De Succio Family

Mendrugo

Mendrugo de Succio is the black sheep of the family, even more so that Benvolio, if such a thing were possible. While his cousins Fiorello and M'oko bravely take to the field and seek honor and glory, Mendrugo prefers to stay well behind the lines with his caravans and make money.

Though his parents invested hundreds of gold in his training as a Knight, he soon threw it all away and became a trader. Upon realizing that the Ash Sea Islands were mostly landlocked and offered little in the way of lucrative trade routes, he emigrated to Beluaterra, where he found himself aligned with Plergoth - a realm with a great deal of food and desperately in need of gold to fight a two-front war against usurpers and opportunists.

His first missions were diplomatic in nature - hauling food from the bountiful croplands of Weghie and Worvobaen to the distant land of Heen, which was facing famine. Though not terribly profitable, the mercy missions were undertaken to court Heen's support in the ongoing war. Alas, the efforts came to naught as Heen later sent its armies to help the rebels take over the primary agricultural districts from which the food had come. As far as Mendrugo is concerned, Heen can starve!

Fortunately, new opportunities for trade and profit soon arose. With the realm of Avalon paying top prices for food, Mendrugo was able to make dozens of trips back and forth, feeding the starving people of Zod and Darhauyo and returning with badly needed gold for the Plergothian war effort.

Though usually far from the frontlines, Mendrugo can and will step up to face the realm's enemies, should the need arise. When a force of bandit raiders was discovered en-route to the realm's underdefended heartland, Mendrugo cobbled together a force of mercenary caravan guards and rode out to meet the bandits, tipping the balance of the engagement in Plergoth's favor.

Fiorello

Whenever and wherever the clarion call of battle is sounded, Fiorello will be there to lead the charge. Though he fancies himself a warrior born, he shares the generally cautious approach to combat favored by most of the scions of De Succio, keeping to the rear lines in most conflicts, surrounded by a mass of archers.

Despite his precautions, Fiorello's Freemen have been completely wiped out on three separate occasions, and Fiorello himself was captured by Khthonian bandits and spent a week in their dungeon before regaining his freedom.

Following his release, he secured a loan from his younger brother, Mendrugo (a lowly trader whom Fiorello regards as barely more than a servant, albeit one who's a good source of ready cash) and rebuilt the Freemen in time for Plergoth's decisive strike against the Khthonian capital of Dyomoque. Though half their number died when the enraged Khthonians and their Vlaanderen allies returend, the surviving Freemen staggered away from the city loaded down with plunder, and the proceeds enabled the unit to triple in size and return to lead the conquest of Tindle.

For his service to the realm, Fiorello was appointed Count of Zuhle - a contested region that has been repeatedly invaded and sacked by the brigands of Khthon. Fiorello is greatly enjoying the opportunity to return the favor in Tindle. Once the Khthon menace is dealt with, Fiorello looks forward to holding court in Zuhle and working to restore that territory to prosperity and greatness under his stewardship.

M'oko

The last of the De Succio clan to begin a military career, M'oko left his familial home in the Ash Sea Islands to begin service with the Cagilian Empire. With no serious conflicts on its borders, M'oko has kept himself busy training garrison forces for underdefended regions and fighting occasional uprisings of monsters and undead.

He is currently involved in the rehabilitation of a band of thieves and murderers collected into a Penal Battalion. They've suffered heavy casualties in battles against undead and monster hordes, but have come together as a true miliary force. Once their numbers are replenished and the new recruits have been fully integrated, the former criminals will shed their "Penal Battalion" status and take up service as the guardians of M'oko's personal estate in Esgalons.

Benvolio

As conflict averse as his cousin Mendrugo, Benvolio was not gifted with either his relative's proud lineage or head for numbers. Banished to the Far East after various household goods and temple reliquiaries were discovered in his saddlebags, he continued a career as a scrounger in the Grand Lodge of Lunaria, wandering about the cities and forests of the region and acquiring any "loose items" he comes upon.

Due to his unsavory nature and penchant for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, he's served serveral stints in the dungeons of Soliferium, where he had to contend with grabby tentacles emerging from the privy.

Having been stabbed and left for dead twice by a Soliferium assassin with a grudge, Benvolio is leaving the lands of the Grand Lodge in search of less hectic foraging grounds. One day, he swears, he'll have all the items a Sage needs to make a unique item, and then there'll be a reckoning.