Dabron Sashenstar

Dabron Sashenstar was a merchant prince of Baldur's Gate on the Sword Coast in the mid–14 century DR. He was an aristocrat and leader of House Sashenstar and he also owned and led the Merchant's League based in the city. He was a renowned explorer, who journeyed across the Great Glacier and mapped a trade route to the fabled realm of Sossal. "I've shared a fire with the Sossrim, ridden with the Tuigan, and crossed blades with the Iron Throne. There's no horizon I won't cross and no creature I won't hunt on this world or the next."

- Dabron Sashenstar, 1374 DR.

Personality
The favored son of the Sashenstars, Dabron was a charming and witty man with a quick and hearty laugh and always ready to shake hands or slap a fellow on the back. He made friends quite quickly and inspired a lot of trust in them and others. He was renowned for his leadership ability, his fairness and generosity, and he wielded a great deal of influence.

Abilities
Dabron Sashenstar was a hardy and highly skilled explorer and ranger, as well as a capable and talented merchant prince. He also also a brilliant fighter, expert in the longsword, in fighting with two weapons, and from horseback. He was a master of fighting humans, giants, and magical beasts.

As befitting a seasoned explorer, Dabron knew a number of languages: Chondathan, Damaran, Dwarven, Illuskan, Tethyrian, plus of course Common, in both the Calant (spoken on the Sword Coast) and Skaevrym (spoken in Sossal) dialects.

Due to his experience as a ranger, Dabron could cast a few natural divine spells. As a merchant prince he picked up a few arcane spells as well and received minor blessings from the deities Gond, Lliira, Shaundakul, and Waukeen, granting him luck, resistance to cold, mental resilience against magical compulsion and fear, and greater skills in trade and crafts.

Equipment
By 1374 DR, Dabron possessed many magical item along with a large amount of wealth in riches, potions, and investments totaling around 17,500 gold pieces in value. Among his wealth of magical items was the Icemail of Orloebar, a +5 greater cold resistance invulnerability mithral chain shirt; the longsword Grayflame, a +3 evil outsider bane flaming burst longsword; the Snowbeard's avalanche axe, which was a +2 thundering handaxe; and Misthunter, a +1 animal bane distance composite longbow. He also owned a pair of boots of the winterlands, a necklace of fireballs, a headband of intellect and a periapt of wisdom, plus a Heward's handy haversack and a stone horse figurine of wondrous power that conjured a mechanical destrier.

In 1368 DR, Dabron was seen wearing plate mail armor and wielding a +1 morningstar and a heavy crossbow of accuracy.

Relationships
Dabron was married to Eishaera Sashenstar, herself an equally talented merchant princess.

Dabron was the nephew of Aldeth Sashenstar, whom he succeeded as patriarch of House Sashenstar and senior member of the Merchant's League.

As head of both organizations, Dabron commanded the resources of House Sashenstar and the Merchant's League. He employed a number of specialists to assist him in business. He also had over 1600 followers, most of whom were merchants in his employ but some of whom were experts, fighters and rogues. Eight of them were placed in the rival Seven Suns Trading Coster and thirteen were in the Firehands Group.

His greatest rivals were the members of the Iron Throne merchant company.

Expedition to the Great Glacier
Dabron Sashenstar was born to House Sashenstar and into the merchant aristocracy of Baldur's Gate. He was a favored scion of the house.

In the 1350s DR, Dabron Sashenstar left Baldur's Gate and made an exploratory journey into Faerûn's far northeast in an expedition sponsored by the Merchant's League, which was headed by House Sashenstar. He endured freezing temperatures and other hazards, crossed the Great Glacier, and reached the near-legendary kingdom of Sossal in the Year of the Prince, 1357 DR. He had successfully charted a path through the glaciers of the north and became the first westerner to visit and detail the country of the Sossrim.

At one point, Dabron and his band also discovered the tower of the long-dead mage Caddelyn on a mountain north of the Great Glacier. They camped there and explored the tower, and found within the spellbook known as Caddelyn's Workbook. They examined the tome and began copying down its secrets, but lacked the time to finish the task, leaving the book where they found it as they continued their expedition. They later returned the same way and again camped at the tower, but found Caddelyn's Workbook gone.

First Caravan to Sossal
By Tarsakh of the Year of the Prince, 1357 DR, Dabron had returned from his expedition in triumph. He was feted as a famous explorer and as the "discoverer" of Sossal, and his journey caught the attention of bards across the Heartlands, who sang of his exploits. He'd brought back treasures like the Hauberk of Sossal, which went on display in the Hall of Exploration in the House of the Moon temple to Selûne in Waterdeep. The Merchant's League published a chapbook detailing Dabron's travels and his achievements. All this attention enhanced the Merchant's League's profile and importance among the merchant consortiums of the Western Heartlands.

Dabron next planned to build a series of waytowers through Damara to mark his mapped route, and Irlentree of the League intended to mount a trade expedition of his own once spring arrived. This course of action was likely to lead Dabron and the Merchant's League into conflict with the newly formed Iron Throne mercantile alliance.

