Ostho Castiron
Ostho Castiron (he/him) is a character played by Hal (he/him) in Arc 4: The Maw of Nathair. He is a red chromatic dragonborn, arcane trickster rogue, and a criminal/spy.
Cooking utensils are thoroughly cleaned before and after meals.
He will not cook meat from humanoids because of the risk of illness.
He was worried about tetanus infection from the rusty short sword Rayz picked up and carried around.
He would be horrified by floor pizza.
He keeps a celestial owl, Rosemary, as a familiar specifically because she is clean and does not defecate.
Ostho is pleasant, but somewhat awkward and tends to have difficulty expressing things in non-blunt ways. Having an awareness of this, he tends to hold back when being vulnerable or earnest. When it comes to his specialties, though, such as nutrition, hygiene, or the arcane, he will not hold back.
Description
Ostho is 6'4, of average build, with scaly red skin with copper accents. He has glamored leather armor that, if not otherwise needed, appears to be chef's apparel. Ostho's first and key passion is cooking food. He adventures and takes up bounties and mercenary jobs to either obtain rare ingredients or obtain funds to obtain rare ingredients. His arcane studies are ultimately part of an effort to make magic a part of his cooking. Hygiene and health are very important to Ostho:Backstory
From the first meal his father taught him to cook, vegetable stew, Ostho was obsessed with food and cooking. To encourage his passion, he received a cast iron skillet for his tenth birthday, which he seasoned immediately and cared for like a beloved pet. At community meals, he became known for the skillet cornbread he would bring to every event. To meet demand, he would have to borrow neighbors' skillets to make multiple batches at once. As a result of his unwavering resolve and the devotion he showed to his craft and tools, he gained his last name from this most important implement: Castiron. When Ostho wasn't cooking or in school, Ostho practiced lockpicking. He found that the dexterity practice transfered into faster prep, and neighbors were appreciative when the key to a cabinet or jewelry box would go missing. In exchange for this specialized help, he would simply ask for ingredients or copies of recipes. At 18, Ostho began to feel he had advanced his craft as far as he could in the relatively small village, and looked for opportunities to travel for his work. One opening in particular jumped out at him: a request for a sous chef in the galley of a Kauvetian Navy vessel. With his experience, he was handily given the position. Ostho found the month of naval training painfully boring. The combat training was new information, sure, but much of the time was spent going over regulations, procedure, and tradition that the Navy holds to be important. Equally bored were the wizards there from the Perihelion institute, attending the mandatory training before they could go research the storms at the edges of the navigable ocean around Kauvet. Commiserating over the boredom, talking with these wizards is where the seed was planted in Ostho's mind to use the arcane to advance his cooking. Over the course of nearly seven years, Ostho helped feed the sailors and researchers on the observation vessel, The Sanddab. He quickly rose from soux-chef to a fully-fledged chef, rising to head chef once his elderly predecessor retired 2 years in. He delighted in making sure the sailors had hearty, nutritious meals they could enjoy despite the limitations of cooking at sea. When not preparing food, Ostho spent time in the research vessel's on-board library, teaching himself the basics of magic with the help of Larwast Carpthumb, one of his friends from training. Six years in, during a period of shore leave, Ostho was enjoying a quiet cup of coffee alone when an nondescript elven individual wearing glasses sat down opposite him. They offered a simple proposition: if Ostho brought the latest weather and climate observations from The Sanddab to a particular fortune teller in a minor city on the western edge of Candor, he would be paid an exorbitant sum. The elf slid a pouch of coins across the table toward Ostho. "An advance." And they walked away. Taking the reports wouldn't be simple. The files were alarmed and tamper-evident; if they were touched, people would know immediately. And then, Ostho would have to keep them hidden until the next period of shore leave. _The Sanddab_ was capable of staying at sea for months at a time, receiving supplies from smaller, faster vessels while staying afloat in the same area for months at a time. But, Ostho knew what that kind of money could do to advance his craft. He could open his own restaurant, he could import exotic ingredients, he could travel. So, he prepared. He studied and taught himself to disable the alarms. He watched the habits and schedules of the other crew. He practiced forgery. He gathered materials. Five days before the next shore leave, Ostho waited for everybody who usually accessed the filing room to go to sleep. He disguised himself, picked the lock, crept in, disabled the alarm, took the file, and got to work. In the morning, a scribe opened the room to find the tamper indicators on the file cabinet for the latest reports glowing. An investigation was launched immediately. Officers found Larwast's hair and fingerprints in the file cabinet. Upon investigating Larwast's belongings, they found what looked exactly like the latest observations, presumably to sell to a third party. Ostho's hard work had paid off. Reportedly thrown into a state of distress by the treachery of his close friend, Ostho tendered his resignation so he could do some soul-searching on land. He went to see a fortune teller to find some direction for his life, and she provided it in the form of a hefty bag of coins and gems. That's when the panic set in. Surely, the Navy would figure out Larwast hadn't actually stolen the files. His resignation was too convenient. They must suspect something. Ostho had to get away. Somewhere the navy couldn't reach him. Port Lazlo. With his newfound wealth, Ostho could handily afford an office and kitchen in The Lee. He spent his time further honing his cooking or gathering resources he could use to that end. He garnered a reputation both as Port Lazlo's best chef and as someone who could make things happen for you for the right price. With time, he was able to stop sleeping in the back room of his office and purchase an apartment on The Bower. At the start of The Maw of Nathair, Ostho is taking a bit of a break, spending his time testing new recipes as a guest chef at the nearby tavern and cooking fancy meals for his crush and de facto leader of Port Lazlo, Stellina.Trivia
- Ostho's cornbread recipe (which is the same as Hal's grandmother's) is as follows:
- 1½ cup cornmeal
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- Add buttermilk until mixed
- Cook at 400℉ for 30-35 minutes
- Hal has made a heroforge of Ostho, seen here.
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