June Philippa Berry & Krähen Spinne A practicing hypnotist, "Pippa" used her skills to cure people of their ailments. One Summer at the Furzen Fayre a rugged looking hunter came to her for help. He'd been forced to leave his home village because his compulsive lying disorder had made him unwelcome and untrusted. Whether it was purely for treatment or for other reasons, Krähen hung around for a while and he and Pippa got to know each other very well. By the following Spring they were married and their first child, Sable, was born just over a year later. Sable Berry From an early age, Sable would accompany her father on his hunting trips. She soon learnt how to stealthily track and quietly kill her prey. She'd always had a certain darkness to her character and when one year she left the village, it was rumoured that she'd gone on to become an assassin in the employ of the Elector of Stirland. A couple of times over the following few years, some of the villagers claimed they'd seen her nearby, but her family always denied that she'd paid a visit. Wolke Berry When he was young, his mother had explained what she did as "putting people under her spell". Of course, she'd only meant this lightly, but young Wolke took her seriously and could often be found playing at casting spells on the other children in the village or playing tricks on them, like presenting them with a frog and telling them it was what he'd turned their brother or sister into. A while after his sister left, a travelling wizard stayed in the village for a few months. Once Wolke found out his occupation, he spent as much time as he could, and was allowed, with the wizard, helping gather ingredients and doing whatever he could to assist. When it came time for the wizard to move on Wolke was keen to go with him as his apprentice. It was clear he'd made up his mind what he wanted, so his parents did nothing to stop him. He did come back a few years later, curiously just after Sable had returned, but he didn't stop long. Sable Berry & Cad Tafel As suddenly as she had left, Sable one day returned. With a husband in tow. She spoke little of what she'd done in the intervening years or how she'd met Cad. But they quickly settled into the family home. Cad was a skilled maker of chocolate and would set up a small stall outside the front of the house to sell his wares which quickly became renowned throughout the local area. After a few years of marriage they started a family and all seemed well for some time. However, a couple of years after Judi's birth, Sable vanished for nearly two years. Once more, when she returned, she would tell no-one where she'd been, but she settled quickly back down into family life and she and Cad went on to have another child and a seemingly happy life. Lockig Berry Lockig grew up helping Cad on the stall and slowly took over the running of it as he got older. Eventually the chocolates were so well known that the family made enough money to open a small shop to sell them in and Lockig ran that while first his father, and then his sister concentrated on making the chocolates. Juliette Berry Always her father's daughter, it was no surprise that she was the one in the family who took over the chocolate making side of the business from him. In the years following her father's death, despite her claims to the contrary, her skill in the art of chocolate making surpassed those of her father and the family's reputation grew further. Zünder Berry Always a live wire, a quiet life making and selling chocolate was never going to be Zünder's idea of fun. Often in some form of trouble, he was volunteered for the local militia by his tiring parents. It seemed to be just the thing for him and he really enjoyed the time he spent in the Moot Defence Force (MDF) eventually finding his niche as a gunner.

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Judi Berry After initially helping Lockig in the shop, Judi became bored of selling chocolates and decided to pursue her own interest in old and unusual objects. She spent most of the year searching out things to sell at her stall at the Summer Fayre, which over the years gained a reputation for being a source of strange and varied trinkets and curios. Wirbel Berry With more years between him and Judi than there are between Judi and Lockig, Wirbel always felt a little separated from the others. Shops and chocolates were never of any interest to him. What he did like was watching the acrobats at the annual Fayre. One year, with his parent's blessing, he left with the acrobats when they moved on. For many years, he returned with them to perform before leaving again when the Fayre ended. Judi Berry & Dan Verzweifelt On one of her many trips in search of strange and unusual objects, Judi discovered a fine young gentlehalfling eating a pie in an inn. He caught her interest because of the curious blade he wore at his side. She went over to ask him about it and they got talking. Dan turned out to be an explorer, heading in roughly the same direction as she was. What started out as a profitable partnership, soon became so much more. They returned to Furzen, wed, and had a family, but they were never truly settled there. Though Furzen would always be their home, they, and eventually their children with them, still travelled for at least a couple of months every year. And Judi always had things to sell on her stall at the Fayre. William Berry While accompanying his parents on their frequent travels, William started a business of his own. Smuggling. Starting by concealing some stolen goods for a thief he got to know on one of the trips, he quickly realised that he could make more of a profit for himself. Always sticking to small items, particularly jewellery, he was able to take advantage of the fact that his parents were well know and trusted as they'd been travelling and trading honestly for years. Rowan Berry Along with