Dyvers is a large city built on trade and in such an enviroment there is always demand for professional hired killers; they are sought by those that want to settle mercantile or guild conflicts that cannot be resolved legally, by old rivals that want to settle scores between them or by people that want to put some pressure on certain political organisations or figures. Although the mayor and the senate (secretely) have acknowledged the need for organisations that provide such services, they do not (openly) approve of their existence. This means that the local government has outlawed assassin’s guilds in the Free City of Dyvers. The question of outlawing an assassins’ guild is not so much an ethical or moral as a practical one, however. In the first place the mayor and oligarchs realize that ‘legalizing’ such a guild would gravely offend many of their Baklunish trading partners. The resultant loss of trade would be a severe blow to the cities interests. Secondly, the fact that guilds of assassins (in addition to those of thieves and beggars) are forbidden in the city is a matter of civic pride to most citizens of Dyvers. They like to point an accusing finger at their bitter rival, the City of Greyhawk, and berate them for being a ‘city ruled by thieves’. They would never stoop to such depths themselves - or so they say. Anyone who should think that there are no such guilds in Dyvers is gravely mistaken. A common proverb in Dyvers says: "business goes where the money is" and this is also rings true for assassins. Assassin’s guilds are considered ‘rogue guilds’ under the law, and this means that its members are actively persecuted.

Guild Organisation

The organisation of assassin’s guilds in Dyvers is a complex one. There are currently no less than four separate assassins’ guilds active in Dyvers, in addition to a few hired killers that operate alone. Most of the time two or more of the four organisations wage war with each other, sabotaging the other guild’s missions or attempting to kill rival assassins. At least, this is how it appears on the surface - it is the picture most citizens will sketch and believe to be true. Appearances are known to deceive, and nothing could be further from the true state of affairs in Dyvers. All of the four guilds are in fact under the control (albeit unwittingly) of a trio who are masters of deception and subterfuge. These three persons loosely coordinate the actions of the separate guilds, and orchestrate fake ‘guild wars’ in order to keep up the illusion of a fractioned guild. Such an illusion eases the minds of the goverment, the merchants and the citizens, and thus allows the assassins much more freedom than a single guild would have. The assassins’ guilds of Dyvers also perform missions in Furyondy and Verbobonc, using Dyvers as their base of operations. These states have few resident assassins besides insurgents and agents from the Land of Iuz. Most of the members of the Dyvers assassins’ guild loathe coming to Greyhawk; they share the other citizens’ contempt for that city and try to avoid it.

Before the controlling trio is detailed, each of the four separate guilds is given a brief description. Most members of the guilds are human although there are a few demihumans among them. Senior members direct most guild activities while junior members do most of the legwork. Dependents include partners, children, some smugglers, fences and similar people. Hired hands include snitches, bribed guards, corrupt officials etc.

The Night Skulls

The Night Skulls are an agressive band of assassins who generally use brute force or poison to achieve their aims. The Night Skulls sometimes employ thugs or down-on-their-luck mercenaries to do so some jobs for them. Most members do not care overmuch for harming innocents while getting to their mark, and there are occasions where they have poisoned an entire household when it proved too difficult to administer to poison directly to the mark. They are not easily startled by the prospect of difficult missions, but lack the finesse to murder the really well-protected targets such as heads of state or archmages.

The Night Skulls have 2 senior and 9 junior members in addition to a host of dependents and hired hands. Most of the Night Skulls are fighters, with some thieves mixed in. One of their senior members is an experienced alchemist and herbalist in addition to being a minor mage (lvl 3). He is responsible for concocting the poisons used by the Night Skulls. A minor priest of Nerull has recently joined the ranks of the Night Skulls, and his skills are much welcomed by its current members. The Night Skulls make their headquarters in a building along the Devil’s Twist in the Thieves Quarter of Dyvers.

The Night Skulls have a intense rivalry with the Silver Vipers, whom they consider arrogant and spoiled brats instead of true assassins. They have little contact with The Eye, but will kill anyone they even suspect being a member of that organisation, being a little paranoid in that regard. Their conflict with the Veiled Knives occasionaly flares up and then dies down again as suddenly as their attention shifts elsewhere.

