Origin Story of Reginald "Snare" Lugwrath

Way beyond our world is another, then beyond that an even greater world, but lets focus on the first one beyond ours shall we? It is a little closer to what our human minds can understand. Within this world are countless mysteries and tales full of great renown and wonder that stretch far and wide, perhaps you have heard some of them, but not this one, in the tale I am about to spin, well, it is only just beginning.

In the small town of Gearknot (Not so small anymore) the Lugwraths were a well renowned family for their incredible talents with machines, before he was known as “Snare” R. Lugwrath was known as Reginald Lugwrath, not exactly the name of a hero right?.

Now as far as Gnomes go in this town, the only dreams that are made, are usually about machines. Snare’s father was no exception. Even as a wee child, Dwayne “Fiddlesticks” Lugwrath could create the most wondrous contraptions out of nothing but a few lug nuts, a branch, and spider silk. His wife was, in her own way, a lover of machines, but more of a lover of nature, more on the lines of a druid if you will.

Unfortunately, soon after young Reggie was born disaster struck. Snare’s mother had been attacked by some unknown creature…of course, no one got to see the creature. It had been lying in wait in the jungle surrounding Gearknot just searching for the perfect moment, and poor dear Sylvia Buttercup Lugwrath, was exactly what it was waiting for.

Near the Edge of the town they found her, or rather they found her remains…

Dwayne was distraught! The poor soul never wanted anything to do with that infernal jungle ever again! Never again would he deal with that cursed place again, and he didn’t, in a way. He had locked himself away in his workshop. Enthralled in his work, he hardly had the time to be with his son.Now he was still a father to young Reginald, he tried to teach him the tools of the trade, his trade rather.

He couldn’t bear to have his son be the next person he lost. But naturally as young boys go, regardless of any race, they always find themselves in some sort of trouble. Remarkably, Reginald was the most troublesome of the lot. When it got close to night, he disappeared out the window to go out into the dreaded jungle.

No one in the town knew why the young lad kept going, he was so young when his mother died, that he didn’t remember it even happening…or so they thought. Because deep in that poor boy's mind and soul was the vivid picture of his mother’s bones just hanging up in the vines…

He could tell it was his mother because she always had the family pendant around her neck, even in death, it was still shining in the sunlight while dripping in cold, red, blood. From that day forward, the scarred child vowed to make that creature pay for what it did to his family. Now, while in the wild he began his hunt for the beast.

Years later he still searched for it, coming so close just to see a glimpse of the monster’s hide before it disappeared in the trees. His father occasionally caught him going out (though never figuring out Reggie’s true intentions) and properly boxed his ears for it but he could never stop his son from going out to hunt the next day. In fact, Dwayne was such a shut-out to the world now that he didn’t even hear about all the stories about the mysterious traps that kept popping up in the jungle, or the mysterious figure that alway got away before being seen…

Finally the little wanderer had caught up with the beast, he had found the creature’s lair and was ready to end this battle of wits once and for all. The creature had made sanctuary on top of one of the largest trees in the Gearknot area, it all came to this. It took the little gnome two whole days to climb that monstrous plant( his size and stature didn’t help) but he had made it to the top, in the creature’s nest. As soon as he got up however, he discovered that he had not just been chasing one creature but three! And this time he could get a good look at them.

They were hulking, giant baboons with tails that forked at the end with a poisonous barb in the middle. They spotted him at the edge of their nest, they bared their fangs and each let out a mighty roar. He thought to himself. “This is going to be harder than I thought…oh well”.

The fight was on! The first baboon came at the right, luckily Reggie was not only small but fast as well. He easily dodged the first baboon, but then got swiped away by the second one that appeared from behind. He crashed into a huge branch growing into the sky. Noticing that they were coming straight at him, he shimmied up the tree branch, despite the pain in his shoulders.

The baboons were on top of him in no time at all, they used the vines that grew all around the tree like ropes in a jungle gym (how ironic) but it was those vines that gave him an idea.

He took a leap of faith, literally. It was a long shot but as soon as the three primates landed right next to him, he jumped off the branch and grabbed hold of one of the vines. With all his might(he was stronger than he looked) he swung the vine back towards the three baboons, who were too stupid to get out of the way in the first place. He landed on top of the first baboon, who in a panic tried to sting him with its tail, needless to say it missed, instead it stung itself in the neck, which caused foam to froth in the massive monkey’s mouth.

Using the distraction, he tied the vine around each of the three brutes’ legs and shoved the three off the edges. And down they went, foam and all. A couple days later, when he had made it to the bottom, to find the three still hanging in the tree, dead. At last he had freed Gearknot from a terrible threat. He went home that night with three poisonous baboon tails in hand and a big smile on his face. Until he got to the village of course.

As soon as the townsfolk saw the three tails in his fist, and the rough shape he was in, they realized that it was him that planted the many traps in the jungle. Of course they wanted to know why he did it, and of course they were incredibly angry, (a decent few had been caught in those traps on accident) but after they had heard his tale about how he singlehandedly defeated the trio of monsters they clapped him on the back and started calling him titles and names such as “Snare the Trap Master” or “The Trapper of of Trouble” ,Unfortunately his father had finally heard the news about his son being in the jungle, (as if 4 days away from home wasn’t enough) and demanded Snare to come home this instant. Snare reluctantly did, with his head hung down and an odd mixture of emotions swirling in his heart.

When they got home, Snare sat at the table and listened to his father’s long lecture for the last time…Because as soon as his father finished talking about how he was so worried about him and that he could've died out there, he smiled, then chucked, and then before Snare knew it his father had tears rolling down his cheeks in laughter. His Father told young Snare that he was definitely his mother’s child as she herself went on adventures like that all the time before she met him.

His father sighed and then spoke “Son, I realize now that keeping you close to me forever is not what your mother wanted for you, she wanted to be free and for you to find and do what you love most in the world. If going out, defeating monsters, and always getting yourself in trouble like this is what you love doing, then who am I to stop you.”

And with that, He set down on the table a single short sword, a longbow, with a quiver full of arrows as well as an explorer’s pack. He spoke to the now bewildered Snare. “Son, go see the world” and with that he gave Snare the biggest hug, knowing that surely his son would leave in the morning for another day of adventure.

And so it was, ten years later Snare decided to leave the jungle to find even greater places to experience. He had gotten his father to contact one of mother’s adventuring friends to see what he could do with those Venom Baboon tails. Surprisingly enough they were made into an acid dagger, potent enough to take a full grown wyvern down. Boy, was he going to need that.

Standing before the ship that would take him to the next continent, he gripped onto his mother’s family medallion. With tears in his eyes and a grand song in his heart, the start of his grand tale of adventure in the new world was about to unfold.