Thorn



Thorn was born in the small halfling village of Crossed Spoons in the northern reaches of The Vast. His father Olo Springfoot is a furrier and a butcher, while his mother Hilda Springfoot is a homemaker who looks after Thorn's two younger sisters Cora Springfoot and Marigold "Mari" Springfoot as well as his elderly grandfather Falco Springfoot. At a young age his father taught him how to trap animals and help with the family business, to which he caught on rather quickly. His grandfather Falco used to be an adventurer, and every night he would tell Thorn fantastic tales from those days. His parents would tell him that the stories weren't true, but he didn't let their doubting words spoil his imagination. He would spend his days setting traps in the woods, imagining that the forest animals were the great fearsome beasts from grandpa Falco's stories. He would wait in ambush and slay the "mighty creatures" he captured, then bring home what he caught so his father could butcher it. Often times the carcases were so cut up from Thorn's "perilous battles" their pelts were unusable and their meat good only for sausages.

Eventually Thorn turned his adventuresome imagination onto the village. It started off with simple mischievous acts like sneaking into Lady Sunthistle's house to steal a sweetroll from her "treasure-filled" pantry, but over the years they evolved to more troublesome deeds like Farmer Blackroot's chickens being set loose amongst the village and Thorn arriving to "save the helpless peasants from the horde of evil pygmy cockatrices". Many chickens were slain that day.

Eventually the villagers had had enough. They gathered outside the Springfoot home in an angry mob. Thorn's parents were utterly humiliated and his sisters were distraught (his grandfather found the whole thing wildly amusing). Olo managed to appease the mob by promising that he would personally see to it that the antics would stop and peace would return to the village. Olo angrily told Thorn that from now on the two of them would always be working together. It would be a burden on Olo, but it was the only way he could make sure Thorn behaved.

Grandpa Falco knew that Thorn couldn't stand to be leashed like that, he recognized the adventurer within his grandson and he devised a plan. The next day after the family had quietly eaten breakfast, he grumbled about being cooped up in the house for too long and expressed the desire to go for a walk saying the fresh morning air would do him some good. He asked if Thorn would accompany him and the two of them set out into the forest. Once they were deep into the woods Falco explained to Thorn that he had outgrown the simple life of the village and it was time for his grandson to set off into the world and live the life of an adventurer just as he had many years before. Thorn was stunned but also elated. He thanked his grandfather and started running off, but Falco called him back. He was about to leave with only the clothes on his back. Fortunately this was all part of Falco's plan and he had come prepared. From beneath his robes he produced a sack containing some provisions, a few coins, and a couple of Hilda's kitchen knives. Thorn thanked his grandfather and left the village of Crossed Spoons behind. Unbeknownst to Thorn, after he left his grandfather in the middle of the woods Falco was set upon by a pack of fearsome badgers and mangled to death (just kidding, he made it back to the village on his own just fine and even came up with a cover story to explain Thorn's disappearance).

Thorn made his way to the road that lead to the nearby town of Ylraphon. As the sun dipped to the horizon he noticed a campfire amongst the trees. He snuck over to find three grizzled-looking men roasting a pair of rabbits; a mule-drawn cart stood just inside the firelight. The two older men kept giving the youngest one orders to which he reluctantly acquiesced. The older two were quickly becoming lost in their cups of ale so Thorn had no trouble sneaking over to the cart and slipping into the back. He found a panel opening into a false bottom of the cart that had been carelessly left cracked open. Thorn could see various cloth-wrapped shapes inside and managed to loosen a few to find swords, daggers, and other weapons. What Thorn did not yet know was these men were planning to smuggle the weapons into Ylraphon using the appearance of an empty cart to easily get through the gates. Being as small as he was he squirmed inside and waited for the sounds of the men to quiet.

When he was certain the humans had fallen asleep he emerged from the cart. One of the older men was attempting to stay awake on watch but quickly lost that battle. The rabbits had been picked clean but Thorn rifled through the men's packs and found a couple apples and a chunk of stale bread. While he was at it he decided to have a little fun with some pranks. He tied the rabbit bones into the hair of one of the men, and he painted mud onto the face of another. The younger man he left alone. Slipping back into the hidden cart bottom he managed to get some sleep.

He was awoken the next morning by the sounds of arguing and laughter. Peeking out the panel he saw the two older men accusing each other of what was done to them during the night and the young man stood aside trying to stifle his laughter. Eventually the angry men turned the blame on him and roughed him up a bit before telling him that he's lucky they were on a time limit or else he'd be the one pulling the cart today. This drew their eyes to the cart and Thorn quickly popped back down without being seen. He heard the men break camp and then felt the cart begin to move. Seeing this as a lucky break he munched on an apple and enjoyed the free ride toward town.

The next night Thorn decided to continue his antics. He again slipped out of the cart when he was certain the men were sleeping and managed to place some thorny nettles into the older men's boots. It wasn't until after he stepped back toward the cart that he noticed the younger man wasn't actually asleep. He'd watched Thorn deposit the nettles and he had a small grin on his face. He didn't make a move to alert the other men, instead he closed his eyes and pretended to go back to sleep.

Thorn awoke to shouting and cursing the next morning. Not wanting to risk being seen he simply listened to what was said. The men had obviously discovered Thorn's unpleasant surprise the hard way, and it even sounded like the younger man had deliberately put some nettles in his own boots, possibly to avoid suspicion. Thorn then clearly heard one of the men yell out into the surroundings "Whoever you are you're being a real thorn in my arse! When I find you I'm gonna cut you into little pieces!" He listened as the men continued to grumble and soon after the cart started moving again.

