Overview

Arlan Mursk is a fast-talking, sharp-eyed merchant who thrives in the gray spaces of trade. He specializes in transporting valuable, hard-to-move goods—sometimes rare spices or enchanted fabrics, sometimes discreet packages with no manifest. A middle-tier player in the regional economy, Arlan works through the Ivory Dawn Consortium, a modest guild known for its discretion, exclusivity, and occasional flirtations with questionable legality.

He prides himself on being a dealmaker, a connector, and someone who can move anything anywhere—if the price is right. But in a world of tariffs, syndicates, and smugglers, Arlan walks a narrow path between profitability and peril.

Appearance

Arlan is a wiry man in his late thirties with dark hair, darting eyes, and a voice that always seems to be mid-negotiation. He dresses in fine but slightly weathered clothes: rich fabrics at the collar and cuffs, but travel-stained from long roads and river barges. His ring bears the stylized insignia of the Ivory Dawn Consortium, a quiet reminder that he belongs to something exclusive—and possibly dangerous.

Personality & Traits

• Ambitious but Anxious. Arlan always has a plan, but he constantly checks for cracks in it.
• Silver-Tongued. He talks fast, sells faster, and can turn a lie into a contract with the right words.
• Risk-Aware. He isn’t a fool—he knows when a deal smells wrong, even if he sometimes goes through with it anyway.
• Loyal… Until Cornered. He’ll stay true to partners, unless survival is on the line.

Duties & Influence

Arlan operates as a middleman for rare or restricted trade goods, sometimes using overland routes, but more often hiring third parties or small ships to handle transport quietly. Though not powerful himself, his connections span small guilds, river traders, and city-bound merchants looking for “unofficial” solutions to official problems.

While not a criminal in the strictest sense, Arlan’s world regularly overlaps with smugglers, fences, and fixers. His value comes from discretion and follow-through.

• Ivory Dawn Consortium: A boutique merchant guild focused on discretion, rare goods, and curated clientele. Arlan is a minor member but values his affiliation highly.
• Local Tradespeople: Arlan cultivates contacts across port cities, towns, and villages—especially those willing to deal off the books.
• Trusted Couriers & Muscle: He keeps a short list of reliable help to move cargo or keep things quiet, though he rarely hires the same people twice.
• Merchant Rivals: Other small-scale traders may admire or resent Arlan’s hustle and willingness to cut corners.

Plot Hooks & Story Integration

• A Deal Gone Cold: Arlan reaches out to the party to assist in recovering a lost or stolen shipment. He swears it’s valuable—but not dangerous. Probably.
• A Changing Tide: The Ivory Dawn Consortium is cracking down on risk. Arlan needs one last score to prove his worth—or disappear entirely.
• Blackmail on the Docks: Someone has leverage on Arlan and is using him to pass illicit goods through a merchant guild’s warehouse system.
• Crossed Wires: Arlan believes the party works for a rival—and makes a preemptive offer to “buy them out” before the knives come out.