Scorch

Scorch and his partner Leff, were inhabitants of Darujhistan and old criminal associates of Torvald Nom. Scorch and Leff had been caravan guards, enforcers, Guild thugs, and bounty hunters in the past and they both possessed a "nasty streak" (according to Torvald Nom).Toll the Hounds, Chapter 1, US TPB p.39Toll the Hounds, Chapter 11, US TPB p.357 
He bore an expression of perpetual surprise and every word he spoke was delivered in tones of bewildered disbelief.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 1, US SFBC p.46 Even Leff sometimes found Scorch's constant nervous fidgeting distracting.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 21, US SFBC p.848
The brutal history of his departed Gran battling for fish scraps under the city's docks led him to vow never to eat anything that came from Lake Azur.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 3, US SFBC p.88
==In Toll the Hounds==
Scorch and Leff found themselves in dire financial straits after the death of their employer, Boc. To make ends meet they accepted work from Lender Gareb to collect debts from a list of twelve debtors.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 1, US SFBC p.46-49Toll the Hounds, Chapter 9, US SFBC p.346 But their lack of success in this endeavour led them to believe their own names would soon appear on the list. Kruppe learned of their predicament while beating them in a game of Kef Tanar at the Phoenix Inn and soon cut himself into the deal. For a mere thirty-three percent share, he would help locate their quarry.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 1, US SFBC p.46-49
Staking out the city docks for fleeing debtors, Scorch and Leff were unexpectedly reunited with Torvald, who was returning to the city after years away. Noting his name atop their list, they held him at knifepoint until he convinced them he had returned to pay off Gareb.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 3, US TPB p.78 After secretly robbing Gareb's estate, Torvald paid Scorch and Leff with Gareb's own money.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 7, US SFBC p.269-270 The cleared debt was their chief success, as the other eighteen names shared with Kruppe all managed to disappear one step ahead of Gareb's thugs after Scorch and Leff located them.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 7, US SFBC p.269Toll the Hounds, Chapter 9, US SFBC p.346
The list completed, Scorch and Leff sought work as guards at Lady Varada's estate in Darujhistan. Castellan Studlock hired them immediately, sending Scorch off to recruit other guards while Leff remained behind to be treated for Greva worms. Scorch returned from the Phoenix Inn with only Torvald Nom, who Studlock hired to serve as guard captain.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 9, US TPB p.285-286Toll the Hounds, Chapter 11, US TPB p.352 Torvald was surprised when both Scorch and Leff took their new responsibilities seriously.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 15, US SFBC p.609 
On the last night of the Gedderone Fête, both men were on watch at the gate when Master Seba Krafar of the Darujhistan Assassins' Guild led a force of thirty-one assassins against the estate in an attempt to slay Lady Varada. Scorch was knocked stumbling by a crossbow bolt, so Leff was forced to charge four attackers with a shortsword on his own. Before Leff could be overwhelmed, Scorch had taken down an assassin with his own crossbow and then leapt into the fray. When the assassins were defeated, Lady Varada was revealed as Vorcan Radok. Not only had she anticipated the attack, but she had baited the Guild to draw them out and eliminate them once and for all. Scorch, Leff, and Torvald had been hired as expendables and it proved to be a surprise they all survived.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 21, US SFBC p.840/854-858 
Afterwards, the two men went into the streets of Darujhistan hunting the Hounds of Shadow. Scorch hoped to fashion a boat from one of the Hounds' skulls and call it the Seahound. They caught sight of a wounded Hound, but it ran off before they could fire their crossbows. Leff blamed their failure on Scorch's smell.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 23, US SFBC p.921-922 The next day, they burst into a brothel only to find it empty as the city was in mourning.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 24, US SFBC p.1001
== In Orb Sceptre Throne ==
Scorch and Leff found themselves out of a job sometime later since they were surplus to requirements as guards at Lady Varada's estate.Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 3 They were then hired as guards by Scholar Ebbin. Scorch and Leff were ordered to stay at the dig they were employed to guard as Ebbin went down the well that he was exploring to search for traces of Darujhistan's Imperial age, with four of Humble Measure's guards. They witnessed Ebbin come out alive all alone, and promised him not to go down the well. They stayed at the dig for a while after Ebbin, who came out in a daze, had been guided away by a young girl, before realizing they had probably been fired, and returned to Darujhistan.Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 3
Scorch and Leff then presented themselves at the Darujhistan Guild hall of guards. Their references were found to be in perfect order and they were hired as guards to the Legate by the Captain of the Bodyguards Soen. They were left rather alone at the Lim Mansion and decided to check in with the Captain at the Great Hall. They did this in a cantankerous fashion and were fired by Soen for leaving their posts only to be reinstated almost immediately by the Mouthpiece of the Legate, Ebbin, who recognized them from before.Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 8
Scorch and Leff were in the Great Hall when the Moranth attack on Majesty Hill began, and the building itself was attacked by Moranth Infantry. They were in the hall guarding the Legate, when Leff noticed that Scorch had a strange type of bolt in his crossbow, one that was engraved and had wax on it's head. Leff tried to wrestle it away from Scorch, thinking he had stolen the bolt and they ought to return it, while Scorch denied stealing it. In the tussle, the bolt from the crossbow in Scorch's hands fired accidentally, hitting the Legate in the chest. Realizing they had just committed an enormous mistake, Leff and Scorch fired all their bolts at the Legate to kill him so that they wouldn't get punished for it. Doing so, Leff realized that his crossbow carried the same type of bolts. The attack severely wounded the Legate, possibly even fatally crippled him. Having exhausted their supply of quarrels, Leff and Scorch then made their escape.Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 20
They went to Kruppe for help, telling him about the accident, and asking him to get them out of Darujhistan. Kruppe helped them by sending them out of the city on yet another job.Orb Sceptre Throne, Epilogue
== Speculations ==
From the way Kruppe interacted with Scorch and Leff throughout, and given his far-reaching influence, Kruppe was probably the one who had their names included in the list of Citizens with good standing (i.e., with excellent records) so that they could be hired as guards for the Legate. Also, given that neither Scorch nor Leff had stolen the special 'fancy' bolts that they shot the Legate with, Kruppe was also probably the one who, unbeknownst to them, loaded their crossbows with these bolts (which he had had made by the witch in Maiten town) specifically for them to shoot the Legate with. The bolts were probably ensorcelled not only to have a deadly effect on the Tyrant, but also to be guided towards him, no matter which way they were fired.
The final job Kruppe had for them involved throwing an old hunchbacked man into a well - this man, from his description, was probably Aman.Orb Sceptre Throne, Epilogue
==Notes and references==
Category:Genabackans
Category:Guards
Category:Males