Later that day he could hear the noise of many more voices and felt the cart slow. They had reached the town. Thorn knew it was still too dangerous to leave his hiding spot, but he didn't know where he was being taken either. Eventually the cart abruptly stopped and he could hear someone deliver a strange knock. The cart lurched forward again and he could hear only the faint traces of quiet conversation taking place as they moved. The cart stopped again and he could hear a number of voices. Without notice his hiding spot filled with light as the panel was thrown open. An arm reached in and began pulling out the bundled weapons. Thorn tried to move as far from the hatch as he could but there really wasn't much room. He felt the hand grab hold of his shirt and he was forcefully pulled out.

As he was held suspended in the air he found himself in a window-less torchlit room with nearly a dozen sinister looking people staring confusedly at him. He smiled and said "Hi" which snapped the strangers out of their befuddlement and the room was filled with the sound of weapons being drawn. A cloaked figure stepped forward, throwing back his hood revealing an elderly face with a wicked scar reaching from his left ear down to his chin. He eyed Thorn up and down before giving the order "Kill him". At that someone shouted out for them to stop. The younger man from the cart trip stepped over to the scarred man and began explaining how Thorn could be an asset to their cause. It took a deal of convincing, including the descriptions of Thorn's pranks and how easily he'd hidden within the cart without their knowledge. The scarred man thought it over before stepping back over to the still suspended halfling and asked for his name. Remembering what was shouted that morning after he'd planted the nettles he quickly replied "Thorn. My name is Thorn."

The scarred man went on to explain the two options available to Thorn: either work with them or die. Seeing this as an easy decision, and since he was curious what they were up to, he agreed to help. As the scarred man walked away he briefly stopped and said to the young man who defended Thorn, "This is the last favor I do for you. If he screws us, you both die. I don't care if you are my son I'll gut you both myself." After being set down he learned the younger man's name was Nate and his father, the scarred man, was Garrett. The two men who'd arrived with Nate were Carter (the angry thistle boot victim) and Marco. They clearly despised Thorn thanks to his little late-night pranks; Carter practically shot daggers from his eyes every time they looked at each other. Thorn learned that these people were attempting to form a new thieves guild in the town called the Black Mark, and now that they were better armed they were going to put that plan into motion.

Over the next few months Thorn and Nate worked together to slowly spread the reign of the Black Mark. A stolen piece of artwork here, a filched coinpurse there, the occasional mugging in a back alley. They were good at what they did and worked very well together (and when Nate wasn't looking Thorn would occasionally flip a coin or two to nearby street urchins). Soon the townsfolk were leery of being out after dark and a curfew was even put into effect.

Eventually the Black Mark's success increased Garrett's appetite and he wanted to expand the guild's reach to the nearby towns and villages, but to do that they would need to start recruiting more members. Everyone was tasked with finding at least one new person to join the guild within a fortnight. While Thorn and Nate were on the lookout for new blood they soon found a guy named Leon who they saw get away with cutting three coin purses in one afternoon. They pulled Leon aside and made him an offer which Leon happily accepted.

The time came for all the new recruits to come together and be judged worthy of joining the Black Mark. Carter, recently chosen as Garrett's second-in-command, went down the line inspecting and questioning the small group of prospects. When he got to Leon, whom he knew was Thorn's choice, he barely gave him a glance before denying him and moving on. As Leon was being dragged off to be killed he shouted out the words "Rutabaga Pie!" and the door to the room crashed open. A number of town guards rushed in and a brawl commenced. Unbeknownst to Thorn and Nate, Leon was a plant and was sent to infiltrate the Black Mark. Unfortunately for the guards, Leon underestimated the Black Mark's numbers and they were defeated.

As the last guard fell Carter finally saw his opportunity and was quick to place the blame on Thorn for the setup. Garrett agreed and ordered that Thorn and Nate both be killed. Thorn told Nate to run, but as he turned to do the same he tripped over a dead guard. Carter rushed over ready to drive a knife into the prone Thorn but Nate intercepted him. In the brief scuffle Carter managed to drive his dagger beneath Nate's jaw and up into his brain. Thorn didn't have time to grieve for his friend as the remaining Black Marks, including the new recruits, all came at him. He stabbed one of the recruits in the groin before slipping behind him and stabbing again in the back. As the man dropped Thorn realized it was the first time he had actually killed another person and he found that he had a bit of a knack for it. Through a moment of halfling luck he somehow managed to escape, killing 6 others in the process. He regretted the fact that Carter wasn't one of them.

With Carter, Marco, and the remaining Black Mark members chasing him, Thorn evaded them long enough to make his way over to the docks. He emptied a sack of corn ready to be loaded onto an awaiting ship and bundled himself inside. He was hefted onto the ship and waited patiently for the easy swaying motion indicating that the ship had set sail. He spent the trip within the cargo hold snacking on the goods being shipped, mourning Nate's death, and savoring the fact that he was living the type of adventures that Grandpa Falco told him about.

Eventually the ship came to dock. Thorn snuck away, overhearing the crewmen complain about how rats had gotten into the cargo, and he found himself in the great city of Lyrabar, ready to begin a new set of adventures.

Every Rose has its Thorn