Kray "Kraken Emily-Rose"

Named after a dingy (Emily-Rose) from a ship (the Kracken's Kiss) in which his mother was found, wearing nothing but a collar and a heavy silver shackle on her ankle, Kray grew up among the crew of said ship, knowing precious little about either of his parents. His human father remains a complete mystery to him, though there is little mystery about being human, as Kray grew up surrounded by them. His elven mother is familiar to him only through occasional echoes. As indicated by her chain and collar, she had been a kept ship's wife prior to being found (a scandal in itself), and she disappeared from ship a day after giving birth to Kray. He grew up in a small seaside village, and from a young age, was trained to serve as a cabin boy aboard the Emily-Rose. Life was hard, but the Emily-Rose crew were good people, and hard work was well rewarded by good pay.
As time went on, Kray began to inquire about his mother, and to learn more about his elven heritage. Although he remained aloof from politics, caring only about his shipmates and vessel,he began to learn the elvish language, from nobles, tithe-collectors, and local officials he met on his travels, He also developed a curiosity about the Kracken's Kiss that by his own admission borders on unhealthy. There were rumors that an elven ship's wife had made it to the New World, and perhaps that drove Kray to leave the Emily-Rose behind, and to join the crew of the Skylark, a ship that regularly crossed the Sea of Ash. Captain Vivian Dunley was a worthy skipper, but during the voyage, Kray had gone into debt to his crewmates by gambling away all his future pay, and was left with a mere shilling after he settled his debts prior to pulling into dock at Saltmarsh. So there was nothing keeping him tied to the Skylark.
During the crossing, he had taken an interest in two passengers - a noblewoman named Silmara Vanabar, and Drazer the Tiny - her goliath bodyguard. Silmara seemed to have some property in Hool Colony, and hence, a means of independent survival, so she seemed like a person worth knowing. Kray followed her and Drazer around town, and finally, introduced himself, offering his friendship and services. Soon, Silmara learned that the property to which she was heir was the Helmont Mansion - a structure outside of town which was reputedly haunted. As she tried to learn more about it, happenstance caused Kray and Drazer to meet Tycho - a firbolg who had come to Saltmarsh seeking help for his village - a distant outpost seemingly under attack from loggers. As Silmara was not ready to enlist him in a lucrative venture, Kray accompanied Tycho, Drazer, and a scholar named Charles Birchwood to the firbolg village. They left the following day, and after an encounter with gnolls and a black bear, and a night layover in Sanctuary, came to the firbolg village and found it destroyed. They spent the night after wandering whether they should follow the tracks of the orc marauders likely responsible. The carnage attracted scavengers - first a bear, which Drazer and Kray dispatched while the professor slept, and then, a landshark, which killed Tycho, and nearly slew Kray himself - the sailor sidestepped its deadly claw at the last moment, and got away with his life. The group then traveled back to Sanctuary for help, and informed the local authorities about the orc marauders. They then continued on back to Saltmarsh, and summoned the Town Council to give them the news. The Council seemed reluctant to go to war with the orcs, especially given the paucity of evidence, and its interest in continuing to engage in trade with the natives.
Seeing his opportunities dry up, Kray accompanied Drazer to the Merry Mermaid, where tales of their trek to the firbolg village attracted the attention of Benny "the Cricket" - a fishmonger, entrepreneur, and local tough in the employ of Alston Salley, the tavern's owner. Impressed with the tale, Benny offered Kray a job aboard a fishing vessel called the Octopus. There Kray comported himself well, and by the end of the second ennead of service, was promoted to gang underboss. He proved quite adept as a commercial fisherman, and not only brought in a consistently large catch, but found a precious ring inside one fish netted by his comrade. He also found a bottle which seemed to contain an SOS note from Silmara, who said she was kidnapped, and kept aboard some nameless ship. Kray shared this information with Drazer, and the two decided that they could only learn more by paying a visit to the Helmont Mansion. They hiked up to the place, saw that it looked abandoned, and slew a giant venomous snake that had crawled out of the well in the back yard. They then decided that if they were to explore the mansion, they needed more people, and returned to Saltmarsh.
During his stint as a fisherman about the Octopus, Kray also got a potential lead on his mother's whereabouts. After conversing with Harbormaster Cedric Wyndhame, he learned that the Kracken's Kiss had docked at Saltmarsh several years ago, and that its Captain Renley had brought an elven ship's wife aboard. When he returned to his ship to make the crossing eastward, he was without the woman, whose whereabouts were unknown.
Kray also befriended a local farming family called the Priestleys, who had allowed him to let a hayloft in exchange for nominal pay and doing some odd jobs around the farmstead (though the parents were not thrilled when Kray brought his friend Drazer around).
Physically, Kray is a smallish but wiry man, with a dark complexion and fine black hair.

Age

19