Zellback
Corlin Zellback grew up in Waterdeep in a working-class gnome family. His father was a butcher (and his father before him) so it was no surprise when Corlin followed in his father into the trade. His father was a garrulous man, who loved to socialize at his work, every customer interaction taking twice as long as necessary as he paused to share gossip and stories. His mother and six siblings were much the same. Corlin, as the eldest son, perhaps as an unconscious attempt to distinguish himself from his father, grew into a painstaking, modest, and quiet man. When his father died, he took over the business and surprised customers by listening instead of talking. He became a person who spoke rarely but was always listened to when he did. People often asked his advice on personal and professional matters.
Corlin never married or had children, a grief to his mother, and a source of confusion to his siblings who reproduced prolifically. Rather than focusing on family, Corlin became an active member of the Guilds in Waterdeep, exerting more authority than a butcher normally would within the Guild system. Yet he stayed behind the scenes, allowing wealthier and showier members of the Guilds to openly engage in the push and pull of power between the Guilds and Nobles, while he worked for more authority for the Guilds, and more authority and respect for simple tradesmen like himself within the Guilds. Since he was not self-aggrandizing, he was respected and liked within the community both by his customers and his fellow Guild members.
Despite his patience work and personal credibility, nothing much changed in the social makeup of the Guilds or Waterdeep. He outlived his mother and siblings, except for his youngest brother Wilgrim Zellback who was also a butcher who had opened his own shop. People believed Corlin content with his lot in life. Thus, one can imagine the surprise when he, as an elderly respectable tradesman, left Waterdeep and moved to the boomtown of Mythrite to start over, leaving his business to his brother. His brother, however, knew Corlin Zellback’s secret: Corlin was tired of seeing his patient work have so little impact. What his brother did not know was that Corlin had recently had a verbal confrontation with the son of a Noble family, Oryn Carmaya. Typically, Corlin Zellback shared that information with no one.
Now, Corlin Zellback has been in Mythrite for a year, an integral part of the community of The Halberd. In this town with little law and order, within his community, Corlin is frequently asked to resolve conflicts among Halberd citizens and is part of a larger coalition to increase the authority of the Guilds within Mythrite. He is known, though he never speaks of it, for giving charity to the weakest of the community, often slipping an extra cut of “leftover” meat into the orders of poor widows and the like. He is regular in his habits, at work at the same hours every day, walking the same route every evening for relaxation. The sight of Corlin washing blood from his hands, even from under his nails, using the exact same number of motions, is a familiar sight to all. He has told no one why he left Waterdeep, and no one asks, for they respect him and his reticence too much. Yet, the observant among the informal Guilds in Mythrite have noticed that, when discussing the Lords' Alliance within Mythrite, if Oryn Carmaya’s name is mentioned, Corlin Zellback presses his lips together thinly.
By Jennifer Pullen
Relationships
Wealth & Financial state
Working class
Current Location
Species
Date of Birth
Elderly
Spouses
Siblings
Children
Gender
Male
Comments