Rene Hobbes

[Rene Hobbes]

Player Name: Jacob (also the creator of Lain)

Name: Rene Hobbes

Age: 47

Race: Human

Height: 6’1

Weight: 171

Physical Description: Despite his occupation, time and work have been relatively kind to Rene. His body is still tone and well kept; he is relatively average in width, being muscular but not bulbously so. Like a large cat he has powerful leg muscles and long, tight arms. Across his chest is a scar from a very deep cut, but other than that and a few small scars around his forearms, those are the only scars he has.

Rene’s face is starting to wrinkle, but at the moment it gives him a dignified and slightly fatherly appearance. His skin is tan, but it doesn’t have the hard leather look that people who work in the sun seem to get. He has slightly sunken cheeks and a nose that is a bit wide and flat. His hair is black, though gray is quickly becoming the predominant color. Mid back in length, Rene keeps it in a tight braid with a black ribbon tied at the end. Under his nose and mouth is a trim but thick mustache goatee combo; his facial hair is much farther along the path to become completely gray than his hair is. His eyes, like his cheeks, are sunken slightly; they are a soft blue color, gentile and kind, beside them Rene has a bad case of crow’s feet. His voice is deep and just starting to get the classic ‘old man grumble.’

Rene almost always has on a form fitting set of studded leather armor. Treated to be a very dark brown, the metal parts are covered by extra strips of leather to keep any light from reflecting off them. Over this armor he wears an obviously old but well cared for poncho of sorts. Tan-ish gray in color, it has big sleeves that Rene’s long fingers barley stick out of. It hangs to his knees and he has it tied with a simple braided rope around his waist. He wears a very wide brimmed hat, like farmers will wear out in the fields. It is dark brown and well worn like his poncho. Big work gloves are usually on his hands and big heavy boots on his feet.

When he is on an assassination mission, or meeting with a client, Rene removes the gloves, poncho and boots. Very form fitting soft sole slippers he will wear to avoid making sounds and he will slip the braid under his armor, being sure to leave enough slack that he can move his head easily. Rene will wrap a long black strip of cloth around his face up to his eyes (leaving it open for his nostrils) and another from just above his eyes to just above his hair line.

Possessions:

Horse Drawn Wagon- Rene keeps all of his possessions in a simple 8 foot by 5 foot wagon. A tarp is stretched over the top and the sides are lined with wooden crates filled with all his belongings. It has a raised part in the front for him to sit on.

Francois- A large breed, Francois is Rene’s black horse. A mane too long and lazily tossed to one side, a slight paunch, one could say that the horse, like his master, is a bit past his prime. However, Francois is intelligent and he knows how to move silently and keep low. When the need arises he can still burst into a quick gallop, though he can’t maintain it for long.

Light Crossbow- A small crossbow that is a dark mahogany in color, it is well crafted and well maintained. He does not carry it around most of the time, but will use it when the job calls for it. He has silver tipped bolts for dealing with shifters.

Hidden sword- While it looks like a walking stick, Rene has a 3 and a half foot thin bladed sword he hides in a scabbard made of wood. The hilt is wood also and the sword is not made for prolonged sword fights, the blade will break with repeated hits. Very sharp, this sword is made for stabbing, and it is the only weapon he carries when he is not on a mission.

Long sword- His main assassination weapon, this sword has a dull gray hilt and a blade made out of a dark gray metal to keep from reflecting light. The blade is 4 feet in length, halfway up the blade it hooks, creating a sickle shape. Both sides are bladed and the inside of the curve is excellent for neck slitting.

Lockpick- A small metal hook for picking at tumblers.

Powers or Strengths:

Astral Viewing- By covering his eyes, but not closing them, Rene is able to gain a top down view from 50 yards in the air. This view cannot be shifted and the center point is always himself. It is useful to get a quick view of the layout of an area, or to check if a patrol is turning his way or not. The technique can be used in total for thirty seconds every hour. This ability is useless inside, for his view will only go as high as the ceiling. This cannot see through building, nor can his view be outside while he is currently inside.

