hide behind the shield of faith to explain away inaction. Over time, he has come to value the friendship of the few people he trusts, and he will occasionally seek their counsel. He busies himself with personal alchemical discoveries and projects in his spare time, and has spent much effort exploring the secrets of the natural world, including herbal remedies, as well as the secret dealings and history of the his home city of Korvosa. |
