Without a name or a family, this boy grew up in the grimiest parts of Underhaven. He did what he had to do to survive, like stealing bread from stalls or finding people willing to take pity on him and feed him. Then one day, he stumbled upon a man who was doing what looked like animal training. This was, of course, under the big top, a place where the boy often found himself. He loved it there, where all his problems seemed to disappear.

He made it a ritual to come and watch the Beast Tamer every week, until one day he made a little too much noise. He was called out, and the Beast Tamer saw a small, skinny boy who revealed he had been watching him for quite some time. Whether out of pity or kindness, the Beast Tamer taught him a few tricks with small, safe animals, nothing major. This became entertainment for the boy, which he then turned into a spectacle. He took the stage name Garbunkle and began training rats to do tricks in the streets, earning small amounts of coin. He also taught himself to play instruments and proved to be gifted at singing. In this way, he became a street performer, scraping by for most of his childhood.

Then he met Broghed, who wasn’t very fond of Garbunkle’s performances, as they often happened right outside the forges. From Garbunkle’s point of view, people needed something to entertain them after a long day. Perhaps Broghed saw it as a boy trying to hustle money out of people. Regardless, one day Garbunkle’s antics spilled into Broghed’s forge, and some very important doodads were broken. The cost was far too high for Garbunkle to repay, so Broghed put him to work and taught the young boy what real labor was like. Garbunkle worked long enough to pay off his debt, but by then, as a young man, he knew the forges were not for him. He had always dreamed of performing for big crowds, and that was what he set out to do. He thanked Broghed for teaching him the meaning of work and went on his way