The Silver Vipers (Society of the …)

Known to the man on the street as the Silver Vipers, the Society of the Silver Viper is a peculiar organisation of assassins. Each member of the Society of the Silver Viper considers himself an artist in addition to being an assassin. In order to promote this macabre sense of artistry, all members favor a particular weapon or method to slay their marks. They often leave some sort of callsign at the site of their latest kill. Status within the organisation is dependent on the originality of the kills, not on their sheer number. The Society of the Silver Viper have ritualistic and difficult trial of application for prospective members, and only few make it through. Spoiled members of the rich and aristocratic merchant families of Dyvers sometimes aspire to become a member of this society, although very few succeed. These assassins also like to frequent parties and social occassions given by the wealthy in order to show off their charm and wit. One must not forget that despite their mannerisms and charm, these men and women are brutal killers, and have little regard for ordinary lives if it enchances their own glory.

Currently the Silver Vipers have 3 senior and 5 junior members in addition to a number of dependents and hired hands. Most of its members are thieves, some are fighters and there is also a single bard (lvl 7) among them. They all possess excellent equipment. Most members have homes of their own but they often meet in a small but well-defended stone house along Whitewater Road in the Northern Quarter of Dyvers.

The Silver Vipers have an intense loathing for the Night Skulls, whom they consider crude murderers. They have a grudging respect for the Eye, although they will not hesitate to expose their members if given the chance. Their rivalry with the Veiled Knives is intermittent.

The Eye

The Eye is the smallest and most secretive of the four guilds in Dyvers. They handle at least as many spying missions as they do murder contracts. The garotte is a particular favorite amongst its members; assassins of The Eye prefer easily concealable and inconspicous weapons above others. The demands of the mission always has priority in choosing the instrument of death - they rarely use poison, though. All members of the guild receive intensive training in disguise, acting and forgery skills. Meetings are always held masked, and most members do not know the true identy of the others, a situation they all prefer. Becoming a member of The Eye is very difficult.

Currently The Eye has 3 senior and only 2 junior members in addition to a few dependents. The Eye rarely uses hired manpower. The members of The Eye of possess a wide variety of skills and most of them are multi or dual classed thieves. All members have private lives but they do have a guild headquarters, which lies along Denmar Street in the Festival Quarter of Dyvers.

The Eye is the least visible of the four guilds, and is tries to avoid any guild wars to the best of its ability, which it succeeds in pretty well. They have no qualms about killing a member of one of the other guilds if they even suspect that their have guessed their true identity or that it or their hideout is in any danger of being discovered.

The Veiled Knives

The Veiled Knives are a medium sized and highly lawful assassin’s guild. Senior members are not allowed to have a private live besides membership of the guild; they are permanently quartered at the guild house. If hired to do a job, assassins of the Veiled Knives rarely operate alone. The usual method is to let a junior make the kill while a senior member acts as backup in case something should go wrong. All their work is highly organized and improvisation is strongly discouraged. The Veiled Knived are well known in the city for repeatedly springing some of their members from high security jail cells.

The Veiled Knives have 4 senior and 6 junior members in addition to a number of dependents and hired hands. Their members consists of fighters, thieves or fighter/thieves, and they are desperately searching for a wizard to replace one of their recently deceased associates. They have a reasonable store of magic items, some of them only usable by wizards. They have their permanent headquarters in the southern part of Xetin’s Street in the Wizard’s District in Dyvers.

The Veiled Knives have an intense hatred of the Eye, because they cannot get a grip on them. They consider the Night Skulls a dumber and weaker version of themselves and have occassional run-ins with them They consider the Silver Vipers a bunch of haughty, individualistic idiots with a highly ineffective organisation..

Solitary Assassins

There are few solitary assassins in Dyvers. Most of them are either passing through or on a specific mission, and leave as soon as it has been fullfilled. Those who do not move on are either killed or forced to join one of the guilds. One particular assassin of note that frequents Dyvers is known only as The Phantom. He is a mysterious assassin of great skill and strength and is even rumored to possess some wizardly skills. His working area includes the Viscounty of Verbobonc, Furyondy and Veluna, and he spends only a fraction of his time in Dyvers.

