Arkev 'Kev' Tallius's page

"I wasn't always a thief you know and I didn't always live here in Sigil. I used to live in an abbey on Oerth, devoted to Pelor. Me dad was a big-shot paladin with the church of Pelor. A real holier than thou type that old bastard was. Me mum was a cleric of Pelor and she had angel in her blood. Seems my great-grandpa had a way with angelic women, lucky old man.
Anyways, I never really fit and I got into plenty of trouble at the abbey. Never could pay attention to those sermons and I'd nod off when I twas supposed to be praying. I mean, there's only so many times you can hear about virtue and justice right? It was when I was 'bout ten when me dad brought in a few of the local youths who were becoming right scoundrels. Pick pockets and such.
I found life in the abbey a little bit constraining, to say the least and I kept day-dreaming of the excitement they must have. I mean yeah, I knwo you're supposed to be a good little boy, say your prayers, and not steal and all that but what's the point of living if you don't have any fun. Sure virtue will get you into the Seven Heavens of mounting boredom but Sin's a lot more fun. So I started sneaking out of the abbey and spending time with those good ol' scoundrels. It was a while before they trusted me but once they let me in on the fun I excelled at it, if I do say so myself. I couldn't recite the teachings of Pelor if my life depended on it but I can cut a purse or a play a shell game better than any poor sot you could name.
Soon we were pulling eleborate schemes. The watch suspected us but the bastards could almost never catch us and when they did, I could talk us out of it.
When me mum died I realized that there wasn't much of a reason to stay in that dreary abbey anymore so I left for the streets. I never really wanted to disappoint me mum, see? But now she was dead so it didn't matter none anymore. I met me mates at the tavern we frequented and said my farewells. I knew I couldn't stay, me dad couldn't just let it go that I didn't live up to expectations and he'd have me arse hauled back to the abbey as soon as he realized I'd gone so I made plans to leave town. After we'd shared a few drinks and said some goodbyes (Mara the barmaid, now she was hard to say goodbye to, let me tell you) I was about to walk out the door when me mate Jenker said he was comming with me. We barely made it out of town without being seen by the guards, who were looking for me.
It took us a while but we made it to a bigger city and we set up shop. We'd done a few jobs togehter but were running low on coin when this mysterious fellow offers us a job; ten thousand gold if we break into this wizard's tower and steal his spellbook and a little journal of his research. I guess he'd made some important magical discovery or something. Jenker and I'd been leary about thieving from the arcane types. They always say not to meddle in the affairs of wizards but the money was too good.
Anyway, we got the floor plans to this tower and we made our move one night. It was cloudy with lots of fog, perfect cover for a job. We managed to get over the wall and sneak past the guards. Looking back, I think w should've bailed as soon as we saw the sentinels the wizard had. Big fellows in steel armor with big swords and eyes like dying embers. We pushed on, snuck right past the bastards and climbed the tower wall. There were a few touchy spots but we made it in okay. Hold on a moment. Another ale for me and my friend here if you will!
Anyway, where was I. Oh yeah, that's right. We made it past a few traps and locks and finally got into the wizard's study. There was those damned books sitting on a table, plain as day. We were real careful, and we found quite a few traps and once we thought we'd disarmed the last of them we made a hasty exit. We were about halfway down the tower when we noticed that the damn guards were coming towards us. Turns out there was a tracer spell on the book. We made it to the ground and agreed to split up and meet back at the tavern where we stayed. I went left and Jenker went right.
It was close, I barely managed to get out alive. I got back home and laid low for a few days. Eventually I heard that Jenker had been captured. I tried to break him out but I couldn't get anywhere near him for the first few days. By the time I got into the jail he was gone. Turns out the wizard had some pull and had Jenker sent to Hades. I figured I had to get out of town quickly, since I still had one of those thrice damned books and I figured that the wizard would be hunting me now. So I left and hid in the wilds for a few days. Not a very fun few days either, I'm no woodsmen. I belong in the city where there's gold to be made, ale, and wenches.
Anyway I opened the book, trying to figure out at least what I had so I could figure out who to sell it to. Maybe I could get enough to finance a trip to Hades to rescue Jenker, who was being held there for life. I'd only flipped through a few pages covered in this text I'd never seen before when I heard this weird popping sound and a couple of seconds later those damned guards from the wizard's tower were popping in all over the place. I ran and managed to escape but not before one of em' gave me a nasty gash on me arm. See this scar here? That cut never healed right. I wandered through the woods for a few days, at least I think I did. My memory of those days isn't too clear. I think I was feversih from the cursed wound. I woke up a few days later in a temple. Turns out some local kids found me at death's door and brought me back to their town so the good father could nurse me back to health.
So once again I found myself in a temple to Pelor. Irritating as it was, it gave me an idea on how I could rescue Jenker. One night after I was healed up I stole this here symbol and some of those damned cheerful yellow robes and fled to the abbey where I grew up. I pretended to have 'seen the light' and have renounced my evil ways. It took some doing but I convinced them to take me with them on their pilgrammige to {Pelor's home plane}. Let me tell you, playing the penitent sinner was the hardest role I ever had to play but I convinced the suckers and soon we were on our way. Once we got there I dumped the fools and came here and here I am, still looking for a way to rescue Jenker and get us back to our lives as knaves. It'll take me a while but I'll do it eventually. Still, Sigil isn't a bad waystation. Plenty of opportunities right? Anyway, enough about me, what's your story friend?"

