Descended from a long and prestigious line of servants, Murray's father was the valet to a Cormyrian General, his grandfather a servant for the butler of a viscount, his great-grandfather the slop boy to the chef of a baron, and his great-great grandfather the dogsbody for the 7th son of a hedge knight. Servility, loyalty, and an outright blind obedience were his genetic gifts.

And so, when at the age of 16, Murray was assigned to be the personal valet to a captain in the Cormyrian army he thought he was on his way to greatness, or at least on his way to making his dear departed dad proud. Unfortunately, his hopes and dreams and aspirations were dashed, much like his captain's skull, after the squadron he was serving in was ambushed by the enemy.

The only survivors were a group of adventurers who had been press ganged into military service after they blew up the King's favorite distillery. Following military protocol, Murray's service followed the chain of command and he became Faerith the Pugilist's personal valet.