Rick Riverstone

Rick/Varyan

## Overview

Rick Riverstone, owner of The Shady Lady, a tavern north of New Masselburg.

In The Thieves Guild he's known as Varyan, the Master of Coin, one of the four masters.

Varyan built the hideout and founded The Thieves Guild together with Christoph.

### Appearance

6'11 *tall, looks slim and weak, but quick and agile. Scar on his left eye. His clothes tells you that he probably has some money in his pocket. Most of the time he's wearing a small backpack.*

## Background

Rick Riverstone arrived in Hearth with high hopes for a bright future. It turned out well in the beginning, as he traveled from town to town, earned some money here and there. However, one night, despite the warnings in town, he ventured out further up north, past New Masselburg. Then, at the darkest hour, when the light was no longer with him, all the nights evils were upon him.

First, the wolves. They appeared so suddenly, out of the forest, and started circeling around him. Before he knew it, he was being slowly pushed deeper into the forest, away from the road. Deeper into the helpless darkness. He glanced back, and saw hope. A farm in ruins, but the barn still standing. A place to hide for the night. Just when the wolves leaped in for an attack, he jumped back and away, turned, and sprinted for the barn. He crashed into the door, spotted and climbed a ladder leading up to the supporting beams, where he hid, quietly.

He tried to control his breathing. It was dark, and his heart was pounding. The howl of a wolf. Strange, it was far away now. They had given up. He fumbled with his backpack, and pulled out his flint and steel. In the darkness he was able to find a stick, and with some time, he had a lit torch in his hand. A mistake. Or rather, it may well have saved his life, for what he now found in the barn with him, and had scared off the wolves, were giant spiders.

He had been too paniced to notice them. His greatest fear. The giant arachnia was luckily only on the right side of the barn, and he had the left. The torch seemed to keep them at a distance for now, but for how long? He only had one choice, leave the barn right away. It was simple, really, get away from these terrible creatures, as far and soon as possible. He'd rather die to the wolves. He threw his torch straight towards them, and leaped for the door, slamming it close behind him. The terrible noises from inside the bar, ringing in his ear. He did not look for wolves, he simply ran.

As he ran, and the chills from facing his greatest fear had finally started to wear off, he noticed he had gone further into the forest. No wolves, luckily. And a light. Finally, the light had returned to him! A rush of joy and relief overtook him, and rime and reason left him, as he mindlessly walked straight into a pair of bandits.

He reacted just in time. One of the bandits had not taken long to fire the first arrow, straight for Rick's head. Bending so far backwards that he fell on his back, he avoided a lethal shot. As he fell, and tilted his head back, the arrow scraped by his eye, making a narrow cut across his left eye. When he finally hit the ground, the cut had started bleeding, and his vision was blurred with blood. He got up just in time for the next arrow, landing where he had been lying just a second ago. The second bandit had made it to him in this time, and slashed at his back with his sword. Rick did not look back, and ran as fast as he could. He didn't put much thought to it, other than he must have gotten lucky with the sword attack, as he felt no pain. On the run, for the third time on this cold Harvest Call night.

The bandits didn't give up easily, but even though Rick had been running most of the night, he was still faster. Deeper into the forest he went, until he found a hollow tree he could fit in. He crouched down, and covered his mouth with one hand, trying to control his heavy breath. He heard a pair of running footsteps approaching, and the light of a torch reflected on nearby trees. Very carefully, he tucked himself a little deeper into the tree, trying to hide himself from the light. The footsteps were very close now, and when he thought he was done for, he saw the silhouettes of two bandits passing right by him, running further up and away.

Rick held his breath for another thirty seconds, until he had to let go of his mouth and allowed himself to breathe deeply, rapidly and loudly. He had escaped death three times in one night. And the last one somehow most incredible. He knew he was fast, but to outrun the bandits that easily? When he finally stood up, he noticed it. It was too easy. Too light. He quickly threw off his backpack, and opened it, only to find a big hole on the lower, front side. The slash from the second bandit's sword must have cut it open, and everything inside fell out. While he understood that it had most likely saved his life, he had lost all that he owned.

He had lost hope, and he had lost faith. While he feared that he would encounter more spiders, he didn't care about much else anymore. He might as well be caught by the bandits, or eaten by the wolves. He had just about given up when another silhouette appeared in front of him. It was, different, than the bandits, somehow, and he decided to walk close. Now, only a few meters away, the person in front of him reached out his hand. "Nowhere to go?" the stranger had asked. "Nowhere to go." Rick had replied. "Nothing in your pockets?" the stranger asked. "Nothing in my pockets" the answer would sound, as he lifted his ruined backpack.

Together, they would be the beginning of The Thieves Guild.

## Known Associates

### Friends

* Adam
* Alex
* Holly

### Guild

* Christoph
* Tyrone
* Rhys
* Rarea'ttolis
* Gohn'Dren
* Xale

#### Acquaintances

* Jax
* Ezalyn

## Personality

Rick Riverstone used to be a very kind and careful soul. However, during the events that turned him into Varyan, he's become more aggressive, unpredictable and impatient.

He likes to avoid as much trouble as possible, but if it comes down to it, he doesn't mind solving the problem by force and dagger.

### Likes

* Power
* Money
* Chocolate

### Dislikes

* Spiders
* Cobweb
* Spiders

### Quirks

* The usually careful and secretive Rick/Varyan becomes way more talkative by just a little alcohol.
* Everything should be documented, signed, dated, and stored.
* Dreams of a world where he and his fellow Masters has all the power in the land.