Shadycreek Run

Tribes of Shadycreek Run

The collection of rival criminal families known as the Tribes ran
Shadycreek Run for nearly a century before losing much of their
dominance to violent infighting and internal power struggles.
Comprised of the Mardoon family, the Uttolot family, the Trebain
family, and the Jagentoth family, the Tribes still control most of the
business that transpires in the city as they work against each other
in secret. While each family center is usually comprised of relatives
by blood or marriage, their employees are also considered to be
“within the family,” so long as they remain loyal. The Tribes operate
without a unified symbol or banner, and their interests lie in fencing
stolen goods, importing and providing vice, and controlling the
populace through confusion, intimidation, and fear.

The Mardoon family is a powerhouse of crime within the Graying

Wildlands, thanks to its vast network of foreign contacts as well as
its prosperous alliance with the Myriad. Known for relentless
business acumen and a love of enforceable contracts, the Mardoons
would rather shake hands than swing blades. Even so, when
contracts are broken, examples must be made, and such
circumstances demand a bloody show. The family fortune is made
from brothels, jewels, and the slave trade, often specializing in
exotic finds from Xhorhas and beyond. Leadership is shared
between Lord Anselm Mardoon, Kriemhilde Mardoon, Ophelia
Mardoon, Demis Mardoon, and Rufus Mardoon.

The Uttolot family rose to prominence through a network of familial

trade alliances, making it the foremost importer of goods difficult to
find this far north of the empire. It controls the gates through the
Quannah Breach, and anyone who passes into or out of the region
must pay tolls to the Uttolots, making them a necessary partner to
the other families whether they like it or not. They dabble in
poaching dangerous beasts and monsters, and often clash with the
hunters of the Greytrader Union, a collective of citizens who want to
improve life for the people of Shadycreek Run. Unlike the other
families, the Uttolots rely on the Grudge Gang of Shadycreek for
most of their muscle. Leadership is shared between Lord Milos
Uttolot, Mira Uttolot, and Jagoda Uttolot.
The Trebain family is the most covert of the houses, preferring to do
its business through intermediaries and hired muscle. It lives beyond
the boundaries of the city, deep within the Savalirwood, in a network
of homesteads surrounding a stronghold. The Trebain family focuses
on controlling hunting grounds and harvesting relics from the ruins
of Molaesmyr. The family’s interests put it in constant conflict with
the Uttolot family and the Greytrader Union. The triangle of
animosity between the Uttolots, Trebains, and Greytraders
sometimes makes for strange alliances — after all, the enemy of my
enemy is my friend, no matter how temporary that bond might be.
Leadership of the family is shared between Lord Darko Trebain,
Juraj Trebain, Tatia Trebain, and Zorka Trebain.

The Jagentoth family has earned a reputation for being especially

brutal and unforgiving. Its members publicly execute perceived
traitors and high-profile competitors, but promise great rewards in
exchange for absolute loyalty. The family’s most successful
business ventures include assassination, cultivating and distributing
illicit substances, and slavery (which puts them in direct
competition with the Mardoon family). Leadership is shared between
Lady Sulia Jagentoth, Reese Jagentoth, Numa Jagentoth, and Ionos
Jagentoth.

Goals

Conflict between the families is a constant in Shadycreek Run, but

the apparent absence of Myriad activity has given the Tribes a
unique opportunity to expand their horizons — and their influence.
Lately, the Tribes have occasionally endured each other long enough
to embark on joint ventures into the empire to rekindle old alliances
with the Myriad.

Some see this age of tenuous cooperation as a chance to escape

from the long shadow of the Myriad and stand alongside them as
equals, but others fear that forging new bonds with the Myriad will
just give it the freedom to destroy the Tribes from within.

Relationships

The Tribes endure each other in order to maintain a level of civility

within the otherwise cutthroat streets of Shadycreek Run, but they
are each on the lookout for ways to subvert or weaken their
opposition and become the city’s dominant family.
All members of the Tribes are documented criminals within the
empire, with bounties to match. Travel within the borders of Western
Wynandir is dangerous for these criminal overlords, but each family
has their own connections within the major cities of the empire that
enable business.