Mesha’s Organisation

As noted above, the four guilds are not the true power behind most assassinations in Dyvers. The real power is held by Mesha, a human female of extraordinary skill and cunning, together with her two associates, Fenthril and Koroku. Together with these two partners, she directs ‘her’ guilds as she pleases. In effect each of the four guilds form the branches of a larger organisation, each branch with its own area of expertise. Mesha is acting guildmaster of all four of the guilds, although she does so in different guises.

History

When Mesha first arrived in Dyvers, most assassins working in the area operated alone. There were three budding organisations; the Shadow Daggers, the Silver Vipers and the Night Skulls. Mesha and her two companions attracted some promising solitary assassins from Dyvers and the surrounding lands and created both The Eye and the Veiled Knives. After building up these two organisations and establishing a reputation, she turned her attention to the other three guilds. Mesha infiltrated the Silver Vipers and Night Skulls. With the Silver Vipers she eventually became guildmaster by executing daring and highly visible jobs with finesse and style and hinting at her (nonexistant) relation to the Naelax royal court. The Society of the Silver Viper was already an organisation filled with individualistic spoiled brats, but she professionalised it, primarily by ritualizing some elements of the organisation. She took over the Night Skulls by murdering the acting guildmaster and killing every member that opposed her ascendancy - a show of brute force that she needs to repeat now and then. With all four guilds under her control she began a war of attrition against the Shadow Daggers and they were eliminated to a man. The solitary assassins that still remained in Dyvers either joined up with one of the four guilds or left the city.

Rule

Mesha’s grip on the four current guilds is not one of iron, on the contrary. In her role as Guildmaster her involvement in the day-to-day affairs of the guild is minimal. She does have to approve of any assignment taken by another guild member, and she tries to make sure that the guild best suited to the job will eventually get it. She also has to right to refuse aspiring members, but rarely makes use of it. She thinks it better to ‘sacrifice’ unfit members to the ongoing guild wars or to the authorities, which pleases everyone.

Mesha cultivates the differences that exist between the guilds. Such polarization is useful to her because it makes it less likely that members of separate guilds will contact each other. Additionally each guild will expand in their own area of expertise, making a variety of missions possible. When the guildmembers despise the other guild’s style and culture it is unlikely that they will ever sue for peace or try to join forces, which is something Mesha dreads. Guild wars often erupt after incidents that are arranged by her; she has ordered two guilds to kill the same mark on more than one occassion, for example.

Mesha’s policies about freelance assassins in Dyvers is clear: she leaves transients alone, unless they interfere with her plans. Assassinating someone is a sure means of interference. The ones that overstay their welcome in Dyvers will either be killed, or forced to join one of the existing guilds. Mesha carefully selects which guild contacts the outsider, depending on the skills the outsider displays. She is still unsure about one man though: The Phantom. Mesha both dreads and admires his this man and his reputation, and she is still trying to make up her mind whether she should kill him or take him as a lover.

Mesha only has contact with the senior members of each guild, junior members are not allowed to see the guildmaster.

Fenthril and Koroku

Mesha would have difficulty doing was she has done without the help of her two associates; Koroku and Fenthril. Fenthril is a mind flayer, and his primary responsibility is to gather intelligence and is ‘persuade’ people that need to take some action. Koroku is a kenku. He often serves as an infiltrator and sometimes doubles for Mesha using his shapechange power when she is needed at more than one place at the same time. Mesha does not trust the two completely, but the they haven’t let her down yet, which is better than many others she once knew.

Current Problems

With the power and membership of the four guilds in ascendancy, Mesha is beginning to realize that she might have overstepped her limits. Its getting harder and harder to properly control all four guilds and several recent developments have not improved the situation. It might be only a matter of time before one or more of the guilds break away from her rule. If she were ever killed or disabled, the guild wars would rage unchecked. A few important recent developments are detailed below.

The Priest of Nerull: The Night Skulls have admitted a minor priest of Nerull as new junior member. Wandering the Flanaess after fleeing the Horned Society this priest had assisted some other juniors and gotten them out of trouble on more than one occassion. His popularity was such that Mesha could not easily refuse his admittance to the Night Skull’s ranks. She dislikes the priest and fears that he will turn the group into a religious sect.

