Aldwin Kal

Aldwin Kal, 'Master Cook'

Around Babe, they call Aldwin Kal the Master Cook, and no one says it without a second thought. A man of all work, he follows Babe through every one of his shady dealings and fills in wherever there's a gap: in the kitchen most often, behind the bar sometimes, at the door when he has to. His cooking is anything but refined. The regulars laugh about it a great deal, but always behind his back, never to his face. He didn't earn the title at the stove: he earned it because no one has ever complained.

Describe him

An apron, and he's a cook. A mace, and he's guarding the door. Kal, since everyone calls him by his last name, can be everywhere at once, and nowhere quite well. This big fellow can neither read nor write, and he counts on his fingers when he thinks no one is looking. You can tell he's more dim than cruel, but no one is very keen to check.

Play him

Play him as touchy as can be. He's used to no one complaining about his food, and the slightest grimace over his plate leaves him sulking for the evening. If a player cooks better than he does, no matter: he's the cook, it's his trade, and he'll say so as many times as it takes. In town, he knows every code and feels right at home. And keep, underneath, that beyond the walls he loses his footing: out in the wild, Kal has no door to guard and no kitchen to hide in.

What he says (rarely)

"Is it good? … It's good."
"You can cook? So can I. For me, it's my trade."
(staring at a customer's barely touched plate) "Something wrong?"