[ WP ] A paladin devoted to RNGesus , a muscle wizard , a asshole thief and You , the ___ . This party wo n't last long ...

I am a merchant. Or at least I was, until my Guild betrayed me and drove me from my own halls. I had been forced to flee, to start anew as a rogue, traveling caravan. I moved goods from place to place - buy for three copper, sell for five. I managed to scrape by for many years, until the Pax Imperialis fell apart in the Western Reaches. 
 
 Now bandits roamed the land, dark stirrings were spoken of in the taverns, and my business has fallen on hard times. The entire continent stank of fear and desperation. This is how I found myself in my current predicament - broke, on the run, in imminent danger, transporting something illegal and dangerous, in desperate need of protection, and beholden to a mad psychopathic pirate. Like I mentioned, fear and desperation. 
 
 *** 
 
 I stared at my assistant with barely contained rage. `` Where... where did you find these... these... _*idiots!? *_'' I snarled. 
 
 `` Th- Th- They were the only outfit that fit within your budget guidelines, sir!'' my assistant stammered. `` They were the only ones who would take the job!'' 
 
 I glowered at her, but relented. The budget was the budget, and three things were very certain. 
 
 One: we had to leave. 
 
 Two: we were broke. I had spent our entire secondary fund on procuring our current cargo, and our client eagerly awaited our arrival in Plo' Ma-Shok before the week was out. If we did not make that deadline, we were all dead. The client had a reputation for... violent impatience. 
 
 And Three: as a result of our shortages, we now had to cross the Benzan Pass, which meant we were all likely going to die horribly anyway.