The Scarlet Brotherhood: Mesha has become concerned about a member of the Veiled Knives that was recently elevated to senior member. He has been advocating some plans that intend to make the Veiled Knives the sole guild in Dyvers, either taking over or destroying the other guilds. He is Suloise and has taken to some long absences from the Veiled Knives of late, which is highly irregular for its members. Fenthril has tried to read his thoughts on several occassions, but was blocked by an unknown force. Mesha now suspects that the man is an operative of the Scarlet Brotherhood and she is not happy about it. The man covers his tracks well, and she has been unable to lay a trap for him without exposing herself.

The Magister: Larissa Hunter, the current Magister of Dyvers, is said to consider a ‘war on crime’ in an attempt to lure trade away from Greyhawk and into Dyvers. Crime has increased dramatically since the Greyhawk Wars due to the influx of undesireable elements and an increased competition for resources. Larissa thinks that now the threat of war at Dyver’s frontier has receded the time to act against this crime has come. Mesha fears that Larissa’s plans will be bad for business at best, and will expose her organisation at worst. If it looks like the Magister will continue with her plans, Mesha will try to influence the members of the Dyvers Council at first with subtle threats and assassinate supporting members as final measure.

The Thieves Guild: Thieves guilds are organisations with little power in Dyvers due to their status as rogue guilds. Many thieves and other criminals operate alone or in small groups. In the last few months one of these groups has been growing in power and has even coerced some freelance thieves into joining them. The leadership has their eye on the lucrative assassin’s market and they perceive the four guilds as fractioned and weakened by the guild wars. They are planning to expand their sphere of operations and might try to push out one or more of the four assassin’s guilds. This is a case were Mesha’s strategy of appearing weak is threatening to backfire on her and she is unsure how to deal with this new threat.

Adventure Hooks

A few adventure hooks that can be used to involve the PCs into guild business or the activities of Mesha and her associates are provided below.

Tricked: The PCs will walk into Koroku’s in a bar or tavern (most probably in the Festival Quarter). Koroku will take an interest in them and might ask them to join in a game or offer them a drink. He will then try to play a practical joke on them. This joke might involve a small monetary loss, but it will certainly make the players look stupid in front of a large crowd. If the players are insulted or want to regain their money and go after Koroku, they might find more than they bargained for. Mesha will protect the Kenku and might order one of the guilds to eliminate the troublesome PCs.

The Brain Eater: Tudor, a wealthy merchant, has recently lost his brother. His body was found in the Thieves Quarter with its skull cracked open and its brain missing. Tudor knows that his brother loved to slum in the seedier parts of Dyvers, but he is determined to have those who murdered his brother caught. He has pleaded to the authorities to look into the matter, but they suspect that his Tudor’s brother was involved in some shady activities and got what was coming to him and they consider the matter closed. He knows his brother bore a special signet ring, which was missing from his body. If someone could find the ring, they might be able to find the murderers. In actuality Tudor’s brother was mugged by a local low-life who stole his ring. Some time later Fenthril came upon the unconscious body and could not resist the urge to snack on the man’s brain, figuring that someone else would be held responsible for the crime and that a speak with dead spell would be unable to identify him. The lowlife that stole the ring saw the mind flayer eat the man’s brain and he is now in hiding, afraid to sell even the signet ring he stole.

Stopping a War: One of the officials of the Dyvers Council has been murdered. Accusations are rampant between the other council members as some incriminating evidence has been found in the official’s home that implicates another council member - it is still unknown who. Larissa likes to hire some expert investigators that are not involved politically in Dyvers, and she has her eye on the PCs. If they find enough leads or even solve the murder, they will be richly reward by Larissa and the city. In truth, the assassination was ordered by Mesha and the Eye performed it and placed the (fake) evidence. Mesha hopes to incite the council members and thereby stopping the proposed ‘war on crime’. The council member that was murdered was a passionate advocate for the war. While the Eye did the initial job, another guild (such as the Night Skulls) might take on the investigating PC�s if they dig too deep. In addition some members of the council are overeager to point out their innocence to the PC�s and might even take the opportinity to point an accusing finger at other council member(s), further complicating the matter.

Poisoning: Under the influence of the priest of Nerull, some junior members of the Night Skulls have taken to poisoning a few wine jars to get at their mark. Twenty people were killed (including the mark) by the poison before it was discovered. The authorities and the relatives of the people killed are furious, and a substantial reward has been offered to those who are instrumental in capturing the people responsible for the poisoning. Mesha abhors the act of the Night Skulls, and if the PC�s investigate she will try to steer them in the direction of the priest of Nerull in the hope that they will eliminate him.

