IN WHAT MIGHT AS WELL HAVE BEEN A PAST LIFE, Ulruun was a rugged, muscle-bound gladiator in Nibenay’s arena. Over many years of combat, he grew to envy—and occasionally, after a particularly theatrical victory, to sample—the luxuries of the wealthy and powerful. The dwarf eventually earned his freedom not through combat in the arena but by committing murder on behalf of his patron. Since then, Ulruun has used his knowledge of the arena and the slave trade to enjoy a life of opulence and debauchery.
Ulruun—whose nickname “the Repugnant” is widely known but never spoken to his face—is a squat, rotund dwarf with weak features. He serves as one of the auctioneers in Nibenay’s slave market and runs a small slaving operation of his own on the side. Ulruun is extremely, even obsequiously, loyal to House Shom—or rather, to House Shom’s coin. What earns Ulruun his nickname is that he understands the suffering he imposes on others because he was once a slave.
Ulruun travels with a cadre of bodyguards, in case a furious slave or a business competitor should attempt to accomplish what years in the arena could not. He prefers large and intimidating guards such as muls and goliaths, though he usually has a human or a halfling hiding in the crowd nearby, as well. Ulruun’s vicious nature often surprises those who judge him by his dandified looks, but unless forced to raise his blade or his walking stick, he’s content to let his guards do the fighting. The dwarf has been known to hide behind lines of chained slaves, using them as living shields.
Ulruun has gone to fat, appearing soft and even foppish as he struts about Nibenay with his ornate walking stick, but he remembers the lessons of the arena. He’s brutally efficient with his dagger, capable of crippling stronger opponents, and he doesn’t hesitate to use it. Better a hobbled slave who fetches a smaller price than an escaped slave who fetches none.