Gulfas

Gulfas at the beginning of his journey.

### **Early Life**

Gulfas was large even from birth; weighing a whopping 26lbs. This subsequently left his mother in the care of the local temple healers for some time.

Gulfas' childhood could be considered normal by most commoners, but his love for food was obvious at an early age. Gulfas would eat meals large enough for an entire family in one sitting causing his parents to have to spend large amounts of gold on food to satiate the young boy's hunger. When Gulfas didn't get enough food to fill him he would often bang on the table in intricate patterns which his parents soon learned meant the type of food he wanted next.

When Gulfas hit adolescence he would wander around the tenements with the other boys and cause mischief by tipping cows or placing boulders in tea fields. One account describes Gulfas carrying a farmer's entire supply of hay bales to another farmer's property to watch the arguments over ownership ensue.

Gulfas grew into a bit of a gentle giant over time, realizing his size and strength would break things he liked or hurt the ones he loved if he let excitement take him over. After an incident involving a local boy's puppy and a delighted neck scratching lead to a tragedy Gulfas became dispirited. This lead to Gulfas willingly separating himself from the other young people in town and culminated in a drinking habit Gulfas has never kicked to this day.

#### **Adulthood and Making One's Own Way**

At the age of 17 Gulfas witnessed a traveling troupe of merry men at the local tavern playing for lodging for the night. Gulfas became enamored of the music and poems the troubadours shared, drumming on the table to the beat and singing along in his low voice. Gulfas found the group the next day on their way out of town with the intent of following them on their busking trips. At first the merry men declined him, stating he had no experience in entertaining and would only be a burden to them. The group's lutist was later cited as saying,

> "*This fat man just walked up to us shouting about how he wanted to be a musician. He was most unintelligible and stank of ale. He was shirtless and sweating profusely. We had little need of another member and were concerned with the amount of food a man of his size would cut into our travel ration. This way of thinking changed when he not only strapped our kegs of supplies to our mule with only one hand, but he then hoisted the mule over his shoulder like a boy carrying a mutt.*"
> ― Terstarine
>
>

### **Traveling with the Band**

With no instrument to speak of Gulfas took to slapping a keg with his hands and a leather padded drum stick. This instrumental improvisation gave the troupe a gimick the soon exploited for local fame. Eventually, Gulfas had an oak keg banded using magical heavy iron and requesting a portion be hollowed out and covered with tanned boar hide to give it a more traditional drum sound.

As Gulfas became more familiar with his instrument the band began trusting his tempo during their sets. Gulfas would often start a set fast and intricate then slowed over time with fatigue and the emptying of his keg. This led to a style the group would call the *festival cadence* in reference to the way Gulfas would walk with vigor to their venue followed by the slow drunken trudge to his room at the night's end.

The adaption of the *festival cadence* turned out to be a great way of pacing the music for the night; bringing in patrons with upbeat, happy tunes and slowly winding the festivities down with the laments of love ballads. Gulfas soon realized he'd rather end with a push and added one last upbeat song at the end of the set using his *bardic inspiration* causing the patrons to take to the streets in elation.

Gulfas during a particularly rowdy show.