Carrow "The Cat" Shaw

**Carrow "The Cat" Shaw** is captain of the mercenary company The Cat's Claws, now under the permanent employ of Finnbjorn Cinderforge. The Cat is an expert marksman who specializes in the use of a heavy crossbow and is also an accomplished scout and hunter.

## Early Life

Carrow was the fourth out of six children born to a fisherman and his wife in a small coastal village in the Corlester region of Suldura. The village was destroyed in 476 AC, and Carrow was one of only a few survivors.

Orphaned, he enlisted in a mercenary company, where he trained with bow and sword. The men in the company treated Carrow well, many of them thinking of him like a nephew.

In 479 AC, Carrow's company suffered a defeat in a skirmish against Kithvoni forces. Carrow was among those were captured and were being transported back to Kithvonn, presumably to be sold on the slave markets. A squall arose, and in the confusion, Carrow leaped overboard, believing he would be able to swim to shore. He had overestimated his ability, and nearly drowned. By good luck, however, he was rescued from the waters by a tiefling ship, the Fiend's Daughter.

## The Isle of Smoke

Aboard the Fiend's Daughter, Carrow quickly befriended the captain's nieces, Myth and Song, who were apprenticed aboard the ship. He was also given an Abyssal name by the crew, who named him The Cat because he had looked like a drowned cat when they pulled him from the seas, and because of his ability to repeatedly survive near-death situations.

The Cat served on the Fiend's Daughter for several years, during which he became very close friends with Myth and fell in love with her sister, Song. Song shared his feelings, and the two began an illicit relationship. Relationships with non-tieflings are forbidden for citizens of the Isle of Smoke, and particularly for Song, who was the daughter of King Glory.

When The Cat and Song's relationship was discovered, Glory had The Cat imprisoned, awaiting trial and likely execution. However, Myth and her mother Cadence helped him to escape imprisonment and the Isle. Song could not come with them, but Myth and The Cat set out together, beginning a life as mercenaries.

## The Cat's Claws

Eventually, The Cat was able to begin his own mercenary company, with Myth as his lieutenant. A company consisting primarily of crossbowmen, the Cat's Claws has a reputation as being skilled and relatively principled in terms of the work that they take.

The Cat's principles and his relative naivete have caused difficulties for him at times. He has, on multiple occasions, been betrayed by other mercenaries, and has only narrowly escaped death several more times. Fortunately, Myth has always been around to help keep him alive, through her skill as a healer and her ability to take the form of beasts.

Myth has had less success keeping The Cat from behaving recklessly with his social life, and he has gotten married on four separate occasions. The first wife died, the second absconded with all of The Cat's gold, the third marriage was annulled, and the fourth turned out to have not actually been made good, since the "priest" who had married them was not actually a priest. These and other relationships have inevitably failed, since The Cat was still deeply in love with Song.

## Finnbjorn's Employ

In 499 AC, the Cat's Claws were hired by Finnbjorn Cinderforge to help defend the city of Westmarch during its besiegement by the Silver Inquisition. Finnbjorn had sought the aid of King Artorin, but as the Crown's forces were occupied dealing with the Malkin Rebellion, they were unable to aid Westmarch. Instead, Queen Calliandra provided Finnbjorn with gold to hire mercenaries, and the king's spymaster Luca Palos recommended the Cat's Claws.

After helping to rebuff the Silver Inquisition forces, The Cat traveled to the Faewood with Finnbjorn, Grimyse, Saladin, and Holg to find the druid Mallara and resurrect Elend Tavore's wife. He then rendezvoused with his company at Nuramek, where the Cat's Claws took part in the Siege of the Cinderforge. The Cat himself aided in the defeat of Falrik Clanless, taking down the Cinderforge's magical defenses.

After the victory at the Cinderforge, the Cat's Claws were made permanent retainers of the Cinderforge clan. In that capacity, The Cat traveled to Mordingard with Finnbjorn and his companions, helping to discover the tomb of Thadwin Bronzewright. The company then rode to war again, joining the human-dwarf coalition that opposed the Malkin Rebellion. The company, and The Cat, then returned to Nuramek and the Cinderforge.

## Return to the Isle of Smoke

In 500 AC, The Cat and Myth both received letters from Song indicating that Myth would soon be selected as King Honor's Concubine of Cultivation after the death by illness of the king's concubine Accord. Not long afterward, Song arrived in Nuramek, along with her guards Malice and Fearless, sent to summon Myth back to the Isle.

Myth demanded her right to a Proof by Combat, in which she and her companions would fight the king and his, with a victory releasing Myth from her obligation to become a concubine. The Cat fought by her side, as did Finnbjorn, Saladin, Thadwin, and Torvald Stonesong. King Honor was defeated, and Myth released from her obligations. She was also granted a boon, which she used to demand that The Cat and Song be permitted to resume their relationship.