The sea breeze mingles with the dawn light to bring in a new day. It must be a marvelous day for others, but not for I. I have been here two years and seem no closer to a path than when I first came. I have lived so many places; it becomes harder to remember them all as each day passes.
I was born somewhere in the wilds of the North, somewhere near Hellskeep, perhaps the result of some orcish migration into more fertile lands, or simply the bastard son from a roving band of orcs warring for the sake of blood and plunder. Either way, my blood is mixed, and my ancestors are unknown to me. My family was lost long ago. I neither recall how I lost them, nor do I wish to. The only impression I have of them is my life was better when they were gone.
I wandered through the North, joining nomadic camps, at times with orcs, at others with humans. I seemed never to be accepted, always too weak and too smart among the orcs and too strong and too dumb among the humans. In both camps, I never rose above the status of “beast of burden.” And so, I traveled across the land until I came upon the city of Waterdeep. Here, I joined with other half-breeds such as myself and made a home. The others of my kind obtained a job for me.
It is little better than the jobs I had in the wild. I work on the dock, loading and unloading goods for the merchants that do trade in this city. Perhaps one day, I may get work as a soldier or bodyguard, for a caravan. But for now, I spend too much on rum and women to even buy a weapon.

This was not the first job I had of this kind. And yes, it was dishonest. For several months, I had worked with the halfling Tobit. As a dockworker, I saw and handled all manners of goods. Mostly, its value lay in its quantity. Five crates of exotic animal hide could fetch a large amount. But you wouldn’t want to steal it. That is what Tobit wanted me for. I was to search through the crates and barrels that I unloaded and find anything that was small enough to steal and valuable enough to be worth taking. When I found something, I would alert Tobit. We would sneak into the storage area or onto a ship and take a crate or bag of goods. He was good at locks and sneaking past guards. I was good at simply caring heavy things.
Sometimes I did make mistakes. We spent one sleepless night, stealing a barrel of what was suppose to be expensive wine. Tobit was not at all happy when we got it to the thief’s guild and the purchaser of our item tasted the ware. How was I to know that it had turned to vinegar on the ocean voyage?
This night was even worse. We had gotten a shipment of spices in the morning. I had looked for and found two of the three spices Tobin had listed as worth something. As usual, we had meet just after high moon, near the water. Tobin was his usual deft self, easily picking the lock on the warehouse. We entered the darkness and walked to the targeted barrels. We were quiet. Even I, who could not tread as lightly as Tobin, made no sound. Tobin pointed, and I grasped the barrel tightly to lift above my shoulders.
Suddenly, my ears rang with a wail so loud I lost my grip. The barrel dropped from hands and I staggered back. Above us, light shone forth from three persons. There was no mistaken their clothes. Wizards! Before we could react. Ropes sprang up from the floor and entwined us. Tobin struggled against the bonds helplessly. I, however, broke my bonds.
I grabbed two small boxes near us and threw them. Both struck. Two of the robed men fell and landed awkwardly. The third ran out of the building. I grabbed Tobin’s knife from its sheaf and cut his bonds. There was little chance of this halfling running as fast as I, so I simply carried him with me as I ran. Outside the door, I heard the town guard being called by the last wizard. I turned in the opposite direction and ran. I only got two blocks away before I heard the guard’s shouts. Running faster, exhausting my self, I took a wrong turn and found myself at the end of an ally. No escape.
A guard called behind me. “You. Stop.” I grabbed Tobin and simply threw him up onto the roof. Turning, I drew Tobin’s dagger. This guard must have been new. He looked young and very unsure of himself. Why did they send this boy to find me? He did not even have a weapon. In fact, he could not even see in this darkness. He was almost blind in this moonlight.
I could just wait here for him to step past this shadow and jump him, plunging the knife into his chest. No, that did not seem right. Stealing was one thing. Killing was another. I glanced around and stepped into the light.
“Let me pass.”
“No. By order of the city guard, stand fast.”
“Let me pass, and I will spill none of your blood.”
“Spill my blood or not. Either way, you will not pass.”
“You do not even have a weapon. How can you stop me?”
“I have a duty. That is all I need.”
“Very well. Here take this.” I grabbed a discarded broomstick lying against the heap of trash. And threw it to him. While it sailed in the air, I grabbed another broomstick. “And I really don’t know how to use this.” My dagger clattered down the ally way, discarded. “Prepare yourself.”
Of course, I had no way of knowing that this boy that stood before me was in training as a monk and only worked for the guard to hone his skills. And it seemed to matter not that he was half blind in the moonlight. Thankfully, he took it easy on me.

I woke in the town jail, wondering why I hurt in places I had never felt. How did I get a bruise on the backside of my knee or inside my wrist? Voices brought my attention outside my cell.
“This is the one.”
“Yes. He’s the one. But I don’t understand. You know he is a common thief. You even said he attacked one of your followers. Shouldn’t your money go to a more worthy causes?”
“In the eyes of Tempus, he is a worthy cause. It is not the fact that he is a thief or that he attacked a man. These things are not important to us. It is how he fought. He fought with valor and courage. He did not attack an unarmed man with his weapon. He gave his enemy a weapon. He stood on equal ground with him. This is the way of Tempus. And the fact that he is not a follower of Tempus, speaks more of his heart than anything else. You already have your payment for his crime. May you release him now?”
And that was my calling to the priesthood of Tempus.