Obi

Once feared for his size and misunderstood for his quiet demeanor, Obi found his voice—literally—on a fateful night at Bideawee Tavern.

Listen Now

- Obi

People used to be scared of me. Growing up bigger than most, a lot of people kept their distance. I used to hear whispers that I had an aggressive streak that I’d let out at anyone who crossed my path. It wasn’t until a sing-along at a local tavern that people realized I wasn’t just a big scary enigma. I remember it like it was yesterday. I went into Cooper’s tavern pretty late in the evening, I had gone in for a quiet drink or two. To my surprise, everyone was on their feet, arms linked, singing, and dancing raucously. I stayed in my seat for a while, nursing my drink; I’d always been shy. But then, the lute player started playing a song near and dear to my heart, but no one seemed to know it! The lute player was losing faith that anyone would join his song, so he started tapering off sheepishly. It was then that I decided to gather the courage to stand and sing. The liquid courage slowly seeped in. I danced a little awkwardly but I sang as loud as I could. This song was worth it. In the crowd I could hear them say “Isn’t that Obi? What’s he doing embarrassing himself?” I wasn’t going to let it phase me. It was then that the grumpy looking old man in the corner got up from his seat, jumped straight into linking arms with me, dancing in a circle, and joined me for the rest of the song. That’s how I met Henry. When the song ended, the whole tavern burst out into applause. As I made my way back to my seat, I received so many claps on the back, a lot of “hey, nice going!”s. I was about to sit down when Henry tapped me on the shoulder and told me I should join him and his friend’s table for another round of ale. I was delighted. He led me to a table at the corner of the room where his friend was, and that’s how I met Mineo.

Henry and Mineo became my best friends, who knew singing “Love is blind” at a tavern could do that for me. Henry and Mineo were long time adventurers. They’d tell me tales of how they slayed a harpy, banished a banshee, and vanquished a dragon just the two of them. I reckon they stretched the truth on that last one a bit when they told me they needed my help with a simple village troll. They dragged me to a bridge at the entrance of a village that was unpassable for weeks. They told me the troll living underneath would shove anyone that tried to pass into the water without answering his riddles correctly. I’m not good at riddles, I don’t know why they asked me to help, I thought to myself. I had heard rumours that this troll liked music – he was often more forgiving when travellers had instruments with them – so when he opened his first riddle I knee-jerk responded with a verse of “Sunshine on the Water.” Next thing I knew, the troll was singing the next verse. Henry and Mineo stared at us mouths agape. We were harmonizing til the end of the song. “I’ve just been so bored all alone,” said the troll. I invited him to the next Cooper’s sing-along and he never bothered the villagers again. He joined us for every subsequent Cooper’s night, he eventually told us his name was Freddy. Freddy had a knack for almost every instrument you put in his hands. Cooper’s became home to his performances where he would often exclusively sing and play in riddles. Everyone loved him. Opening your heart to music opens a lot of doors, take it from me and Freddy.