Grotty Coalguard

**Grotty Coalguard** is the proprietor of "The Fair Ent", a magical item shop located in the Market Tents of the Jashor starport of Europa. A savvy businesswoman with a keen eye, Grotty has been in business for approximately 20 years, becoming a well-respected member of the starport markets. Her store would become visited by a group of newly-arrived misfit investigators on the hunt for an elusive suspect.

## Description

### Appearance

Grotty is a middle-aged female dwarf with fair skin and sandy-colored hair. She has a long well-groomed beard of the same color that extends down her neck. She is usually seen wearing a loose brown dress.

### Personality

Grotty is a rather astute individual with a mercantile acumen, demonstrating herself to be knowledgeable in matters of arcana and commerce. While friendly and accommodating to her customers, she is also a tough (but fair) negotiator. She adamantly refused to budge on her prices despite several extended efforts to haggle her down. She only relented to discount her Scroll of Raise Dead when Hellebore offered Eli's services to update her service droid, getting herself something in return. Her observant nature also complimented her predilection to gossiping, eagerly listening in on the party's conversation regarding Victor von Cicero's relationship to the party.

Grotty also takes great pride in her skills and business. She was greatly offended by Eli's insinuation that she was a hack due to operating near a starport and was visibly shaken by Buddy's theft after it went unnoticed by her modified security droid. Grotty doesn't take such sleights lightly, adopting a cold begrudging tone when addressing Eli thereafter, even when he agreed to assist her. She also was rather put out by Hellebore's suggestion to not pay her in advance, proclaiming herself to be a veteran merchant with a reputation of trust and fairness. Grotty also devotes herself to different crafts outside her profession, such as the extensive modification of her security droid, which Eli notes is impressively done.

Though a mostly unflappable business woman, Grotty does demonstrate some softer qualities. She displays significant sentimentality towards both her deceased cat, whose picture is on display in her shop, and her security droid, which she upgraded as best she could to keep it operational. She also actively supports other merchants around the markets, praising the cooking of her neighbor Trelvun in the Wayward Pond restaurant and encouraging the party to eat there.

## History

### Background

Grotty Coalguard's early history is not yet known. It is likely she originally came from Io, as she expresses some nostalgia for the planet and its food. At some point in her life, she dedicated herself to becoming a seller of magical items and spell scrolls.

### Setting Up Shop

Some 20 years before the events of Phase 3, Grotty departed from her home for the ocean-covered planet of Europa, a nascent colony of Io. She settled in the Jashor region of Hamilcar and established a shop called "The Fair Ent" in the starport's market tents. Over the next few decades, she became a successful and well established business, making connections with other merchants, such as her neighbor Trelvun at the Wayward Pond. She also became the owner of a cat, who died of natural causes several years later. Though she was devastated by their death, she eventually moved on, displaying a picture of them in her shop to help her.

Some fourteen years into her career on Europa, she acquired a security droid to help her prevent the thefts of her wares. The security droid would watch over the shop as she worked and eventually crime rates dropped to the point where the droid was seeing little practical use. however, her fondness of the droid led her to learn how to modify it to put off having to purchase a new one. While the droid was incompatible with new software and showing wear and tear, her modifications allowed it to continue for some time after its expiry date.

## Powers and Abilities

* **Experienced Merchant:** Grotty has a merchant of magical goods for about two decades. She is very knowledgeable about magical goods and spells and well-versed in their value.
* **Construct Engineer:** Grotty has extensively modified her personal security droid to enhance its abilities long after its expiry. Despite being unable to keep up with newly-released models, Eliphet Price remarks on her skill favorably.

## Etymology

Grotty is a slang word in the English language that describes something as unpleasant or of poor quality. It is believed to have its origins in the 1964 film "A Hard Day's Night."

The name could also be derived from "Grotti", the name of a mill from an Old Norse poem called the *Grottasöngr* ("the Lay of Grotti"). The poem is the work song of two slave girls of *jötunn* heritage who use a pair of magical millstones to grind out an army from stone to enact revenge against their enslaver, King Frodi.

"Coalguard" is a combination of the words "coal", a combustible sedimentary rock formed from decayed organic matter that is primarily used as a fossil fuel, and "guard", meaning to watch over or protect something.