Fisherman: prelude to the Bardic Saga ( Beggar and Thief, Rogue, etc...)

When I was born, many thought I looked like some sort of demon child, with black hair, piercing blue eyes, and a mischievous look on my face.By the time I had reached 4 years of age, I was causing mischief and bullying other kids in the village around my age, some a few years older, even.

By the age of 5, I was forced to help my father go out to sea on his small fishing vessel, attempting to catch whatever he could just to make a simple living.
Usually, our daily catch was limited to very few, if any fish, as we only had two nets and two traps. And usually, this meant long days out on the water with very little to show for it, often in the worst of weather.

Every time I went out on the water, I was quite aware of the risks, always on the lookout for potential danger. Through my early years, I had survived a few close calls, avoiding certain death by mere inches. This experience had greatly improved my awareness and nimbleness, however,making me much quicker on my feet than most into my teenage years.

The daily take wasn't always bad, as sometimes we wouWould stumble across large schools of fish, netting ourselves a tidy little profit. Often times when there were "extra" profits, my father would give me a reasonable share as reward for my hard work.

Anytime this would happen, I would save my money for awhile, and spend it trying to impress some of the local girls, buying them shiny trinkets, fine chocolates, or whatever I thought might help me get laid. More than once, this had worked, my first experience of that nature occurred when I was 13, and then a few times shortly after, with the same girl, so I suppose you could say I was doing better than most in that respect.

By the time I had reached the age of 16, I had gained quite a bit of expertise in both fishing and courting women, as I seemed to be the best for my age in the village. But this was simply not enough for me, I had dreams of greater things in life.

So, by the time I had reached 17, on the night of my birthday, I decided to sneak out and break for the nearest town, several miles away, and that is exactly what I did, not once looking back on the life I was to leave behind.  When I arrived that morning, however, how truly unprepared I was for the outside world, as I was forced to beg for change on the streets just to survive ...