Fruward the Nail

Few members of the Guild know Fruward except by reputation. They know only that “the Nail” works for the Guild, and that you’ll know him when you see him because of the nail driven right into his forehead. The three-inch-long spike has a wide, square head, the gleam of which Fruward keeps hidden under a handkerchief he wears beneath his battered hat.

Physical Description

Identifying Characteristics

A nail sticking out of his head is the only remarkable thing about him.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Fruward came by his strange injury due to a disagreement with members of the Builders Guild. What Fruward was told would be a late-night negotiation over work contracts in the dry dock where he worked turned out to be an ambush. He was held down, hammered in the head, splashed with ale, and then laid on his face among his tools so that his death could be called an accident.

Later that night, the young Nine-Fingers entered the dry dock to hide from a pursuing Flaming Fist patrol that had spotted her climbing out of a window. She happened upon Fruward lying facedown and heard him struggling to breathe. She turned him over to find him miraculously alive despite the nail in his head—and then Fruward awoke while his head was cradled in her hands. That’s when the doors of the dry dock rattled open, and the Fist patrol entered along with Fruward’s would-be murderers. Disoriented but enraged, Fruward leaped forward, incoherently screaming accusations. A battle ensued, and Fruward escaped with his life only due to the aid of the one who would later become master of the Guild.

Returning to a normal life wasn’t an option—not after killing some of the Flaming Fist and his enemies in the Builders Guild—and the despondent Fruward began to wish the nail had killed him. But Nine-Fingers helped him again. She set him up with a place to live and provided him what he needed to keep going until he came to terms with his new life—as a secret member of the Guild.

Personality Characteristics

Motivation

The Nail is unflinchingly loyal to Nine-Fingers and carries out her commands without comment. He acts as a buffer for Nine-Fingers, arranging things when she would prefer that her name or the Guild not be directly involved. Few in the Guild recognize Fruward after meeting him unless he reveals the nail in his forehead to them. His face is otherwise unremarkable, and the nail tends to attract the eye, so that the rest of Fruward’s features fall away from memory.

Despite their close association for several years, Fruward and Nine-Fingers now rarely meet. The Nail receives most of his orders by way of message spells cast by a member of the Lady’s Court.

Aligned Organization

The Guild