A long time ago, during the harsh winters and mild summers, there was a group of poor orphan boys who had grown up and were living in the sewers of Moorgate... These were no ordinary boys, however. These young men had the most exceptional skill at picking pockets, as well as a sense of danger keen enough to keep them alive.

Some city folk thought poorly of the boys and only spoke of them as mischief makers, but the city elders saw the vast potential within these poor orphans. The children were beaten by their "master" every day. No real master, this slaver who had taken them in took to throwing them in a furnace full of coal. Brutal as he was, though, the ordeals gave them skin hardened to the fire, and hearts hardened to the world.

The underground slave-market where the old slaver kept them trapped was run by a group of disgusting ogres, by name the Ve'niam clan (from the Ogrish word for poison). For decades their marauding kept the population of Moorgate low, and drove out enough smaller beasts and monsters to settle outland spots like Barh-kul. The slavers were known especially for using the sewer's own deadly blend of venom on their foes. They put it in the water supply, in bottled whisky, and even in the blood of livestock. They loved only death.

Under the star Kerits Bane one fateful year, the orphans ran from the sewers, breaking free to Moorgate above, and settling on Copper Walk. Ghosts of the Shadows, and now Keepers of the sewer's Poison, these boys formed a guild on that spot to teach others what they knew, and forever keep the Ve'niam Clan in the sewers where they belong. Still, it always seemed to be missing something.

Then one day Rogaean, one of the youths, however, met and married a perfect woman named Catraen, who bore him 3 children, Fagual, Protean, and Isamba. Poor Fagual only lived until 12, when he was slaughtered by Dragons, and quite viciously. Isamba still lives, but as an outcast hidden away in the sewers. Only Protean stayed in the house of his father, and later became the first Guildmaster, managing to make the guild a place to easily assist all rogue's, regardless of their size.

Although the Rogue's upbringing was less than honorable, their ancestor's had taught them well. Now with only truth and courage to bind them and keep them safe, they have learned to pickpocket from those with too much for the sake of those with too little. They have become a crucial part of the economy, even. And no one has the courage to say that there's no honor among thieves.

Told by Master Protean, and Bard Maccabee