Raxtus
Raxtus is really short and scaley and the Dwarves think he is just a fat Kobold. He wouldnt look like a kobold to anyone who had ever seen a dragonborn because he would be 4'6" and 160 pounds instead of 3 foot nothing and 30 pounds But the Dwarves didnt have a reference point
Greedhole
Balas Grithil, Balduin's Hope. Balduin brought miners and crafters with promise of refined obsidian from the volcano. They established the site and sent ore back on trade ships for three years. Then the ships found an empty hole that moaned with sad winds. Two search parties disappeared. Nobody has been brave enough to investigate since. That is what the humans call Greedhole.
No dwarves came out of Greedhole. There are a few wandering Dwarves that visit Brokenbank or live there, but no proper Dwarven settlement. You listened for years to your mentor speak of his nieces who joined the settlers and never came back. He always ended the story drunk and sad, mumbling "It eats Dwarves. Mebbe it don't eats Kobolds."
Dolithil Mine
Northeast of the elven city of Gwardan lies the Dolithil Mine, owned and operated by the Dolithil Orekeepers Guild from within the city. The entrance to the mine remains hidden from view thanks to simple illusions put in place to deter thieves. While the mine yields a respectable amount of gold and platinum, it is notably rich in iron, tin, copper, zinc, and other more common metals that are used in the secret trade of steamcasting .
Steamcasting
The elves of Gwardan built sprawling mines throughout the nearby mountains, becoming the most renowned metallurgists and smiths across the Menagerie Coast. The mingling of elven cultures has occasioned the guarded development of a unique style of metalworking. Blending organic designs with super-heated caustic mists, the "steamcasting" process imbues metal with a prismatic shimmer and enables cheap, brittle materials to become as workable and as strong as steel. Gwardan is known across Exandria for its unique steamcast goods, and no one else has managed to get the style quite right, making Gwardan's decor, jewelry, and weapons coveted throughout the world.
The Elves of Gwardan developed Steamcasting in cooperation with Clan Cunninghammer but once successful they cut them out. The Cunninghammers were outcast. The Elves said they tried to steal the secret. Clan master Tuok Cunninghammer was felled, his notes were seized. To this day if you ask a Cunninghammer, Elves are liars and thieves and probably murderers. Especially the Gwardan.
A Rival
Raxtus has a rival, a natural born dwarf of the clan, a real bootlicker. Before he set out on his own Anthil Braylock went to your master and told stories and made promises
Claimed he was going to restore the place of the clan above the Gwardan. Said the key to Steamcasting was in Brokenbank. Said secret things to the master. Convinced the master to give him his Steamcast Forging Hammer. That hammer was supposed to go to you.
That son of a bitch has spent his life stealing your glory and you mean to put a stop to that.
That is why you are here. You don't know what he is up to but you know he is full of shit and hasn't drawn an honest breath in his life and you will not have him humiliating the master so.
Family
You barely remember your dragonborn family. Your earliest memory is the ambush. You remember wagons and fire and your sister hiding with you in a cart. You didn't know it was an ore cart but the explosion sent it reeling into the mines. That is where the Dwarves found you.
Your sister wasnt with you when you woke up. They said they didnt find her.
Your sister always wore a small copper locket. When they found you it was around your neck. It has some kind of enchantment on it that prevents it opening. You were raised and apprenticed under Fadanis Thooke. He has always protected you from the world and shared some of his most guarded metalurgical recipies. You keep them inscribed on small stone discs with a hole to thread a cord through. He gave you a jeweler's loupe to read them.
You have a crib-brother named Strathis Thooke. In your youth you fought constantly but as you came into adulthood he has formed a bond with you. He is not brave but he loves you dearly. He never agrees with you at first but you can eventually convince him to do just about anything.
You were caught in a terrible storm but miraculously survived. Now your dreams contain visions sent by a mysterious god or demigod. You have proficiency in the Arcana or Religion skill (your choice).
Your most favorite thing in the world is Honeyflame Bread. Both because it is delicious and because a coughing fit from it was what caused you to manifest your breath weapon.
Honeyflame bread—a fried dessert soaked in honey and coated in Marquesian spices
He woke up one night to find one of his siblings perched on his chest, staring into his eyes. They said, “The time is soon,” and then giggled and ran off. When he asked them, they had no memory of the event.
On the way to Brokenbank you had a terrible nightmare of this gaunt, earthy smelling woman with antlers like a stag. You dreamed she dragged you from your bed to the topdeck and shoved you into a pickle barrel, mumbling in a strange language that you didn't understand.
When you woke up, you were in the barrel but something horrible was attacking the ship. the thing snapped it in two. You could only see through the bunghole but the ship went down and you plugged the bunghole with your thumb. Something bit the tip of your thumb off but you kept it sealed and the barrel floated to safety.
Now you have recurring dreams of her whispering in your ear and the next day as you are trying to understand some arcane secret you remember the dream and you realize that she told you the answer you seek.
You also have a bit of claustrophobia and hate pickles now.
