Child of an influential family sworn to a fiend patron. Delicate, gentle, and somewhat weak-willed, Hemlock was quite tired of pretending to be mean and powerful. To avoid being bound to an infernal contract... he ran from home on the eve of his coming-of-age pact ceremony and was picked up by a genie like a lost puppy. Desperate to not be brought back home, the tiefling offered up stories as 'treasure' to the genie. The genie, who swims in actual material treasure, is delighted by this unexpected offering and takes him under their wings.

--- In exchange for helping him stay hidden while he figured out what he wanted to do, Hemlock collects stories for the genie. And now, he has heard fast-travelling rumours and heads to a town riddled by a murder mystery.

The hook sounds super interesting, ty for the oppotunity :D!

Seamus' earliest memories are of traveling with his circus performing family from town to town. They could never stay in one place long as one of them would always let their true nature slip.

The caravans of his family were camped out in the Field Ward in Waterdeep when they were attacked by bandits. Seamus is not sure what happened but he got separated from his family, and ran through the streets. When he returned there were only the tattered and burned remains of their caravans.

But despite finding himself alone in a strange city, Seamus made the best of it. And once he fell in with the urchins of the street he found a new family. And he even found joy in the sun shining on the huge smile plastered across his face, city guards chasing after him and the gate keys he'd just stolen from a sleeping guard jingling in his hand, leaping from roof top to roof top.

As he grew older (a mature 12 or 13), and bolder, he was press-ganged with some other urchins into the crew of a notorious burglar named Smudge. He was ruthless towards the urchins. If they failed to bring home their quota they were was beaten. One night, after a particularly harsh beating, Seamus lay bleeding on the floor of the gang's hideout. He was going to tough it out when he noticed Smudge pushing around one of the younger urchins and something inside Seamus changed. He used all his energy to get to his feet, and before he knew it he had a knife in his hand and Smudge lay dead, blood oozing across the floor. Seconds later Smudge's lieutenants also lay dead on the floor, none having so much as drawn a weapon. To this day some sweat that it was Smudge himself who rose from the dead and killed his own men.

Discovering that he had a knack for ending the lives of those who deserved it, Seamus went on to become a solver of problems. You paid and your problems went away.
Seamus has not forgotten the urchins of Waterdeep, and steps in when others try to take advantage of them. He has even used much of the coin he's earned over the years to fund an orphanage for street kids so they can be protected. Many of the orphans even learn a trade while under Seamus' protection - how to pick pockets, burgle, open locks, and acquire the secrets of the wealthy.

However, recently, certain elements in the city have been paying a little too close attention to Seamus and his orphans and he's taken off on a bit of a scouting trip, looking for a potential new home for the orphanage. He now finds himself in this quaint small town. It might just be the perfect place to set up shop, except for these murders. Someone really needs to look into those.

Zanibi Hekkabeno was born to a gnome family living in a large city.  Although the local neighborhood was mostly gnomes, it meant that she met a wide variety of beings.  When young, she learned a bit of tinkering - a trade both her parents were involved in - but she was never that interested in it.  Instead, she found she had an affinity for magic.  Once she was old enough, she started learning at the Hesyce School of Arcana.  The place was not well-known, but it did a decent job of teaching wizardry.  There were certainly a fair number of gnomes attending there, but all races were welcome and humans made up a sizable portion as well.  

As she learned, Zanibi focused on Divination.  Professor Asadyora, an older female gnome, became a bit of a mentor to her, keeping her on track and interested in her studies.  It was her that drew her to following the path of Divination.  And when she graduated, it was her that suggested she use her abilities to assist in investigations.  

Initially she would help the established City Watch and Investigators supported by the city's rulers.  But after a few years she branched out as a kind of private detective almost, taking on private cases for a fee.  There was a particularly difficult, and harrowing case, where she crossed paths with a tiefling, Inquisitive Embershade, who was following the same case.  The two had to work together to solve the case concerning demonic possession and the depraved men behind it.  

With the death and horror of that case, when Inquisitive Embershade suggested they continue to work together as he hit the road, she decided it was time to go.  Her whole life she had been in the city and she was starting to drag on her.  It was time for her to expand her horizons and get out and see the world.  The pair continued to investigate a number of more cases.  it always seemed like Embershade had another case to follow.  Even if she wasn't entirely certain how he picked them up.  But they managed to find a handful more criminals.  

Most recently, Inquisitive Embershade has led them to the town of Esperal, where they are contracting folks to track down a murderer.  Once again the pair are on the hunt, although this time it seems they will have a bit more accompaniment.  Zanibi is thinking this could be fun to have a whole group working on the task. She looks forward to getting started! 