Illegal Assassination: If one of the PCs is an assassin and he operates in Dyvers without Mesha’s approval, thinking the guild wars will provide him cover, he will be contacted by one of the senior guild members and offered to join, leave or get killed. This might include a test of loyalty with the Veiled Knives, a test of strength with the Night Skulls and a test of wit and style with the Society of the Silver Viper.

Incriminated: Mesha sometimes uses the guild wars to incriminate troublesome innocents. If the PCs repeatedly foil some of her missions, she will try to plant appropriate evidence on the PCs or their places of residence. She then informs the authorities as well as the seperate guilds, accusing them of being infiltrators for another guild. While the authorities probably want to lock up and question the PCs, the guilds will be out to murder them.

Sword Training: Mesha is looking for an expert wielder of the shortsword in order to train with him or her. She likes to increase her proficiency with the weapon, but she does not trust local instructors. Therefore she has been on the lookout for somebody from outside who is able to handle a shortsword (is specialized). She will pay that person well, but will let him or her swear a vow of secrecy in addition to signing a contract. She might even go so far as instructing a member of The Eye to follow the PC that instructs her.

The Veiled Mage: The Veiled Knives are looking for a new wizard. If the party includes a wizard that has enough skill and a reputation to go with it, they might invite him or her to join. Before the wizard is accepted as a junior member, he or she must first fulfill a special mission. The mission is arranged by the Veiled Knives to include some test of loyalty in order to flush out imposters.

Human female, dual classed 16th-level fighter / 7th-level mage

AC 4; MV 12; HD 16th lvl fighter / 7th lvl mage; hp 74, THAC0 0 and -3, #AT 7/2 (shortsword and dagger); Dmg 1d6+10 (short sword) 1d4+14 (dagger); SA spells; SD spells; MR nil; Str 13, Dex 16, Con 11, Int 17, Wis 15, Cha 17; SZ M (5’9"); ML 16; AL LE.

Spells (4/3/2/1) Mesha commonly has the following spells memorized: charm person, hypnotism, sleep, unseen servant, forget, knock, invisibility or rope trick, non-detection, spectral force, dimension door. She has a few more spells in her spell books, but her list is not very extensive.

Weapon proficiencies: shortsword, garotte, whip, dagger, spec. ambidexterity, spec. dagger, composite shortbow, quarterstaff.

Nonweapon proficiencies: modern languages (common), read/write (common), etiquette, swimming, disguise, blind fighting, spellcraft, forgery, reading lips.

Equipment: Mesha’s equipment varies and is dependent on the kind of mission she is on. She usually carries an assortment of weapons and other useful items, including seemingly innocuous things as hair pins that can serve as daggers and perfume bottles that contain a sweet-smelling but extremely potent ingestive poison.

Magical Items: amulet of proof against detection and location, bracers of defense AC 6, dagger +3 ‘frost brand’, girdle of frost giant strength, robe of blending, short sword of wounding, slippers of spider climbing.

Background: Mesha has seen 29 winters and possesses dark, glossy straight hair that falls to her shoulders. Her steely grey eyes contrast starkly with her otherwise delicate and innocent-looking face. It is immediately apparent that her nose has been broken many times over. While not on a mission Mesha favors simple outfits, often brown or grey of color. If on a mission she will wear whatever the mission requires. Mesha is normal of build and she generally moves with confidence, although she sometimes ‘tightens up’ under duress. During such circumstances she moves as if she is expecting to be lashed by a whip at any moment; a holdover from her youth.

Mesha was born to parents of the old Oeridian blood in Rel Astra. Her parents took care of her until she was eleven. During these years she learned to fish, a hobby she still enjoys but hardly takes the time for nowadays. When she was eleven her parents sold her into the Overking’s harem for monetary and political gains. Mesha remained a part of the Overking’s harem for five years before she managed to escape. She still wears a brand depicting the Naelax family standard upon her right thigh, marking her as a possession of the Overking. After her escape she fled north, adventuring in Nyrond and the Pale. When exploring in and below the Griff Mountains, she met Fenthril and Koroku, and they have been with her since then.

