Aubreck and his Butler

The merchant prince Aubreck Drallion once counted himself among the richest folk of his city. His trade fleet was one of the largest and most prosperous of its kind, with hundreds of ships under his banner dodging storms, pirate raids, and aquatic monsters to carry goods across the world.

Yet Aubreck’s success perhaps came too fast and too easily; although his profits eventually stabilized, his ambition kept expanding. Years ago, his contacts in the southern jungles reported that he could monopolize trade in rare spices and herbs by making heavy investments in the area. Aubreck took the opportunity as a sure thing and leaped at the chance to get even richer. He sold off many of his assets and converted the proceeds to property deeds and promissory notes, then secured that portable wealth aboard Emperor of the Waves, the foremost ship in his fleet.

Aubreck’s plan was to convert these notes back into cash when the ship reached its destination in the south, but fate introduced a cruel twist, and Emperor of the Waves disappeared. A storm separated the ship from its escort, and it was never heard from again. Devastated by the financial loss, Aubreck was reduced to the lifestyle of an ordinary merchant.

His half-orc butler Vertheg with finding a suitable band of adventurers for his urgent mission. Tall, lanky, and awkward, the butler is notable for the single tusk that juts out from his lower jaw, and for the way his warty skin contrasts with his fine, neat clothing. Vertheg is often responsible for carrying out quasi-legal dealings for Aubreck, so he is well acquainted with the sorts of taverns and inns the characters might be found in.