Darius Goldwin's page

1) Darius shows his age, despite trying to take care of himself. He looks the nearly 50 that he his, with weathered skin and his dark hair streaked with grey. He keeps it tied back in a short ponytail to keep it well out of his way, as it usually falls a bit wildly around his neck without a little control. However, his expression is always sharp and its impossible to believe that his age has slowed his mind. His eyes are hard stone grey and there's a wariness in them from living in the poorer parts of Korvosa for many years. However, he does his best to maintain an image of respectability and at least some class. His clothes are always neat and pressed and he favors dark colors such as black, grey, and deep blue. His favorite is an ebony suit with silver buttons that he's owned for some years and has been patched at the elbows once or twice. His only accessories are a simple silver band around one finger (inherited from his mother) and a silver key around his neck, the holy symbol of Abadar.

2) Darius has worked with the guard many times over the years. His shop is frequented by many in Old Korvosa and the North Point. Despite keeping his dealings above board, for the most part, he hears the sob stories and troubles of hundreds of the poor and overlooked in Korvosa's poorer districts. He tries to keep the people's confidence, and his stern reputation and outwardly harsh demeanor make them hesitant to cross him. As such, his words and his coin can get word around quickly and he's very good at convincing people to see things his way. But he's never hesitated to work with the guard when he sees criminal acts harming the people of the city. His information has proven valuable plenty of times over the years and he has a few friends in the guard who know that he has the ear of many people in the city and his aid can be invaluable when investigating in the area around his home.

3) Darius was born in Old Korvosa and grew up in abject poverty. His mother worked her fingers to the bone as a maid to keep her son fed after her husband ran off looking for adventure and never came back. Darius grew up in the tightly packed community of the slums, making both friends and enemies among the wild population. He grew to respect hard work, determination, and community while having a disdain for those who tried to exploit and abuse others. He sees Korvosa as his home and wishes more than anything that there was less suffering in the streets.

4) Darius learned early on that to get things done, you had to be able to impose your will on the world around you. Those who shrank and folded under pressure never escaped the slums, but those who learned to make their mental strength into personal strength went far. He learned to put his prodigious mind to work from a mixture of business men, performers, and con arts, learning to pressure others with sheer force of will and to use a hawk-like stare to shatter the confidence of those who were in his way.

5) Darius owns a pawn shop near the edge of Old Korvosa. In his teen years, he managed to earn an apprenticeship with a fairly well-to-do merchant in North Point. He learned how to buy and sell and make a tidy profit, but he had little drive for the sweeping economics of large scale trade. Instead, he turned what he learned back to his home and purchased an empty shop. Knowing how many people in the old town were in need of money, he set a very competitive rate and quickly became known as fair dealer who would take even the oddest of items in exchange for coin. He tries his best to insure that his business is fair to the poor and he has a tendency to offer more than reasonable to those truly desperate for coin. He's spent nearly thirty years now running his shop, and has earned a reputation as an influential and reasonable businessman, but one who should never be crossed if you can help it.

6) Darius picked up the faith of Abadar during his apprenticeship. The tenants of fairness, law, and peace appealed to him after growing up in Old Korvosa and he took them as aphorisms to follow in his business dealings. As a pawnbroker, and therefore a giver of loans and broker of coin, he sees maintaining his personal integrity and dealing fairly and honestly with others to be central to doing business. He makes regular visits to the Bank of Abadar for prayer and offerings, praying that the Master of the First Vault helps the downtrodden and the poor be safe and protected under the law.

7) Darius has long wished to do what he can to help the people of Korvosa, though his poor beginnings and lack of physical ability limited his options. He's spent most of his life trying to provide some chance for those in Old Korvosa. However, he's become increasingly jaded over the years and has grown to have a sour expression and a cynical mind. Korvosa has been a city rife with prejudices and cruelties for many years and many do little to help those less fortunate. The death of a king and more riots only enforce the fact that Korvosa is tinder waiting for a match. But part of him, the optimistic part of him that wanted to help all the people of the slums who he befriended over the years, keeps him going to try to do what he can for the good of the people.

8) Darius hated exploitation, both legal and illegal. The wealthy man who underpays his servants and the crime lord who rob the already poor are equally foul in his mind. He refuses to standby while someone is robbed, abused, or swindled by someone else, especially those with power. However, he can be ruthless in his business dealings and when he sees a fair chance to turn a profit, he's very quick to act on it.

9) Darius hasn't sworn any official oaths.

10) Darius would be richer if he'd killed his generosity years ago. His shop does very well, primarily because he has a reputation for paying a good, fair value for pawned goods and occasionally more than fair when someone is in desperate need of coin. He also donates money to the guard to try to help with their funding issues and to trying to help the poor in the slums, meaning that while he's very comfortable, he's given up the chance to be truly rich to help others instead.