Post by Valen Storyteller on Feb 18, 2016 4:04:29 GMT
Race: Human
Class: Expert 4
Alignment: True Neutral
Faith: Erebus
The Radenos family doesn’t have a great history to rest upon. They are not nobles, nor are they well-established merchants with centuries of history and ties to other families in the region. They are newcomers, having arrived from inland Eryx only a single generation ago. Petronas’ father was an apothecary and herbalist of uncommon talent, who managed to make a name for himself selling potions, salves, unguents and elixirs of all kinds in the city. He trained several apprentices and hired them on as staff, slowly growing out the business.
Petronas inherited a small house, with three trained apprentices, none of whom were quite as skilled as his father had been. Over a decade and a half, the turned that into an immense empire. Shrewd deals abroad guaranteed that he had the monopoly over the supply into Spinal (and to a degree all of Valenpoint) of several key ingredients in the most sought-after potions. With the ability to bring ruin upon his rivals by simply refusing to sell them the materials they needed to do their work, he quickly absorbed the majority of the alchemists and apothecaries in Spinal, as well as several beyond the city, all through the province. When the war with the undead came, he acted quickly in forming ties with leaders in armies and temples, earning himself a good name for aiding in the war effort, even as he made coin hand over fist.
When you operate such a specific, niche business, however, you can only rise so high, and for a year now, Petronas had felt the displeasure of knowing he had plateaued. Few men deal well with the knowledge that your best days are behind you, and least of all a man as ambitious and successful as the Radenos head. When one of his business partners in Spinal told Petronas about a secret society of wealthy businessmen who worked together to advance themselves into nobility and greater wealth, the merchant took the opportunity without hesitation.
This new association brought great benefits for Petronas. Better connected and with insidious influence all through Spinal’s society, he managed to gain an honorary dukedom as well as access to several new avenues of business to expand into. However, the advancement came with strings attached. The other members of the cult had, of necessity, acquired evidence of Petronas’ ill-dealings as they arranged for his ascension, meaning that just as easily as they had elevated him, they could destroy him. And as he began to rise in the secret society’s hierarchy, the true horror of what it stood for and what they were actually doing began to dawn on him. By then, of course, it was much too late.
Petronas still has hope of breaking free from the temple of Erebus that now controls his fate. With subtlety and diligence, he inquires for adventurers and investigators who might learn more about the secret society, ferret out its other members and perhaps even its leaders. he hopes that if he can discover enough without tipping his hand, he might be able to destroy the secret society and thus free himself.
Class: Expert 4
Alignment: True Neutral
Faith: Erebus
The Radenos family doesn’t have a great history to rest upon. They are not nobles, nor are they well-established merchants with centuries of history and ties to other families in the region. They are newcomers, having arrived from inland Eryx only a single generation ago. Petronas’ father was an apothecary and herbalist of uncommon talent, who managed to make a name for himself selling potions, salves, unguents and elixirs of all kinds in the city. He trained several apprentices and hired them on as staff, slowly growing out the business.
Petronas inherited a small house, with three trained apprentices, none of whom were quite as skilled as his father had been. Over a decade and a half, the turned that into an immense empire. Shrewd deals abroad guaranteed that he had the monopoly over the supply into Spinal (and to a degree all of Valenpoint) of several key ingredients in the most sought-after potions. With the ability to bring ruin upon his rivals by simply refusing to sell them the materials they needed to do their work, he quickly absorbed the majority of the alchemists and apothecaries in Spinal, as well as several beyond the city, all through the province. When the war with the undead came, he acted quickly in forming ties with leaders in armies and temples, earning himself a good name for aiding in the war effort, even as he made coin hand over fist.
When you operate such a specific, niche business, however, you can only rise so high, and for a year now, Petronas had felt the displeasure of knowing he had plateaued. Few men deal well with the knowledge that your best days are behind you, and least of all a man as ambitious and successful as the Radenos head. When one of his business partners in Spinal told Petronas about a secret society of wealthy businessmen who worked together to advance themselves into nobility and greater wealth, the merchant took the opportunity without hesitation.
This new association brought great benefits for Petronas. Better connected and with insidious influence all through Spinal’s society, he managed to gain an honorary dukedom as well as access to several new avenues of business to expand into. However, the advancement came with strings attached. The other members of the cult had, of necessity, acquired evidence of Petronas’ ill-dealings as they arranged for his ascension, meaning that just as easily as they had elevated him, they could destroy him. And as he began to rise in the secret society’s hierarchy, the true horror of what it stood for and what they were actually doing began to dawn on him. By then, of course, it was much too late.
Petronas still has hope of breaking free from the temple of Erebus that now controls his fate. With subtlety and diligence, he inquires for adventurers and investigators who might learn more about the secret society, ferret out its other members and perhaps even its leaders. he hopes that if he can discover enough without tipping his hand, he might be able to destroy the secret society and thus free himself.