Jarek Siltstep – Marsh Scout / Channel Cartographer

Name: Jarek Siltstep
Race: Human
Role/Class: Marsh Scout / Channel Cartographer
Appearance: Jarek Siltstep is wiry and sharp-featured, his build lean from constant movement rather than strength. His skin is weather-darkened and perpetually flecked with dried salt and peat dust. His hair is cut short and uneven, often hidden beneath a hood or reed-camouflage wrap, while a narrow scar splits one eyebrow—an old lesson from trusting the wrong footing.

He wears layered scout’s gear dyed in mottled browns and greens, reinforced at the knees and elbows with stitched hide. His boots are soft-soled and water-treated, designed to feel ground texture rather than resist it. A compact crossbow rides high on his back, and his belt bristles with chalk sticks, folding poles, tide-markers, and sealed scroll tubes containing maps no one else can read correctly.

Backstory

Jarek learned early that the Brackish Brinelands punish certainty. Raised in a river-edge hamlet that washed away twice before being abandoned, he watched official trade maps fail again and again—leading boats into dead channels, sinkholes, and territorial waters that sparked bloodshed.

Rather than leave, Jarek adapted. He began mapping movement instead of location—recording tides, erosion patterns, seasonal flow shifts, and beast migration routes. His maps are deliberately incomplete unless updated regularly, ensuring clients must return to him.

He sells information, not loyalty. Jarek has worked for traders, smugglers, militias, and priests alike, always careful to never give everyone the full picture. He believes neutrality is not moral cowardice—it’s survival.