In any case, little happened for the next few years, perhaps as a result of the Time of Troubles in 1358 DR, and Dabron spent the time in Baldur's Gate as one of the city's most notable citizens. Three years later, in the Year of the Turret, 1360 DR, Dabron himself launched the first trade expedition to Sossal. But this was during the invasion of the Tuigan Horde, and a troop of horsemen caught Dabron's caravan and he disappeared. Nothing more came of trade with Sossal and the Merchant's League was nearly bankrupted.

In fact, Dabron was captured by a Tuigan tribe. While his family thought him dead, he was, in reality, living as a slave in the Endless Wastes. Such was his influence though that he eventually earned his freedom and was adopted as a full member of the tribe.

Some time on his journeys between the Great Glacier and Sossal, Dabron came across the treasures of the lost dwarf realm of Dareth, acquiring the Icemail of Orloebar and Snowbeard's avalanche axe, named for King Orloebar Snowbeard of Dareth.

Return to Baldur's Gate
Finally, Dabron received a divine vision from Shaundakul the Helping Hand, god of explorers, showing that his family was about to fall. So he returned home to Baldur's Gate in the. He arrived less than a day after the death of his uncle, Aldeth Sashenstar, the patriarch of the family, much to the family's relief, and took his place within the tenday. He also succeeded him as senior member of the Merchant's League.

Dabron found House Sashenstar long in decline, but his return breathed new life into the family. The Merchant's League was also failing. Thus, he set about restoring the fortunes of House Sashenstar and the League, which he reorganized as a priakos. But first he had to challenge the Iron Throne's monopoly on the trade in weapons in the Heartlands. For this, he gained the backing of the dukes of Baldur's Gate.

Finally, following years of provocation by the Iron Throne, the Grand Dukes of Baldur's Gate decided to recruit Dabron Sashenstar to break their monopoly. In a meeting on Ches 4 in the Year of Lightning Storms, 1374 DR, the Dukes informed Dabron that a Sembian merchant called Rieltar was suspected of being responsible for the Throne's effort to start a war between Baldur's Gate and Amn, and he was spending the winter in his mansion outside Daerlun. Dabron had House agents abduct Reiltar on the 12th and brought him to Baldur's Gate for questioning by clerics of Waukeen who served the House. By the 19th, Reiltar was revealed as an alias of Richtar, "the Red Man", a senior leader of the Iron Throne, and the history of the Iron Throne's founding was learned.

On Tarsakh 1, Dabron met with Tuth, an adventurer suspected to be an important member of the Knights of the Shield secret society, and tried to enlist their aid. They met again on the 15th: the Knights of the Shield agreed to remove Sfena, the tiefling leader of the Iron Throne, from power in exchange for lucrative trade concessions in Balduran, Baldur's Gate's colony in Maztica. The next day, the devil-god Gargauth, secret patron of the Knights of the Shield, captured Sfena and imprisoned her in his dungeons. Her loss began to divide the remaining leaders.

Arms Caravan to Hillsfar
The Merchant's League began sponsoring a sizable caravan to transport steel weapons and armor from Baldur's Gate to Hillsfar, with Dabron Sashenstar at its head. News and rumors about it spread throughout the Caravan Cities by Tarsakh 29, and it was seen as deliberately provoking the Iron Throne. Sure enough, on the 30th, assassins working for the Throne murdered agents of the League in Arabel, Irieabor, and Scornubel, almost simultaneously.

Nevertheless, Dabron Sashenstar led his famed caravan east out of Baldur's Gate on Mirtul 11. However, on Kythorn 7, as the caravan passed through the Sunset Mountains, it was ambushed by Zhentilar forces from Darkhold. Dabron and his team repelled them, but they were forced to retreat to Hluthvar and recover. On the 9th, Zhentarim agents assassinated four Iron Throne leaders, as they also sought to seize control of the arms trade in the Heartlands from the failing Iron Throne. The next day, Zhentil Keep proclaimed that all trade in "instruments of tyranny" was solely in the purview of the church of Bane, the Black Lord.

Meanwhile, Dabron's caravan left Hluthvar again on the 10th, and journeyed to Irieabor. They were again attacked by Zhentilar soldiers as they crossed the Bridge of Fallen Men on the 17th; they beat them back but at a high cost. The much-troubled caravan finally reached Arabel on the 23rd. The following day, Iron Throne agents attacked the Merchant's League warehouse in Arabel, but were solidly defeated.

In Arabel on Kythorn 25, Dabron Sashenstar made public announcements declaring the monopoly of the Iron Throne to be broken and denying the Zhentarim's control of the arms trade. But, rather than go on to Hillsfar as planned, Dabron sold his weapons and armour right there in Arabel, taking advantage of conflicts in Cormanthor. There, he received bids from quartermasters serving the armies of Hillsfar, Sembia, Seiveril's Crusade, and even Zhentil Keep.