Alvor returns with his drink to find the others discussing their pasts. Sitting and down and feeling expectant eyes turn his way, he sighs. "Well, I was a watchman out in Korvosa for a time, but my superiors and I didn't see things eye-to-eye." He stares into the center of the table as continues. "What's legal and what isn't; who gets arrested and who doesn't -- it's all backwards in that city. I left about a year and a half ago. Been working my way along the coast, selling my shield to whoever's hiring."

When Steingott later asks about Vinder and Thorn, Al shakes his head and replies with notably less enthusiasm, "Never met either of 'em."