Hail and well met to ye, lad!

What's that you say? Y'say that there's no excitement, nor profit in becomin' a lumberjack? Well, I'm a lumbjerack; and I'm OK. I sleeps all night and I works all day. I've got a roof over me head and plenty o' gold in the bank.

Ahh, gold. There is no more powerful word than that is there? I see I've sparked yer interest. Well have a seat o'er here and I'll tell ye of how I became what I am today.

I grew up as a strong lad, in fact, for a boy I was as strong as a lad could be. The lads at the schoolhouse would sometimes snicker behind me back as I wasn't so smart, but I would pound the tar out o' any that said it to me face. Who needed brains to chop down trees? Sure you needed to be somewhat coordinated and dextrous, but it was the man with the most muscle that could fell the biggest wood.

Me father was a chopper, and his father before him; so it makes sense that I'd be choppin as well. Tis a good life, y'know? But remember, choppin is just a means, it's not the end. Once ye've gone and felled a tree, what're ye goin' t'do with it?

Well, unless some wild-haired alchemist goes and invents somethin new, ye can really only do three things with the lumber:

1. Shape it, using the proper tools, into objects of wood; the task of a Carpenter.
2. Carve it, using any bladed weapon (including yer axe) into Bows and Arrows.
3. Work it with a Tinker's Tools into little objects used by those rascal tinkers.

Like me father before me, I chose to pick up saw and hammer and learn to craft wood into tables and chairs and shields, with the skill o' Carpentry. O'er the years, I've grown particularly adept at makin' shields. Let me have a puff o' me pipe.

Ahh, much better. Anyway, as a young man, knowin' carpentry was the most important thing to me, so I made that a high priority; always wantin' to impress me father. There's nothin' like workin' alongside yer own father I tell ye, tis a wondrous feeling.

But me mother always told me to be well-rounded, to not limit me thinkin'. I wonder if she had an alchemist for parents. Ha hah! Would you grab the tongs and bring me a hot coal from that fire o'er yonder for me pipe? That's better, thank ye.

So, always respectin' me mother (a good thing for a lad like ye to be doin) I decided to learn a bit of how to fashion bows and arrows from the wood I chopped, and I also learned a little bit o' sewing from watchin' mother around the house.

Finally that one fateful day came. The day when I was to set foot in the outside world, and leave the safety o' me home. Close before the time o' my leavin, Father took to bed with a sickness, one that would eventually take him from Sosaria, although we didn't know that at the time. With a fever, he sent me to the bedroom to look under the bed. There I found a pouch filled with a hundred gold coins! I stared in amazement until me father summoned me back.

"Boy," he said to me in a raspy voice, "Take these coins. I've been savin' them for ye since ye were a wee lad for just a time as this." He coughed and gasped a bit, "Go out into that world and make a name for yerself. When I'm gone, I'll be watchin ye from the trees, my spirit will always be with ye."

After a day of goodbyes and sobs from me mother, I left our little town of Yew and set out for adventure and to make me fortune! I was bound and determined to become a better carpenter than me Father, one that would be known throughout all the lands of Britannia and beyond. With a gleam in my eye I headed east towards the mountains.

Of course, I was quick to backtrack after that, realizin' that I wasn't too equipped to make such a long journey. Ahh youth. *Puff puff*

So I stopped at the local provisioner's shop to pick up a few things for along the way: a bedroll, another backpack for keepin' stuff in, and a sewing kit in case me clothes got ripped. Then I was on the road again. I was to head east and cross over the river. I'd come round the mountain pass, then descending south by southwest to our nation's mighty capitol o' Brittain. There I could surely make me mark in the world. For there, Lord British's finest protect every inch o the land so that a man of my profession can venture out into the woods without fear o' harm or molestation by pesky creatures, thieves or cold-blooded killers.

So there ye have it boy, that's how I got started into choppin. What's that ye say? What's me technique? Ha ha hah! Well, I'll give ye some of me secrets. They all come from knowin' that me father was watchin' o'er me whilst I was in the woods. I really could feel him there sometimes.

For a while, I just ran recklessly through the woods, from one tree to another choppin' here and choppin' there; amazed at the potential I had if I could chop down every tree on the land. But as I chopped for a while, I began to notice that the land all possessed the same sorta feel to it.

I would frequently find myself standin' between two long rows o' trees that ran either north to south or east to west, with trees on either side. I call this the Path To Glory, cause o' the fact that you can get the best choppin' done inside these paths.

I just found m'self a path like this and put me axe in me hand and went to work. Occasionally me hand would slip a bit and I would hack away at the tree, but not produce any good wood for usin, but a lot of times, I could chop about 10 logs from every tree!

I developed a special technique, actually, where I could start choppin on a tree, but then start movin' a bit, towards the next tree I'd chop; while not leavin' too much distance between me and the tree I was currently choppin. This worked well to get a lot of choppin' done before nighttime, when I would set up camp and sleep for the evening. O' course, workin' so hard like this woulda been impossible if I hadn't stepped onto the right Path O' Glory.

After a half o' day's work, I found I had enough logs to make a few good, strong shields. So I set up a little bench, and broke out me faithful Carpenter's Tool that I had left home with and set to work. Before you knew it, I made me' self about 5 good strong shields! So I stuffed my proud work into me bag and moved on choppin' some more.

