Finnegan, or Finn to his friends, grew up on the streets of Absalom like so many unfortunate children. He knew his parents, but both were Grit addicts and he soon realized he had better chances of surviving on the streets than he did enduring his parents abuse as their addiction slowly turned violent over time. By the time he was seven he was already on the streets fending for himself.
While many see being small as a disadvantage, Finnegan has always viewed it as the complete opposite. It's much easier to go unnoticed when everyone dismisses you as some dumb kid. Unfortunately, thieves tend to get caught, especially when they are young and dumb; however, for Finnegan getting caught turned to his favor. One day when he was a teenager and desperate for food, Finnegan saw a street preacher giving a sermon on the virtues of Sarenrae to uninterested passers-by. The preacher had a bowl shaped like a flower which would occasionally be graced by a coin as someone walked passed. Without taking the time to think Finnegan slowly slunk his way over to the priest, snatched the bowl, and ran. He didn't get far.
He was tackled by someone much larger than him who tied him up and gave the young halfling an earful as he marched him down the street and around the corner. Once in an alleyway, however, the man knocked Finnegan out.
When he finally came to he found himself laying on a bed in a basement decorated with paintings and tapestries. Several other beds filled the room. As he took in the room around him, he noticed the preacher sitting at a nearby table reading a book. "I wouldn't try sneaking away just yet. We have more in common than you know." The preacher then introduced himself as Sansef Killid, a priest of Norgorber. He explained that many of the Gray Master's worshipers wear masks to hide their identities, but his church instead hides in plain site. While he is on the street giving false sermons and prayers to Sarenrae, his "acolytes" are cutting coin purses and stealing from those who watch and are distracted. Sansef then gave Finnegan a choice: join his church, or be turned in to the guard.
Like the others, Finnegan used his size and stealth to steal from those who watched Sansef's street sermons. At night, they would tally their collective earnings and drink and eat to an extent that Finnegan thought only possible by the wealthy. This lasted for years before Finnegan got caught stealing during one of the sermons and was turned in to the city guard. Knowing he would never be broken out by his crew, Finnegan did the only thing he could do: serve his time. While he was in prison Finnegan had a lot of time to think and he realized that once out he did not want to return to a life of petty thievery.
He'd heard stories of famous rogues and scoundrels using their skills during grand adventures and he wanted that for himself. Once his time was up, he used up what little of his funds he had left to purchase some equipment and supplies (stealing what he couldn't afford as old habits die hard) and signed up as a caravan guard the first chance he got. He left Absalom and has not looked back since.
