Kilroy

Name: Kilroy (Pliston and Tarin Down)

Appearance: Kilroy is a handsome and somewhat ambiguously gendered Ketzer, dressed in rugged leathers and a dramatic coat. They look every inch the stereotypical Ketzer from the wide-brimmed hat to the bottles of god parts. Certainly Kilroy has more of a debonair atmosphere than a dour one, and the bottles are typically filled with off-cuts from the shambles treated with dyes, but the effect is the same.

Kilroy has a number of scars - plenty of them false - but the most memorable ones are the large (and attractive) cut on their left cheek and the somewhat uglier, and more convincing patchwork of sucker marks and burns across their right side.

Beyond different sexual characteristics the Down twins look largely the same. Same thick black hair, same rugged complexion, same crooked grin.

 Status: As Kilroy, a Ketzer. The twins are lower class, previously working as actors, now as criminals.

Contacts:

Captain Fitz: guard captain Fitz is a man on the brink of collapse. Once utterly devoted to the laws of the city, he now doubts his masters, his men, the underworld and even his own mind. The criminals he used to pursue doggedly are treated differently, now. Some he even helps. He and one of Kilroy’s alter egos have an agreement - they share information, and sometimes other services. There was a time where Fitz thought he was in love with Kilroy, but these days the relationship has a tense, fraught atmosphere. One day one of them will do something that could destroy the other entirely.

Rayhan: a foreign doctor of unusual talent. Rayhan is a barber-surgeon operating out of Silt Street, specialising in unusual or supernatural injuries. While he does devote some time to learning or studying the creatures that cause his afflictions, he is most interested in curing them.Very cold and businesslike, but the man to go to if you’re in need of life-saving surgery. Only one of the Down twins ever visits Rayhan, the one that was injured by a god. A risk, but one that currently minimises their exposure.

The Lady of Cinders: a powerful presence in the underworld of Brondhavn-Llyn. Operating mostly from Pigpits and the poorer parts of town surrounding it, Cinders is a figure shrouded in mystery. Many say she got started running protection rackets; her bands of voluntary firefighters nearly risking the entire city going alight to keep a few measly coins from their victims. She’s inarguably ruthless and has even some nobility wrapped in her fingers. A figure of ritual, her name is purposefully chosen and she weaves the superstitions of the city into her organisation, using myth and stories as tools in her work. Kilroy has had dealings with her because you simply can’t do otherwise as a successful criminal in Pigpits. Sometimes the Lady will demand something of you and you’ll do it. Sometimes she’ll reward you. Kilroy tries to play that balance as best they can.''' '''

Benefits:

Two-Faced: rumours that Kilroy is capable of being in two places at once are literally true. The inseparable Down Twins have been swapping identities since birth and grown to be very good at it. This comes with a number of advantages, chief amongst those being the utility of always having an alibi. Very good for con games, very good for time management, not so great for intimate moments.

Bolthole: It tooks years of lying, cheating and toiling to get it, but Kilroy has managed to secure an extremely well-established base of operations. A series of rooms in the underground of the city, somewhere hidden amongst the catacombs and the sewers. Only Kilroy and their two children know the way in, and if you learn to navigate the underground effectively you can use the bolthole to access almost anywhere in the city. Kilroy has not learned to navigate the underground but they’re working on it. The base has access to supplies, weapons, a multitude of costumes and alchemical make-ups and various props and maps. It is the pinnacle of a long career of false-facing and Kilroy’s pride and joy.

Theatre: Kilroy grew up in Pigpits. Not many there would connect the two nuisance twins and the dashing Ketzer, but the Downs themselves have connections all the way across the pits. Actors, playwrights, technicians and even the occasional Proper Artist - you name them, the Downs have probably either been drunk with them or helped them cover up a crime. This has upsides and downsides, as you might imagine.

 Skills:'''

Lies: Kilroy is exceptionally deceptive. Not just telling mistruths, but knowing the intricacies of an act, the little details that make a personality fix in the mind. The ability to talk oneself into or out of situations is Kilroy’s main breadwinner, and the aspect of themselves they take the most pride in.

Speed Reader: Kilroy is a fast learner. Well, in a sense. They’re not so good at retaining information, but they can absorb it quickly and understand how to apply concepts almost as soon as they learn them. They have a passing talent for languages as a result and a broad (if shallow) education in many fields.