Tragedy is a middle aged Tiefling that has had more than his fair share of ups and downs in his life. Yet no matter how negative the situation gets he always seems to find some semblance of hope that gives him the motivation to keep going even when the odds are stacked against him.

Tragedy grew up in a small town that was rather quiet most days, although when the occasional traveler, group of adventurers or group of mercenaries came through things would liven up. He'd always found them interesting but as a child he never thought that he'd be brave enough to be one, instead he wanted to follow in his father's footsteps and become a blacksmith. His father taught him everything that he knew and he would help around the shop when he wasn't sneaking off to the tavern to meet up with a few friends and discuss ideas for a possible business if they ever left the town. Before they could come up with a concrete plan for said business Tragedy's father fell ill and he took over the business, he hoped that his father would overcome the illness but deep down inside he had a felling that he wouldn't make it through. As his father's condition continued to worsen the quality of his work began to slowly decline and the shop slowly began to lose clients. He knew that if things kept going the way they were then the shop would be closed but he wasn't sure if he could turn things around in time to save it. After the passing of his father and the closing of the shop, he left the town that he had called home and started wandering around, looking for something to fill the hole that had been left in his heart.

Whenever Tragedy found himself in a new city, town or village he would do odd jobs for the people living there even though some of the jobs were a little out of his wheel house. During this time he crossed paths with Nikolai Stoneheart, an old friend from his home town, and they began to adventure together, growing rather close with each other during that time. As time went on they ended up getting married and enjoying a few more adventures until an unfortunate accident cost Nikolai one of his arms. Although he wanted to stay home and help him recover from his injuries the fact that they were running low on funds weighed heavily on his mind, when he asked his husband what he thought he should do there was a few minutes of silence before he gave him his armor and one of his swords before telling him to sell them since he didn't really need them anymore. A couple months later Tragedy began to adventure again after a few words of encouragement from his husband. Before he headed out Nikolai gave him his remaining sword and  wished him luck.

When Diaelle was a young child she was a human. Her parents were smugglers and so she was a smuggler. When her parents died in an unfortunate ship wreck, Diaelle had to care for herself. She only knew smuggling so Diaelle became a smuggler. One day after she loaded some goods onto her crew’s ship, Diaelle saw a beautiful ring glinting from the corner of her eye from the exotic smuggled goods. She immediately grabbed it and put it on her finger. What she didn’t know was that the ring was a magical artifact that contained an Efreeti. The genie gifted Diaelle with magic. A side effect however was that Diaelle could now change shapes— shift forms. What she thought her crew would like— they hated. She was ostracized and abandoned, left to live on the streets. Without a crew she had to stop my smuggling. She began roaming the world doing tasks on behalf of the Efreeti in the hopes that it would leave her, and she could return to normal. In those days, Diaelle resented the Efreeti, but eventually grew to accept her differences and realized the Efreeti to be her only friend. The two began to bond, the genie even giving Diaelle its name, Dhasfa.

Kiriti, though these days she goes primarily by Wallace, despite the loving home in which she was raised, always dreamed of excitement. At birth Kiriti was remarkable as she had only one foot, which though it proved a challenge, she was always determined not to let it slow her down. One day in her pre adulthood she marched off into the forest to seek her fortunes and was soon lost. She traveled for several days without finding a soul until eventually she happened upon an injured owl and having seen wolves circling in the distance she brought it with her. After another two days of evading predators she and the owl (which she named Du) found a small town on the edge of the forest. Not knowing how to return to her hometown and fearing the shame of her disappearances she began traveling and making small money as an acrobat. As time based Du continued growing to a surprising size eventually reaching 6 feet in hight, though dwarfed by giant owls they were still of a size that Wallace began to incorporate them into her act as a mount and safety measure. As her acrobatic and equestrian fame grew as did her need to fend off bandits and trophy hunters looking to make a quick buck off of her fame or Du's exotic nature, leading to her developing a martial prowess that rivaled her preforming acumen. Having reached what she feels is the limit of her potential for success on her own, she is looking for an opportunity to prove herself in any way she can and the Cirque de Lune seemed like a dream opportunity if she could just impress them enough to invite her in.

Kiriti

Du:

Now where did that blasted women put my glasses? Fizz thinks to himself in his typical frustrated manner. He starts rummaging around through the innumerable stacks of books and papers crammed into the small room frantic to find his spectacles and get back to his book.

He had found a first edition, original Dwarven language copy of a Tale of Two Mines. Of course he had read the book before but it was a translation into common and he had long suspected the translation contained multiple cultural inaccuracies which were unintended by the original author. It was a puzzle and Fizz loved puzzles more than anything else in the world.

Temporarily giving up the search he collapses into his high back reading chair and pulls out his pipe. Fizz was bored, and when he is bored he gets nostalgic. He closes his eyes and thinks back on his long life.