his sister Maeve, Rowan tended towards the naturalistic stereotype of Halflings that the other races think of when a Halfling isn't a cook. Like William, it was the travelling with his parents that broadened his horizons and gave his own interests the room to grow. He used the annual trips to learn about herbs from throughout the Empire and beyond, always bringing something new back for Maeve and for his own small herb stall at the Fayre. Maeve Berry Once she was old enough, Maeve was the one who stayed behind to look after the family home. While the family were away she used to time to explore her own interests. She shared Rowan's affinity for nature and would spend much of her free time wandering the woods and forests of the North Riding. It was on one of these wanderings that she 'stumbled' upon an old forgotten grove. Answering some unbidden call to restore it, she worked long and hard that Spring, at some undefined point becoming a Druid herself, having been 'selected' by the grove. Sheryl "Bun" Berry If Rowan and Maeve were the stereotypical nature loving Halflings of the family, them Sheryl was the stereotypical Halfling cook. She loved cooking and was very good at it, ensuring that her parents and brothers always ate well on their travels. Breads were always her speciality though and she learnt to bake a wide range of them based on recipes from all over the Old World. Sheryl "Bun" Berry & Sans Baies During one of her parents many trips, they stopped over in a small Halfling enclave called Navet, situated near Quenelles in Bretonnia. They spent several weeks there and Sheryl got to know Sans, one of the local traders. When it came time to leave, the parting was difficult, but Sheryl and her family had to leave to get back to Furzen in time for the Fayre. However, mere weeks after their arrival back in Furzen, Sheryl was surprised one afternoon to find Sans at the door. He had given up his life in Navet and followed her back to the Moot. It was the end of Sheryl's travelling too as Sans convinced her that they could run a bakery together, making use of her baking skills and his experience as a trader. The Streckrübe Bakery in Furzen became well known throughout the surrounding area, and indeed, much further afield, due to the quality and wide variety of baked breads, cakes and puddings that were sold there. Their stall was one of those which always sold out at the annual Fayre, no matter how much Sheryl managed to bake for it.

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Pandora Berry Always a charming, attractive and confident young woman Pandora found that when she spoke, people would listen. Especially the men. She used her skills to help her parents sell their wares in the bakery and on their stall at the Summer Fayre. Pandora Berry & Adrian Mole One of the regular customers at the Streckrübe Bakery was a servant to the Elector of Stirland called Adrian. At least once a month he would visit the bakery to take some of the wares back to his master's home. Pandora always looked forward to his visits and the pair got to know each other very well. On one of his visits, Adrian asked her to return with him when he next came to the shop. She had a month to think it over and talk to her parents about it and in the end she decided to go. The following month, after his visit to the bakery, Adrian left not only with a fine selection of breads, but also with Pandora. They were not away long however as they returned just a few months later. Pandora was pregnant and Adrian's master didn't want to have to provide lodging for the family, so he let Adrian go. Fortunately, as the bakery was so successful, Pandora's parents were able to give them a home and Adrian a job. Their first child Tummel was born just before Autumn 2371 and they were married a month and a half later. Tummel Berry From an early age, Tummel was given the responsibility of gathering firewood for the ovens in his grandparent's bakery. As he grew older, he became a woodsman in his own right, helping the village manage their local woodland and ensuring everyone had enough firewood for the winter. Jude Berry Always a cheery soul, Jude never felt bad about anything for long. A natural performer, she could often be found keeping her younger brother, sisters and the other children in the village amused by singing to them. As an adult she would sing for patrons at the local inns and taverns and during the Summer Fayre. Her performances were very popular and even Jude's singing of a sad song seemed to make everyone feel better. Tom Berry Never happier than when playing with clay as a child, nobody was very surprised when he became apprentice to the local potter, eventually taking over the business when the old man passed on. Of course, no one was more happy to have him as the local potter than his grandparents, as it made sure they always got good pots cheaply for their steamed puddings. Til Berry Til never seemed happy just staying rooted in the village like the rest of the Berrys. He needed to see a bit more of the world and made his way to the river where he hoped to find a boat to take him somewhere. He eventually got working passage on a river barge and spent the rest of his life travelling the Empire's waterways with various cargoes. He never owned his own barge as he preferred not to have the extra responsibility. When they made port he liked to be able to spend his time enjoying himself, not worrying about berthing fees and the like. Julianna Berry The creative and confident one of the twins, she was encouraged into singing by her elder sister, and they actually performed together for a while. However, their voices just somehow didn't sound quite right together, despite being sisters, and they both ended up singing solo. Jude was always a little more successful than her younger sister and Julianna was always jealous of her sister's greater fame and talent.

