Description: Berto isn't a particularly tall fellow, sort of stocky by nature. Nor is he particularly handsome, with an ill-healed broken nose from an old fight, a few scars here and there, and a copious number of little burns from various issues with brewing equipment. He makes up for it with a warm, white- toothed grin and long, dark lashes that draw focus to his bright, intelligent eyes.

Personality: Berto is warm and kind, with a genuinely amiable demeanor. Sure, he's definitely about the money now and again, but it's rare that he's going to go out of his way to gouge people. Given his quick and easy sense of humor, he's almost always laughing and smiling. He's also pretty drunk most of the time.

Background: There he was, sitting at the edge of the pier, looking at a long life of being a fisherman and he said to himself, "Self, let's not and say we didn't." There was a bit of a pause there, as he realized... "So what are you going to do?" And that was when he went to work in the dockside taverns. At first, he ended up being a bruiser in some of the nastier parts of the Ostrian docks. But then he got a bright idea! Let's add apples to this beer to make it not taste like total crap.

From there, he had a certain low sort of trade as an "improver" of bad ale and occasional distiller.

It was a good life. Well, not too bad anyways, but see, there was a little issue with the tavern he was working for, well, engaging in the Dust trade. So, when the place was raided (on the picayune grounds of engaging in illegal trade with unsavoury sorts) and individuals sentenced to some pretty hard labor, he said, "Let's make some new friends." Sure, the first of them was the young Ostrian magistrate by the name of Giulio Mazetti, who was involved in the sentencing, but, hey, friends are friends, right? And what are a few little favors between friends?

Yep. History in the making! And... whoa! New term: 'gustatory diplomacy.' Ain't life grand?

Oh, and yeah. He figured out how to make Southern Thunder.