The Story of Kirth

Kirth was raised in the Hillman culture of the common man Race, standing 6' even and weighing in at a whopping 175#.  He has shoulder length brown hair and chocolate brown eyes sitting abreast of a nose that has been broken too often.  Due to his upbringing Kirth has no idea what a smile is and if he does smile, there is nothing cheerful about it, you should actually be very wary at that time.  The only thing that seems to motivate Kirth is money and power and lacks any trust towards other individuals.  He has a very cold demeanor, but if he gives his word he will see it through.  He maintains a very neat appearance and unless in disguise or hiding from someone, will shudder at that thought of filth, he has seen enough dirt in his lifetime.  Kirth is very tolerant of others unless you are physically abusive to those weaker than you.  Since he has left the Brotherhood (detailed below) he has taken the name Basil Mountainhome.

Kirth was born in a mining camp in the East-Nephaldric Mountains.  I would love to say his parents were loving people, but unfortunately that was not the case.  His mother was a spineless woman who would not defend herself, while Kirth's father was an alcoholic and gambler that would beat her mercilessly for any reason.  One night when Kirth was 5 his father came home drunk and broke as usual, dinner was not ready, Kirth's father became very angry and started beating his mother.  However he did not stop when she fell to the floor, he kept beating her until she moved no more, except from the force of his punches.
Gathering up Kirth, they left for the town at the base of the mountains where all the processed ore was taken to be sold in the market, apparently Kirth had some Aunts who lived there, his mother's sisters which he never met until this night.  His father explained that when he came home from the mines, Kirth's mother was gone and there was no way he could take care of Kirth and still work in the mines.  So he had no choice, but to bring him here.
Kirth's 3 Aunts, Prusilla, Drusilla and Esmerelda, 3 of the most evilest hags Kirth has had the misfortune of ever meeting.  They made him learn his numbers and letters, they took him to church on a regular basis, so he had to learn his scriptures as well.  Chores, the most dreadful things of all, removing trash from the house, cleaning out their personal stalls for their own mounts, feeding the dogs his Aunt's kept, oh it was dreadful.  He even found himself being made to do the woman's work of sewing, cooking and even laundry, what these 3 hags did not know how to handle a needle and thread?  Did they think they were raising a little girl?  By the Gods women, who do you think I am? Where was the playtime like he had with his own mother, of course when she found the time.  Of course Kirth learned early never to voice these complaints.  The first time he did so, he learned what the long leather strap hanging from the back of the kitchen door was for and these 3 hags, each had deceptively strong arms.
For 4 years this was Kirth's life with his Aunt's until one day he was roaming through the town looking for any of the few friends he had made.  The clanging noise of the smithy drew his attention to a locksmith's shop.  From outside the open air smithy he watched.  For days he did this, he would rush through his chores just so he could go watch this man change a small block of steel into something that would serve a purpose, a lock.  He was amazed when the man invited him into the smithy and asked him to operate the bellows, when Kirth was not doing it right, instead of striking Kirth, he showed him how to do it properly, a slow count down, 1...2...3...4, release, down 1...2...3...4, release, and so it went.  Time seemed to pass quickly for Kirth at this time, chores for the Aunt's then rush to the locksmith to learn about locks.  Then everything went to hell, the man approached the Aunt's to ask to take Kirth on as an apprentice.  When the Aunt's found out Kirth was working on the side they told the Locksmith they were sending him back to his father since he was old enough to work, he could work in the mines.  So the next morning poor Kirth found himself heading back to the abusive father that dumped him with the Hags from Hell.  But Kirth had hope, the locksmith sent him with a letter of introduction to the locksmith in the mining village.
Kirth's introduction went well, the new locksmith welcomed him and began to see what little Kirth was capable of and what he still needed to learn.  As it turned out, Kirth needed lots  of training.  Kirth's  reunion with father was not the sentimental reunion most father and sons have when reunited.  Instead, Kirth's father was not happy to see him, comments about another mouth to feed, less room in the house, etc.  Kirth soon learned that it would be just like his Aunt's house, he was there to handle the chores and then would run to the locksmith and receive his training.  This lasted several months as Kirth would go about his daily duties until one day he came home and found another woman in the house.  When Kirth inquired to who she was, the response was the feared one, she was his Father's new girlfriend, Kirth could only shake his head.
