Even among grekkels, who stand as the smallest and most devious of the goblin races, Skritch occupy a position of diminutive distinction. Standing barely eighteen inches tall with a build so slight that he appears almost skeletal, he possesses all the characteristic features of his breed but in an even more concentrated form. His yellow eyes, though dimmed by years of close work in poor lighting, retain the sharp intelligence that marks successful grekkels. The long, hooked nose that dominates his narrow face gives him an appearance of perpetual calculation, while his gangly arms and three-fingered hands move with the precise dexterity that his profession demands.
Born in the deepest forgotten chambers of Grimlock's ancient foundations, where the ruins of Khoras lay buried beneath centuries of goblin occupation, Skritch emerged into awareness with the typical grekkel combination of cunning intelligence and natural magical resistance. His asexual birth, like all of his kind, meant he began life completely alone, forced to develop survival skills within his first week of existence. The cramped spaces and hidden passages that larger goblins found uncomfortable became his natural habitat, offering both security and the isolation that his antisocial nature craved.
His voice, described as resembling rustling parchment, developed its distinctive quality during his early years when he discovered that whispering and speaking softly drew less attention from larger, more dangerous goblins. This vocal characteristic, combined with his naturally small stature, made him nearly invisible in Grimlock's complex social hierarchy - an advantage he learned to exploit rather than see as a limitation.
Skritch's path to becoming Grimlock's premier document forger began with a fortunate discovery in the ruins beneath the goblin fortress. While exploring passages too narrow for other breeds to navigate, he stumbled upon a partially collapsed chamber that had once served as a record-keeping facility for the ancient city of Khoras. Scattered among the rubble were fragments of official documents, seals, and most importantly, examples of the formal writing systems used by the scholar-priests of the fallen civilization.
Unlike most goblins, whose illiteracy made such discoveries worthless, Skritch possessed the patience and intelligence necessary to decode the mysterious markings. His natural grekkel resistance to magic allowed him to handle documents that still carried residual energies from their creation, while his small size permitted him to retrieve materials from spaces that would have been inaccessible to larger creatures. Over the course of several months of careful study, he began to understand not only the content of these ancient records but also the techniques used to create them.
The breakthrough came when he discovered a cache of unused official parchments, complete with watermarks and partial seals that had been prepared but never completed before Khoras's fall. These authentic materials, combined with his growing understanding of official document structure, provided the foundation for what would become the most sophisticated forgery operation in Grimlock's history. The alchemical supplies and specialized tools he found in the same chamber provided him with everything needed to reproduce the quality and aging effects that made the forgeries undetectable.
The location Skritch chose for his workshop reflected both the practical needs of his profession and the natural grekkel preference for concealment and isolation. Deep within Grimlock's maze of forgotten passages, he carved out a space behind what appeared to be a solid wall, accessible only through a carefully disguised panel that required precise manipulation to open. The chamber's position, nested between several larger passages but connected to none of them directly, provided multiple escape routes while ensuring that casual discovery was virtually impossible.
The workshop itself has become a testament to organized efficiency compressed into the smallest possible space. Every inch served multiple purposes - walls lined with shelves that held bottles of ink, stacks of parchment, and the impressive collection of forged seals and stamps that represent years of careful work. His collection of official letter format charts, reference materials showing proper watermarks, and samples of authentic documents creates a comprehensive library of bureaucratic knowledge that would have impressed even legitimate government officials. The worktables, covered with documents at various stages of completion, demonstrate the volume and variety of work that passes through his operation. The smell of ink, heated wax, and alchemical agents that saturated the air has become his signature environment, as distinctive as a fingerprint to those familiar with his work.
Skritch's evolution from scavenger to master forger required him to develop skills that went far beyond simple copying. He needed to understand the complex relationships between different types of official documents, the proper channels through which orders flowed, and the subtle details that distinguished authentic paperwork from clever fakes. This knowledge came through careful observation, strategic eavesdropping, and the occasional bribe or favor that provided access to genuine examples of current documentation.
His three-fingered hands, initially seeming like a disadvantage, proved perfectly suited to the delicate manipulations required for his craft. The precise movements required to create a flowing script, apply seals with the exact right pressure, and age documents to appear appropriately worn became second nature through years of practice. His thin fingers could manipulate the smallest tools with surgical precision, allowing him to create details that larger hands might struggle to reproduce accurately.
The charts he created showing various official letter formats became works of art in themselves, demonstrating not just the visual appearance of different documents but also the subtle variations in language, seal placement, and authorization structures that marked documents from different departments and levels of authority. His ability to forge not just the appearance but also the bureaucratic logic of official paperwork made his work virtually undetectable by anyone except those with intimate knowledge of the specific processes being imitated.
Success in the forgery business requires more than technical skill - it demands a comprehensive understanding of who needs false documents and when. Skritch developed a network of contacts throughout Grimlock's various criminal enterprises, from smugglers who needed transit papers to ambitious goblins seeking promotion through fraudulent credentials. His reputation for quality work and absolute discretion made him the preferred supplier for anyone whose plans require official-looking documentation.
The pricing structure he developed for his services took into account not just the complexity of the work required but also the risk involved and the client's apparent desperation. Rush jobs command premium prices, while particularly dangerous forgeries might require additional security measures that increase both cost and delivery time. His keen understanding of goblin psychology has allowed him to extract maximum payment while maintaining the kind of professional relationships that generate repeat business.
When Lord Rax consolidated power over Grimlock's various factions, Skritch quickly recognized the opportunities and challenges that political centralization would create for his business. The new ruler's emphasis on structured hierarchy and organized governance meant increased demand for official documentation, but it also meant greater scrutiny and more sophisticated detection methods. Adapting to these changes required him to upgrade his techniques and expand his understanding of the emerging bureaucratic systems.
The quality of Skritch's work became legendary throughout Grimlock's criminal underworld, with his forgeries consistently passing even careful inspection by guards specifically trained to detect false documents. This reputation for excellence brought him a steady income but also created expectations that sometimes conflicted with his natural grekkel tendencies toward mischief and deliberate complication of simple tasks. Balancing professional competence with personal satisfaction has required careful management of his more destructive impulses.
The knowledge he accumulated about his clients' activities, gathered through the documents he created for them, provided him with valuable intelligence about Grimlock's various criminal enterprises. This information became a form of insurance against potential threats while also creating opportunities for profitable side arrangements. His position at the center of the fortress's document-based criminal activities made him one of the most well-informed individuals about illicit activities throughout the goblin city.
FIRST APPEARANCE
Dunstan first appears in The Assassin's Skill (Assassin Without a Name Book Four).
