Oddberry

Character Information:


Name:
Oddberry is what she goes as, though her true name is Peonie Blossomall. But few know that name, and fewer still use it.

Date of Birth/Age:

49

Place of Birth:
The Shire - somewhere. We think

Gender:
Female

Race:
Hobbit

Nationality and Current Home:
Hobbit of the Shire. Lives in The Great Smials, Tookborough

Occupation:
Adventurer

Physical Appearance:
Oddberry is taller than your average hobbit (4ft!) and undoubtedly slimmer than average, although that can be attributed to her fondness for wandering the wilderness, and the lack of food stock that comes with such activity. It also pays homage to her Fallohidian heritage. Her hair is a light-brown for the most part, long and wavy, darker at the roots where it is often hidden by helmet or cloak, fading to blonde at the ends where flyaway strands often caught the sun. Her eyes are expressive, betraying her emotions and are light-blue grey. Her features are open and round, quick to smile or frown. She, like most of her bretheren, has rosy cheeks and a year-round tan from her constant exposure to the elements, and freckles intrude upon every centimetre of skin adorning her arms and face.

When she is wandering Oddberry likes her leather jerkin and doeskin leggings for her day to day travelling, although she does carry a mismatched set of armour with her for when she knows she is to fight, scavenged from here and there for hobbit-sized armour is hard to come by. In those brief periods she is home she may indulge her feminine side a little (and please her relatives) in the usual hobbitess dress, albeit one with skirts on the lighter side. Although if any of her adventurer friends were to ask she would vehemently deny ever owning one.

Abilities and Talents:
As all hobbits Oddberry is naturally skilled in the art of going unnoticed and moving silently, with sharp ears and eyes. Her diminutive size aids her further in the world of Men, with many of those who did not look properly assuming she was merely a child, beneath their worry or attention. She can read and write, although her penmanship often leaves a little to be desired, having been taught by Bilbo Baggins as any young hobbit who wished to hear his tales was.

She had learnt to swim, albeit badly, after losing a bet with Merriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrine Took, and had to swim the width of the Brandywine twice. She did not particularly enjoy the experience and has had few voluntary further explorations into that skill. She is a skilled enough trapper to sustain herself on long journeys and has inherited her race’s uncanny ability with missile weapons, most notably with throwing knives and a sling. Her archery however is the exception and leaves much to be desired.

Oddberry’s main weapon of choice is an axe she found on her first adventure, most probably made for a dwarf. She has poured many hours into perfecting how to wield it, spending several months with the dwarves of the Blue Mountains, and has as such become quite skilled. She also carries several knives in various hidden locations on her person and claims some skill in dagger-fighting; although she is far from a master in that regard she can defend herself with only her knives in a pinch.

As with all hobbits Oddberry is an accomplished cook, having a love of good food and seeing no reason that her chosen profession should prevent her from eating nice meals. She is extremely knowledgeable in the plants that grow in the various reaches of Middle Earth, having deemed it an essential knowledge-base to have when wandering and has become well-versed in poisons and their making and uses. She tends to coat most her weapons in these poisons, and often carries several different varieties with her on her travels.

Despite her knowledge of plants, Oddberry has little skill at healing beyond the basics, although she has learnt to sew neatly. One can’t go around with ripped clothing after all. Though considered young by her peers she is world-wise by hobbit standards, though she would still be considered naive by many amongst the world of men, she too often sees the best in people that is not there, and while not a lightweight by any means, she often forgets herself when she drinks, and she does so often.

Personality:
At first glance Oddberry appears to be little more than impulsive, snarky and loud, in an optimistic way of course, and while she could never be accused of being quiet, at least some of this is due to her diminutive size. When she first embarked upon her adventures it did not take long for Oddberry to realise that being quiet(er) and trying to be inconspicuous only led to greater interest from disreputable characters,  who, seeing little more than her height and sex, marked her as an easy target. As such, over time she learnt that to walk into an inn, axe slung over her back, and to immediately order a drink and talk to fellow patrons caused far less suspicion, or at least more caution over the small creature who acted as if she were the tallest warrior in the room.

Admittedly this is not particularly hard for the hobbitess, she has a natural inclination towards chatting with any who will listen (even more so when liquor is involved) and she is quick to laugh and smile. Always full of joy and optimism the hobbitess is impulsive and headstrong, barrelling head first into most situations with a recklessness that often means she finds herself in a scrape, and with it is perhaps a little too quick to trust. She also has a rebellious side, often almost going out of her way to defy the warnings of others. She normally has mischief on the mind and teases all who come within reach of her tongue, often with little regard to their thoughts on the matter. It is in this way she manages to offend others, and cause dislike, and while warm-hearted and kind with no desire to cause hurt she is often oblivious to the effects her words have on others.

She is used to being the leader of her peers, and their protector, being less inclined to peace than most of her race and as such is fiercely protective over those she cares about, taking it far too much to heart when she deems herself to have failed at protecting them.

She loves to fight, not for glory or the defeat of an enemy, but for the adrenaline rushing through her veins; an adrenaline junkie, she is always searching for the next adventure, the next thrill. She deliberately spends little time dwelling on the fate of her foes, over time have tried to numb herself to their deaths, rationalising it as a necessity, for they are almost always bandits and fell creatures and would have only have gone on to cause the death of others.

Life History (so far):
Oddberry never knew her parents. She was found on the steps of the Great Smials in Tuckborough as a baby, wrapped in a blanket embroidered with her name. Rumours of who it could be had floated round the Smials Oddberry’s whole life, although it was universally agreed that they were most certainly of Took or Brandybuck blood. Oddberry caused far too much chaos to have any blood from any of the more sensible hobbit families.

As all the young hobbits who lived in the many-tunnelled mansion that was the Took family home Oddberry spent most of her days supposedly under the watchful eye of the nearest Tween, who were often more preoccupied with teaching the young ones new pranks than making sure they stayed out of trouble.

She decided at an early age that she would join the Bounders and did so as soon as she was able. She had already been unofficially patrolling all four corners of The Shire and in doing so her horizons began to expand and she realised she wanted more than the Shire had to offer. It was not long before her first trip to Bree, and that only led to longer, and more dangerous adventures.

It was on one of these that she properly met Mithrandir, although it would be several years before anything became of that meeting. Oddberry occupied her days with journeying to all the lands she could think of, to the Blue Mountains, to old Arthedain.

It was on one such trip that she came across a group of bandits. While a sight not unusual in itself, and one Oddberry would usually quickly pass by and leave be, this time she lingered. For Oddberry spotted tied to the back of their cart a colt, most likely taken from a trading caravan the bandits had robbed. She had passed such a caravan, obviously from lands far away, several days before, it’s owners often driven off or dead. Oddberry had not seen a pony quite like that little colt before and had few objections to liberating it from it’s current owners under the cover of darkness later that evening. She named him Biter, for that was all he did at that time, and Oddberry, knowing very little about ponies, was a little ineffective at teaching him otherwise. He grew a little bigger than a pony in the end, more like a small horse, and has been a travelling companion as wayward and stubborn as Oddberry herself, and has not left her side since.

There is little to tell here about most of Oddberry’s adventures save one. On a mission for Gandalf she disturbed an ancient and powerful Barrow-wight which followed her to Minas Tirith. Upon arriving at the wrong inn a shady stranger all but forced her out and after some mild stabbing attempts and much drinking the two became friends, a friendship which was only strengthened by the consequent events. It was a friendship she cherished most dearly, although she had not seen Faramir of Gondor since.


General Information:

Writer:
Horsey/Oddberry
Avatar and Signature:
Drawn by me