Locke Rathbone

> "There is always a chance, so long as one can *think*."
>
>

The keeper of the Guild Tavern, in charge of business matters for the Thieves as well as the one and only bartender, Locke is infamous for two things: a talent for the mandolin and a keen eye for detail. He is often aware of what is happening to whom, either through communication or observation. He keeps a respectable distance from everyone, but remains an open ear to the burdened and may even take up the role of the entertainer for those in need.

Few know his true story, but rumor has it that not even his name is his own. Very often he is one of the first people to know when something is going on, much to the chagrin of others, but he holds back to see how it will play out. Because of this, he is rarely surprised. However, he keeps an open mind always.

Character based loosely off of Disney's Basil of Baker Street.

## Personality

Conniving but friendly, carefully navigating conversation while picking up hints and clues, Locke is the kind to know enough about a person after ten minutes of conversation to cut into the core of them. He is observant and calm in all things, even in moments of stress or danger among the Guild. A kind of eccentricity characterizes this man, most especially in times when he shrinks into himself to find answers to a question that are not obvious. In these times, his brooding can be a hinderance to his job, but he fears not for his security within it.

The mandolin is his inspiration on many occasions, and he keeps a fair collection of them neatly stashed away in his private quarters. Things lose his interest quickly when he has analyzed them at proper length, but he has mastered feigning interest.

## History

A minor lord of some house in some country far, far away, Locke was well known in a previous life for his insatiable hunger for truth and justice, paired with an eccentricity that sent most would-be-peers far from him. Infamous for a knack for keeping himself a part of everyone’s business in some way or another, he seemed at times thoughtful for his memory but at other times terribly nosy. He lacked a filter at times, and while he could easily hold his own in court, he was not immune to the ire of nobility.

People and their capacity for cruelty fascinate Locke, who learned the ways easily enough with a burly older brother and three vicious older sisters. Not an heir, the very youngest of a small but 'culturally rich' clan of Dunbroch, he grew up watching his elder siblings go about their lives with an awe-inspiring amount of backstabbing and sniping for fun. He absorbed it like a sponge, looked for reasons, made connections. What he lacked in the pure verbosity of greater conversation, he made up for in quiet retorts and inelegant intelligence. Members of higher society took to him for his perspicacity and his talent for having the last laugh, even if it was only to himself.

While his brother was groomed to take over lordship from their father and his sisters were married off one by one to gain political favor, he was welcomed into social circles across the country with familiarity from strangers. He enjoyed his freedom, happy to see his range of observation grow. Where his family had been beastly, the outside world was so much more savage.

His family was a minor contributor to the Kingdom of Dunbroch on the whole, but the number of stories and songs they could spin kept them popular among the royal family. King Fergus and Queen Elinor introduced their first child to the public in the summer of her first year and the fourteen-year-old minor lord was honored to introduce her to their music, no matter how disinterested she seemed. Elinor continued to invite him back regularly over the next six years of Merida's childhood, but visits became more brief as they grew older and her tastes diverged more toward arrows and horses.

For a time he was entertained with idle high society gossip but it quickly lost him when he realized just how directionless it could be. He began tracking down more troublesome information as time carried on, and by the time he was in his late teens, he was tracking down chicken thieves for the local cooks and making sense of crimes in politics - tracking down lost documents, pointing out flaws in legislation, even going so far as to follow trails of murderers. It was on one of these cases in the latter that he experienced real tragedy for the first time. On the tail of a man who had much to lose from exposure, he drew suspicion to himself for the last time. His family was killed shortly before his twentieth birthday. Knowing then that he could no longer do as he pleased where he was, he dropped everything and made his escape into the world.

## The Guild of Thieves

Escaping his past, Locke joined the Guild at twenty years of age and made a name for himself. Currently, he is the bartender at the tavern, doing far more work on the inside than the out, but in the past he has been anything from a recruiter to the guiding force behind crime rings.

As far as affiliations go in the Guild, Locke is less of a friend to his peers and more a listening ear. Stuck behind a bar half the time, keeping track of finances and available missions, fewer things are more interesting than tales from the outside. Among his usual companions are Figaro and Cleo, a married couple that keep an eye on the tavern during those rare occasions where he is sent out to get work done. His preferred company, however, is the assassin Guinevere, who has been one of the few constants in his life since losing his home.

## Relationships

### Guinevere Wylde

Friends are few in the Guild, though people interact in relative peace. Evie, however, has a special place in Locke's heart as one of the few people he can stomach on a regular basis. Despite his disinterest in most things, she alone is captivating to him in a way that can only be understood from the eyes of the sinner himself. The two keep good company when together, and he keeps an ear out for her when they are apart. It cannot be said that he corrupted her, but he certainly never did anything but make it worse.

### Figaro and Cleo

The three have an oddly friendly relationship. Locke enjoys "playing" with Cleo, entertaining her needs in a manner he does not save for many. Like Figaro, he sees a need to preserve her innocence. On the other hand, the husband is rarely spared from teasing and jabs at his character. Locke, the mouse, often finds entertainment in goading Figaro, the cat, and while at times it may seem as if they dislike one another, their relationship can also easily be recognized as friendly.

### Merida Dunbroch

If you say her name, he will not know it. If he sees her face, he'll treat her like any other girl - a quick, fun read to mercilessly dissect with his piercing gaze. The truth, however, is that the two are distantly related by blood and clan ties and were even momentarily present in one another's lives. Because of her striking resemblance to her mother, he suffers occasional difficulties before her, but he has practiced his act for far too long to be thrown off by a distant reminder of the past.

### Aurora Rose Montegue

The words "target" and "plaything" discredit her obvious prowess, but she suffers the same attention as anyone does when Locke looks at her. Their one meeting so far has been dotted with teasing and surprising amounts of honesty, but he likes her.

## References

* Basil of Baker Street by Eve Titus
* The Guild of Thieves
* Thick as Thieves
* Blood on the Ice