At first the new girlfriend changed his father, he sobered up, the gambling stopped and he treated the girlfriend like a princess.  But alas, the change would not last forever, his father came home one night in a drunken stupor, when dinner was not ready, his father's anger showed itself once again and he began to beat the new girlfriend.  This time Kirth would have none of it, with a kitchen knife he attacked his father's back, striking over and over, when his father fell to the floor, Kirth continued to jam the knife into his back.  When done, Kirth was covered in blood, the girlfriend lay in a heap against the kitchen wall, not moving.  Kirth decided it was time to leave, he packed his meager belongings, packed some provisions, wrote out a short note to the locksmith and dropped it off at the smithy door and left the village.  He bypassed the town his Aunt's lived in only to choose a city, large place, lots of people, less chance of someone recognizing him.
Kirth is now 10 years old and on his own.  A child in an adult world with no one to turn to for help.  he does what every child does in this situation, he steals to survive.  Upon the entering the city Kirth found himself hungry as his provisions ran out 2 days prior and cold stream water to fill the belly loses its appeal after the first meal.  Looking for way to get food he does what every child his age does, theft from some unsuspecting vendor who is not paying attention.  However Kirth did not pick that type of vendor, but instead  the exact opposite.  When Kirth was caught, he ran, unfortunately the vendor gave chase, and being new to the city it did not take long for Kirth to turn down the wrong alley, a dead end.  The vendor caught up to him and smacked Kirth knocking him to the ground, sending the stolen food to the ground as well.  When Kirth pulled the kitchen knife and swung it wildly in front of him, the vendor laughed, he laughed of all things, then proceeded to beat Kirth like a red headed step child.  Kirth was left a crumpled, crying heap upon the ground.  The food was left, but the vendor took the knife with him.  He may be bruised, but his belly was full.  It was the next day when Kirth found his calling, so to speak when some passerby threw him a couple of coppers, just because he was sitting near an alley entrance, in his rags and bruised from the beating from the day before.
Kirth was not stupid, he would beg for his food if necessary, but always ended up with coin in his pocket because no one wanted to be seen with a child that looked like Kirth.  But he soon learned that when the bruises healed, the coin lessened.  SO what was a boy to do to get more bruises when his father was not there.  He tried rolling some drunk coming out of a tavern, that was a mistake, the drunk beat him and left him with more than a few bruises.  But this made him look pitiful, bringing in more coin than without the bruises.  He tried to going to some of the richer sections of the city, but that just got him beat by the city guards.  Then one day, some 4 years later a man asked Kirth if he wanted to make some money in an honest fashion.  When Kirth asked how, the man just asked, "Can you whistle?"  So with the ability of whistling, Kirth was told to sit at an alley and if he saw any going to the door of a house, he should just whistle.  Kirth knew what he was doing was not legal, but he did not care, 5 bronze for just looking out and whistling if someone went to the door.  This man, Druga, as he introduced himself paid Kirth 5 bronze while he broke into some house.  For 2 more years he did this to supplement his begging career then Druga offered to teach Kirth how to break into houses, but first he had to clean Kirth up and get him looking presentable.
The next three years Kirth has been in training, learning how to break into houses, how to cut purses, pick locks, locate and disable any traps that might be present  and how to defend himself with a weapon.  The training was easy to Kirth, as Kirth saw it.  Yeah Druga was not the easiest of people as a teacher.  He took a few lumps that he should not have taken, Druga had a mean streak in him, but he survived and learned to roll with the punches (Yes the pun was intended).  The last lesson Druga taught to Kirth was how to approach a man from behind and take him down silently.  Once Kirth was able to prove a proficiency with this skill Druga took him to some of his friends and made introductions.  For the next 2 weeks Kirth still played look out for Druga until the Friends of Druga wanted to see him.  This next time though Druga was not present.  Kirth came home, a small room in the back of the Falling Leaf Inn, the rent was cheap and the food not half bad, to find 2 "gentlemen" waiting on him.  It was very early morning or very late night, you know that time of day when even the streets of a city are empty.  They escorted him outside and proceeded to throw a bag over his head, granted it was cloth, but it still stunk of dead fish and cat piss.  He walked along letting the 2 men guide him through the city streets while he did his best to seem drunk, trying to avoid the notice of the cloth bag over his head.