Anatomical Knowledge- Rene has a very extensive knowledge of human, elven, and dwarven anatomy. Furthermore, he has some experience with dealing with shifters. He knows what hits kill, which hits stun, what breaks a bone can recover from and what breaks can cripple for life.

Apothecarian Knowledge- Rene has knowledge about deadly flora. While his knowledge is not incredibly extensive, it does let him make some form of poison in almost any climate. That doesn’t necessarily mean the poison will be all that effective, and sometimes the effects tend to surprise Rene.

Stealthy- Rene knows how to keep quiet, and he knows how to be just another guy in the crowd. A well placed laugh, a clap on the shoulder, a drunken yell, drawing attention to himself in these ways can actually serve to help people not really notice him. To most he is just another poor merchant a bit past his prime. He is a little more flexible than the average person, and has had a long time to learn how to hide in dark corner and crevices.

Weaknesses:

Age- Rene is getting on in years, and he knows it. Thirty years of the kind of stress on his body he puts it through is starting to take its toll. Some mornings it can take him a bit to get out of bed. Mornings after an assassination generally is an hour long series of cracks and pops as he pulls himself up and gets dressed, followed by a few more hours of shuffling about with a hunched back. Even when not sore, his speed as been reduced a bit, and he isn’t quite as limber as he used to be; Rene predicts this could be a major problem if he keeps up this line of work too much longer. Because of his age and the increasing toll on his body, he has entered semi retirement, taking jobs when he needs the money, and only if they are something simple.

Rules- The organization that Rene was a member of had a very specific set of rules, rules that every member was magically bound to adhere too. Rene cannot kill a sentient creature unless paid to do so. Whoever takes an active role in trying to stop his assassination is free to kill as well according to the rules. No matter what danger he is in outside of a mission, the rules do not let him kill sentient beings and his body will stop short of following through on any killing blows. The rules do not let him quit a job unless the employer lied about the details. If he is currently on a mission and is not actively working towards completing it, his body will be wracked with a sharp pain. This makes him very cautious about the jobs he takes; he has to be positive he can complete them.

Not a fighter- As much training as Rene has in the art of killing people; he has very little training in the art of fighting people. Generally speaking, if he ended up engaged in a swordfight or fist fight with someone, he screwed up royally. He is not good at reading his opponents attacks, and more than likely will trip his opponent and run at the first opportunity. That isn’t to say he doesn’t pick the occasional bar brawl as part of his cover, but it does mean he loses the majority of these.

Laid Back but Curious- Rene takes life easy, it is almost a requirement given his line of work. He doesn’t really care about laws and rules and people he doesn’t know feelings, and will enjoy himself in whatever method he has the urge too. Unfortunately for him, Rene likes to stick his nose in people he finds interesting business. Some people don’t appreciate it, and others’ business sometimes is trouble Rene does not want. More than one town Rene has been officially thrown out of for finding those on the opposite side of the rulers the more interesting party.

Enigma- Rene does not let people know his profession, ever. If that means playing the part of a poor merchant even in the direst of situations, so be it. While he will still fight dirty and he most certainly will do what he can to survive a situation, this means that he only uses his best equipment on actual missions and that he will avoid showing certain skills unless pushed greatly. When meeting with clients, he has never given any sort of name. He takes jobs based on rumors, and while this is great for his personal security off the job, it means convincing people to hire him takes an extra effort, because he has no reputation to precede him.

History:

Part I: The Brothers and the Dead Dog

“Poke it.”

Immanuel and Rene Hobbes watched the gray pile of fur in front of them cautiously, half expecting the bloody mess to start moving again. The 10 year old twins found the body on the edge of the Hobbes family property. A somewhat affluent family, they Hobbes had a few acres of land surrounding a house just large enough to be called a manor. The boys had enjoyed their life up in till that point, never having experienced want or being subjected to any of the horrors the outside world contained from inside the Hobbes family’s little slice of Eyropan country side. Immanuel and Rene had been playing one of their adventure games in the field when they stumbled upon the body of a gray animal, which they thought was a very large dog.

“You poke it.”

