I’d like to say that my formative years were normal, as normal as a Halfling childhood can be anyways, but I had always been a very odd child. Unlike all the other Halfling children I knew, I liked to read and my favorites were stories of intrigue and suspense, of adventure and travels to far-off places. I loved to lose myself in the pages of the books and would seek out these stories and secure myself in a remote nook or a shady tree to read for hours on end, much to my parents’ chagrin. I would often forsake my chores for an afternoon of reading, getting lost in the pages of some dusty tome I had sought out and would try to read by candlelight and, when the candles got confiscated, by moonlight. This would cause me no end of trouble; such is the way of life when you’re the youngest in a large Halfling family. When I would go missing and chores were being neglected my parents would have my brothers and sister seek me out, take my book, and put me back to work. I vastly disliked all work.

All of us children were expected to help with the Blackburn Inn and learn the trades of the business that had been in my family for generations. For instance, my oldest brother (blank) helped my father in the kitchens and my older sister (blank) helped our mother behind the bar and served food and drinks in the common room of our humble establishment. My brother that was the closest in age to me was always there to fill in gaps if needed. He often chaffed at not having a set role but he was in advantage for being able to learn all the different aspects of running the inn, he was versatile and would be able to find many good marriage prospects. While I was the most girly of us I had no wish to be married or start a family. I wanted to travel the world and escape the boredom of Ashbourne.

As my mind liked to wonder, so did my feet and (when I wasn’t reading in a hidden nook somewhere) I would find myself being chastised for aimlessly skipping around my village, singing to myself. My mother told me to keep my head out of the clouds and I was often asked why I couldn’t be more grounded like (sisters name). To try to keep my ever-curious mind occupied, my mother would send me on errands. At first it was simple things around Ashbourne, like fetching her something from the butcher for the Inn or to the tinker, blacksmiths, or seamstress. I think the seamstresses was my favorite and I loved to draw and design frilly outfits.  As time went by, I started to bore of mundane errands around the village and started to make even more of a nuisance of myself to my mother and the other villagers. My mother tried to mollify me by buying me the cutest pink and purple outfit with ruffles and lace but that didn’t satisfy me for long. Finally, I overheard my father say to my mother that they “needed to let me stretch my legs a little”. My mother was quite hesitant at first but, as I got older and had proven to my parents that I could be trusted with errands, my mother finally relented and decided to entrust me to run errands to the outlying farms to get the ingredients needed to make my families secret recipes as long as I would wear my traveling clothes while doing this particular dirty work. I agreed quickly not wanting to ruin my lace and ruffles.

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As my siblings and I were expected to learn to help run the Inn we were also to learn the treasure trove that was the Pottom legacy, my great great great great Grandmother’s recipes. Halflings love to eat and will consume seven to eight full-size meals a day. We love hearty breads, rich meats and sausages, sharp cheeses, sweet pastries, rich jams, savory stews, and drinks by the keg. Great Grandma’s recipes were no exception. All of us children were instructed from a very young age to the fine arts of cheese making, bread baking, meat curing, vegetable preserving, jam making, and the brewing of an almost innumerable varieties of wines, meads, spirits, stouts, ales, and beers. My family was renowned for the quality and variety of food and drinks made and served at the Blackburn Inn. I can remember many a time I had to wake before the sun rose to begin the days learning and chores, dreading the boredom all the while.

I wanted to make the journey to the other villages and towns near Ashbourne, I wanted my parents to entrust me to make deliveries and go get needed supplies from the other inns in our region. My mother told me I was a conundrum, on one hand I wanted excitement and adventure, on the other hand I was bubbly and I loved fine clothes, silks, ruffles, and lace. I think the reason she finally relented and let me travel to other towns in our region was because she was hoping I would meet a rich Halfling merchant, settle down, and start a family. I was determined to not let that happen to me, I was going to have an exciting life! So I settled into my new routine delivering goods to other villages and bringing ingredients home, loving traveling in my fine clothes and singing to myself all the while. Not knowing the tragedy that would soon change my boring life forever.