Jacob Mertz and Tabu

Name: Jacob Mertz

Race: Human

Aprox age: 34

Gender: Male

Weapons: Two flinlock pistols. Two daggers.

Special abilities: Jacob, though little more that a greasy weasel of a man, excels at being just that. He is insidious, unscrupulous, devious, and a few other -ouses that all add up to him being just the slimiest of dirtbags. When it comes to lying, cheating, stealing, threatening, kidnapping, murdering, or any other criminal activity, Jacob is the man for the job. He's great at taking cheap shots and running away. That said, when taking those cheap shots, he's a particular danger. He's deadly precise with his pistols, despite them not being the most accurate of firearms to begin with. He's an opportunist who knows just when to take his shot.

Pesonality: Jacob is a man without morals or value. He's the kind of pirate that gives pirates a bad name. Everything from his greasy hair to his nasaly voice to his pale, clammy skin shows on the outside just how wretched he is within. The only person he cares about other than his own greasy hide is his best friend Tabu. In fact, he'd almost die for the big, dark man. The only other loyalty he has is to his captain, Nathaniel Rivorn, and only because disloyalty to a man like him gets you killed, and working for the captain of the Astrella allows scum like Jacob Mertz to do what he does best.

Brief history/Other character info: Jacob's history is no different from many a lawless sailor. He grew up in the slums, poor and dirty. He took to a life of crime early on, starting as a pickpocket, mugger, and petty thief. Eventually, with guards breathing down his neck, he had to get out of town. Given the type of people he was used to associating with, it wasn't hard to find himself a place on a pirate ship and just sail off. And so, Jacob Mertz joined up with the crew of the Astrella and her ruthless captain, Nathaniel Rivorn.

Name: Tabu

Race: Human

Aprox age: 32

Gender: Male

Weapons: A large curved scimitar and huge muscles.

Special abilities: Tabu is a huge, muscled beast of a man. He's strong and tough. He's resilient and can shake off quite a hit. Life as a slave, which included frequent beatings, has made him able to ignore pain. Basically, he's a fearless, powerful, asskicking machine. Stabbing or shooting him is very likely to piss him off far more than slow him down. This is not to say he's invincible. He is a human being. He's just a tough-as-nails human being.

Pesonality: In truth, Tabu is generally a gentle giant when he is allowed to be. He doesn't desire hurting people. He's just very good at it. When it comes time for business, however he is a truly intimidating and terrifying beast. His scarred and tattooed body, dark skin, and firey eyes are enough to strike fear in the hearts of even the most hardened men. On top of that, Tabu is a mute. He never speaks, though his face can express anything he'd have to say. Something about that silence makes him even more frightening. His loyalty to Jacob is unwavering and supersedes any other motivation he may have. He will fight to the death to protect his only friend, no matter what.

Brief history/Other character info: Tabu was captured by slavers when he was a teenage boy and spent the next several years bouncing from one slave caravan to another. He was sold and repurchased more times than he cares to count. He was a field worker, a dockhand, a gladiator . . . but always, always a slave. The harsh life of slavery is what has hardened him into the musclebound titan that he is. It's taught him to feel no fear, no pain, no pity. Still, his true heart lives deep within him; a heart that longs for peace and freedom.

Jacob came across Tabu in the black market district of one or another of the wretched hives of scum and villainy he had found himself in during his travels with the pirates of the Astrella. He had just successfully (or so he thought) lifted quite a hefty pouch of gold from some unsuspecting rube and was strolling along quite happily. He paused to look up at a large stage that had been set up. Slavers were hawking their wares and auctioning them off to the highest bidders. As he watched, they brought up one of the largest, muscled hulks of a slave that Jacob had ever seen. He had the dark skin of a savage from the eastern continent and his whole body was marked with tribal tattoos and ritual scars. No sooner had Jacob's mouth fallen agape at the sight, he felt something sharp press into his back. "You're working the wrong turf, scum." Those words told him all he needed to know. The local thieves were none to pleased with him working in their territory. A quick glance showed him that there were more of them than he could handle, so he did the only thing a man of his bravery and honor could do. He ran like hell. He jumped onto the stage and ducked behind the biggest thing he could find . . . Tabu. The other men rushed the stage and all might have been over for Jacob, but one of the thieves made his last mistake. He shoved Tabu out of his way. Well to be more accurate, he attempted to shove Tabu out of his way. Instead he pressed on an immovable mass of muscle. Tabu grabbed the man's face with his chained hands and twisted his head like a bottle cap. With a sickening crack, the man's body fell limp, and all the thieves turned their attention to Tabu. The fight that followed ended in three dead thieves, and not a scratch on the large slave.
The slavers were frantic, running about, closing up the stand as quickly as possible. This outburst would surely bring the guards, or worse, the thieves' guild down on them. It took four large men to drag Tabu out by his chains. They used clubs and whips to beat him down and drag him away. Jacob watched from his hiding place as they brutally beat the man who had just saved his life. It may have been the only moment of decency Jacob Mertz had ever lived, but he just couldn't let that happen to the poor slave. He ran from his hiding place, drawing his pistols. He fired them both, taking out two of the slavers, and that was all the opening Tabu needed. He smashed one of the others over his head with both his fists as Jacob rushed up and stabbed the last in the back.
"Come on!" Jacob shouted and the two ran off toward the harbour. Once there they rushed aboard the Astrella and hid. Jacob removed the irons that held Tabu.
From that day on, Tabu followed Jacob loyally. For though he may have saved the smaller man's life, the man had done the same in return. He had saved him not only from death, but from life; miserable, horrible and painful that it was. He wasn't exactly free, but he was no longer a slave. A pirate ship was as good a place as any and here he had his first and only friend. He would never leave the man's side.