02 - Iron Kingdoms W.. - Captain Spud Is Amazing

108.1.141.197
time drinking and gambling. His excesses spiraled out
of control, and the castellan lost nearly all of his assets
even opening exorbitant credit lines with all four of
the city’s High Captains.
A desperate Lionor believed he had found his
salvation in the form of Asenath Scarrow, a ravenhaired
woman who introduced him to some associates
willing to pay handsomely for his influence and ability
to aid their smuggling operation. Though Lionor kept
silent and asked no questions until his debts were paid,
the castellan suspected his benefactors were more
than they seemed. He eventually confronted Asenath
wishing to end their arrangement since his debts were
paid, but the woman coldly informed him that death
was the best he could hope for to get out of their
“little pact.” Lionor knew that he had allowed agents
of Cryx into the mainland. Now wracked by guilt and
growing more paranoid each day, the castellan knows
it is but a matter of time before he is either discovered
and hanged or murdered by his own dark Cryxian
associates.
The Four High Captains: High Captain is a term
of respect earned by a powerful crime lord who
claims the title and is capable of holding on to it.
Not always four in number, those holding these
positions have dominated the underworld of Five
Fingers for generations. No matter how big or small
the operation, everyone pays a tithe to the Captains.
They form a de facto city council setting policy for the
criminals operating in the Fingers. The current High
Captains are Banek Hurley, Belchior Degrata, Jannish
Riordan, and Velter Waernuk,
Banek Hurley (male Thurian Ftr10/Rog7) is the
most powerful of the High Captains and an old friend
of King Baird II. High Captain Hurley is a former pirate
captain notorious for leading his crew to mutiny during
his stint in the Ordic Royal Navy. Most people believe
him long dead, a rumor exploited by the Baird when
he quietly and unceremoniously pardoned the man ten
years ago. Hurley is secretly charged with collecting and
delivering the king’s tithe from the other High Captains.
He is a loud and likable man who enjoys telling stories,
but in his heart he is a ruthless scoundrel who has seen
more than his fair share of bloodshed. Hurley employs
an extensive network of informants who have infiltrated
all aspects of the Five Fingers including the gangs of
the other High Captains. In addition to maintaining
an iron grip over the gangs of his quarter, Hurley
keeps several mercenaries on retainer to provide extra
security and muscle.
Durgan Kilbride (male Thurian Ftr13) is a
bristling, bearded fire-haired mountain of a man. The
most recent addition to the High Captains, Kilbride
rose to power only a few years ago and is said to have
the blood of many innocents on his hands. The son
of wealthy Thurians, Kilbride longed for a life at sea
as a child. After a decade in the service of the navy, he
ventured to Five Fingers where he became a sea captain
and a privateer. Kilbride earned a name for himself
targeting Cygnaran shipping vessels, particularly those
owned by the Mercarian League. These activities made
him something of a hero at home but gained him an
enormous price on his head. Eventually Kilbride was
forced to retire when he ran out of safe ports in which
to hide. The man is seldom seen in public without
his bodyguard and sometime assassin Kaelin Dirge
(female Thurian Ftr6/Rog6), a small, wiry woman with
dull eyes and a threatening disposition.
Jannish Riordan (male Thurian Ftr12) is a former
mercenary captain who has traveled across much
of western Immoren before settling at Five Fingers.
High Captain Riordan has managed to cultivate a
reputation as a mild mannered man of good breeding,
and his territories are among the quietest in the city.
Riordan often meets in private with Lord Governor
Doyle, and the two have become friends. Secretly
Riordan is a member of the Shroud Thamarite sept
(IKCG, pp. 220–221). He maintains a low profile to
keep from drawing attention to the cell that meets
beneath one of his gambling halls. It is widely known
throughout Five Fingers that anyone who crosses
High Captain Riordan simply disappears in the night
without a trace.
A black-hearted old man, High Captain Velter
Waernuk (male Sharde Ftr6/Rog9) is a thoroughly
dangerous and disreputable cutthroat known for
the bloody exploits of his youth. A former pirate
captain, Waernuk is rumored to have built his own
fleet of vessels still operating along the Broken Coast.
Officially he has retired to Five Fingers to seek rest in
his old age. The hell raiser among the High Captains,
Waernuk is the first to turn to violence to solve his
problems. Rumors also persist that the High Captain
maintains ties to the Scharde Islands.
World Guide 301