Rossen was the brother of Symeon, headman of the Bulgarian village of Gramada. Rossen and Symeon were the only two men who owned muskets in the village. While Rossen was steady and reliable, he was not the leader his brother was. Not long after that night, Symeon traveled to Vidin to deliver the annual tribute of sheep to the Turks. He learned that the village of Kula had come to misfortune. From their description, Symeon realized that the vurkolak had begun preying on Kula. He professed sympathy he didn't feel and returned home, reporting the story to Gramada.