"Skram"'s page

Geon Bluth’s father kept the grounds at the City of Ashes, a cemetary complex outside of Bard’s Gate. No honest worker, the man was indeed a graverobber, not just at the cemetary tasked with his care, but in the private crypts and tombs of nobles wherever they lay. A band of robbers was the only other family the boy knew.

Inquisitive young Geon was fascinated with the treasures his father trafficked in. Most items were not kept long before being sold, but books were overlooked often enough for him to stash a library of well selected volumes under a floorboard in his room, in order to quench his thirst for knowledge in the fields of magic and alchemy.

Geon’s ceaseless questions led to him being told to “scram” so often, the name stuck. His aptitude with mechanical and magical apparatus did not go unnoticed however. His tinkering with items that lay about before going to market in seedy pawn shops often led to discovery of magical properties that would have otherwise gone unnoticed. His father finally saw value in him, which only led him to place his son in further danger than his miscreant lifestyle already imposed.

When the time came for delves Geon was now brought along, taught to scout in the dark, to squeeze in tight places, to locate valuables and to disable traps. With Geon’s help, the operation became truly profitable. Before long the substantial value of the items being circulated was noted by a blackmarket fence. The murderous pawnshop owner took pity on the boy, and took him to live at the shop where he found ample opportunity to continue his studes and experiments.

When Geon showed he could produce effective potions, alchemical substances and magical reagents, the pawndealer didn’t hesitate to put his creations up for sale. Once again the exploitation of the boy led to the downfall of the one exploiting him. Some of the clientelle attracted by the new products were being watched by the Lyreguard, which brought the pawnshop under scrutiny and led to an arrest for trafficking in stolen merchandise. The shop was shut down, and orphaned Geon was left homeless.

Now on his own, Geon considered the only gainful activity he knew… robbing the dead. Swearing not to become like his father, he chose to leave the burial plots of his neighbors unspoiled, and turned his attention instead to the deep dark forgotten places of the wild to ply his skills and sate his curiosity, He has eeked out his existence ever since, torn between his hatred of his fathers legacy and his need to resort to those ways to fund his pursuit of his natural calling.