Tenpug's Band

Tenpug's Band has a very loose structure. The leader of the tribe is a one-armed mul named Tenpug whose experience as a gladiator (before he lost his arm) made him a natural leader. It was his idea to survive by selling talents instead of raiding. He continues to lead and make the final decisions concerning the welfare of the tribe. The other positions of note are the keeper of the wages and the keeper of supplies. These two tribe members work together to use the money brought in to purchase the supplies the tribe needs to survive. As this is the primary means for the tribe to get food and water, these positions are very important. There are other important members of the tribe who constantly confer with Tenpug, but there is no strict hierarchy of ranks or stations. If someone has an idea, he presents it to the tribe. If the tribe likes the idea, it is used. If the tribe does not like it, it is shelved.

Tenpug's Band assigns every member of the tribe a number of one-week periods to earn wages during the coming year. When a member's time arrives, that member must leave the camp and head for a village or caravan camp. Pretending to be a freeman, the tribe member offers his particular talents for sale. He remains with the village or camp for as long as there is wage-paying work to be had or until his week (15 days) is up. Then he gathers his earnings and returns to the tribe until his turn again comes up. Sometimes a tribe member is sent out with a sack full of finely crafted pottery or some other goods made by the tribe. In addition to offering his talents for sale, the tribe member seeks buyers for the goods he carries. The tribe never sends out more than half of its number at any given time. The rest remain behind to protect the camp, make goods to sell, or repair tents and tools. Whenever necessary, the tribe sends out a small caravan to purchase supplies. They use at least three different nearby settlements for this purpose, never going to the same one twice in a row. Again, the caravan pretends to be from a freemen village that needs to supplement its own stocks by purchasing supplies.

Tenpug's Band started as a small group of traveling craftsmen who earned food, water, and shelter by performing small tasks for their hosts. The first members were all artisan slaves from Nibenay. The story, at least the way I heard it, went like this. During a particularly hard time in Nibenay, slaves from all classes were forced into labor details to gather wood from the Crescent Forest. One detail was made up of artisan slaves, including the one-armed mul named Tenpug. After a hard day of work, the slaves finished loading up their carts with wood and made ready to return to the city. They were barely on the path back when warriors from Gulg ambushed their small party. The warriors killed the guards and scattered the frightened slaves. The slaves gathered in the forest and looked to Old Gralth for guidance. The ancient dwarf, who had slaved away for Nibenay longer than any of the other slaves could remember, told them to run into the desert. "You are free men now," Gralth told them, "For the warriors of Gulg have broken the bonds that held you.'' The slaves all began to talk at once, asking questions and seeking to postpone the inevitable. Finally, Tenpug asked, "How can we survive without our masters? What can we do?'' Angry, Gralth turned on the mul with a snarl. For a moment, he looked more like a gladiator than a weaponsmith. "You can do what you've always done!'' Gralth shouted. "You each have skills that most freemen would die for. Combine your talents, pool your resources, and sell them to the highest bidder! But don't do it like slaves. Do it like free merchants.'' Gralth and Tenpug talked through the night, setting forth the ideas that would be used by these exslaves to survive. When they finished talking, the dwarf bid them farewell and turned back toward Nibenay. When Tenpug asked where he was going, Gralth said that he still had a focus to finish. He did not want to end up wandering the wastes as a banshee after he died. That was the last time any of them ever saw the old dwarf. Eventually, the band found a secure spot to set up a permanent camp. Once they no longer had to move from place to place, the band could concentrate on finding work and making money.

With the possible exception of raiding tribes and citystates, Tenpug's Band gets along well with the other settlements in the wilderness. Few settlements refuse to welcome their craftsmen with open arms and open purses, for the coming of even a single traveler breaks the normal routine and brings news of other places to the remote villages. The Band keeps its members' pasts hidden, believing that they would not receive warm welcomes if their hosts knew they were escaped slaves. Instead, they pretend to be freemen looking for honest work. Of course, sometimes a lone traveler makes a tempting target for monsters, raiders, or slavers. Every once in a while, a member of Tenpug's Band goes out and never returns. That is a cruel fact of life for the ex-slaves in Tenpug's Band. Although close to Giustenal, the band think little of the ruins. Tenpug's followers admit that Giustenal would be a source of fantastic treasures, but most fear the tales of the Caller in Darkness. Tenpug hasn't forbidden any of his tribe from exploring the locale, though he has expressed reservations about such an activity. Tenpug suspects that at least one of the band's number visited Giustenal and coaxed a bauble or two from its shattered depths. An artist named Nallan once disappeared for several days, and when he returned he sold several objects to traders from House Shom. One of the objects was an amulet that bore the design of a dragon and was made from reddish-orange stone. Nallan disappeared again some weeks later, and has not been heard from in several months. Tenpug has seen the dragon design on stone guardians in Giustenal, and he believes Nallan fell to some nameless horror in an attempt to find additional profit in the ruins.

Any slave with a talent as an artist or artisan is welcome to join Tenpug's Band. Tenpug wants nothing to do with preservers, defilers, or templars, however, and none of these ex-slaves are welcome. Also, the mul is cautious when it comes to warrior types who want to join his band. Though the tribe could always use another strong defender, Tenpug knows that his people have grown used to being on their own. Warrior types usually like to lead, and Tenpug's Band just isn't set up as a military organization. Tenpug's Band attracts artists and artisans, for these were once wretched slaves who found a measure of worth by demonstrating artistic abilities. They have no practical skills, only artistic talent; while they were slaves their lives often ended as soon as the popularity of their creations waned. Those who are accepted into the tribe must spend a period of time apprenticed to someone with similar talents. They spend this apprenticeship at the temple, working beside the tribe member and learning about life in Tenpug's Band. Once the tribe member is convinced that the apprentice is good for the tribe, he is made a full member and assigned weeks to sell his services. This period is designed to weed out spies and slavers, for simply allowing a new member to see the location of the camp and then wander off is to invite disaster. Those not accepted are sent into the Sea of Silt without food, water, or weapon.