Penin was born into a traditional Dwarven family in Zul Lugoth. Her parents, Parkin and Karine, owned and operated an import/export business – helping to bring in food and sundries the Dwarves could not make for themselves, while also assisting the miners in their community in selling their goods to foreign buyers. It was a steady business, run with honesty and integrity.
Inquisitive and very active as a child, Penin loved wandering the mines, and especially loved tagging along behind her two older brothers, the twins Karon and Katon. Penin was the only one in the family who loved this – her brothers quickly tired of their little sister with her constant questions and refusals to stay behind, and her parents worried for the smaller child trying to keep up with the bigger and stronger boys.
Eventually, under pressure from wife and sons, Penin’s father forbid her to leave the home without his permission. She spent her days doing chores, or, as she got older, helping her parents with the family business. By the time she was in her mid-twenties, Penin showed an affinity for managing the mathematics of the business that surpassed either her mother or father, and certainly that of her brothers. Karon and Katon, personable and outgoing, busied themselves making deals with Dwarves and foreign merchants.
Though she enjoyed the mathematics, and working with numbers, Penin often chafed in the confined space of her father’s office and wished the freedom to wander the mines. Still, her fear and respect for her father were so great, that never once did she sneak out, or go against his wishes.
One evening, while reconciling the coins Karon received that day with the merchandise transferred, Penin noticed a discrepancy – a customer had requested a modest quantity of an expensive spice, which he paid for, but the product delivered was a similar, but much less expensive spice. Curious at what might have happened, she looked back at figures from previous days. Now knowing what to look for, she found another discrepancy. And another. Going back not days, or even weeks, but years, from the time her father first trusted his twin sons to take over the business. Was it possible her brothers were stealing from the business, lining their own pockets at the family’s expense?
She nervously went to her brothers, asking if perhaps this was an honest mistake. Karon glared angrily at her, while Katon snatched the book from her hand and accused her of falsifying the records to make them look bad. Voice rising in anger, he called her unspeakable things and vowed she would never have anything to do with the family business again. At this point, her father walked in, demanding to know what the yelling was about. Both brothers immediately continued his accusations, and the frightened Penin could only stand there, unable to say a word in her own defense. Eventually her father took the book from Katon and no amount of bluster on the younger Dwarf’s part could change what was there. The ensuing argument was loud, angry and went late in the evening. In the end, Parkin cast both his sons out, not just from the home, or the business, but from the village, from all of Zul Lugoth. It would take years to repay all that his sons had stolen from their neighbors, and he would not have them there, shaming him with their presence.
He gave them the night to pack, and be out by morning. An exhausted and drained Penin went to bed, torn between the love she still felt for her brothers, and the shock and dismay of all that had transpired.
Barely, it seemed, had she shut her eyes when she was shaken awake. It was Karon. “You’re coming with us Penin” he whispered. Before she could even protest he had pushed a pack into her chest. “Get dressed, grab what you can, and meet us in the east tunnel in five minutes.” When she simply sat there, staring at him, wondering if perhaps she was dreaming, he said more forcefully “MOVE Penin!”
Without a word she did as he ordered, and fled the only home she’d ever known, with two brothers she loved but could not trust.
They brought her to Solhaven. She found they were heavily involved in a lucrative spice smuggling operation, finding ways to get valuable spices to wealthy families without paying taxes, and often by substituting less expensive versions where the customer could not detect the difference.
The brothers did not hesitate to put Penin to work for them. Her talent for mathematics made her the perfect accomplice, though her inability to grasp the common tongue spoken in Solhaven often frustrated them. In order to not attract attention, they were forced to find legitimate jobs, and Penin found work as a maid for a wealthy family. She spent her time scrubbing floors, washing dishes and perfecting her curtsies, accompanied by the only words in the common tongue she knew, polite greetings to his Lordship or her Ladyship.
The next few years were unpleasant ones for Penin, as she felt trapped in servitude to her brothers, who kept her busy during what little free time she had, managing their accounts, and to the family who barely acknowledged the little dwarf cleaning their floors.
One evening, shortly after her 35th birthday, she went to the shanty where her brothers conducted most of their business and was introduced to Bartok, a burly Half-Krolvin who captained a sailing vessel, the Ak’wyn. Katon told her they needed to get out of Solhaven for a short time, and the Captain had offered to take them on as part of his crew. Having no knowledge of the sea, the only position he could offer them was in the galley. All three knew how to bake Dwarven bread, a skill their mother had insisted they learn. The Ak’wyn was sailing the next morning, so once again Penin found her life entirely changed in single night.
Life at sea was different, though hardly more pleasant for Penin. Women were forbidden on the Ak’wyn, like on most sailing vessels of its kind, so it was necessary for her to hide her gender. Her beard made this easy, as well as her shyness and inability to speak the language of the rest of the crew. She bunked with her brothers, baked bread for hours at a time, and assisted in scrubbing the deck or polishing bright work when told to do so.
What little free time she had was spent finding a quiet spot on deck and watching the water and the sea birds. Dreaming of what it would be like to be free.
A few months after beginning her life on the Ak’wyn, the ship took on a new passenger, one who would change her life. His name was Bareth, a winged man of a type she’d never seen. He was a Priest, and also acted as ship’s doctor. In both of these capacities, he appeared to be the only person on board with spare time, and early on he found his way to the galley, where he quickly made friends with her and her brothers. Katon and Karon, for all their faults, could be affable and pleasant, when they chose, and they both seemed to enjoy the Priest’s company. He told them of his travels through the lands, and of other Dwarves he had known, and cared for. Realizing Penin could not understand him, he encouraged her brothers to translate, which they reluctantly did.
Only days after the Priest’s arrival, the Ak’wyn was set upon by pirates, and a difficult and dangerous chase ensued. When Bareth wasn’t busy in the sickbay, he was often in the galley, passing the hours of the chase telling more stories.
More and more often, as the danger grew, he spoke of the woman he loved, a high-born Elven Lady who was also a powerful wizard. Penin was fascinated by this person, a woman who made her own choices, lived as she chose and possessed great power. He also spoke of A Dwarven Priestess, his great friend who was more powerful than he, and more wise. Penin’s mind reeled thinking of a wise and mighty Lady Dwarf, beholden to no one and free to go where she wished.
The pirates chased the Ak’wyn into shallow waters, where it grounded was left helpless. Each of the ship’s small cutters was destroyed, leaving only the smallest boat, known as the Captain’s Gig. Bareth organized a final escape attempt for those who could fit, identifying men with children or wives waiting at home. He also insisted she go, for he, alone among the crew, had seen past her beard to the young lady underneath. She initially refused, expecting her brothers to either not allow it, or demand to take her spot. Instead, they agreed with the Priest. In turn they hugged her, asked her forgiveness, and told her to go. Tears in her eyes at this selfless gesture from the brothers she somehow loved and hated, she reluctantly agreed to go.
The boat was launched and the sailors took to the oars. Her stature not allowing her to help row a boat designed for Half-Krolvins, she could only look back, and watch in horror as pirates boarded and overwhelmed the Ak’wyn. In the darkness she fancied she could see her brothers, bravely fighting against overwhelming odds, dying with a dignity and honor they rarely displayed in life.
Dawn found Penin in the bow of the ship. Peering into the mists as the boat moved closer to shore, she vowed never again to let another determine her destiny. She would study, and learn, and gain power. Never living in fear, but being one who others feared.
The small gig was pushed ashore and Penin immediately leaped off. She strode purposefully up the beach, never once looking back.