Mesha’s youth has left its marks on her. Her parents were harsh but not sadistic, they were just very practical people and when they saw that she was worth more to them if they sold her to the Overking they did so. While her innocent-looking beauty brought a premium from the Overking’s slave traders the years among the mad Ivid had a great impact on her. She is sensitivy about her ‘history’ and if anyone makes a remark about her brand, Mesha will go out of her way to kill him or her. She acquired many of the skills she now possesses during her enslavement by the Overking. The brutal treatment that was afforded her taught her the importance of reading lips and etiquette. By watching and particpating in the dark rituals practiced by the Overking and his servants she even managed to learn the basics of spellcraft.

Mesha is a survivor. She has outlived the countless other harem-girls and even managed to escape from slavery. She has learned to take her losses and move on, instead of hanging on to hopeless causes. Although she still burns with hatred for the Overking, his servants and her parents, she has long ago given up the idea of exacting revenge on them - she thinks it isn’t worth the effort and the risk, and it would only cause her more grief.

During her adventuring days Mesha developed some of her magical talent. She had seen the power the courtiers of the Overking wielded through magic and sought to emulate them. Her current busy schedule has not allowed her to develop them further, and it is probable that she never will. She still bears a healthy respect for wizards, but she despises those who use priestly magic. Mesha scorns religious fanatics because she cannot grasp their motivations, or at least, she is not able to control them properly.

Among the Night Skulls she is known as Darkan, a middle-aged male of great strength and harsh manner. The Society of the Silver Viper knows her as Princess Kirala of Naelax aka the Silver Rose. The members of the Eye simply call her the First, none of them have seen her face. The Veiled Knives know her as guildmistress Oderin.

With the problems increasing, Mesha realizes that she might have overstepped her limits to control the guilds. She is still contemplating what to do, but the current affairs put much pressure on her time. She might decide one day in the not too distant future that four guilds are too much to control and that one of them must go. Currently the most likely candidate for extermination in an all-out guild war are the Night Skulls. If either Koroku, Fenthril or both are somehow lost to Mesha, this process will accelerate and an guild war might erupt that will go beyond her ability to control it.

Mind Flayer (Illithid)

AC 5; MV 12; HD 8+4; hp 51, THAC0 11, #AT 4 (tentacles); Dmg 2 + special; SA mind blast, psionic powers; SD psionic powers; MR 90%; SZ M (6’2"); ML 15; AL LE.

Weapon proficiencies: dagger, quarterstaff

Nonweapon proficiencies: cooking (brains); undercommon, ancient history, many esoteric subjects.

Special Abilities: mind blast (save versus wands or be stunned for 3d4 rounds, 5’-20’ wide and 60’ long cone); when playing without psionics, Fenthril can use the following arcane powers at will, one per round, as a 7th lvl mage: suggestion, charm person, charm monster, ESP, levitate, astral projection and plane shift; tentacle attack: when all four of Fenthril’s tentacles hit, the victim’s brain is reached and he is instantly killed.

Psionic Summary: PSP 326; 4/5/15; EW, II/ All; Score = 18; Psychokinesis - Devotions: control body, levitation / Psychometabolism - Sciences: body equilibrium / Psychoportation - Sciences: probability travel, teleport; Devotions: astral projections, dimension door / Telepathy - Sciences: domination, mindlink, psychic crush. Devotions: awe, contact, ESP, ego whip, id insinuation, inflict pain, invincible foes, invisibility, psionic blast, post hypnotic suggestion, truthhear.

Equipment: belt, pouches, a few glass jars with pickled chicken brains (his snacks), several ornamental daggers, sandals.

Magical Items: robe of scintillating colors, dagger +1, +2 versus enchanted creatures, bag of devouring.

Background: Fenthril looks like a typical illithid. He stands 5’10" tall and his mauve skin glistens with slime. His robe has a deep, dark green texture and Fenthril generally wears an hood of matching color to cover his face. He usually clasps his tentacles together so that they fall down his chest and are hidden beneath his robe. His red-colored fingers and hands bear marks that look like some kind of ritual scarring. He never speaks but the faint hissing that he sometimes issues is unnerving to many. If he communicates with anyone, it is through telepathy.

