House Wavir

House Wavir's history is a success story that has few equals. The house began a little over two centuries ago when a freelance adventurer, Traxidos Wavir (now fondly remembered simply as “The Wavir”) founded the company as a joint venture with several of his adventuring companions. Traxidos's own story is just as fascinating as that of his merchant house. A former slave gladiator who bought his own freedom, Traxidos fell in with a number of other adventurers. The band set out to explore the ruins near Balic. The going was rough at first – attacks by raiding tribes and thri-kreen hunters took the lives of several of Traxidos's companions. The ruins themselves proved to be home to a nest of gith, who engaged the companions in an epic running battle. Finally, the gith fled, leaving Traxidos and three other survivors to loot the ruins. Exactly what was found is untold, but it must have been substantial, for the four returned to Balic with mekillotloads of plunder. With these profits, the companions entered into partnership, selecting Traxidos as the new trading house's leader. Despite the substantial profits from their adventuring, Traxidos and his partners soon realized that even their own awesome wealth did not compare to that of the established houses. Tomblador, Rees, Malaxi, and the other houses were loathe to share their markets with upstart ex-slaves and adventurers. Prices of goods and services unaccountably rose, and the services of guards, agents, and mercenaries became suddenly scarce. Masked assassins slew Thassa Amita, the only psionicist in the group; a similar attempt upon Traxidos's life was foiled. The cost of outfitting House Wavir's first two caravans used up almost all of the partners' cash. By the time the embattled merchants had sent them out, their situation was indeed desperate. Again, luck was with Wavir, for their first caravan, loaded with water and grain, reached Urik just as that city was in the midst of a major drought and subsequent famine. Wavir was able to name its price, and a grateful sorcerer-king paid huge amounts out of his treasury to feed his restive subjects. The second caravan survived an attack by elven raiders and also returned a substantial profit. Soon, it became apparent that House Wavir would not simply disappear. Rival houses began to bow to the inevitable; they allowed Wavir to continue to do business, relatively unmolested. This period (often called “the blooding”) is typical of new and ambitious merchant houses. Few upstart houses ever survive it. Wavir proved an exception in more ways than one, for Traxidos proceeded to grow wealthy and powerful, laying the foundations of the legendary house that was to survive him. He died peacefully in bed nearly six decades later, safe in the assurance that his descendants would rule over one of the greatest Athasian merchant houses. Since then, House Wavir has not forgotten its humble origins. Remembering how intrigue and assassins almost destroyed them, Traxidos's descendants remain ever vigilant. Their guards and agents are trained in the arts of counter espionage and detection. In addition, House Wavir seems to value competition as a means of maintaining healthy markets (and also for the challenge it represents), and it rarely harasses or attacks smaller trading houses. In fact, many claim that they have received loans and other assistance from House Wavir, particularly if the smaller house's activities serve to frustrate Wavir's rivals. Today, House Wavir reigns supreme, dominating even its old enemies, Tomblador and Rees. Wavir's bitterest rival, Malaxi, is no more, swept away like desert sands by time and misfortune. Dozens of caravans fly Wavir's silver jozhal, and the house maintains permanent bases throughout the Tyr region. House Wavir provides lasting proof that with luck and bravery, even the lowest of the low can rise to become rich and powerful. 

Wavir is acutely aware of its origins as a two caravan house. It understands that only good luck and vigilant business practices have brought it this far. Young members of the family are encouraged to work the caravan routes or help staff outposts; high ranking family members expect little of the luxury and sybaritic privileges extended to other merchant house members. House Wavir maintains several official positions that improve its image with commoners, but strike other merchants as somewhat indulgent. Wavir caravans sometimes allow villages in dire straits to buy supplies and food on credit, with the promise of future concessions or in exchange for lodging or professional assistance. Another of House Wavir's features is its deep and abiding hatred of slavery. Wavir was founded by a former slave, and future generations were raised to feel that slavery was an evil thing. Many of the house's employees are former slaves who wholeheartedly support this position. Some of Wavir's rivals have gone so far as to accuse the house of fostering and supporting slave revolts in contravention of the Merchants' Code, which forbids direct intervention in partisan matters. Nothing has ever been proven.

Caravans

At any given time, there are 40 to 50 caravans that fly the Wavir blue and silver, loaded with every imaginable commodity. Caravans are generally well guarded, with both elf mercenaries and crodlu- or kank-riders as scouts. Numerous lightly armed archers accompany the wagons and pack inix. A typical caravan has 20 to 30 elven scouts, a dozen riders, 20 to 30 archers, and up to ten wagons of varying size. As many as ten pack inix and numerous kank and crodlu bearing cargo may also accompany the caravan. Wavir uses armored caravan wagons on long journeys, or when the cargo being carried is extremely valuable.

