Traders’ Turf Trouble

Adventure Front

Description and Cast

In the southern part of the local steading trouble is brewing. The local Merchants’ Guild gave
permission to a Red Wizard to open up shop in the Traders’ District. The problem is that there
already is an establishment in town that specializes in alchemy and magic items: Corvo’s Curios,
which is supplied by the Collegio Ars Magica. Both parties would like to see the other gone and
they are not exactly shy about voicing their opinions on the matter. Things start to spiral out of
control though, when a big, hulking something starts wrecking up the stockroom in Corvo’s shop.

Cast
Corvo Gastivaro. The proprietor of Corvo’s Curios. An ab-original to the land and a local since
birth. Corvo made a lucrative deal with the Collegio and he has been supplying the locals with
minor magic items and alchemical concoctions for the past thirty years.
Bezephaal, Zulkir of Illusion. A lich and a former leader of Thay, now a persecuted creature, as all
the Red Wizards are. Bezephaal would love to relocate its enclave to the local steading to widen its
trading prospects, and now the lich has all the permits and the deed to do so. Oh, and Bezephaal
also happens to have lost the Red Diamond of Thay – how embarrassing.
Caedra Olmaenir. Chancellor of the Merchants’ Guild, and has been for the better half of the last
two centuries.
Guest starring. The members of the Blood Rat Pack. X’argdorgaat, the vrock demon, as a
representative of Baphomet.

Stakes
• Will Corvo’s Curios remain in business?
• Will the characters confront Bezephaal and will the Red Wizard settle in the local steading?
• How will the Cleric react to the vrock that is actually the thing down in Corvo’s basement?
• Will there be an uprising in the steading?

Dangers
Bezephaal, Zulkir of Illusion (Power-mad wizard)
Bezephaal arrived a few weeks ago and immediately petitioned the Merchants’ Guild and the City
Council for a permission to set up shop in town. In the meantime Bezephaal has been trying to
soften up the only competition in town, Corvo’s Curios, for rhe Red Wizard suspects that the Red
Diamond of Thay went through Corvo’s hands.
Impulse: to obtain arcane knowledge.
Grim Portents
□ Thieves rummage through Corvo’s Curios. Nothing’s missing, but the message is clear.
□ The stockroom in Corvo’s Curios gets destroyed by a vrock.
□ Corvo decides to close the shop and leaves the steading.
Impending doom: Usurpation.

The Merchants’ Guild (Corrupt government)

The Guild’s tentacles reach far into the politics of the local steading. It’s an incredibly wealthy
organization, for everyone who wishes to engage in the trading of goods or services has to purchase
membership. Recently they jacked up the membership fees because, allegedly, the Guild Master
leads such a luxurious lifestyle that she can only maintain it by embezzling money from the
membership fees.
Impulse: to maintain the status quo.
Grim Portents
□ Thugs start extorting the membership fees from the store owners who are unable or
unwilling to pay up.
□ Dozens of families pack up and leave the steading.
□ The City Council issues a decree that prohibits all the merchants in the records of the
Merchants’ Guild leaving the steading.
□ The Council establishes a military state of emergency. All semblance of a fair or democratic
government is gone as the Guild assumes direct control over the city through the Council.
Impending doom: Tyranny.