Abuk

Abuk is a Keshian lockpicking expert in Betrayal at Krondor. He can be encountered on the road east of Lyton.

Background
Abuk claims that he spent five years near Mount Ashunta at the foot of his master, Caliphad, learning the art of picking locks.

As a stowaway aboard a Keshian vessel, he was discovered by Devon and a party of Quegians, who forced him to unlock some chests of merchandise for them before chaining him in the belly of the ship to be presented as a gift to Devon's patron, Dauphiness Cassandra of Palanque. However, after leaving a note directing them to Silden if they needed him again, Abuk escaped so stealthily that his captors didn't realise he was gone until the ship had docked.

Chapter 1
The party can meet Abuk east of Lyton. He says he is waiting to meet with a spice trader from Malac's Cross, and had planned to drink at the Empress Inn, but he was late. Asked about any dangers in Silden, Abuk says that a raven was nailed to the doorpost of the Anchorhead Tavern two days earlier as a sign that from the Crawler that anyone without business in town should leave. Abuk warns that the Crawler's assistants have great cajunlo (power), and that when their master convenes a secret session with them, passersby are usually killed.

Chapter 2
Abuk asks the party for directions to Lyton, claiming that he received a letter asking him to pick a Webber lock there. James is skeptical because the Webber lock can't be picked. Abuk explains that one skilled in the arts of subtlety can discern how to penetrate even that, but eventually admits that he tells this to advertise his services, as there is no lock in the Kingdom of the Isles that he cannot pick.

Training
For a sum of 70, later 80 sovereigns, Abuk offers to give the party a lesson in lockpicking. If they agree, he manipulates a test lock while telling them that first, a thief must "unlock" himself to new concepts. James suspects Keshian double-talk, but is stunned as Abuk picks the lock too fast for him to follow. Abuk ends the lesson there, assuring James that in time the sequence will unlock in his mind and he will understand what he had seen. This lesson increases the party's Lockpicking skill by 6%, or by 9% if the skill is selected on the stat page.

Training
For 70g, Abuk has one more lesson for the party. This second lesson increases the party's Lockpicking skills by 5%, or 7.5% if the skill is selected.