Grin Beran
Grin Beran, an elderly human with slicked-back white hair, a mostly-tidy beard and a recent scar across his left eye, always had a knack for knowing what people wanted to hear. Grin spent much of his life back in Waterdeep with his ear to the ground, listening to the needs of the city. Not the needs of the government or the lords or the city guards, which mostly consisted of bureaucracy and pomp. No, Grin listened to the will of the people: the lower class workers barely scraping by, the small businesses desperately trying to stay solvent and the criminal element amassing power behind closed doors.
Never satisfied to simply take when it was practically effortless to have it given instead, Grin ran one successful racket after another throughout the bustling underbelly of Waterdeep. Rile up one group, turn them against a second and have a third waiting to swoop in while the first two are preoccupied with each other. Grin sat back and let his schemes play out, reaping the rewards of a city full of strife and contention. "Gears in a machine, like souls without purpose, require opposing counterparts to realize their potential," he used to quip to his most trusted allies.
As the years pressed on, and one-by-one he outlived his friends and family members, Grin realized that he didn’t just want wealth; he wanted power. But within the walls of Waterdeep, too many forces were at play for a simple racketeer to make that kind of dent. He needed a fresh start in a place where everything is up for grabs. When word of Mythrite made it to his doorstep, he wasted no time relocating.
Now entering his seventh month, Grin has set up quite the operation from his unassuming home in Eronia. Much the same as Waterdeep, the people of Mythrite thirst for the tales of wealth and prosperity Grin spins. “It is on the brink of your reach that the true reward for your hard work resides. It is unwavering in its indifference. It cannot and will not be given; it must be taken!” he expounds. To the simple Miners and laborers, he blames the Merchants for being too greedy. To the merchants, he blames the Criminals for the dearth of customers. To the criminals, he blames the laborers for snitching on their operations.
Round and round the blame is placed. Grin then offers simple, and generously affordable, solutions to the problems he so readily points out. Just as one group might be on the verge of seeing through the racket, Grin subtly shifts the blame in the other direction. A charming smile and a reassuring nod from a friendly old man go a long way out here in Mythrite, and folks rely on Ol’ Grin Beran to tell it like it is – or, more likely, tell them what they want to hear – as he puts one arm around their shoulders and slips the other into their coin purses.
Wealth & Financial state
Working class
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