Dalwin, or Gus, if you prefer…
Dalwin is rarely called by his given name. In most circles, he’s referred to as the ‘Scanty Rascal’ or his chosen alias, Gus. Born a natural prankster in Niskantel in 1109, he grew up in a large halfling family. As the youngest, he often got away with tricks blaming it on his older siblings, and his parents exhausted from raising so many before, paid little attention to his exploits. When he came of age, his family saw no great gifts in him, for farming, raising animals, tanning hide, carpentry, or any other skill they found useful. What they didn’t know is that he’d spent the majority of his childhood picking locks and thieving from neighbors, selling his finds at local outdoor markets. And once, at age 7 he attempted to break into the home of a world-renowned thief (living under an assumed alias) and found himself caught in a cage. Dalwin, terrified, cried out for his mother, but he was miles from home, and when the gnome owner of the house came out to find a tiny halfling child caught in his trap, he laughed. He introduced himself to Dalwin as Augustus Fairmore, but his friends called him Gus. Gus let Dalwin out of his trap, and brought him into the house. Throughout the course of the afternoon, it came out that Gus had been a thief in a former life by the name of ‘The Invisible Agent’, but in his later years, he’d decided to settle down and retire on his own on the outskirts of Niskantel. He missed the life of a thief, but with the spoils he’d gained from his exploits, he’d retired quite comfortably. Dalwin, enthralled by the life story of this legendary gnome, asked if he could come back and visit again. For years, Dalwin visited Gus, at first listening to stories, and later learning the tricks of the trade. This much older gnome had become his only mentor. At 17, Dalwin was the only person there to bury Gus after he died of a quick-moving illness. Gus had long lived under aliases and lost touch with any friends, so he left Dalwin everything he owned including his very special customized set of thievery tools and his name. Dalwin sold anything he couldn’t carry with him, and left his family who’d never paid much attention to him anyway, and joined the circus. With his new family he continued to hone his pickpocketing and lock-picking in town after town, and learned the aerial arts. As a tiny halfling, he could be thrown long distances, jump extremely high, and perform almost magical feats of acrobatics. At 22 he left the circus, tearfully saying goodbye to the only family he’d ever known, and went out on his own. It was only months before he came across the Mice Eyes Thieves Guild; they recognized his incredible talents almost immediately and asked him to join up. Without a second thought, he joined. Slowly, he became closer with the group within the Mice Eyes, known as the Dark Wings, and after a lengthy auditioning process was initiated into the elite group. He’s been with them ever since, traveling the world-over, using his talents to steal; killing only when necessary. Now, close friends call him Gus, only he knows it’s a tribute to his lost friend and mentor.
Chronicles of the World of DaoTyr 
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