What does he/she/it believe? Kev believes in his own infinte skills with a healthy dose of luck.
What is the most valuable thing to this character (may be a material possession, may be something more abstract)? Kev values his wit and charm beyond any other of hist attributes and possessions. As far as materiel possessions go, he values the stolen book above all else, as its his only lead in his search for his friend.
Where are they from (Prime or Planar? Where on the Prime Material, where in the Planes?) Kev is a Prime, hailing from the city of Brightwater Reach on Oerth.
Are they part of a faction? If so, why did they join? Did they pass a test? Fill out an application form? No, Kev has little use for organizations such as factions, governments and most especially churches.
Where did your character learn their profession? Where did they get their gear? Kev learned the noble professsions of thief and con artist from a gang of ne're-do-well street urchins that he befriended as a child. Most of his gear comes directly or indirectly from his thivery.
If you're a Prime, how did you get onto the Great Wheel and subsequently, to the city of Sigil? What were your first impressions and how have you adjusted? Kev knew he had to find a way onto the Great Wheel if he was to rescue Jenker so he returned to the abbey of his childhood and pretended to have seen the error of his ways and to have come around to Pelor's light. He told his overjoyed father that he wanted to make a pilgrimmage to Elysium to make his plea for forgiveness and his father happily agreed and arranged the journey. Once on Elysium Kev ran for it, vanishing into the gate town of Ectasy to find a door to Sigil. As soon as he stepped onto the streets of Sigil he knew he was home. He'd always loved the city and Sigil was the best he'd ever seen. He's spent the last few months enjoying the new sights and opportunites presented by Sigil, pulling a few jobs, and cultivating the contacts he needs in the upper circles of society.
Do you have any enemies or rivals? Many. You make few friends while leading the life of a thief. His most dangerous enemies are probably those of his father, who probably seeks him for his latest treachery and the wizard from whom he stole the book. Kev is a little afraid of the mage since he suspecxts that mage will do anything to retrieve his property and cover up whatever secret is contained therin.Where does your character call kip (aka, sleep/live if you're not familiar with Cager Cant)?

Kev stays wherever he can find a clean room, decent ale, and a warm bed, be that an inn or elsewhere. He’s not overly picky and moves around, looking for opportunities and trying to stay clear of the law.

What's a typical day in Sigil for him?

Kev doesn’t have many typical days. One day he’s relaxing his new favorite inn and the next he’s fishing for useful contacts or planning a robbery with a suitably large payoff. The two constants in his days are crime and his exploration of all the wonders Sigil offers (particularly the illegal ones).

Do they consider themselves a mercenary, an adventurer, a champion of a cause or just a working stiff? What do they do as a day job if they aren't out adventuring? If you're on the wrong side of the law, do you work independently or are you part of a gang/cell? Are you likely to take anything that comes along to earn jink or does an opportunity need to have certain hooks to get you in?

If asked Kev, would say that he’s just a somewhat extraordinary guy just trying to make his way in the multiverse. Although he spends most of his time doing ‘odd jobs’, he is devoted to what could (generously) be called a cause; the freeing of his old friend from Acheron). Kev’ll do almost anything as long as the payoff is good enough. Although he likes a challenge, he’ll draw the line at anything that’s too stupid. Something that involves the perfect crime or doing a job that’s supposed to be impossible are definite draws.

Detail an NPC and their relationship to you. How did you meet? What were your first impressions? How long have you known them? Do you trust this person?

A few days after coming to Sigil, Kev needed some coin. He heard of a magical artifact residing in a wealthy mage’s home and, despite his reservations about tangling with another mage, decided to try to ‘retrieve’ the artifact. He was scouting out the place and planning his job when he quite by chance ran into a halfling man named Dantis Aern. They shared a few drinks and got along well, realizing they’d a gret deal in common. It just so happened that the halfling was a thief. A thief going after the same target as Kev.
And so a race to see who could find a way in to the mage’s home and get the artifact began between the two. Since then they’ve worked together on an occasion but mostly have developed a friendly rivalry, each trying to beat the other to a job or best the other’s daring heists. Kev trusts Dantis to a point. He wouldn’t rely upon him to help him out of a sticky situation or risk his neck for Kev, but he certainly wouldn’t turn him.

What is one memory that affects you to this day? How has it changed you?

When Kev saw the apprentice paladins training at the temple it filled him with revulsion. They cast aside all basic things that gave pleasure to life and replaced the things that he lived for with unflagging devotion and a sense of duty, law and good. They abandoned themselves to become soulless automatons fighting for the cause of ‘good’. One moment that stood out was when an acquaintance of his from the streets ‘saw the light of Pelor’ after nearly being killed only to be saved at the hands of a paladin and decided to emulate his savior by joining the order of paladins. Kev watched as he lost everything that, in his mind, had made him human and so Kev swore never to make the same mistake, never to lose his freedom and individuality. Ever since then he’s avoided joining groups or making promises that would bind him to a course of action or an ideal. He has an intense dislike of organizations, especially those of a lawful bent and will avoid becoming tethered to such a thing at all costs.

If you're an immigrant to Sigil or otherwise not a born and bred freewheeling Planewalker, do you ever get homesick for your home plane?

Kev never misses his home plane or his hometown. There’s nothing there for him and Sigil is a place filled with new opportunities and is much better suited to Kev than anywhere on his home plane ever was.

At the end of the day, where do you go and what do you do to unwind?

At the end of a long day of thieving Kev likes to go find a nice, disreputable tavern with good ale and beautiful women and unwind. Perhaps find a few games of chance (preferably rigged in his favor) and make some new friends.

Kev is a dashingly handsome man with shortish dark blon, almost brown hair that's tied back, a goatee, and a devil-may-care grin. He has a charming, if slightly arrogant manner and makes friends easily. He is generally dressed in a long black coat with gold buttons over a dark red vest and black trousers. A well-made rapier hangs from his side.