Remis Locke, The Seeker

Background

When I look back on my childhood I remember many things. All of them unpleasant. That was at least until I was found by Trate. I was the son of a woman who clearly didn’t want me, the illegitimate child born within a poverty stricken town within the Dale lands; which I’m sure wouldn’t be a first. From what I know... which is very little, my mother fell in love with a man who would be described by many as a rogue. Needless to say... once he got what he wanted from her, he fled in the night and was never to be seen again. I suppose I should be at least thankful for him bringing me into the world which is exactly what happened; to my mother’s surprise. Once I was born she treated me as though I didn’t even exist... or so I’m told. When I cried, she hummed a merry tune perhaps or shoved me in a cupboard, probably the latter. Eventually motherhood took its final strain on poor mother and she, too, ran away leaving me within the grotty house which was overdue in upkeep.

I was found eventually by the woman who lived next door. She didn’t know what to do with me either... which is where Trate, my foster father, stepped in. Trate was - and still is, wherever he may be - a very unique individual, perhaps one of a kind. He took me away from the familiar and in many respects made me what I am today. I was seven at the time when he introduced me into his small family. All of which consisted of other men with similar or worse backgrounds to my own. A band of unwanted people who he took upon himself to care for. You’d think it was kind if he didn’t beat the living daylights out of us when we ticked him off. I suppose it was some form of tough love, it surely did discipline us while we grew. He taught me everything, the tricks of the trade as it were in our profession, which we all eventually had in common. He taught me that coin is what makes a man, without it you are nothing, but with it you are something. A lesson which has always stayed with me to this very day: fortune is the key. Living in such a rough neighbourhood and making a profit was extremely difficult. Not to mention that everyone around you were trying to do the exact same thing. Thieves stealing from thieves; it was almost comical. That’s when we developed a new plan, a new way of achieving fortune in a more honest yet dangerous way. You’d call it treasure hunting I’d expect, though personally I’d call us 'seekers'. For that is what we became, seekers of rare and valuable items that could be bartered and traded.

Eventually I left my small band of brothers, which caused a lot of problems... I can tell you now. We were successful in the end, making quite a fair bit of money from our endeavours which nearly claimed our lives on many occasions. Though there comes a time where a man needs to stand on his own two feet, pursue his dream alone without support. I was twenty-one when I left, travelling blindly across unknown lands wearing clothing which I had bought with almost every piece of coin I owned. From the richer town to the North, by appearance I looked like a wealthy lord which on many occasions worked in my favour. I travelled from town to town not knowing at all where I was going, lieing and cheating my way through life and gaining coin in the process. I successfully put on the act of being a wealthy man... which granted me access to many things. Be it women, fine food, exquisite shelter or clothing. Of course until I was found out to be a rogue and chased out of the town. My lust for women seemed to be a recurring theme in life. I’m gifted in wooing the female kind with simple words and music, tales and charm. I’m sure you’d call me greedy, but I don’t care. The way I see it a man has to live in the moment otherwise he could die having accomplished nothing. I continued to travel far across the lands seeking treasures on my path whilst repeating my usual pattern. Accompanied by both risk and danger, two things which I thrive on. Until I arrived - at last - to a land which had true potential, the kind that I had been seeking that many others had lacked.

Eriador they called it, a land littered with ruins and caves long forgotten, leaving unlimited treasure open for the taking. I knew then that this was meant to be, this place was where I would make my fortune and discover treasures beyond coin and find women that would satisfy my lust. Here my true story began and with it my path to fortune grew shorter.