The boys had been contemplating the gray dog for at least 10 minutes; it was larger than any dog they had seen before, with its claws alone being longer than their fingers. Several large gashes were on its neck and along its body, still fresh and leaking a little blood. Rene finally bent down and picked up a stick, gazing at it for a moment, wondering if perhaps there was a longer one around, before finally going about the task at hand, namely poking the mess of fur and blood. As the stick touched the head of the dog, both boys stumbled over backwards.

The dog growled.

The beast began pulling itself up slowly, shaky on its feet at first although its stability improved as the wounds across its body began to close up. It snarled at the two, its yellow eyes wild with a savage fire that was a mix of rage and hunger. It lowered its head, baring its teeth as it took slow steps towards the boys who were slowly crawling backward. A light whistle breached the air and a bolt scraped across the back of the beast, causing it to let out a monstrous growl and dash off into the fields.

The man who had fired the bolt at the beast came running up to the two boys, panting slightly from his chase of the creature. The man offered no name, simply picking up his bolt and cursing at the fact he didn’t get a clean shot. The man told the boys to follow him if they wanted to be safe from the beast and both boys did just that. The man had a small camp in the forest and he left the boys there, saying he was going to get food. However, the man had in reality just gotten himself perched in a good line of site to the camp, hoping to use the boys as bait in order to lure the creature out and get the perfect shot.

His plan worked…kind of, the beast did return for the boys, but it ended up coming from the direction that he was hiding in. As dark was starting to settle in, the boys heard a growl and a scream, followed shortly after by the man’s crossbow, which came flying out of the trees, still loaded. Immanuel picked it up and shaking wildly, pointed it in the direction the crossbow came from. Through the trees the creature leapt at them, now bipedal and much larger than before. Immanuel and Rene both creamed and Immanuel panic and fired the bolt. In what had to have been the greatest bought of luck, the silver tipped point punctured the creature’s brain through its mouth. It fell to the ground and was dead with a whimper.

The two brother couldn’t move, shock was settling in and it took all their effort not to pass out at the site of the bleeding monstrosity before them. After an hour another man found them, he offered the boys some water and asked who killed the beast. Immanuel, scared the man would tell their parents and he would get in trouble for touching a weapon, pointed at Rene, who was in too much shock to object. They both fell unconscious after that, the man having drugged the water before he gave it to them. Immanuel woke up on the front steps of the Hobbes’ manor, while Rene woke up in the back of a moving cart.

The man told Rene that it was a sign that he should find him so soon after he killed a feral werewolf. Rene would be trained and become a member of the organization that both the man who was speaking and the man who had been killed by the werewolf were members of. Rene was made aware that he didn’t have a choice in the matter, and after a week of travel, found himself in a quaint, misty town at the base of a mountain. The man brought him inside an old abandoned looking house, and Rene’s traning as an assassin would begin.

Part II: Waiting for Godwin

They had no name, for names made it too easy to identify a group, likewise they had no symbols or trinkets they wore. The only thing members of the organization had were pieces of paper with address and dates of when each building would be the new headquarters. Each list was written in a personalized cipher. For 7 years Rene was trained in the art of killing and the technique of Astral Viewing. On the 7th anniversary of his being brought to the organization, he was to receive the binding of the rules.

The elf who founded the organization used his magic to forcibly impose his moral codes, “The Rules” on every fully trained member of the organization. No one really knew why he established the organization, but members rarely went rogue, given the fact that they would still have the rules looming over them. Once mentally branded by the founder’s simple ritual involving the founder laying his hands on Rene’s head and sending a burst of magic through them, Rene was sent out to get to work. The order had easy rules regarding when the members had to report back and give ten percent of their earnings. No more than once a year, to avoid people getting suspicious, and no less than once every five years.

Rene partnered with a fellow rookie named Celestine La’Soliel, both for the power in numbers and the fact neither of them were feeling particularly confident. They hung around taverns and listened in on private conversations, trying to get a lead on a job. Finally they were able to find one and meet the client. A rival politician wanted the mayor of the small town on the Eyropan boarders dead, no rules on how it was to be done, just as long as he wasn’t breathing. Rene and Celestine waited 6 hours outside the Mayor’s residence, but the mayor never left, in fact when they went and asked around the town, no one had actually seen the mayor at all in over a month. All announcements from the Mayor were made by his aide, Emile Godwin.