His mind wanders back to his childhood. As a youth Fizz was always smarter than his peers (and his teachers for that matter). He liked to challenge himself by reading everything he could and trying to find inaccuracies and discrepancies between authors. His constant questioning of his peers and teachers ostracized him from any sort of social group but that was fine with him, he just wanted to find the truth.

Like the legions of scholars before him this search for truth drew him to the study of magic and for a while this made Fizz happy. Magic was a great puzzle and he loved the challenge. He studied relentlessly and got quite good at the art.

But in time Fizz's mind became bored. Not because he mastered magic but because the magical puzzles did not have an answer, there was no truth to be found. He would always love and study magic but he left his formal wizardry training and moved to Esperal where he hoped to find a new challenge.

And so Fizz started investigating aberrations and odd happenings for his new community. He found that people, motives and crime were the most fascinating puzzles and if he was clever enough he could find the truth. He worked hard and solved countless cases. He made more enemies than friends during his career but again, he didn't care the truth was all that mattered. 

He takes a long drag from his pipe and opens his eyes. Now semi-retired he spends his days reading.... assuming he could find his glasses... he leans forward to get up from his chair to return to the epic search. As he does a he feels an object slide forward off his head and clatter softly to the floor. Ah there are my glasses! Another mystery solved!

My sister and I were inseperable.  We worked for our father, a human merchant who ran a little farmer’s market.  I was the one who did the selling, she kept things organized and good looking.  It was a provincial little life, but we were happy.  My mother, I never met.  She met my father in our local inn as she was travelling through.  She returned 9 months later with two bundles and a sack of gold.  My father used that money to provide a good life for us, then left it and the business to us when he passed away.

The Harald came into our lives.  A silver-tongued bard named Harald Grayspear Set up shop in our town.  My sister was smitten.  Unfortunately, he was a villian.  He used my sister to get access to the gold, and killed her and burned down our home when she tried to stop him.

I was grief stricken.  I ran into the woods screaming.  I wanted him to PAY.  I called out for help, stumbling through the woods, not noticing the faerie ring that brought me to HER.  The most beautiful and terrible thing I have seen, I can’t describe the presence.  She offered me power beyond imagining if I used it to help women in need.  She promised me one day I would kill Harald Grayspear.  Then she returned me to the world.  It was months later, our home and business were rebuilt by a newcomer, I had nowhere to turn.  I made my way through the world conning and thieving.  I learned to survive.  And I helped women.

She came to me in dreams, teaching me power beyond imagining.  I learned to do so much more than other mortals.  I was touched by her presence, I scoured Faerun, helping those who needed it, stealing from those who could afford it.  My reputation grew.  And I sought after Harald.  I’ve come to this place on a wild rumor.  Who knows what is in store for me.

From the Feywild, Xanaphia ('just Xana') spent her youth learning all the wonderful elven ballads and dances known there. But when she learned of the dreadfully normal material plane, she just had to go and share all the glamorous things she knew. But it turned out the material plane wasn't quite that bad, and she learned a lot there in turn. She has taken to travelling to all the carnivals and festivals she hears of, and just have fun while she shares and learns all she can. But from time to time, her helpful nature leads her to an adventure or two, though she doesn't really have anything against that.

The middle child of three, Bas and his family were able to establish themselves in their community and live openly as changelings. Bas was a troublemaker and had many encounters with the city guard. One night while Bas was dealing with the guards, a half-orc approached and talked the guard into letting Bas work for her instead of going to jail. The half-orc was Umara Nathadem, a bounty hunter. She took Bas under her wing and taught him how to hunt criminals. While hunting down a criminal in the city, Bas went missing for two months. Just as soon as he disappeared, Bas was found again at the gates of the city. He was disheveled and had no memory of his time away. Bas tried to continue his work, but he was beset with terrible headaches and odd occurrences around him. Bas decided to leave and venture out to discover what had happened to him.

https://ddb.ac/characters/75698599/pmiQfs

Jari was raised in a small and secluded cult. His rebellious nature caused him to continually cause trouble and be punished by the leaders of the cult. As he grew older, both his indiscretions and his punishments became more severe. One night, the leader of the cult decided to make an example of Jari. Jari called out with his final breath to his Dao ancestors and asked them to save him. Jari later wakes up where the cult discards their dead, with a stone bottle on his belt and new powers.

https://ddb.ac/characters/75699012/l4DnMz

Vlar left his clan early in his life, his inquisitive mind unable to remain in the less-than-academic clan he was born into. He moved around, unable to find a place that would allow a bugbear to study and be accepted. Eventually he signed up with a mercinary band, and found his home at last. The company leaders not only accepted him, but pushed him to learn all he could. He was instructed in the martial arts, and the more battle-oriented of wizardly magic.
Vlar moved up the ranks of his mercinary band, soon becoming 2nd only to the company leader. He was not friendly, but respected for his tenacity and battle prowess.

