Tag: merchant

Jorge Gel, Ship Captain

A fantasy -themed character illustration.

 

Name: Jorge Gel
Race: human
Location: Wherever his ship ‘Raimelho‘ happens to be; port of call is Cuervo Garrac in Ferria

Jorge Gel was born in the port city of Cuervo Garrac in Ferria to a family full of sailors – some being accomplished veteran seafarers and others less so but pretty much all of his family members has a long history on the seas. He spent his early childhood aboard his uncle’s small cog and already at the age of ten he was baptized in combat against pirates trying to hijack the ship; luckily no lives were lost at that time although the cargo was. It was a defining moment in Jorge’s life as he then and there realized his entire future would be aboard sailing ships until his demise and he gladly accepted it.

As an adult Jorge spent many years on and off many merchant ships traveling the coastal regions of Ferria and Calishem mainly and saving any and all earnings he got in order to some day get a ship of his own. Finally at the age of 29 he bought the wrecked cog Raimelho from an old merchant Tirrana Welmius who called it quits and retired after defying one storm too many. Welmius did not have enough money to get his ship repaired and instead offered it to the Gel family – who were a known family of seafarers – and managed to convince Jorge that Raimelho would have many decades ahead of it after some simple repairs. As it happens, repairing the damaged ship cost far less than what the old merchant had assumed leaving the new owner with some excess capital to start his own business.

Now at the age of 42 Jorge is a veteran captain. His ship has served him well and is still in a fine condition thanks to Jorge’s interest in both maintaining it and understanding it’s limitations as well as his own. He has amassed a respectable fortune during his years as a merchant captain although there has been darker times involving lost cargo and lost crew members. He probably would have enough to get him a bigger ship but he is quite happy and satisfied with his current one.

As a person Captain Gel is stern and just with a twist of quickly cooling temperament and a quirky sense of humor. He considers himself a reasonable and upright man and takes great pride in having achieved a reputation as a fair and trustworthy merchant in all the ports he frequents. Captain Gel has also frequently paid his crew bonuses for runs that go well. When on land, Captain Gel resides in the heart of the Cuervo Garrac city on a mansion (named Gelanto with a long and important history in the city) owned by his family.  He spends a total of 3-4 months a year in Cuervo Garrac between merchant runs getting new deals agreed upon and spending time to maintain the ship.

 

Hal B’gohd, Master Merchant

 

2013-05-28

Name: Hal B’gohd
Race: human
Location: Callistra, Calishem

Calishem is THE most important trade nation in Cresia. Trade routes – both land and sea routes – go from Calishem to all over the continent and booming trade during a time of peace has brought wealth and culture to Calishem beyond anything seen in the history of the continent. Hal B’gohd is one of dozens of the so called “Merchant Princes” – practically mercantile companies which are run by administrative personnel, controlled by boards of directors and day-to-day -operations carried out by employees. B’Gohd leads his own trade house which he has founded, grown and nurtured from scratch and which currently owns six merchant ships and two dozen caravan convoys and employing nearly 200 people.

Hal has left administrative duties to a few loyal and trusted directors and rather spends his time on the field doing what he is best at: organizing, trading and dealing. He has an uncanny ability to turn even seemingly unprofitable scenarios to profitable ones and he also has the sense to turn down bad deals which would eventually turn sour. His profession has taken him to all edges of the continent and he speaks all the major trade dialects used anywhere. Deals are just so much easier to make when a common language is found.

One of Hal’s principles is that he never cheats. Plenty of opportunities to make quick fortunes has certainly been opened up to him, but his long-term business plan is to never cheat anyone because they may have dealings again in the future. It doesn’t mean he can’t drive a hard bargain – because he can and frequently does so. But his business partners are never forced or arm-twisted to deals which could potentially lead to vengeful enemies.

Hal is a person full of positive attitude and sometimes even unwarranted optimism, he never falls victim to wallowing in self-pity or gloomy mood swings. Usually with a smile on his face he is an outgoing and easily approachable person whose ability in storytelling is seconded only by his capabilities as a merchant.