Aran Linvail

Aran Linvail was an assassin in Athkatla in Amn in the late 1360s DR.

History
In 1369 DR, Abdel Adrian needed a large sum of money in order to go after two of his friends, and Bodhi passed him the offer to gain the sum by killing Linvail. Abdel hesitated at first, having decided never to kill for money again, but as he very much needed the money, he decided that killing an assassin might be a form of justice. He infiltrated Linvail's house, waited in his closet for him to be finished with a lover, and finally killed him after a protracted, awkward fight. Who wanted Linvail dead and why, or if there even was a genuine outstanding price on his head, is unknown. The only source of information on this was Bodhi, who had her own agenda.


 * Aran Linvail was the Shadowmaster of Athkatla, the leader of the Shadow Thieves, and one of the most powerful people in all of Amn. In 1369 DR, the position of his entire guild in Athkatla was threatened when Bodhi formed her own, using vampire abilities to gain an advantage. Linvail and Bodhi both tried to gain the service of Gorion's Ward and their party, whose choice ultimately turned the situation to the advantage of their allies.


 * Aran Linvail became involved if they elected to take the Shadow Thieves, rather than Bodhi, up on their offer to get them to Spellhold once they had enough gold to pay for it. It was revealed openly for the first time that it was the Shadow Thieves, not Bodhi, who were making the offer. The party entered their guildhall in the Docks District and there a secret door that led to an inner part of the guild. Linvail, staying in his own luxurious room, flanked by guards, put on a reasonable and polite air, but refused immediate aid and instead said that he needed the party's help before he could sail them to Spellhold. They would need to first take some minor actions to help in the guild war, and finally enter Bodhi's lair and destroy her and all her vampires (though she would get away). Then Linvail would give the party some enchanted items for extra compensation and send them on their way on Saemon Havarian's ship.


 * When Gorion's Ward's party later returned to Athkatla, they could go to Linvail again to ask for help against Bodhi and for extracting revenge on Havarian.


 * If, on the other hand, the party sided with Bodhi, they would be sent on a series of similar tasks, culminating in attacking the guild building and killing Linvail.