"Me life story eh? ye dinnae ask fer much now do ye? hehee, well lemme see if'n i kin boil it all down tae a broth fer ye..then ye can tell me how it sits in yer belly afterwards. " Morgan takes a long pull off his Mug o' ale and scratches his head while apparently lost in thought for a long while.. then slowly begins to furrow his brow as if the memories being drawn up were probably best left buried.
"well.. tae begin with. my name be Morgan...Morgan Thornblade.. and 'less'n ye be a good bit older than most aroun' these parts.. ye might nae recognize the family name.. me father was Tarrant Thornblade.. a Gladiator that retired tae persue a life less bloddy in the mercantile arena.. me mum and he got wedded and made me not too long after me pa bought his first trading ship.. the sylver thorn it was called.. fine looking boat as i recollect.. fastest one around from here tae tuchea i heard tell from me Da and me mum whilst i grew up. i kin remember playing on the beach , makin castles in the sand, and storming them with the shells of hermit crabs and such.. while me mum would stare off into the sea lookin fer signs of my da's ship coming back tae the harbor of the moons.. i would play.. and she would wait. and then the ship would breech the horizon and me mum would start laying out the basket of food she brought with her on those days.. me dda would dock and slip down the mooring ropes tae the docks, and bolt over tae us..i remember how he always smiled at us and we would all tear inta that grub me mum brought like wolves.. laughing and talking... then me da would play with me and my shells, together we would bring the bad men in the castle tae their knees.. heehee.. i remember that..'
'fer about 10 summers that was the way it was.. me mum would bring me tae the docks on the days me da' was due in .. that basket in tow... and not once was me da every late... he prided himself on the crew of the 'thorn...and that he was able tae get the goods in faster than any one else.. and me mum always had that basket made fer our suppers on the beach.. i remember all a that.. till one day me da' didnae show sight of his masts..." Aserving wench slips in to refill morgans ale mug, to which morgan barely notices as a cloudy look falls over his eyes..
'we waited.. me mum and me..watching as the storms started rolling in from the west like a wall o pure hell .. look in gfer that sheer white topsail of me da's ship that we had gotten so used tae seeing afore the ship breeched the skyline.. instead.. all we saw was those storm clouds... rolling like ink inland..me mum and me.. we weathered that storm that night.. right there at the docks.. i remember how scared i was as i watched the waves slapping at the sea walls, standing taller than the tallest tree i had ere seen.. twas one o the worst storms the western realms had seeen in a hun'erd years or so i heard later someone say...fifty or so ships were lost that night..soem hda survivores tossed about on peices of wood , clinging tae barrels or planking from the decks or masts as the ships broke up agin the furry o that night.. most didnt tho...most simply went down without a trace.. all hands lost tae the beast neath the waves.' with a hard cold look out the window, morgan stares at the distant image of the harbor of the moons, then into the depths of his mug as he continues " me da didnt come back that night.. nor did he show up the night after that.. or even after that night.. but me mum and me.. we stood there on the beaaches, mum with her basket of food, already starting tae stink of brine and decay.. and me slowly losing the hope that da was one o the lucky ones that made it through that night as i watched other ships limping back into port in ragged tatters, and heard the tales told by those men of the horrors of that night....me mum wouldnt hear them.. she just kept scanning the sea fer signs of his topsail... and she did that until the priests came for us."
Spearing a thick hunk of roasted beef on the end of a battered bronze knife morgan bit into the palet of food before him and set his mug down. grease and juice spilled over his chin as he wolfed down a few bites of supper before taking up his mug again and washed down the steaming meat with a long draught. "me mum.. she ne'r got any better... the priests said she would.. but she ne';r did.. and i remember being alone in the villa with her , hearing her crying through the echos of the halls at night. i cant says i recollect all this none too fondly. nor do i care tae dwell on me mums pain any more;n i needs taae do here...lets just say.. me mum was very sad fer a while... and afore the year was done.. she herself was dead.. leaving me tae the tender mercies of the world at the age of 11 summers"
"i was too old fer the orphanage.. and too young fer the work camps.. so i made do with what me father had saved up in the bank.. me Da's partner took care of things as best as he could fer a few years.. but without me da.. it seemed he wasnt vera good at the whole business anyways. so what happened? well i will tell ye.. plain and simple.. the money ran out....my families villa was sold tae the bank at auction tae pay off the debts of the family and such.. as well as all me familys goods...i wathced as wealthy patricians bought up me mothers jewlery and linens fer themselves...and as the furniture and all of it was hauled away piece by piece..'
" when it was all said and done.. i was left with a meager 20 deanar, a set of clothing, and me fathers old gladius.. not the fine alanti he always wore at his side... the beasts neathe the waves have claimed that one..but the well crafted tin of his old gladiator days..what else was i supposed tae do? i learned meself how tae swing this gladius without taking offa foot or some such.. and here i am now...i aint nothing more than what ye see.. just a man same as any.. but i tell ye somethin. me father made a small empire of his own with this sword.. made gold hand over fist in his day in the arena.. and was rolling in money afore the waves claimed him with his smarts and strength...me mum.. she as good a woman as ever walked the face of midlight.. and any that says a word sidesise about her will have three feet o angry tin in their gullet fer their troubles if'n i hear word of it...she died as she did broken hearted .. because she loved me da with the kind o love that makes men weep , and women swoon.. that dinnae come around too often,, me mum and me da where what brought me here.. and tho they left me with nothin but me mem'ries...i aint gwanna let them down now.. ye unnerstand that?"
"the SylverThorn.. that was me da's ship.. some day i might try my hand tae be a merchant like me da as well.. and if i do.. ye will see another like her in the harbor. but till that time comes.. me dad carved a place for himself in the realms.. and so will i....ye just watch me.. so will i