Marley

Brumarsh Grobash, most commonly known as Marley, is a Half-Orc Rogue who joined the expedition to find the legendary Sword of the Godslayer.

## Background

Hailing from the tropical island of south eastern Jamai Kingdom, Marley is a rogue charlatan and a member of the brutal pure orc clan known as the Grobash. The clan constantly raided the undefended settlements of the remote coastlines of Jamai, whose difficult water currents and terrain kept them out of reach of the Jamai kingdom's forces.

Marley's father was a human thief who had been captured while trying to rescue a town that the Grobash were about to pillage. Marley's mother was a pure orcish warrior shaman. She had foreseen that, if their orcish clan did not stop their violent ways and make peace with the humans, they would soon be exterminated by the kingdom's soon to be formed hunting parties.

When Marley was born, his parents were imprisoned and sentenced to capital punishment, since the old orcish clan still believed that the union between an orc and a human was unholy and unclean. The mother begged the leader of the clan to spare them, stating that this union was necessary for the advancement of their species as orcs and to prevent the prophecy of their extermination. The clan leader did not heed her pleas.

Marley's parents were executed and Marley was christened as "Brumarsh", an orcish derogatory term for "dirty human" or "weak human halfling". The infant was then left alone in the wilderness.

Fortunately for Marley, he was found by a wandering elf who promptly took him to the nearest town. In Marley's earliest memory, he saw the face of a beautiful young lady with jet black hair. Since then, Marley grew a fascination towards beautiful ladies and a weakness for pretty faces. The elf could not take care of him this time so she entrusted the infant Marley to one of the masters of the Timid Hand, an unpopular but very influential Thieves Guild.

Marley's master was the cunning Kulapongi the Slick, one of the renowned masters of the Timid Hand. The master took care of Marley up until he had come of age (14 years old, since half orcs matured quickly) and has since been a mentor and a father figure to him.

Being in the guild and in the presence of mostly human communities was a constant struggle for Marley, who would always try to fit in. He treated his skin with crushed coconut shell so it would make a brownish color, giving him the appearance of a Jamai local, and hiding his horns by growing thick long dreadlocks. He even tried to look more human by trimming off a piece of his ear to match a human's.

He has since changed his name from the derogatory Brumarsh. He chose the human name Marley, after his childhood hero King Marley the Lionheart of Jamai, who had single-handedly turned the hostile pirating island of Jamai into a peaceful kingdom.

In the Timid Hand, Marley learned the guild's mottoes: "Steal everything and anything but never steal a soul. Kill only when needed" and "For love, for country. For honour, for peace and for glory". The ideals of the great guild had come about after they were involved in the battle between the Zephyrean King Markelus and the horde of the tyrannical god Eon. The guild had helped in the battle using only information and cunning, without ever shedding blood or joining combat. It was even said that Minos, the prince's liaison, trusted the Timid Hand.

Though the Timid Hand was considered legendary, commoners constantly made a mockery of their members because of the guild's reputation for petty crimes. They would steal common items such as kitchenware, farm animals, furniture, house decorations and small altar offerings such as candles and flora.

Marley himself once stole a set of cutlery from a lower class family and sold it to a nobleman for six times the price. He was caught almost immediately, but he was saved by his unnatural skill in stealth and a knack for escape. He moved freely from one town to another, lying cheating, stealing and bamboozling his way by.

Marley would constantly argue with his master Kulapongi on why the Timid Hand's guild leader, Gaspar Grayband, would allow the commoners' mockery. His master would explain that the more obscure their guild was the better, since this would help hide them from their enemies.

One day, Marley could not stand the commoners' treatment of his guild anymore and he set out to find his own path. He promised his masters that, one day when he returned, he would bring enough honour to his guild to keep it from being mocked.

Marley wandered aimlessly, only looking at the stars for guidance. He traveled across forest and deserts and finally sailed the sea disguised as a merchant, swindling his way from town to town. One faithful day he ended up in a small village by the mountain near Zephyrus.

### Meeting Cassana, Cassana's Father and his rival Ashvell

Out of luck and out of money, Marley met Ashvell who he immediately tried to swindle. He offered him a "love stone," which was just an ordinary stone the orc had picked up elsewhere. He claimed that the stone could make any lady swoon for him.

Marley initially offered it to him for 10 gold, but since Ashvell was quite observant (though still gullible) he agreed to buy the useless item for 1 silver. While Marley was busy finding his next victim, he chanced upon a young lady named Cassana. Unfortunately, when he was about to approach the attractive young lady, the man he swindled earlier suddenly appeared with his "love stone" in hand.

The useless charm seemed to be working on Cassana. Unknown to Marley, Ashvell and Cassana were actually childhood friends, though Cassana only saw Ashvell as a friend at the time. Marley interrupted them, claiming that the charm was actually forcing her to "like" Ashvell romantically. This also abruptly revealed Ashvell's feelings towards Cassana.