The two again laid in wait on the road leading to Godwin’s home, but again, it quickly became apparent that this ambush was not going to work. In two days the two would-be assassins had spent 14 hours laying in wait in mud, only to find out that their target was a shut in and the best person to get info from never was home. After a round of drinks at the tavern and a few laughs at how terrible of assassins they were, the two decided that the only way they would get to the Mayor was by slipping past his ample security and killing him in his home.

The guards were rather distracted and the two were able to slip through easily enough. Rene had a bad feeling about the situation, a Mayor who is rarely seen and guards who seemed like guarding was the last thing on their minds. Rene was right to worry, because inside the house they found many occult items and effigies made for worshiping a dark creature in the astral plane. In the basement they found the Mayor’s body, tied to an alter and missing his limbs. Emile Godwin, acting mayor and thus their actual target, was praying at the altar, promising his god a new sacrifice soon. The two assassins were willing to bet on the fact that Emile was a powerful magic user. As such they would need a distraction. Celestine came up with a simple plan, they would sneak back out and she would return claiming to have been told in a dream to come and offer herself as a sacrifice. While distracted by her, Rene would kill Emile while they were sure he wouldn’t have the chance to cast a spell.

The plan was working perfectly, Celestine had been invited in and taken to the basement and Rene was in the house making his way towards the two. As he crept through the house, Rene accidentally bumped one of the oddly shaped statues and knocked it over, the loud shatter causing a clambering outside as guards poured into the house and a commotion in the basement were Godwin cursed loudly and began making his way upstairs. Godwin and the guards made it in at the same time, but before Rene could even lift his weapon, one of the guards had shot Godwin in the head with an arrow.

Godwin had shown up 2 months earlier and had poisoned the Mayor’s mind with talk of his dark god, and soon began offering sacrifices to his god with the Mayor’s limbs. Godwin was able to keep people from dying after losing limbs with magic, so he could drag out their usefulness as a sacrifice as much as possible. The guards had all been so scared of him, for he seemed to be able to guess when they were thinking about killing him, but Rene’s distraction of him was enough for one guard to man up and take him out. Rene hadn’t been fast enough to get Godwin away from Celestine and he found her missing a foot in the basement, alive, but her career as an assassin was effectively over.

Part III: A Chase, a Mistake, and then Life moves on.

Maybe it was guilt that led him to make the initial offer to Celestine that she could still travel with him as part of his cover, but after a few months it was much more than guilt. Years would pass and the two began claiming to be married as part of their cover. To them, this was just as good as actually getting married and despite Rene’s macabre line of work and Celestine’s injury, they managed to have a good time most of the time. Rene was one of the more active members of the organization, some speculated that he tried to make as much money as possible as to cover the money Celestine should have been making.

Life got simpler when Rene turned thirty. The founder of the organization had been killed, by one of the organization’s members actually. Hired by a rival in the founder’s cover life, the rule that made every member have to kill those they are hired to kill over ruled the rule that no one could hurt the founder, and it was perhaps the easiest assassination in the history of the organization, the old elf did not see it coming at all. Many of the rules were lifted when the organization stopped existing, mainly the ones about having to turn over a tithe of 10 percent once in between 1-5 years. Rene enjoyed the work though and Celestine and he both enjoyed the large amount of money for relatively little work if the job went right. In his mid thirties, Rene took a job that had the promise of enough money to retire on, though in reality it would lead him to lose almost everything he had.

Ian Kingsley was a merchant who had slowly made an enemy out of every other merchant along both the Northern and Southern trade roads. Rumor had it he had in his employ a young virtuoso at information extraction, so skilled in fact; people couldn’t even remember being interrogated by him. Ian, through his young employee, had effectively stolen the wealth of dozens of merchants and the man hiring Rene wanted to be sure he wasn’t next. The job sounded easy enough, sneak in, poison Ian’s food and then sneak out. If anything went wrong, he was to simply kill Ian in whatever way he could, just as long as he was dead, though it would be preferred if he was killed in a way that didn’t suggest foul play.

