Hazarkin's early life was in the Southern Ward of Waterdeep, living with his mother and younger sister, Effie.

His father was never in the picture. His mother described an elf of unsurpassed charm, eyes a faded, tawny green, and a slightly bent nose, but she locked up when pressed for more details.

Around his 10th birthday, his mother left for work, but the evening knock wasn't the usual signal for all-clear. Instead, it was a rough pounding which, when Haz didn't open up immediately, became a series of heavy thuds that bent the hinges and splintered the frame. Men barged in and accused his mother of all manner of crimes. Haz's protests earned him a black eye. His sister's cries drew sneers. They became homeless the next day when new tenants arrived and forcefully threw them onto the street.

They managed to survive by joining a gang of 10-20 other street children, roaming the winding streets plying scams or straight up violence to get what they needed. With time, and at least one brash robbery that was pinned on a more prominent group of miscreants, they came to have something resembling stability, if not comfort.

By the time he was sixteen, the group found themselves in possession of two, single-room units in a multi-tenant building. It wasn't enough floor space for all of them to sleep without touching, but they were dry and off of the street. The gang kept the communal rainy day fund stashed in the shared wall, and the rooms were never left completely empty. Haz, however, didn't trust anywhere that could so easily be taken from them, and maintained a personal stash behind loose masonry on the roof, where the adjoining building's overhang created a small cave.

Emboldened by their improving lot in life, the gang planned a more involved heist that was, as most were at that age guaranteed to make them rich'. The actual heist, the robbery of specialized spell-casting components from an unmarked warehouse just off Caravan Row, went off without a hitch. The gang moved the goods to a sewer byway they'd used in the past and while two members went to find buyers, the rest returned home to celebrate their soon-to-be-lavish lives.

The Xanathar Thieves' Guild was waiting for them. The goods they'd stolen had belonged to the guild, and the job that had seemed perfect had been flawed from the outset. The guild had retrieved the stolen merchandise almost immediately and sent men to wait for the gang to return. There, they were given ultimatums. They would work off their offense by doing work for the guild, or they would quietly disappear. Several kids, including Haz, objected, but were quickly cowed by threats and the application of callous violence. In several cases, the guild took family members as insurance. The gang itself was absorbed by the larger guild and its members scattered throughout the network.

It's been years of crimes big and small since that, until the present day when Haz was asked to investigate a very profitable possibility outside of the city of Oakhurst. He gathered up the possessions he still stashed above the gang's old home and set out, hoping that maybe this time he would earn enough favor/money to buy his sister's freedom.

Contacts:

Mouse the Cat

The cat's original name is lost to time, but Haz calls her Mouse for the 'presents' she would always bring to his rooftop alcove. She followed him when he finally left Waterdeep, though keeps her distance and only really visits in the evening. Still brings him 'presents' from time to time.

Xanathar Thieves' Guild

Powerful thieves' guild in Waterdeep that is currently holding Haz's sister (last known living relative) hostage to guarantee his obedience. A contentious relationship at best.

The Lowater Burgers

Rotating gang of children from his childhood who were eventually dissolved/absorbed the the Xanathar. They grew up together on the streets and still recognize each other with specific Cant greetings, but hold little organizational power outside of their close, personal bonds. Named the 'Burgers' because it was how one of the original ten pronounced 'burgler'.

Early in his visit to Icewind Dale, Hazarkin had a strange series of dreams:

You dream of being in a small room, with oddly glowing walls and ceiling. Rylos is there too. Suddenly, everything shakes, then you are thrown against one wall. Hard. Everything fades to black.

The nightmare comes again.

You dream again of being confined. This time the room is larger. It is dimly lit, from no apparent source, and the walls seem chitinous, like an insect's skin. You try to move, bu your arms are shackled to the wall. Crates fill most of the room. To your left, you see someone else chained to the wall. You try to make out their features, but can't even tell if it is a man or a woman. You look right and see Rylos, similarly chained. He grins at you, vacantly, and you see blood flowing from under his hair.

The room brightens, and you feel a surge of terror, a brief impression of writhing wrongness and teeth, then wake.

The nightmare returns, with the sense of a memory rather than a dream. The cargo hold is as before, slick and alien and horrifying. You left hand is free where you worked it out of the shackle, but you are still chained to the wall. The woman to your left hangs limp. You can see the hole in her head where the things ate into her. You try to remember them, and your thoughts shy away, leaving only impressions of something small, rugose, grey, and wrong. There is a sense of movement, the bottom seems to fall out of the room, and then everything goes white.

You wake.

As you sleep, you recall more with the cold certainty that this was no dream. Your right wrist burns and throbs as you dangle from it; the room pitched at a steep angle. The air is cold, and you can hear wind whistling through new cracks. The crash has broken open a crate, and its contents are within reach. Your left hand closes on a bent metal rod. There is a horrible, crunchy, slurping sound to your right, and you know what you will see before you look: one of them has fastened itself to Rylos and is boring into his skull. You swing the rod at the thing, cracking it into the side of the Dwarf’s head…

The dream fades, and you are awake.

The memories return like a ragged patchwork. You remember freeing yourself. You remember Rylos healing you, and the pair of you stumbling out of the ship. You remember fleeing down the mountain, desperate to return to the life you had before. You remember finding your way back to the town, trying to pick up your mission from the thieves guild, to save your sister. You remember seeing Rylos in the tavern, but not knowing him, remember how he joined you for a dangerous delve into a forgotten fortress for the slimmest of reasons as though he knew you too.

And, just before you wake, you remember where you left the wreck.

It's in the mountains, not far from the Glitterhame.

Before he went to Icewind Dale, Hazarkin received several sendings from Hamfo, another of the Lowater Burghers

You hear Hamfo again, as though he were standing right next to you: Haz. I don’t know why you left, but you were smart. No-one blames you. But we escaped! Your sister too. We only get twenty-five…

Hamfo: Haz, I can't afford to do this anymore. We're in Easthaven. I hope you can join us. It's getting bad here too, and we can't afford to…