Marley said that he was the true gentleman fitting of such a maiden like her. As the situation increasingly turned awkward, Marley demanded that Ashvell return the useless charm to him. However, when Ashvell tried to ask for a refund, Marley had already spent the money on food. Ashvell, shamed and not accepting that he had just been swindled, challenged Marley to a fist fight.

The fight ended in a hilarious display of bare-handed fist fighting, since both men were both inexperienced with weaponless combat. Cassana did not immediately stop the fighting since she was too busy laughing at how bad they were (the two men kept punching but barely hitting anything).

After the two men were exhausted, Cassana asked them to stop fighting and exclaimed that both of them needed to get their eyes checked. Later that evening, the three of them went to the tavern owned by Cassana's Father, Tullius. As they got acquainted with each other, Marley apologized to Ashvell and Cassana and explained that he was a travelling merchant.

Marley told them stories about his adventures (some true, some made-up). Strangely enough, the three of them became friends. Ashvell became Marley's rival for Cassana's hand.

-Marley's most greatest and most successful swindle. Also his greatest downfall.
-Marley and the succubus. How Marley lost all of his money and how he accidentally saved the village.
-The poor thief Marley
-Robbing Rob and the encounter with the "Godslayer" expedition.
-Saving Cassana Arc.
[To be continued]

## Character Information

### Appearance

Marley is an adult half-orc male who is quite small in height compared to a typical half-orc. He wears his favorite monocle on his left eye (which he claims makes him look more human). He has a row of horns protruding from his head, which he colors brown and covers with thick brown dreadlocks.

Marley has dark eyes and a squarish bearded face, with a protruding over-bite fangs that makes him lisp whenever he tries to whisper. His ears were originally sharp and pointed much like an elf would, but he trimmed and rounded them to make himself look more human. His original skin color was a dark green tone but he would constantly coat himself with crushed coconuts to make his complexion more brownish.

Though short in stature, he makes up for it with his bulky build inherited from his orc lineage. Despite a few extra pounds in his belly, Marley is surprisingly swift and agile.

Unlike most half-orcs, Marley is quite conscious of his appearance. He finds it hard to hide his distinct smell of orcish "musk." He would try hard to look clean, washing his hands and face when he gets an opportunity and wearing "mostly" washed clothing and fancily styled commoner's clothes.

His favorite shirt is a white, long-sleeved privateer's plaid with many hidden pockets and sailor's leather pants paired with rough traveler boots. Marley also carries a sophisticated bag and a leather pouch strapped around his leather belt.

### Personality

Unlike most half-orcs, Marley is a laid-back, happy-go-lucky kind of character. Though a skilled fighter, he prefers not to engage in a fight and would rather try to resolve disputes verbally. He does not like killing and will only resolve to use lethal force if it was absolutely necessary.

Though being a half-orc himself, Marley actually dislikes his own race because of their "Brutal and Barbaric Customs." He prefers being in the company of humans and half-elves in which he tries to fit in. He thinks that humans and half-elves are "very beautiful and civilized" compared to his own race.

Always wanting to be the center of attention. He attracts more bad luck than good fame and always find himself in sticky situations. Unlike most thieves who prefer the shadows, Marley likes to be the hero and would deceive others in thinking that he is (though it rarely happen). Marley is desperate to make a name for himself and claim renown for his shamed guild. Though selfless and noble at times he would not try to sacrifice anything without something in exchange, be it gold or fame.

Even though he is buffoonish, Marley is still quite cunning owing mostly to his impeccable luck. He is able to survive all of his encounters by deceiving, stealing, sneaking and conning his way through them. Even though he is quite good at deceiving people, he himself is unusually gullible for a thief. He once lost hundreds of his gold to a pretty damsel simply because he was too trusting of her.

Marley's weakness for pretty faces nearly got the best of him when he actually tried to save an enemy mercenary, who turned out to be an effeminate man. In battle, he will try his best not to engage a female opponent, or would at least try to use non-lethal attacks or subdue them.

## Trivia

* Marley loves dogs and he calls all of them "bro" (shiba-bro, shizhu-bro, weasel-bro)
* Marley thinks a weasel is a type of dog
* Marley refers to himself in the third person and speaks in a pseduo Jamaican accent (or local Jamai accent)
* Marley cannot whisper properly and will speak with a lisp because of his overbite fangs
* Marley is surprisingly soft spoken for a half-orc (half-orcs usually speak in a grunting loud voice)
* Marley is fond of smoking a Pacalolo, a herbal plant dried and smoked with a pipe much like tobacco. It is widely used in the Jamai region but is considered contraband everywhere else
* Marley is fond of silverware for no apparent reason
* Marley is actually smarter than the average orc and half-orc (having +1 INT)
* Marley actually dislikes fighting which is unusual for a half-orc. He prefers intimidating enemies though he rarely gets an opportunity to do so and would usually fail

## Goals

Fame and Fortune
To ultimately bring honor to his guild and gain the admiration of everyone. He hopes that if he is famous it will not be as hard to fit in, as well as gain him the admiration of the ladies.