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Jemima Berry The studious and more reserved of the twins, Jemima showed an aptitude for reading and writing from an unusually early age. She quickly became skilled in reading and writing several languages and was much valued by family and villagers alike for her ability. Her most notable role was as the person responsible for recording the goings on at the Moots the village elder took part in. Jude Berry & Fearnley Whittingstall Fearnley was the cook at the Green Dragon Inn in the village and as such, he used to see Jude perform there quite often. For him, it was love at first sight. It took him a while to bring Jude around to his way of thinking, but he was successful. In time, Fearnley came to own the Green Dragon outright and it flourished under his management. It was also to become a very happy family home once the children started to arrive. Boysen Berry Growing up with his Dad in the Green Dragon, it was no surprise to anyone that Boysen took over the running of the ever-busy kitchens as Fearnley advanced in years and spent more of his time running the inn. He never shared Fearnley's flair for people or management though, so he was to ultimately be disappointed when his father passed the running of the inn on to his grandson Foster. Glaston Berry Throughout childhood Glaston showed great promise for becoming a skilled artisan with his creative bent and skilled hands. He spent a great deal of time in his Uncle Tom's pottery, but he wasn't destined to become a potter though. Assisting his father with some running repairs to the inn one year, he decided to help save some money and have a go at doing some of the repairs to the stonework himself. He took to it like a natural, and once he was done with the repairs, he spent a few years, with his parents blessing, off training as a stonemason. When he returned, he brought a couple of his apprentice pieces back with him: two dragons. One he had designed to lay curled around the twin chimney pots of the inn's main chimney. The other sits perched on the edge of the roof of the porch and keeps a wary eye on the road and the people entering. So impressed with them was his father, that he renamed the inn the Green Dragons Inn. Murtle Berry The spitting image of her mother, no one was at all surprised when she displayed Jude's talent for singing. When Jude finally began to grow tired of performing, Murtle took over with great success. For a while afterwards there was much discussion in the village as to who was the better singer, Jude or Murtle. To try and settle the argument, the two were eventually persuaded to sing together. It was an evening that saw the Green Dragons Inn packed to the rafters as seemingly the whole village, and quite a few from some of the nearby farms and villages, came to hear the performance. Unlike when Jude had sung with Julianna, she and Murtle struck perfect harmonies. Most who listened agreed that they'd never before heard such beautiful singing. Those who didn't agree with that, said so only because they claimed to have heard Elven maidens singing, but nobody really believed them. Afterall, no one could remember ever seeing an Elf locally, let alone hearing one sing. So the argument was settled. Both Murtle and Jude were singers of the greatest talent and nobody could choose between them. Least of all Fearnley. Canter Berry A quiet, kind and thoughtful child, Canter's demeanour seemed to mark him out as someone destined for a religious occupation from an early age. In his late teens he left the family inn, as his younger brothers and sisters were old enough to be able to help in his absence, and made his way to one of the larger temples in the North Riding. He was a very dedicated Initiate and quickly rose into the ranks of the Clerics. He always found time at least once a year to return and visit his family back at the inn though.

