Amreth Gaunt is one of the busiest of the master merchants operating on the east-west trade routes of the Heartlands. With a glib tongue and a swift, sly wit (which he hides in public dealings), it's no surprise that he's risen to the top of his profession. His life has been devoted to amassing wealth and information through travel and trade, and by either measure, he is a rich man. When characters need information, rare goods, or even a job, Amreth Gaunt may be the man to see.

This sardonic, weathered, yet still agile man was born somewhere in the Heartlands, and his origins can best be described as mysterious. Gaunt claims not to remember where he was reared -- or by whom -- other than that it involved “lots of warehouses, and scurrying around in their lofts like a rat, fetching and carrying.” He gives the impression that he has spent all his five decades or so in shops or mercantile trading work.