"Come one! Come all! Come see the Amazing Replicating Automaton! Capable of making anything your hearts desire! See her take some scrap, some twine, and some wood and bring your wildest dreams to life!"

Umma has been travelling with the Cirque de La Lune for 20 years. She left her creator, the gnomish inventor Ernest Dolligumption Kracklequink Smith III, over 60 years ago. She left Ernie, as he was known, because he had been killed by his benefactor. 

Ernie had been tasked with finding a way to alleviate the grief of the Queen Stephania Norunfrau, who had lost her daughter, aged only twenty, in a carriage accident. The king hired Ernie, already well known for his automata and other gadgets, to provide something to distract his wife from her grief. Her love for intricate, clockwork devices was already well-known. Ernie, having interviewed both king and queen, decided that he would devise his greatest creation in order to bring the Queen some joy. This, of course, led to his downfall.

One year and a day later, Ernie returned to the royal suite with a figure, hidden in a cloak. The King and Queen held a grand ball for the presentation of the gift. The climax of the event was to be the unveiling of the creation. Ernie told the royal couple that he had researched and studied for months to complete the project, delving into tomes and archives both academic and, he whispered, forbidden. The couple did not know what to think, but they were both very excited.

Soon, the crowning moment of the event arrived and all the heads of the local nobility, along with the king and queen, were turned together to behold the unveiling. 

Ernie said, "Lords and Ladies, when I saw the grief of the Queen, I registered that it was real. True grief cannot truly be allayed with a toy or even with time. It is with you always, ready to appear as unexpectedly as a fish suddenly leaping from water. I recognize this grief, for my own true was taken from me many years ago. And so, I resolved to offer the Queen something better than an automaton. I decided to offer her a new chance. Unfortunately, by the time I was summoned, it was far too late to call the late princess back from death. But here, I have done something greater. Lords and Ladies! King and Queen! I have given you life!"

With that, he tore away the cloak that hid the mysterious figure and there stood...well...Umma. She was about 5' 11", slender and graceful of form. Her eyes flashed with intelligence and she was truly beautiful to look at. But she was as a statue, composed of stone and wood.

The King and Queen stared in confusion. What was this?

Ernie explained, "It is nothing for an engineer and magical adept such as myself to create a short-lived creature or toy for your to wile away an hour or two of enjoyment. But this, this is a creation that has been given the spark of life! The magic animating her will not fade for it is not magic, but rather a soul. Your Highness, what I have given you here is more than a toy, it is a second chance! My creation has been given instruction in etiquette, dance, weaving, and all the appropriate and noble womanly arts. But she is still quite unformed as a person. Here, then, is an opportunity for you to have another daughter. One who will not die. One you can love, cherish, and one who will not leave you. Give her a name, your highness, and she will be your most faithful, filled with the love for you of a heart pure and true."

Whatever his good intentions, the King and Queen were horrified. This inventor had overstepped; he was taking the prerogative of gods! The King called for the guards to seize Ernie and the "thing," and Ernie, realizing that he had inadvertently brought her to life only to see her destroyed, gave her the only command he ever gave her, "Run!"

And so she ran. She did not tire like those who chased her and she was able to outpace them with time. And she forever remembered the eyes of the crowd turning against her, as they went from awe, to shock, and to disgust. She made her way back to Ernie's lab, having nowhere else to go. With no need for food or sleep, she stayed there, entertaining herself by reading Ernie's books. It was there that she learned his secrets, how to make things, how to give them the semblance of life. But, try as she might, she could not find the work where he explained how to give a creation a soul. 

After some time,  she felt comfortable enough in her powers and her ability to take care of herself that she left his lab. Soon thereafter, she arrived at a village and, due to her odd appearance, was driven away as a witch or scarecrow or something (she wasn't entirely sure). She sat at a crossroads and wished she could cry.

The next caravan to come along was the Cirque de La Lune. The ringleader took one look at her and he could hear the gold clinking in his head. After a brief negotiation and demonstration of her abilities, she was hired. He asked her for a name and she had to tell him that she didn't have one. He said, "Well, choose one then. I need to put something on the posters." She thought and, although she didn't know how, she knew that more than anything she wanted to be a mother, the creator of a new race of beings, ensouled automata like herself who could live unmolested by suspicious humanoids. So, she chose the name "Umma"

She has been with the circus for years now. She knows how to do everything in it from walking the tightrope to reading tarot cards. With make-up, wigs, and proper lighting, she can pass for human or elf. And whenever the circus comes to a town with a library, university, or mage's guild, she makes sure to request access to their archives. They often request the chance to study her as the price of admission. She understands; she is one of a kind. But she will not be so for long.