Skrag the Gnaw

Skrag wasn't born in the sewers, but he's been there so long he doesn't remember anywhere else. More likely than not you'll find him filthy, covered in weeping sores that never heal and reeking of rot and refuse, but he doesn't bathe. The sewers are home, and home is filth.

He earned his name young. When other scavengers fought over scraps, Skrag fought harder, gnawing through bone to get to the marrow. He may not be the biggest or strongest, but he's the meanest, and mean goes a long way in New Beluroc's underworld.

For years, Skrag ran with a pack of deep gnome scavengers, picking pockets and stripping corpses near the Abyssal Pit, where Arena Games crowds left plenty to loot.

Then Craniax the Quick came along.

Most mages didn't bother with scavengers. They're too dirty and too unreliable. But Craniax saw opportunity where others saw trash. He paid in food, warmth, and the occasional corpse. In return, the deep gnomes became his eyes and ears.

Skrag liked the arrangement. Steady meals and a purpose. And when Craniax needed someone to slip through a rival's defenses, shiv a guard, and vanish into the sewers without a trace, Skrag was the gnome for the job.

When Craniax raised his undead legions and marched on the Shimmering Coasts, Skrag went with him. Not out of loyalty exactly, but Craniax had given him more than anyone else. Besides, the dead don't judge. They don't care if you smell like a swellspore beast or if your skin is covered in sores. They just march.

Skrag loots the bodies Craniax's undead leave behind. He roots through ruins and searches for clues to Praetoria's secret. And when the living get in the way, Skrag has a rusty knife and no hesitation.

He's not dignified, he's not clean, and he's not pleasant to be around. But he's loyal, and to Craniax the Quick, loyalty counts for more than dignity.

Skrag the Gnaw doesn't care about power or glory or Praetoria's secret. He cares about survival. If sticking with Craniax keeps him fed and alive, he'll follow the necromancer into the abyss itself.

The dead don't smell any worse than he does, anyway.