The Very True and Not Made Up History of Oskar Garoldsen
"-too bland? Should I go with legacy instead?" The author he had hired rolled her eyes. "Mister Garoldsen-" "Oskar, darling." "Oskar. We should worry about the life story first and then the title." "Doesn't every good story start with a solid hook?" He grinned at the human woman, and since she gave no resistance other than a sigh he began in earnest. "I was born at Twinspur Haven. My mother was a baker there with my grandmother, but she had no idea who my father was. She had a habit of letting handsome adventurers sneak into the house after Grandmother fell asleep and letting them 'warm up by the fire' as she would tell Grandmother. She couldn't possibly remember which of them could possibly have been the father, so she just gave me the name of the most handsome one: Garoldsen." "Have you ever met him? Garold?" Oskar bellowed out a laugh before he adjusted how he was lounging on his couch. "Darling, that's like asking you to find a Jane or a Peter in Divinity's Reach. If his legend was worth telling, it's never reached my ears." "I see." She turned her head as Oskar uncrossed his legs, making no effort to correct his robe falling open slightly. "And your childhood?" "Markedly uninteresting. My mother had me too young so Grandmother did most of the mothering until she died. Mother still didn't know what to do with me, so she reached out to her brother who had moved to Hoelbrak to arrange for me to live with him and learn a trade." Oskar sniffed. "It also conveniently worked out that I would be out of the way for her to get married and start a family without any past baggage." He watched for a reaction from her, but seeing none he went on. "I was 11 or 12 when I went to live with Uncle Skarde. He was more Grandmother's get: stern, hardworking, dull. He bought and sold ore from miners to the smiths, and wanted to teach me the trade." She looked up from her notes, realizing that he'd paused. He was looking out the window with his chin resting on one fist. From what she knew of the man, she would hesitate to call his expression pensive, but it was passing close to it. "And?" Oskar chuckled, looking at a ring on the hand his chin had just sat on. "I was certainly grateful for the opportunity to live in Hoelbrak, but that was about it. I was a lad with awakening appetites, and the last thing my mind was on was inventories and market values. He did his best for a while, but it was to come to an end." "How do you mean?" "I had been dallying with a variety of partners since I turned 14. Skarde had an idea that I was up to something but could never catch me at it." He smiled suddenly, but it looked less than reassuring. "One night when I was 17, I was caught with the wrong person and had to get out of the city quickly. I knew of the asura gate, and I took it. Found myself here naked as the day I was born." "Who was the wrong person?" "Someone I'm not willing to commit to print, love," he said, too quickly, and she knew he meant it as he continued. "I tested my luck here for the next two days, getting what I needed where I could, before I ran into my patron." Oskar smiled again, but this time it was fonder. "He and his dear wife Elisabeth had an understanding that allowed Charles to hire me at his mercantile shop as an assistant. It also permitted me to help Charles with other needs that he had, ones that Elisabeth could not. Although sometimes she did join in on the fun to keep things fresh in their marriage." He chuckled. "You're blushing, pet. Do most humans not keep with threesomes?" "I wouldn't know," she finally stammered. "Let's get back to you, please." He shrugged. "Charles passed in 1326, spirits keep him. Elisabeth gave me a final payment that was bequeathed from him, and that's how I financed the Bayside Boutique." "And your association to the Shark-" "No." He reached over, gently pulling down the journal she was writing in. "I don't know what you've heard or seen, but I have no association with her. Definitely nothing that goes in this book. Do you understand?" "Yes sir," she answered very quietly.