O'er the next few days, I worked at a much more leisurely pace, makin' my way towards Britain. By the time I reached Britain, I had stuffed 10 strong shields into me bag.

I was surprised when I reached Britain, it was a HUGE city just bustlin' with people and commerce. I had to push me way through the streets to get where I was goin', and I didn't even know where that was!

So first off, figurin' t' sell the shields I built, I asked where the nearest Armorer was. Nobody answered of course, they were all too busy swapping strange numbers with each other, talkin' in funny languages, and sayin' things like "c u l8r", whatever babble that is.

Finally, a sweet Beggar lady was kind enough to point me toward the Armorer, and so I opened me purse and gave her 10 o' me coins, twas the least I could do. On the way there, I passed by many a ghastly sight, including my own brethren wearing masks of skulls, clad in ugly grey robes, and carrying Pole Arms. But there were several brightly colored mages as well, and heavily armorered warriors. All the mages seemed to be obssessed with acquiring something that they termed as "regs." I wonder if they meant the reagents of their craft? No bother.

Quickly, I hurried to the Armorer that they Beggar-woman had (quite accurately) directed me to. Inside, the shopkeeper seemed quite pleased to see my load o' shields and paid my 30 Gold for each! I walked out o' the shop with 300 Gold in me pocket! Of course, with all the pickpockets around, I quickly put that money into the bank.

With a wearied body, and fire in me eyes, I set off for the nearest inn and rested o'er the weekend.

*Puff* What's that? Calm yerself lad, I'm gettin' to the good stuff now!

After a mere couple o' days o' bringing a haul o' ten shields back to the armorer and sellin' 'em; I had m'self plenty o' gold to buy a decent pack horse. Molly was her name, the finest steed a man could have it his side.

Molly and I got braver and braver, venturin' further and further out into Lord British's forests. We would walk the Paths o' Glory together, and chop trees to the right and to the left, stackin' up the logs on me ol' girl Molly.

Soon, I was contracted by the armorer in town to be his exclusive supplier of Wooden shields, on account o' how many I could bring him. He e'en let me set up a wee shop in his shop where I could bring back 500-600 logs at a time on Molly, and work my magic, buildin' shields.

That's when I became rich. I could walk to the bank after a hard day's work with close to 1500 gold in me pocket!

Then, dread times fell upon me. Venturin' out into the woods a little too far, a bastard of a man fell upon us and began attacking my Molly! He was a powerful, evil person, and try as I might I could not save her. He slayed m'girl and mortally wounded me.

I crawled back to a Healer in town, to be given the life back into me and continued on with a tear in me eye, but all the more wiser. I needed some protection. But I was no weapons master that's for sure!

Right about that point, a man walked by with a HUGE grizzly bear following him as a pet. I'd seen them in the woods before, and always stayed far away from them and all other bears. But the strength o' the beast caught me eye. If only a beast like that would obey my commands!

"Where did ye learn to to tame the beast?" I asked the man, who told me that a few hundred gold and some time spent with the Animal Handler at the local stables would do me good.

He suggested that I learn of taming beasts, but also of knowing about the beasts themselves, how they are, and the Lore that comes with their nature. I agreed that it would be a good thing, and spent a week with the Animal Trainer, learnin' to do such things.

At this point, money was no object for me! I also bought meself a new set a clothes, somethin' really woods-ey lookin' so's I could hide in the trees if need be.

Lastly, I began honin' up on me skills o' creatin' bows and arrows. There was always plenty o' birds in the woods for hunting purposes and I could take their feathers and make arrows out o' them in no time with just a wee bit o' the logs I'd chopped down.

Occasionally I would spend a day in town just practicin' me bow until I was good enough to hold me own against some o' the larger beasts in the woods.

Soon it was, that I came across a brown bear in the woods. I tamed her, and called her Buttercup; I chuckled at the silly name for such a large beast.

But the death o me Molly had forever wounded me. I knew that horses were a dime a dozen now, I could buy a new one after three days o' labor on foot! So I never e'en named me new horses, just called 'em horse, for I always knew they would be killed.

Buttercup served me well, deterring thugs and bandits and keeping them away, but I was ne'er afraid to run for me life should some evil Mage interrupt me work; leavin' horse and Buttercup behind to attack the pig. Bears and horses are a dime a dozen.

I put all me money in the bank, and eventually was able to by m'self a nice house with it. *Puff puff* Ahh, I sure do miss that girl, Molly.

And that house still sounds, right outside me hometown o' Yew, where I hope to meet that special girl someday, and raise a son o' me own.

What's that you say? *Puff* Where's the fun in it all? The adventure? Ahh, tis the people lad. Strollin' in to town and just giving' a shield to a young man with that sparkle in his eyes; listenin to the stories of warriors at the Smithy, laughin' at all the Mages as they run around town like madmen in search o' "regs" whate'er those are.

Tis the people. I'm hopin' to set up a shop soon and start sellin' me crafts for cheep. I'm gettin' there lad, I'm gettin' there. So if ye be wantin' to follow in me footsteps, pick up an axe and a carpenter's tools, and start choppin.

Keep yer feet always on the Path to Glory.

- Rolf / Sonoma