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Lyrin "Blooms" Berry Lyrin had always taken a keen interest in the inn's kitchen garden. Boysen liked to grow as much as he could for the inn's kitchens and was only too keen to have Lyrin's help when she grew older. Eventually Lyrin took over the running of the kitchen garden completely, which freed Boysen up to concentrate on the cooking. Herbs were always Lyrin's main interest, though she was skilled when it came to growing root vegetables too, particularly turnips. She developed the herb garden greatly and introduced the use of herbs throughout the inn for purposes other than cookery. For example, she grew large beds of lavender, so that all the rooms in the inn could have a fresh bunch placed in them daily to help freshen the air. She even lined the path to the inn's front door with long troughs of lavender and mint, which helped make the walk to the door all the more welcoming. At least for those patrons who didn't have hayfever. Whin Berry Whin was a girl who's dolls were never short of clothing. She would make them outfits from whatever she could get her hands on, which led to more than one incident where strange smells were traced to rotting fruit and vegetable peel in her dolls 'wardrobe'. As she grew older she would alter the hand-me-down garments for her and her siblings. And eventually she became a very skilled seamstress and tailor. Logan Berry Never happier than when chasing his younger brother Brad around the inn's garden with his toy sword (which was just whatever he'd happened to pick up, but if you asked him, he'd tell you it was a sword) Logan always was a little more combative than anyone liked. But with everyone busy running the inn most of the time, there were few people around to discourage him. Tales of fighting the good fight, and becoming rich off the spoils, lured him away from the village before he was twenty, without his parents' blessing. He only ever returned once, some years later, when his mercenary unit was passing the Moot on its way to the Black Mountains to help deal with the latest round of incursions by the orcs. Brad Berry Having got used to defending himself from his brother, when he was old enough he decided that he wanted to help defend the Moot from those who might try to do it harm. He left the inn and joined the North Riding Militia (NRM) who were based in the town of York. Frequent leave and the occasional posting to the area, meant he never went long without being able to visit his family back at the inn. Lyrin "Blooms" Berry & Cadfael Monkswood One Summer Fayre, the inn had a guest who showed a particular interest in the herbs growing outside. Fearnley introduced the inquiring fellow to Lyrin and the two of them disappeared off into the garden to talk about plants. Cadfael visited many more times over the following months and a strong friendship developed that blossomed into love. Before a year had passed, Cadfael moved in with Lyrin and almost a year to the day later they were married. Having Cadfael there to help care for the herbs and kitchen garden freed Lyrin to 'explore' other plants. She developed an interest in flowers, and as she had once done with herbs, she began keeping the inn's rooms dressed with freshly cut blooms, earning her affectionately given nickname in the process. Katrina "Elder" Berry Katrina often got into trouble as a girl for playing 'ghosts' or 'camping' with the inn's bed linen. In the end she found herself on permanent laundry duty. She progressed from just washing the inn's linen to making running repairs to both it and the curtains. Originally seeking just a bit of help and advice from her Aunt Whin, she ended up learning tailoring from her. Katrina went on to make tailoring her trade and her skills were always in demand locally. Foster "Fos" Berry Working with his grandad behind the bar at the Green Dragons as soon as he was old enough, Foster quickly showed the ability to help run and manage the inn. It was still a surprise though when Fearnley passed the inn on to "Fos" and not Boysen. Quietly, everyone, except Boysen, agreed it was the right choice though, and so it proved to be as the inn has continued to be a great success.

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Katrina "Elder" Berry & Salis Bollebar Every settlement should have a pharmacy. At least that's what Salis Bollebar said when he arrived in Furzen and opened one where old Roe's ViolettSpitze vegetable store had been. The village had never had a pharmacist before and many were more than a little suspicious of Salis' chemical concoctions when their only experience of such was the 'miracle' rubs and ointments peddled at the annual Furzen Summer Fayre. He began to gain the trust of the community as word slowly spread that his treatments at least did no harm, and often even aided the affliction they were being used to treat. Salis' gentle, open and honest manner were surely of no small help in his adoption by the village community. So it was that one cold Winter's day, Katrina found herself in the pharmacy seeking something to help her rid herself of the bad cold that had been lingering for a couple of weeks. Salis prescribed some crystals that he said she was to drop into some hot water and then breathe deeply of the scents that were given off. Katrina was pleasantly surprised when the crystals did indeed help to free her from the shackles of her cold. But it wasn't just gratitude that took her back to the pharmacy. Salis' charming nature had won her over and the pair of them quickly developed a friendship, that grew into a relationship, marriage and then a family. Harbull Berry Being the oldest child, Harbull was naturally the one expected to follow in his father's footsteps. It helped that he saw it as his responsibility to be in a position to look after the family business when his father grew too old to run it full time. He didn't show a great flair for learning but with hard work and study he gained all the knowledge he needed to run the often busy pharmacy. Bill Berry With the family business' future in Harbull's capable hands, Bill found himself at a bit of a loss. For a while he and a few friends tried performing in a group called the North Riding Experimental Musicians (N.R.E.M.) in which he played the drums, but as none of them were particularly skilled, the group didn't last long. Eventually, the need to get out and see what lay beyond the Moot's borders that had led to several of his ancestors leading a more exciting life, grew within him. Even so, it was not until he reached the age of 33, and his younger brother left home to begin a life of peace and purpose in the religious orders, that his itchy feet carried away from the home he had always known and out into the wider world. Huckle Berry Huckle was a Halfling in need of direction. He had no trade to call his own and wasn't needed to help run the family business. Unlike his brother Bill, who sought his direction in the lands outside of the Moot, Huckle sought his direction by looking inwards and asking religion to be his guide. It was shortly after his 30th birthday that he became an Initiate and his family have only seen him for one week every year since.

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This page © Greg Aldridge, 14 August 2004