Dwarves of House Verudo

“My family has the finest vaults you can imagine. They forge the locks that secure the jewels of kings and queens. And I learned to pick those locks when I was barely out of the crib.” — Cutter, burglar and Verudo excoriate

Not all dwarves followed the Teaching of Gamul, and not all agreed to sit idle and do nothing during the Long Winter. Some dwarven societies stayed in the East while their brethren of the Union continued to migrate West. These became the Verudo Dwarves. House Verudo is a Dwarven house with services focused in security and banking. Their primary customers are those who have enough coin to buy something worth protecting including the wealthy, the powerful, other Astral marked houses and even state governments. They are among the wealthiest of the Houses by far and their banking establishments can be found all over Summerwild. They invented a long distance "Warp Coffer Transaction System" And the "Trademark Component Cost System" which has now started to kick off among the more heavily populated cities on the continent.
House Verudo played an essential part during the Long Winter but preferred to take a financial role rather than a direct military presence which gave way to Verudo becoming the banking establishment it is to date. Largely part to a financial infusion between House Verudo and House Drakken, twenty years into the war the Mror Holds declared its independence. When years of war became decades the nations of Summerwild quickly became heavily indebted to House Verudo relying on large loans to pay for equipment and provisions. At the end of the war all nations owed Verudo a large sum and to make sure they all pay their debts Verudo demanded that an order be placed in the Treaty of Xurugan demanding the nations to settle them.
Like all other Astral Marked Houses, House Verudo provides services as a business. It's traditional business is banking which involves loans and storage. Another service is security, for paying clients Verudo will build and install security. Similar to their banking business they offer to store any item in their highly secured vaults. Verudo also lease their ancestral lands of Hinmerun to any mining establishment providing they offer a percentage of the profit.
The Astral Mark developed and manfisted by these Dwarves are known as a Mark of Warding.

The Mark of Warding helps its bearers protect things of value. Using the mark, a dwarf can weave wards and seal portals with ether force. It also provides its bearer with an intuitive understanding of locks and mechanisms used to protect and seal. The decision each heir has to make is whether they’ll use this power to keep things safe, or whether they’re more interested in opening locks and taking what’s inside.
If you want to keep something safe —jewels, secrets, prisoners—Verudo is there to help. The Defenders Guild of House Verudo trains locksmiths, security specialists, and more. It even maintains the infamous prison of Adonis Prison, along with a number of smaller prisons. As useful as these services are, it’s the Banking Guild that truly defines the house. Verudo's lands in the Hinmerun include deep veins of precious metals and stones, and the dwarves have used this wealth to establish the banking industry of Summerwild. Anyone who makes a living from coin—from bankers to goldsmiths— likely learned their skills at House Verudo.
The security of Verudo banks is legendary. The house also provides a special service to those who can afford it: a system of extradimensional vaults, allowing a client to store their goods in one location and retrieve them at any other Verudo enclave. House Verudo has a close alliance with House Drakken. Verudo has worked hard to earn the trust of its clients and to establish a reputation for unshakeable integrity. The house has no love of renegade dwarves using their marks to turn a profit, and such rogues will want to avoid the eye of Verudo.
Character Examples Here are examples of Verudo Characters:

ARTIFICER HOUSE AGENT Some people want to build a better mousetrap. Better isn’t enough for you—you want to build the best. Your basic job: go out in the world, find the finest and most unusual security systems, and see what you can learn from them. When you go into an ancient ruin, you’re hoping there are traps.
CRIMINAL ROGUE It’s not that you’re a bad person. You’ve just never met a lock you didn’t want to open. It’s like they speak to you, whispering “Free me! Free me!” You’re not even in it for the gold; you’ve just fallen in with a bad crowd because most people who like opening locks are criminals. Perhaps it’s time to make some new friends.

Lifespan

Dwarves mature at the same rate as humans, but they’re considered young until they reach the age of 50. On average, they live about 350 years.

Average Height

Dwarves stand between 4 and 5 feet tall

Average Weight

Average of 150 lbs

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Dwarves born from the East tend to have tanner hues to their skin than their far Western counterparts.  
Many are given a Mark of Warding which manifests as beautiful tattoos on their body that glow dimly in the dark.