Monte Baldo is a dwarf of the Bronzebeard Clan. Born in Dun Morogh and raised in the mountains surrounding Kharanos, as an adolescent he found work with his father mining in the Gol'Bolar Quarry. After an unfortunate accident trapped and suffocated his father and elder brother in a collapsed section of tunnel, Monte cut his cavern-delving days short. He desired a living that put his life in his own hands, not one spent in tunnels with his breath forfeit to the whims of the Earth Mother. Against the wishes of his remaining family, he ventured to Ironforge to train as a warrior.
Quickly adapting to the grueling training methods of the Ironforge Guard, Monte spent the remainder of his adolescence working his hardest to be one of the finest recruits in his cohort. However, while excelling at the combat arts, a lack of discipline and a fiery temperament made Monte a less-than-ideal candidate for guard duty. After an ideological disagreement led to a brawl in shared quarters, Monte was dismissed from the Guard. Thief Catcher Thunderbrew, a mentor to Monte during his training, recognized Monte's potential as a fighter and arranged for him to begin work as a mercenary for Roetten Stonehammer of Reclaimers Inc.
Later, now a seasoned mercenary, Monte was part of an escort for a Reclaimers Inc. caravan transporting a routine shipment of reagents from Nijel's Point in Desolace to an agent in Kharanos. During the journey south from Auberdine, Monte's caravan was waylaid in Ashenvale Forest by a group of furbolgs, and he sustained a head wound. The leader of the caravan, unwilling to delay, left Monte in Astranaar to heal, with plans for him to rejoin the caravan on the way back north. During this time, Monte was befriended by the local Night Elf population, finding common ground in a love of rivers (fishing), horticulture (primarily hops), and the staggering power of nature.
However, the caravan failed to return and Monte received no word of their fate.
Bushranger Billygum put up posters in search of his missing friend.
In the years prior to the re-opening of the Dark Portal, Monte Baldo found steady work as a personal bodyguard for Westfall Stu. On tour with Stu, Baldo met his distant-cousin Bushranger Billygum and the two became fast friends. (Note: In the Shadowy Figures storyline, Billy learns from L. Bacchus that he has faint genetic markers only found on the tall-side of the Baldo family[1]. This is confirmed again by Dr. Jawn Fanhra in the Misdemeanors of Matthew Broxis arc[2]. However, it is unclear if this relation is canon in all timelines of the Baldo-verse).
[1]Lee, Stan. "Shadowy Figures", The Grand Adventures of Monte Baldo! issue 9 (November 1961), Moonbrook, WF: Stormwind Press
[2]Broxis, Matthew (w), the Wizard, Ned (ed). "Misdemeanors of Matthew Broxis", The Grand Adventures of Monte Baldo! issue 34 (April, 1973), Moonbrook, WF: Stormwind Press