Rene had with him something new that night, a simple tube with which he was suppose to shoot darts out of. He had tested it earlier and found that the first time he almost sucked the dart into his mouth. Even when he got the hang of shooting it, he couldn’t hit anything, but still he carried it with him as he slipped into Kingsley’s window. The rich merchant’s food was setting out, ready to be eaten at Ian’s convince; Rene thought this the perfect opportunity for a little poison, and he began draining the poison from one of the darts into the supposed meal.

Two guards wandered into the dining area, hoping to sneak a snack while on duty, but they completely missed Rene as they talked to each other and moved to the back of the room. Rene bit his tongue to keep himself from laughing, but a little high pitched snicker escaped. Rene quickly moved and stabbed a dart in each of their necks, silently cursing their stupidity for being so damn funny. Making it look like a natural cause was pretty much out of the question now, so Rene just did what he normally did when the task was just to get a man dead, he slit Ian’s neck.

Rene got his pay the next day at the dead drop, but unknown to him, someone was watching. Celestine and he packed up their belongs and shipped out later that day, moving on to the next town before the murder was discovered by anyone, though in this case, someone had already found out. The next town didn’t have much in the way of work, though Rene wasn’t looking very hard, he had money and really he just wanted to spend time with Celestine and relax. As he was walking back to the tavern they were staying at, two men ambushed him in an alley way, the same two guards he had poisoned a few weeks earlier. In his surprise Rene took a nasty cut to the chest before on lookers called for the guards and the two assailants fled. Rene noticed that a third man ran and caught up with them as they moved down the street.

Thus began the game of cat and mouse between Rene Hobbes and Lain Foegol. For the first few years, Rene was still able to take jobs in relative peace, Lain was so far behind him he’d get done and move on before Lain even hit town. If it wasn’t for Immanuel re-entering his life, Rene could have ignored Foegol for the most part, they hadn’t been within ten miles of each other sense Lain’s initial cut. 4 years into the game, Rene was returning to his room after a successful mission, only to find a mirror image of himself standing over the fresh corpse of Celestine.

Immanuel had become a guardsman in the town the Hobbe’s estate was located in and had married the daughter of an influential politician. 2 years ago his wife was assassinated by a member of the now defunct organization. The assassin mistook Immanuel for Rene and gave him a clue as to the pattern Rene took traveling around the continent. Immanuel, disturbed by his wife’s death and equally disturbed to find out not only was his brother whom his parents blamed Immanuel for his death was alive; he was a member of the same group that killed his wife, decided to rectify the situation. He ran as soon as Rene entered the room and rather than give chase, Rene waited a buried Celestine properly.

The next few years found Rene’s capability for taking jobs lessening as Foegol got closer and closer. Rene also found himself spying on his brother whenever he could, not able to kill the man do to the rules. Rene didn’t care, he still liked to watch his brother and contemplate how many ways he would kill him if he had the chance. Lain Foegol provided that chance, when he showed up in Marn, the town Immanuel was currently living in and were Rene was currently as well. Rene led Lain to the street his brother was on and then slipped out of site, watching threw Astral Viewing as Lain mistook Immanuel for Rene and killed him. The guards apprehended Lain quickly and Rene was able to breathe easy knowing both his enemies were now dealt with. He couldn’t resist the urge to gloat to Lain that he had tricked him and as the guards dragged Foegol through the town, Rene got his attention and simply mouthed ‘twin brother’.

Rene tried to return to his life of travel, but without Celestine and with age catching up, it wasn’t quite as glamorous as it once was. Marn was the only place he could really think of that he hadn’t performed a high profile assassination in and it had a no nonsense justice system; this fact lead him to pick the city as his place of retirement for the sake of safety, he just had to make sure his cover was never broken and he would get to enjoy the protection of the guardsmen as long as he pretended to be just another one of the law abiding folk.

[Niabi]

Approved.