Scavenger
Scavengers are a well known but oft unspoken part of central Gilden. They're an indispensable aspect of the overall economy, but are also shunned by most of society and those who have dealing with them usually try to feign ignorance to maintain their own dignity, or perhaps a sense of plausible deniability, as to exactly what kind of business is being operated. Most scavengers will present themselves as legitimate, reputable traders, especially if they're just regular people trying to just make a living same as everyone else, but some career scavengers take pride in the taboo aspect of their work, flaunting for all to see exactly what it is they do.
What scavengers do, is scour battlefields, warzones, sites of massacres, anywhere there's been a fight, for loot from dead bodies. They take anything that can be salvaged-- anything that doesn't have too many bloodstains, really. Not just weapons and armour, no, they take everything; boots and socks, supply packs, rations, coins, carafes of water, personal items, enchanted items, jewellery, belts, pouches, purses, bags, healing supplies, potions, anything of value, even clothes. The most ruthless scavengers will strip a person completely bare and then just dump the body. Some will even dig up graves if they're fresh enough. Then, they'll sell the loot. They're different from regular bandits and thieves, who even themselves think of scavengers as cowards, as they specifically steal from the dead.
"We don't have time to bury all our dead. Make what graves you can and bless them, but hurry-- it won't be long before vultures show up, and I want to avoid another fight."
Most scavengers aren't malicious, just opportunists. The ones who are, who revel in what they do, who form gangs and seek out scenes of death to fill their pockets and profit off ill-gotten goods, who are dangerous, are called vultures. Simple scavengers will typically wait until the coast is clear to start gathering, but vultures are more like a cross between scavengers and bandits. If they arrive at a battlefield where there are survivors still tending to the fallen, and if they think their odds are good enough, they will fight the remaining living and either chase them off or kill them to have even more bodies to loot. These are also the ones who will disturb graves and take everything from the dead but the body itself. They will also attack any other scavengers trying to take advantage of the site that aren't a part of their gang.
Vulture gangs will travel far and wide for loot to sell. Most of their business is done in the Warlands, where there are the most travellers, adventurers, raiders and mercenaries to sell to, but the Warlands are not the only place with battlefields to raid. The armies of the northern kingdom of Dymin have long and continue to ravage the northern highlands and push their invasion forces further south into the central plains, leaving plenty of dead in their wake. It's not uncommon for vulture gangs to track the movement of herds of reaper dogs, following the animals' keen sense of smell to their next target-- one of the more notorious gangs even keeps reaper dog of their own to track down fresh dead bodies.
Especially in and around the warlands, the only way to guarantee that the gear you're buying wasn't taken off a dead body is to acquire it directly from the maker. Not everyone can afford to buy good equipment new, though. If you're buying weapons or armour or other gear from a regular merchant, or someone who appears to be, there's a good chance that it's 'secondhand'. It's considered best practise to check for signs of wear and damage on any items, and especially to keep an eye out for suspicious stains on anything meant to be worn. Some people find it morally wrong to wear armour that was looted off a dead person, some see it as a necessary evil and some people don't care either way, but even with the ethics aside, you can't know for sure if the armour or gear or supplies that you're buying are clean-- spiritually, or physically. Still, though, the things that scavengers sell are all essential items, and, well... it's kind of a waste to just leave it all there to rot and rust, right?
The fact that it might very well be perfectly good equipment aside, the source is just too shady for most people's sensibilities. Dishonourable work, cowardly work, dirty work, people call scavenging. It's taboo enough that even if someone doesn't care that the goods were stolen off dead bodies, they're still not going to admit to it out loud, and will still try and keep their trade with scavengers on the down-low.
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