Foebe Dunsmith (NG female dwarf spy 6): The story Foebe tells about becoming the proprietor of the Barrel & Bullet presents it as the de facto prize of a rifle competition that she won years ago. The contest was rigged, with the saloon owner, Volessim, planning to rake it in when bets on the chosen winner paid off. When Foebe beat that chosen winner against all odds, the owner didn’t have the prize cash and deeded over the saloon instead. The truth is a bit more complicated, involving operatives of the Grand Duchess Trietta Ricia who persuaded Volessim to capitulate because they wanted to install Foebe, an informant for the grand duchess, in his place. Foebe keeps with the version that emphasizes her skill and her triumph against the odds, themes that resonate with her dwarven upbringing as well as her public persona. From behind her saloon’s counter, Foebe welcomes everyone who comes in, though she might quickly rescind that invitation depending on behavior. Genuinely outgoing and interested in others, she contributes her own zest for life to the often rowdy atmosphere of her tavern. That atmosphere also makes it easy for her to learn a great deal about the goings-on in the Ferrous Quarter and elsewhere, as her comfortably inebriated guests confide in her. She thus uses her status as a humble-but-capable saloon owner to further the grand duchess’s farther-reaching aims from the city’s ground floor.