Facilities

House Wavir maintains holdings in every major city of the Tyr region, as well as outposts and villages all along its caravan routes. Wavir's headquarters in Balic rivals the palaces of many sorcerer-kings. Well-paid mercenaries patrol the outer walls, while trusted mages and psionicists appear from time to time to check for surreptitious or magical entry. Inside, the family mansion is said to contain nearly a thousand rooms, numerous spyholes, secret passages and hidden chambers. Elite guards and agents are constantly on guard within the house, protecting family members from attack. No enemy has actually entered the mansion, although many have tried. Other bases and outposts beyond Balic are organized along similar lines, under the command of a family member or senior agent. Magical, psionic, and military defenses are quite impressive, as Wavir's concern for security often borders on the paranoid. Wavir facilities are almost unique in that they utilize no slave labor. For this reason, Wavir's forts tend to have larger staffs, as all menial labor is performed by employees. The house tries to maintain good stocks of water and supplies at its various outposts, but many of the outlying bases, isolated by distance and Athas's fierce weather conditions, often go for months without contact. Along with former rival houses Rees and Tomblador, Wavir maintains the major trading village of Altaruk, southeast of Tyr. Major outposts and fortresses throughout the Tyr region include the following:

Fort Glamis: 150 employees. Supply point at junction of Balic/Ledopolus road. An important crossroads between Balic and the rest of the region.

Fort Thetis: 75 employees. Supply point and trading post at southern end of mountains, 60 miles east of Walis. Wavir completely controls this gold route between Balic and Walis. This fortress is a frequent target of attacks by gith and human tribes, as well as by trading rivals, such as House Tsalaxa.

Outpost Ten: 15 employees. Trading post located on western edge of boulder field, 70 miles southwest of Tyr. Wavir's outposts have numbers rather than names. This small fort lies on the very edge of the Forest Ridge. Here Wavir maintains tenuous trading connections with the halfling savages, who trade hardwood, gems, and exotic animals for gold, spice, and weapons.

Outpost 19: 20 employees. Outpost at northeastern end of Mekillot Mountains. Here Wavir supplies caravans and trades with the former slaves of Salt View. Wavir often trades weapons and other vital items to the slaves at unprofitable rates, but continues to do so because of its hatred of slavery

House Wavir offers generous incentives to persuade agents and freelance adventurers to join the household. Employees are constantly in demand, particularly warriors, rogues, and psionicists. Wavir's obsession with defense and security leads it to hire many psionicists and mages with detection and defensive skills. A family member or ranking agent rarely appears in public without a psionicist in attendance. Any structures that are to be occupied by family members are thoroughly checked out by mages and psionicists beforehand. Those psionicists with good clairsentient and telepathic abilities are likely to find work with House Wavir. If they are particularly successful and loyal, they may even find themselves invited to join the household as agents. A skilled psionicist can expect to receive 20 sp or more per level per month. Magic and psionics are used extensively by House Wavir, especially to detect and eliminate enemy spies and agents. Of course, due to the illegal nature of magic within the city-states, preservers must serve the house under cover identities, often in menial roles to avoid suspicion. Defiler magic is shunned and hated; defilers are emphatically denied employment. Wavir generally does not give favorable treatment to customers who employ large numbers of defilers. Priests, especially those dedicated to elemental water, are employed by Wavir. Many occupy positions as agents or senior agents. Water priests serve on caravans, creating water in emergencies and assisting in finding water. Of course, such priests are in high demand with other merchant houses and with the sorcerer-kings, so Wavir takes care to pay them well. Standard pay for a priest is 50 sp per month, 70 sp for a water priest. 

House Wavir takes pains to maintain good relations with the sorcerer-kings and other merchant houses. The house's reputation for swift and overwhelming response to treachery or attack keeps others friendly toward Wavir, at least on the surface. Relations between Wavir and the Dictator Andropinis, sorcerer-king of Balic, are cordial, but Andropinis has been known to confide in his minions that he would be much happier if House Wavir dropped off the face of Athas. He can do little about it, however, as Wavir controls much of the trade that is vital to Balic's survival. Because Wavir's net of trade connections extends across the Tyr region and beyond, few sorcererkings are openly hostile. Lalali-Puy, oba of Gulg, dislikes the fact that Wavir's traders often outsmart her templars when bartering on behalf of the city. Warm relations exist with the new government of Tyr, due in part to the fact that all of Tyr's slaves have been freed. Hamanu of Urik, who enjoys conflict and relishes the taking and selling of slaves, is openly hostile toward House Wavir, believing them to be indirectly responsible for several slave revolts and attacks on his slave caravans. Relations with other trade houses are a bit more complex. While Wavir cooperates with Houses Tromblador and Rees of Balic in the maintenance of the vital trade fortress of Altaruk, the three are anything but allies. House Tromblador maintains a grudge since Wavir outcompeted it over a century ago, and today it seeks to foil its nowlarger rival at any turn. It is understood, however, that this conflict can never be allowed to explode into open warfare, for all know that this would be bad for business. House Tsalaxa of Draj, however, has no such qualms in its campaign to ruin Wavir. The two sides have met in the desert in open battle on several occasions, as mercenaries in Tsalaxa's pay sought to raid Wavir's caravans or kidnap important family members. Tsalaxa's representatives have been abroad, spreading wild rumors about Wavir and offering to take over their established trade routes for ridiculously low prices. While neither side will admit to the conflict (and members of both families are cordial toward one another), it is clear that Tsalaxa wants to usurp some of Wavir's most important trade routes, a situation that might prove disastrous for Wavir. Wavir is known for having little quarrel with nonhuman and small houses. It rarely engages in the sort of bullying it suffered during its own early history. Many claim that Wavir has extensive contacts with the Shadows, a mysterious group of elves that is said to engage in espionage, smuggling and trade in forbidden substances. While Wavir publicly does not deal in such illegal items as spell components, many suspect that they do so through the Shadows and other underworld contacts. Relations with other houses are comparatively normal – namely intense competition coupled with healthy respect and public friendliness.