Deacon Yumi

Deacon Yumi (pronounced “yoo mee”) is a large, heavily muscled man who has gone a bit soft.  He has developed a pot belly in his years of tending bar and running the Drunken Dagger tavern.  One should not underestimate his abilities, though.  Deacon is still a powerful man, with years of experience as a caravan master.  Though he has a pronounced limp, his strength, intelligence, and training with blades make him a formidable opponent.

During his last caravan, an accident with a wagon broke Deacon’s left leg at the knee.  He spent two months at the Dagger Inn recuperating.  It was during this time that Deacon and Rosa began their loud and verbally abusive love affair.  When it became clear that Deacon’s knee would never hear properly and he would not be able to return to caravanning, Rosa proposed a new arrangement.  Her husband had died of fever during the winter and Rosa was about to lose the inn and tavern.  She needed a new husband and Deacon needed a new job.  Marriage seemed an equitable solution to both their problems.

Like his wife, Deacon runs his business with an iron hand.  The Dagger caters to a rough crowd: caravaneers, traveling merchants, and smugglers mostly.  Though much of the bickering between Deacon and Rosa is for show, not all of it is faked.  With the nature of the men and women who frequent the Dagger, one misstep could be disastrous for the Yumis.

 

Rosa Yumi

Wife to Deacon, she operates the Dagger Inn.  Rosa is a plump woman, with long, jet black hair she keeps plaited down her back, and deep brown eyes.  She wears typical homespun skirts and dresses with a white bib apron, and doeskin boots with hardened soles.  Her eyes and face are very expressive, easily showing her emotions.  She is an intelligent and shrewd woman.

Rosa has a reputation for being a hard taskmistress, unforgiving of laziness or careless mistakes.  While this is true, it is also true that she cherishes her workers, concerned with their safety, health and relative happiness.  Her gruff demeanor hides a gentle heart.  In addition to running the Dagger Inn with an iron fist, she also turns quite a profit running a brothel.  Her “girls,” including several men, are all volunteers to the profession, though some are Rosa’s personal slaves.

Rosa loves her husband with her entire being.  Intent on being perceived as a strong, independent woman, she fights with him constantly to hide the depth of her devotion.

 

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This work by Jean Headley is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.