Studdards Mining Company

[Firebird]

Owen and Couda Studdard had four sons. At the fall of Zerdargia, when members of the royal guard were killed, Clan Goldstone Laird, Dugan Goldstone and his sons rushed into Zerdargia to avenge their king and were subsequently killed. Studdard grabbed the mines of Clan Goldsstone. He had married the daughter of the Laird of Clan Goldstone 200 eras before. This was a slap in the face of Clan Goldstone, who voted the surviving cousin their new Laird. However, they could not wrest away the mines from Dugan Goldstone's daughter and her husband. Unfortunately for old man Studdard, his life was cut short in a bar fight in Zerdargia where he challenged a giant human with a pickaxe. Unfortunately, the giant had a longsword which cut the old man's head clean off before he could land a frenzied shot at the giant's groin.

The rumours had it that the old man was so drunk he wouldn't have had a chance against the giant human, but the man left town before an inquest could be conducted. Witnesses did say the the old man had insulted the giant human's sainted mother, calling her something that even the dwarves wouldn't repeat.

So at the tender ages of 150, 155, 160, and 165 the Studdard brothers had inherited the vast resources of the mine.

Now history has never chronicled a more strife-ridden quartet. The fact that they haven't killed themselves and each other has been something of a miracle. First their temperaments go from contrary to downright certifiable. This is their story:

Evan Studdard - the oldest and considered the most handsome of the brothers, Evan has long reddish blond hair of which he is very vain. He wears his long locks in braids which hang down to his waist. He is 4'3" tall, the tallest, and his full red beard is always neatly trimmed. He abhors the drunken rages of his brothers and does not feel the use of weapons is necessary in civilized familes. The fact that he is the most expert swordsman in the history of dwarfdom doesn't phase him. He believes the sword is the only civilized instrument of combat. Noone would dare call him effeminate but he is so fussy that the only way the other brothers could stand him was to relegate him to the surface city of Zerdargia. It is there that he owns the gemstone and jewelry store Evan's Fine Jewels which specializes in the finest gold, silver and gemstone jewelry in the Province.

Judd Studdard - Judd couldn't be more different than Evan. He is the true miner of the brothers and would spend his whole life in the mine shafts hunting for precious metal and stones. His particular penchent for roaming the various mineshafts of the family business at night has given him the nickname of "The Night Stalker." He is by far the most uncivilized of the brothers, and should you cross him while he is drunk he might just hammer you into the ground. He never leaves Dargis and hates "Uplanders" he calls them. It is almost homicidal to put Evan and Judd in the same room.

Gard Studdard - Gard is the businessman. He runs the day to day business of the mine. He is the one who makes the decisions that often bring the brothers to fisticuffs. Though none of the brothers want his job, they refuse to accept his advice unless they argue and fight for days. Its only when they finally pass out from too much ale, or too little sleep that Gard quietly goes ahead and does what he wants. He is very shrewd and smart, so noone gets away cheating him. His honor would never stand any customer or his brothers to accuse him of cheating them.

Jiggs Studdard - Jiggs is the youngest brother. He talks with a lisp and since he has a slight cleft palate his bushy red beard covers almost all his face with only a nose and two eyes visible. Jiggs is the owner and operator of Jiggs Fine Weapons. He does very little talking and instead creates the finest dwarven steel weapons in all of Dargis. Getting him to make you a special order is nearly impossible. He always knows what you need before you know you need it. So don't expect him to listen to you. He will make for you the most superior weapon you have ever owned, but if you want a fancy handle or your initials carved on the metal you'll have to go somewhere else. Don't even try to talk him out of it, or he'll throw you out of his forge.

As the tale above tells you, the brothers very seldom can agree on any one subject. But recently an opportunity arose that they agreed on. Now this agreement came after hammers were lifted against each other, and two of the brothers had actually slugged each other a few times. It was only after Evan raised his longsword and threatened to decapitate his brothers as their father had been, before they finally agreed to the Dark Archdruid's bargain.

There was one thing that all brothers had in common which would seal the unicorn's fate, and that was their greed. Greed had finally made the brothers agree.