It began as a dream come true.
For some of you, it was in itself a goal worth pursuing. To others, mere means to an end. Some of you chose your path for the sheer pleasure of helping people during troubled times, others for the thrill of the hunt, or perhaps to make the world a safer place. Some of you might have embarked on a crusade to rid the streets of crime, to lash back against the kind of people who caused pain to you and yours. Or perhaps you only sought fame, for its own sake or for what it might bring you. To see your own name and picture on the front page of the Korranberg Chronicle, perhaps to use the fame of successful cases to build a platform to help along your dreams of political career.
That dream is slowly turning into a nightmare.
It seemed so simple at first, right? Set up an office, gather a group of highly skilled specialists who shared your dream. Start slow, build your reputation by working up from small cases up to crimes and mysteries that shake the highest branches of Breland’s tree of power. You did not realize, however, just how competitive the field was – in Sharn, the Finders' Guild of House Tharashk and the Warning Guild of House Medani attract most of the best-paying jobs, and the City of Tower’s resident master detective has the reputation that allows him to pick the cases he wants, even over the agencies run by the mighty Dragonmarked Houses.
You also didn’t realize how much gold it took to start up a business, to acquire a small office in a respectable district, secure all the necessary permits. Nor how little interest House Kundarak’s Banking Guild showed in investing in your company, of even loaning what you needed for the startup expenses. But you needed money, and in the end had to resort to the services of Gentledwarf Einkil Kolkarun, loan shark and knee-breaker extraordinaire. A sophisticated individual who employs people who don’t know the meaning of words like “extension”, “delay”, or “please” to ensure timely repayment.
So here is where you find yourself. Running a business that has brought in less money that you have paid for your meals since its founding, indebted to a person who wants his money pack, with interest, and cares not about excuses. Indeed, you need a second or even a third job just to keep food on a table and a roof over your head.
But hey, at least you are doing what you love, living your dream, even if the silver lining can seem mighty thin at times.