Shadow: when in doubt, hide until the problem goes away. Kilroy’s no master thief but they know how to get around without being seen or heard, and the basics of skulking and stealing are hardwired. Before settling on the role of Ketzer they’d toyed with the idea of creating the persona of a notorious cat burglar, if only they were slightly better at the actual burgling.

 Bio: '''The Down twins are named for the theatre they grew up in, as is the way with Pigpits orphans. As far as the troupe of the Downturn Playhouse know, one of the actors or actresses was definitely the pair’s parent, but either couldn’t establish who or refused to tell the twins themselves.

They grew up as many theatre children did, amongst the staging and the the workshops, every aspect of the playhouse is in their blood. Downturn wasn’t overwhelmed with foundlings but there were enough kids around the area their own age that the twins had a healthy enough upbringing, albeit with a parent-count in the double digits. Education isn’t always a priority amongst actors but the two were versed well enough in history and other “important” topics as and when suitable teachers could be found, and as with all good con artists they were taught their letters and numbers diligently. All the better for helping with signs and forgeries.

Crime is an inevitable part of growing up in Pigpits, whether being party to or victims of it. As regulars amongst the players the Down twins played the part of pickpockets and innocents in their early years, slowly working their way up through a variety of false-facing roles, parts as thugs and even occasionally graverobbers. They helped keep the theatre going one way or another, by any means.

But all things end, and Downturn died the slow death of entertainment. People simply found places they preferred, and no amount of talented acting, dazzling effects or barefaced robbery would change that. The arrest and execution of a number of the owners of the place really sealed the deal and the actors, crew and staff made their separate ways through life. By this point the Downs were strong-willed youths ready to strike it out on their own. They briefly returned to other theatres, but after their upbringing only one option really seemed to feel right - the art of the con. The twins never could resist a challenge and what was a greater show of their skills than the stage of the world itself?

They played a number of roles over the years, the idea of playing the same one came quickly - they’d often been confused as children and it wasn’t until the adolescent years that they really stood apart. Haircuts, make-up and clothing pushed them back towards similarity, even if they were never to be identical again. There were rules, of course. They had to keep careful control over what they both knew, and who they both spoke to. Meticulous notes had to be made, on occasion. Neither could have any relationships that were closer than casual.

Which of the pair broke that rule is a little hard to establish. Both will give you a different answer, depending on when and where you ask. The two children, Maxine and Winnow, they now have in tow are more than enough evidence that the rule was nevertheless broken.

There’s no father or mother on the scene, and the twins won’t tell you who the other party is. They’re both dedicated to the upbringing of the children though, and love them fiercely.

The character of Kilroy was a slow process, and an opportunistic one. They spent a stint living in Swallow during the Purge Nights - a month of paranoia and fear as the gods came unnaturally deep into the city. Many Ketzer were needed, if not wanted, and their presence in culture expanded. A role presented itself, and the Down twins slipped into it like it was a glove.

Not that they actually fought gods of course. They have children to look out for! Most of Kilroy’s exploits were elaborate street theatre, gods presented as a problem by the twins and their occasional conspirators, bested by the heroic and dashing Kilroy. Action and drama, exactly what one expected when encountering a ketzer. They made a living for years off Kilroy’s back, moving from region to region of the city and dragging a theatre of chaos and wonder with them everywhere they went.

All of it ruined when a true god appeared. The expedition Kilroy had been leading had never meant to include a real one, but include one it did and the encounter left all dead but Kilroy themselves. The creature left a keepsake - a fetid patchwork of sucker scars - and a wasting poison eating through the twin’s guts. Consultation with Rayhan was disturbing. If there’s a permanent cure he does not know it. Only certain harvested organs and aspects of gods can hold it back, if treated the right way.

And so Kilroy made the move from fake to genuine article, picking up their game. Oh, they could never shake the theatre completely, and it has its uses when dealing with the matter of payment, or even the more understandable deities, but the seriousness of their position is an ever present weight. In commitment to their new craft and to each other, the unmarked twin replicated the sucking wound on their own body, with generous use of acids and scalpels.

And so Kilroy became real. The twins must move ever onwards.