Vris is an old Cauldron Millitia comrade of Arcadian Swifthands. After leaving the militia, he turned to a life of crime to support himself, alongside the Alwyn Brothers, Aranxes Alwyn and Urlius Alwyn.
He was given a tip as to the location of the lair of Fell-Torak, and gathered a band of adventurers to go seize it's treasure.
He seems to have had some sort of run-in with the Black Syndicate in the past, and he clearly fears them.