Herb Garland

Personality: Grouchy, ambitious, restless, slow to warm up to others, prefers animals over people, too much rage for one tiny body.

Likes: ADVENTURE, exotic weapons, the giant monitor lizard Gertie who pulls his wagon, room temperature mead, midday naps

Dislikes: Indecisiveness, playing mind games, being naked around other people, sudden changes of plans

Herb is a merchant and an adventurer. He travels the land in search of treasures, rare materials, and just plain Cool Stuff, which he then sells out of his wagon with the help of his fiancé Ravi. Herb's greatest dream is to be a renowned professional adventurer who can make money simply by going on quests for people, but he's happy with what he's built so far. Being a merchant is Herb's excuse to go on treasure-finding missions, though unlike a 'real adventurer,' Herb then has to sell his plunder to make a profit, instead of being paid for the entertainment of the quest itself. His grouchy personality can make sales a bit difficult, but having a business partner who was raised to be a diplomat certainly helps. 

Herb and Ravi's wagon is pulled by a 10-foot-long Great-Jowled Pack Lizard (think giant red tegu) named Gertie. Herb had picked out Gertie for his family's farm when he was 6, and she was reared to lay eggs and pull  carts. 8 years later Gertie stopped laying eggs and was destined to be the Garland family's dinner for the next week. Herb immediately objected, and from then on she was his personal pet.

Herb met his fiance when he traveled to Ravi's birthplace, the desert metropolis of Pradesh Hold. Herb was there to get top surgery, and to have a magi-medical procedure that lowered his voice, both of which were best done by the doctormages who worked out of Pradesh. After the surgery he had an inpatient stay in the hospital while he recovered. While on a stroll through the courtyard, Herb fainted, and was caught and laid down by a young aristocrat, Ravi Ariv, visiting an ill family member there. When he came to, the two men had a polite conversation about career goals, which happened to line up with each other. They met up multiple times after that and eventually agreed to become business partners and build a life together as traveling merchants. Of course, it wasn't much longer before they started thinking about building a life together in a different kind of way.

Herb and Ravi live in a wagon together, and very frequently crash or damage it. To pay for these damages, they take out loans from retired pirate captain Abel Valiente, who is, surprisingly, the LEAST evil moneylender Herb and Ravi could have chosen. Herb finds Abel intimidating, and is rather awkward around her.