When the bag was taken off his head he was in a shadowed room about 30' square and sitting in front of him was a table with 5 people sitting behind it, masks covering their faces.  He was told one thing, "Find your way back to us and we make you our brother.  Continue down the career path that has chosen you without finding your back here and we will make you Dead.  Now drink from the cup in front of you and your test shall begin."  Kirth drank and awoke with the sun shining through the small window of his room.
Kirth learned a valuable lesson from that first night in the city and his incident with the vendor, know where you are going and know the path you take to get there.  Kirth counted the steps and turns they took to get Kirth to the room.  He simply followed his own footsteps and before long he was walking through the backdoor of a bakery and stepping into the pantry of the bakery.  Within a couple of minutes he found the latch and opened the secret door and sauntered down the stairs, passing through another door found him in the same room, he took a seat and waited.  It wasn't long before Druga came through the door, "Welcome brother, let's go we have work to do."  Not much in the pomp and circumstance category, but he was now a member of the Brotherhood, even given the dagger of the Brotherhood, a cherished item never to be lost.
For 2 more years Kirth remained a loyal member of the Brotherhood when he found out how far people could be trusted, even those that trained him.  Druga approached Kirth one day about a job that was needed to be done.  A house on the other side (where the money lived) had a contract on it and Kirth was told he was the one to do the job.  He is shown the house to be broken into and told it has to be done 3 nights from now when the owner will be away.  Kirth looks over the house and tells Druga it should not be an issue and on the night in question he proves just that, it was not a problem to get into the house.
The problem started when Kirth went into the room where he was supposed to find the loot, a wood paneled den, carpets from wall to wall.  Oil paintings hanging on the walls and the safe was supposed to be behind one of those (cliché I know).  However, when he entered the room it had something he was not expecting, apparently the owner of the house was away, permanently, he was dead sitting behind the desk, his throat cut and the front of his chest coated in dried blood.    At that time there was a loud crash from the front of the house and the sound of shouting orders to search the house for the murderer was enough for Kirth to make a hasty retreat out the window behind the dead man.  Out the window and into the bushes and just in the nick of time as the searchers entered the room soon after he drop into the bushes below the window.  Using the shadows and the skills he was taught, he made a hasty retreat, along the edge of the house and into an alleyway.  From there it was a twisting and turning path through alleys and over the rooftops, hoping to lose anyone who might be following, he was not taking any chances.  Kirth knew the time has come again that he needed to leave, but first he needed to get some things before he did.
He went back to the Falling Leaf and as he walked into the stable yard to enter through the backdoor to go up the back stairs he warned of the city guard searching his room.  The entire Inn was speaking of it the stable boy said, well no chance of getting his personal things.  But he wondered how the City Guard would know his name so quickly and came to the only conclusion he could at the time, Druga.  The man he  trusted the most, stabbed him in the back.  Revenge must be had for this transgression, there was no other way to resolve this situation.  The clothes he lost for rags pulled from behind the tailor's shops and from the street people of the city.  He went and found a drunk to roll and took the beating for the bruises.  Mud spread against his exposed skin and the failed attempt to wipe it off left his skin filthy and hopefully his face unrecognizable with a quick glance.  He was hoping he would only get that quick glance before disgust took over and made people avert their eyes.  It was 4 days later that Druga came home, closing the door behind him that Druga felt the bite of the dagger in his back, between 3rd and 4th rib, in an upward thrust to pierce a lung and then the heart, then dagger was ripped free.  When Druga body settled, he was already dead.  Kirth rolled the body over and with a shrug of the shoulders and the thought, "I will never need this dagger again", he rammed it home in Druga's left eye, the symbol of the Brotherhood prominently displayed.  He searched the room for Druga's stash and was only able to uncover a hidden panel in the floor under the bed.  After disarming the traps and opening the panel, he secured approximately 200 gold (I will spend 2 BO's for the choice of this Special Wealth Item) for his travels, then out the door and into the night he went.