Fenthril’s is an enigma. Nobody, not even even Mesha, knows what dark reasons and motives prompted this Illithid to leave his domain and live in the surface world. Mesha suspects that he had some kind of falling out with his fellows, but she doesn’t know for sure. Still, it is very unusual for a mind flayer to wander the surface world and his reasons must be compelling indeed.

For obvious reasons Fenthril always roams about during the night, when it is dark enough not to hurt his sensitive eyes. He tries to keep his true identity hidden from all meets, or uses his special mental abilities to influence the memories of those he meets if this is not possible. There are some people in Dyvers who have seen his true form and a rumor of a purple brain-sucking monster circulates in the Thieves Quarter. His identity is not seriously threathened by these rumors as the authorities dismiss these as drunkard’s tales. Fenthril craves for fresh brains and he has occasionally succumbed to lobotomizing a drunkard or vagabond. Until now he has been careful to avoid detection. Mesha supplies him with fresh brains, but those are usually of animals, and Fenthril prefers brains from creatures that possess a higher degree of intelligence than cows.

When Mesha met Fenthril he already owned his robe of scintillating colors. It is a highly unlikely item for a mind flayer and Fenthril loathes to use it, but will do so in extremis. Mesha suspects the robe to be linked to the problems that drove Fenthril out of the underdark. Fenthril uses his deep purple bag of devouring when he foresees the need to eliminate evidence. He never carries it with him on other occassions.

Kenku

AC 5; MV 6, Fl 18 (D); HD 6; hp 37, THAC0 15, #AT 3 (claw/claw/beak) or 1 (scimitar+2); Dmg 1d4/2d4/1d6 or 1d8+2; SA spells; SD spells; MR 30%; SZ M (5’9"); Abilities (appr.) Str 13, Dex 17, Con 12, Int 16, Wis 11, Cha 15; ML 14; AL N.

Weapon proficiencies: scimitar, quarterstaff, shortsword.

Nonweapon proficiencies: gaming, disguise, reading lips, read/write (common, kenku), sign language, direction sense, blind-fighting.

Special Abilities: Koroku can use the following powers at will, one per round: magic missile (1/day), shocking grasp (1/day) invisibility, call lightning (1/day), non-detection (1/day), shape change (1/month, maximum duration of 7 days). Koroku can communicate by telepathy. His ability to disguise himself allows him to pass as human up to 50% of the time and he possesses the following thieving skills: PP 45%, OL 40% FT 35% MS 35% HS 25%, HN 15% CW 75%, RL 20%.

Equipment: belt, pouches (holding 4 pp. 38 gp. 17 sp. and 9 cp.), a set of dice, decks of playing cards, a bottle of liquor, several small knives, lockpicks, 20’ silk rope and a miscellany of other small items.

Magical Items: scimitar +2, staff of command (19 charges), potion of gaseous form.

Background: Koroku is a Kenku, a bidepal humanoid bird with both arms and wings. Koroku has brilliant yellow eyes and his brown deck of feathers is interspersed with a few black ones. During the day Koroku likes to dress in highly visible colors. He prefers the combinations of bright yellow and black, bright red with yellow or sky-blue and purple. During his missions he is not as conspicious, and wears gray or dull green outfits.

Koroku is a talented Kenku and was considered a leader in his community. He got fed up with living among his brethren and went away to seek challenges and excitement in the human communities. Mesha was the first person he met outside of his community and he forged a bond with her. He has come to respect her power and intelligence although he finds her methods a bit heavy-handed at times. His power to shapechange has been vital to Mesha on several occassions.

Koroku is in Dyvers to have fun. He spends a lot of money giving parties and likes playing practical jokes upon unwitting citizens. Koroku has a weakness for expensive and rare liquor and sometimes drinks himself into a stupor. The authorities know him as one who causes some minor mischief (such as running illegal gambling rackets) but consider him only a nuisance, not a real threat to the city. Although he likes living on the edge, he has managed until now not to pull tricks that would endanger Mesha. He knows that she would kill him if he would expose her or her plot.

Koroku also knows the sign language of the drow and can also communicate fluently in the thieves cant. He uses his staff of command to escape from situations that have gone bad. He cannot use the staff’s plant controlling ability, though.