System: Blades in the Dark
Status 2017, alive and well
Basic History
– Grew up in the Draywell Orphanage
– Indentured himself to a merchant and explorer on a ship to gain sustenance for the orphanage in time of crisis
– Learned to exist in the rigging and dangerous positions on a ship to avoid getting beaten up repeatedly
– Once time of servitude was up, was dropped off in _____?
Tale of growing up in The Dagger Isles
The Dagger Isles has a lot of insular cultural enclaves. There was an experiment to transform older islanders into a type of creature that feed upon spirits instead of living creatures. This failed and was a big drain on the local resources with half or less of normal the parents to raise them. Many were left abandoned, and went into orphanages. Milos was one such orphan. He was a small boy, and was picked on by the other older children as he grew. One boy in particular when he was 12 was close to beating him to death on several occasions – and threatened to do it. He kept telling him that he deserved the beatings – for whatever reasons. His freckles, his big eyes, the fact that he ate more (but never gained weight) than the other kids, his high voice… anything to give him a reason to bully Milos. One night, Milos cut the rope for the alarm bell and set fire to the wing he lived in. He woke the other children (later he would say he went for a glass of water and smelled the smoke) but was not “able” to save his enemy, Bradley. Bradley died in the fire. Milos kept the rope as a belt from that day forward – and began to fight back – winding the rope around his fist to hit other children who would pick on him. This is how he got his initial nickname “rope”. None of the older children knew the source of the piece of rope he had, or why it was so important.
Over time, the orphanages came close to running out of resources. He was 14 and nearly grown to leaving the orphanage any way when the crops spoiled one spring. He had been part of the group who would carry supplies from the dock back to the orphanage and had grown familiar with a few of the sailors. He indentured himself for 3 years to the merchant Helon Brackard in exchange for a load of supplies when the orphanage had run out of money. IT got him out of the orphanage, a secure place to leave and enough food to eat – Milos felt it was a good deal for him as well, and allowed him to repay in secret for the damage he had caused.
Tale of how Labor/Sailor Background Acquired
As part of a merchant crew, Milos’ life was mostly unadventurous. His small size made it easy for him to find a berth and hide himself away. He developed a love of being in the rigging, climbing among the ropes, and even became comfortable in a swaying crows nest – he could spend days up in the rigging. He tells people that that is how he got his nickname “rope” – from all the time he spent among them, but in reality it came with him. He also had a good eye – he spent time as a depth spotter and sounder on the prow of the boat, hanging over the water. Has little fear of water and heights because of all the time he spent there. Helon was not part of the military, but did some hauling for the navies and was exposed to fighting men and war craft. Milos was happy to simply be doing what he was doing – it was a comfortable routine and he was good at what he did and liked enough by the crew and never got in any altercations.
Tale of how Milos Acquired his Vice
One night, among some marines from the Dagger Isles, he got into a fight on the land and he got beaten bad. He kept getting up and getting beat down. They kept warning him, and all he heard was the voice of the bully Bradley. He felt alive for the first time in ages, and the thrill of the beating, and anger that gave him clarity and focus. That night he took down 2 men twice his size before being beaten into unconsciousness for 2 nights. He realized in his own life he tried to avoid conflict, and that he never felt threatened, but that there was a certain dullness with that. He began to seek out fights, and in each opponent saw Bradley’s face. Eventually he discovered the fighting pits – his outlet, his vice, his thrill.
Tale of how Milos and Kylra (Innkeep) Became Friends
When Milos first came ashore after his period of indenture, he lacked any means of supporting himself. He slept at the wharves, hiding behind crates and fighting with the rats for scraps and space. It took weeks, but he began to range around and eventually came to the central market. Being small, he managed to steal just enough to keep from starving to death. One day he was hidden in a alley, seeking cool shade from a blistering hot noon day sun. Two figures ran down the alley, carrying a struggling form. The captive was obviously in distress and held against their will. As the figures ran by, Milos tripped them. The captive went sprawling, and pulled their gag out – starting to scream. The figures ran off as a crowd was starting to form, after beginning a beating on Milos. The captive was Vende, a serving girl and at the market with Kylra , her employer. Kyrla took Milos in, thinking he was a young orphan. After a couple days, Kylra realized Milos was an adult. Kylra fed and housed him till he healed. Milos tried to get a job from her, but there were no openings. Feeling sorry for him, Milos and Kylra eventually discovered a way for him to make money. Kylra decided to try an acrobatics performance. Hanging ropes from the rafters, Milos was able to choreograph a show to put on. Over time, he made money – enough to pay from a room and board with the rest of the inn’s servants. After months of getting better, Milos was able to create a stable draw for Kylra. They divided the profits. Milos managed to teach some of the younger servants parts of the show. For a year he stayed with her and managed the “Act”. After that, Milos and Kylra stayed good friends. He’s done favors for her involving stalkers, and helped bounce at the inn and help her with anything he could. He thinks of her like a sister and she treats him like a brother. Milos is always looking for ways to help her business and he always has a safe place to run to in the event of an emergency.
Tale of how Milos and Harker (Jailbird) Became Enemies
Milos does not know it, but Harker was one of the 2 men who tried to kidnap Vende in the market the Milos helped to thwart. Harker had racked up quite an amount of debt. He tried to kidnap a young girl to sell her into slavery and pay the debt. Instead he was beaten by his debtors and lost his left eye. He blames Milos. Over the last year and a half, he’s tried to start a few fights – the first one he pretended the Milos bumped him and spilled his drink – Milos thinks it all stems from that. He was caught vandalizing Kylra’s inn and went to jail for that, and been kicked out of there after getting into a fight – twice. He once tried to sabotage the rope act and one of the younger servants broke their arm. Milos suspects it was him, but has no proof. Milos is at a loss to explain the hatred Harker seems to bear him.