In the past, the Myriad has oft attempted to subjugate the Tribes,
but it has been rebuked time after time. The Tribes are too proud of
their well-oiled engine of vice to permit the Myriad to take over.
Even though the Tribes are pursuing new alliances with the Myriad,
the people of Shadycreek Run fear that conflict between these
shady powers is inevitable.

Figures of Interest

Life in Shadycreek is perpetually dangerous for the members of the

Tribes, where every smile hides ill intent.

Ophelia Mardoon

Neutral evil, female tiefling

One of the most prominent members of the Mardoon family, Ophelia

commands the Estate Sybaritic to the north of Shadycreek Run.
Hedonistic and forceful, she does not enjoy being denied and has the
skills and connections to ensure that she gets whatever she desires.
One of the more ambitious members of the house, Ophelia has made
a number of contacts in the Wildemount criminal world outside the
Greying Wildlands.

Jagoda Uttolot

Chaotic evil, male half-orc

Jagoda is a master hunter and expert on the terrifying beasts that

wander through the Savalirwood, using his skills to track and
capture rare creatures for his family to sell. Gleeful in his brutality
and prone to ignore the graces of diplomatic relations, Jagoda has
occasionally gotten himself into trouble that the rest of his family
has had to dig him out of.

Lord Darko Trebain

Lawful neutral, male human

The elder of the Trebain family, Darko helms the efforts to excavate
the ruins of Molaesmyr from within his museum-like mansion. He is
obsessed with the secrets of the blight on the Savalirwood, and he’s
convinced that it was caused by the elves of Molaesmyr tampering
with misunderstood magics. He hopes to discover the source of the
corruption and learn how to weaponize it. With such power at his
disposal, the rise of the Trebains would be unstoppable.

Ionos Jagentoth

Lawful evil, male half-elf

Known for his skills in negotiation and deceit, Ionos has proven
himself the master of the family’s distribution network. Inspired to
expand the business alliances of the Jagentoth family far beyond
the northern edges of the Dwendalian Empire, Ionos has been
making arrangements with Myriad operatives while simultaneously
rooting out Myriad influence in those same circles. Either the noose
is about to tighten, or he’s designed a brilliant ploy to eliminate the
competition.
Savalirwoord
Savalirwood

This area was once a beautiful thicket known as the Veluthil Forest,
enchanted with fey magics and guarded by elven outposts. Nearly
three centuries ago, the forest suffered a terrible curse wrought
from the disaster that felled Molaesmyr. In the centuries since, the
fey magics have grown twisted and dark, the denizens corrupt and
feral. Spirits and monsters crawl up from under the cold, rotted
forest floor, while shadowy whispers bring nightmares to those who
sleep beneath the sinister trees. The forest has been renamed the
Savalirwood, for the elven word savalir, meaning "guilt." It has
become a dangerous obstacle for travel, playing a major role in the
Dwendalian Empire's inability to expand northward to plunder the
ruins of Molaesmyr or conquer Uthodurn. In this most recent
century, the less-dangerous outskirts of the forest have become
havens for criminals, leading to the establishment of Shadycreek
Run.

Throughout the Savalirwood, a handful of small groves and clearings

combat the magical miasma that infects the rest of the wood. Within
many of these relatively protected locales, wild magic thrives and
gentler (if slightly mad) fey guard the surrounding glades, often
enthralling wandering humanoids and capturing them to keep the fey
company — forever. A community of reserved, thick-furred tabaxi
called the Nightback Clan lives among the dangers of the
Savalirwood, occasionally coming to the aid of others in need,
seeking allies in their struggle to survive.
SAVALIRWOOD

The Nightback Clan

Many denizens of the Veluthil were slain following the destruction of

Molaesmyr and the spread of the mysterious curse that transformed
the wood, but one group of tabaxi from the southern reaches of the
forest survived and refused to flee. Knowing that the spirits of their
ancestors were bound to the trees, they chose to stay and adapt,
learning to live a nomadic life among the perpetual threats of the
forest. Devoted to Melora, the Nightback Clan patrols the forest for
food and locations to briefly make home. Unpleasant encounters
with folk from Shadycreek Run have left some of the Nightback Clan
eager to terrorize any unlucky thieves found in the Savalirwood. The
Nightback Clan also blames the elves of Molaesmyr for the tragedy
that claimed the forest and refuses to speak to or work with any
representatives of Uthodurn.