Via Dolorosa, whose name is Ancient Dwarven for "The Art of Kicking Ass" was born into the nearest equivalent the Dwarves have to a middle class. Though trained by her parents in the ways of combat, she soon discovered that she liked history and books just as much as fighting and pursued a career as an archivist at the Bolen'Torenor hall of records. Her comfortable job fell apart after a Duergar attack that left the library in shambles and the mystical Zeitgeist Grimoire, an archive of Dwarven arcane and religious lore, in the hands of their enemies. She set off alone to stop them armed with nothing but a maul and an inexplicably portable outhouse.
After the Duergar threat was quelled, Via joined Adam Smith and his adventuring company in search of the mysterious Betrayer, a powerful demi-god who provoked the Duergar to attack in the first place. She shares a congenial relationship with Smith himself, feels protective of the diminutive sorceress Jeryn Hall, and has an ongoing rivalry with fellow dwarf Fhaeris Glorygem, whom Via considers an illiterate moron.
