The name Inkfinger is enough to make many a Mor'Koc noble clutch their purses, recall their guards, and set defences upon their houses. Unfortunately, they always seem to be a little too late, and a certain High Elf under the pseudonym "Inkfinger" has profited from their troubles.
Early life
Kordair was born to a High Elf mother in The Grand City of Mor'Koc, where she had gone to give birth at The Many Hands orphanage in West Gate. She died in childbirth without passing on a name for either herself or the child, so the Trollish matron of the orphanage gave the baby the traditional Troll name "K'dir".
Though intelligent, capable of learning all the catechisms of The Nameless One from a young age, K'dir was a rebellious child, regularly sneaking out into the city, and often acquiring gold from the somewhat lackadaisical guards. Every time he snuck out, the matron of the orphanage had him beaten, and made to recite all the prayers to the Nameless while the other boys of the orphanage ate dinner while K'dir went without. Yet this did nothing to deter his wanderings, and only served to foster a growing resentment of the orphanage and the Trollish customs that they pushed upon him. Until at the tender age of 59 (still a child by elven standards), he snuck out and never came back.
For years, the elf had fraternised what gaining knowledge of his High Elven heritage - quiet distinct from the Trollish customs he had been raised in, or even the local Wood Elf population, though he did learn the more local Imperial Elvish dialect. He adopted the name "Kordair" to rebel against his very Trollish name, and to avoid being tracked down by the matron. "Kordair", though sounding a little more like an Elvish name, is just an adaptation on K'dir and not a real name. Nevertheless, it stuck.
Life on the streets
Kordair spent much of the rest of his adolescent years on the streets, raised and in his younger year kept alive by older street children, and began turning to crime to survive. Initially this was just the odd bit of pickpocketing and snatching bread from the market, but as Kordair grew nearer to 75, his desperation and resentment at the idle rich of Mor'Koc led to him to begin more serious crimes of housebreaking and burglary.
The elf has done several short stints in prison in Mor'Koc, his early years of serious crime leading to him being caught on numerous occasions. The longest and most notable of these was a 2 year stint that started when Kordair was 84, caught rifling through a Countess' jewellery box when she returned home early from a party. Kordair shared a cell with an ancient High Elf by the name of Faderan, who had been imprisoned for so long that his beard was long enough to use as a blanket. Faderan never revealed the reasons for his imprisonment, though it had been for well over a century, and he hinted that he was being kept as a political prisoner. Over these two years, the old man taught the younger two things - the language of Sylvan, and, more importantly, literacy. Somehow, though neither knew how, they had a page of the Book of Change between them - unusual as neither was a Dezrael worshipper, with Kordair raised in the Nameless faith and Faderan a devout Leannanite, and from it Faderan taught the younger elf how to read and write. Kordair was released after 2 years, but to this day he does his best to visit the old man in prison, and bring him small items as comforts in his long imprisonment, though the guards still refuse to allow a razor into the cell.
After his imprisonment, Kordair was not reformed, but his methods became more refined. As he entered adulthood for elves, he began to plan his heists in more detail, and with better choice of targets - only the mega rich, and only when they would be guaranteed to be away from home. After several successful heists, he had enough income to rent small lodgings within the city, and he began to develop a voracious appetite for new reading material, which he purchased and read in his rooms.
Inkfinger
It is sometime around this point that Kordair began to leave a tell-tale motif at the scene of each crime - a fingerprint in ink upon a handkerchief or napkin. Amongst the rich of Mor'Koc the rumours began to grow around a mysterious thief "Inkfinger" who would sneak in while you were away and make off with your valuables. With a more comfortable existence, and a lot of distractions in terms of reading material, Kordair could spend more time planning ever more elaborate heists, often going months without scoring another hit to make sure that the next one was perfect. He styled himself as a gentleman thief, robbing the rich to return to the poor - though he kept much of his riches for himself, he did perform charitable efforts for street children in the position he was once in.
It was in his 107th year that Kordair made a very interesting discovery about himself. While breaking into the home of a journeyman of Mor'Koc University, the elf happened upon what would make fascinating reading material - a grimoire of magic. Feeling a little foolish, and thinking nothing would come of it, he read one of the spells allowed and was shocked to find that it worked perfectly for him. Hurrying home, the rest of his heist forgotten, he quickly found that he had a knack for spellcasting, especially spells of the illusion school of magic.
Since then, Inkfinger has targeted many of his heists at known mages. Unfortunately, true master wizards, especially those rich enough to target, rarely leave their spellbooks lying around, and it is often impossible to gain access. Therefore the elf has had to pick up bits and pieces from many minor talents amongst the nobility, as well as his own experimentation, leading to a very haphazard magical education. Kordair records his findings in a small black notebook, enchanted to have many more pages than it would seem from its size. He has also picked up and attempted several new tricks for his burglary along the way - some more successful, like his illusions and invisibility, and some less so, such as attempting to mentally control his pet rate "Lummox" to act as a scout.
An Unfortunate Liaison
Inkfinger remains unidentified, though Kordair did end up making a mistake a few months ago when breaking into the manor of Baron Collum de Torriz. Recently married, to an elven woman less than a fifth of his age, Kordair believed the elderly Baron would take his trophy wife with him on an outing. Thus Kordair found himself pawing through de Torriz's library when he was interrupted by the young and beautiful Baroness Fiona de Torriz. Turning on the charm, he attempted to bluff his way out of the situation, but the bored and ignored Baroness took his compliments as seduction and soon dragged him back to her bedchamber.
Unfortunately for Kordair, the reappearance of Collum swiftly ended the liaison, with the Baron nearly burning down his own manor with the fireballs he was throwing at the young elf. He was only able to escape by throwing himself out of a fourth storey window and casting Feather Falling before he hit the ground. In a fit of rage, Collum put a price on the Kordair's head, attracting several bounty hunters and mercenaries looking for a quick gold piece. Thankfully, Kordair had not yet left the mark of Inkfinger at the crime scene, or he would have been more hunted by more than just the Baron. Nevertheless, he chose to flee the city to lay low for a little while, leaving behind much of his wealth and literature outside of the necessities for travel.
On his way away from the city, he heard about a Grand Order of Wizards expedition to Veg Darul to explore the ancient ruins. Never one to pass up an opportunity to potentially learn more about magic, and with his need to stay out of town for a while, Kordair set off to go and sign up to travel Beneath the Mountain...
Appearance and Personality
Kordair is a lean elf of below average height, likely from a lack of regular nutrition in his youth. His eyes are a pale blue grey and his hair is brown, darker than usual for a High Elf, and he keeps it and his neat beard relatively short. Most often he wears dark grey or brown rugged travelling clothes with plenty of pockets, though underneath he often wears protective leather armour. Around his neck he keeps a small green crystal that he uses to focus his magic, and upon his person are usually two short blades hidden in his clothing, though he broadly dislikes fighting and killing.
The elf comes across as charming and personable, usually affecting a more gentlemanly accent and dialect, though in moments of stress his rougher street upbringing will show itself. He is highly intelligent, but can often come across as a daydreamer as plans and schemes race across his mind in the midst of conversation. Though pleasant to be around, he is quite happy with a more solitary existence, so long as there is enough reading material to accompany it. His pet rat (and failed familiar) Unknown is also a frequent companion. He can also be somewhat of a flirt, often to his comeuppance...