Hired Horrors

Hired Horrors was a business in Skullport that bred and sold deepspawn.

Location
The business was located in the northwest of the Lower Port of Skullport, on the northeast corner of the Heralds' Meet commons. It sat between the Troll's Guffaw theater to its right and Misker's Warehouses to its left and across the street.

Structure
Hired Horrors operated out of an unassuming yet large and sturdy two-story converted warehouse that was in good condition as of the mid-to-late 14 century DR.

Interior
The inside was divided into two areas. The first was a series of five apartments for the owners, each complete with a study and office. The second was a viewing area for clients. A glassteel wall provided protection to visitors as they observed a portal to the deepspawn breeding pits, through which Hired Horrors's trained deepspawn handlers cajoled and corralled the creatures for viewings.

Services
Hired Horrors bred deepspawn for the purpose of helping interested buyers&mdash;generally evil nobles or rulers from anywhere on Toril&mdash;to populate dungeons, caverns, cellars, and the like with monsters. Deliveries were usually completed via gates or other forms of teleportation to bring the deepspawn directly to the desired location. Fees were always individually negotiated, but often exceeded 10,000 gold pieces per deepspawn.

History
The business was conceived and founded by four wizards. The impetus was provided by Aurin, who arrived in Skullport in the 1340s DR with a pair of immature deepspwan in tow. As he and his old friend Chantos Graybeard made plans to go into business, they were approached by two additional interested investors: Ysele the Cat, who staged her own mugging in order to kill her assailants and impress the two; and Ithvar Wordkiller, who sought them out more directly. The four soon founded the company and began its breeding program, with Aurin taking control of the business despite the protests of Ithvar, who beleived he deserved to lead as he was the largest investor of the four. The two ultimately decided who would be the boss with a duel that ended in Aurin's victory, although he chose to spare Ithvar and keep him on as a business partner.

The next step in their operation was to hire adventurers to scout Undermountain for permenant gates through which the deepspwan could be easily moved. With these secured, the business began running smoothly despite a fair amount of animosity between some of the co-founders, all of whom grew quite wealthy over the next two decades.

The four wizards briefly brought on a fifth business partner, but he was slain sometime in the 1360s DR when he tried to attack Iljrene Ahbruyn, a local priestess of Eilistraee.

While Aurin was quite proud and satisfied with the company's success, his associates desired more wealth. Ithvar and Ysele actively plotted to undermine him, each angling to usurp control of the company, and even Chantos began to doubt his friend's leadership after Nestor Podgin opened his business, Monsters Made to Order, which undercut the steep prices charged by Hired Horrors and ate into their profits. As of the, Aurin found himself the target of multiple assassination attempts, and although he suspected that one or more of his associates was behind these efforts&mdash;most likely Ithvar&mdash;he was unable to prove anything.

In Alturiak of 1370 DR, Aurin and Chantos were seen acquiring the egg of a white dragon. It was believed that they were planning to use their deepspawn to mass produce these dangerous creatures.

By the, Hired Horros had begun catering to wealthy clients with "odd tastes". Before the end of that year, Ysele had left the company, although she remainded active in Skullport.

Inhabitants
As of 1370 DR, the business was run by Aurin the Generous and his assocates: close friend Chantos Graybeard, scheming Ysele the Cat, and largest investor Ithvar Wordkiller. All four were accomplished and dangerous wizards. By mid–1372 DR, the business was run by only Aurin, Chantos, and Ithvar.

The owners were assisted by a staff of hardened mercenary fighters trained as deepspaen handlers, all of whom wore plate mail and used military forks when interacting with the dangerous merchandise.

The deepspawn themselves were not bred within the Hired Horrors shop, but in a secret area beneath the streets of Skullport.