Adalbert Friedrich

Hailing from the Free Cities of Hennetag- Nimmin in particular, Adalbert is the son of a long line of adventurous traders, who have plied the waves of Ikol for generations. Adalbert is among the younger sons of the Friedrich family, and since the opening of the Barrier returned the Gateway Empire to the world's market, Adal has made Gateway his most frequent port of call. Hennetish sailors are renowned for their boldness, sailing through a storm is a perfectly valid choice, when a deadline (and thus a trader's reputation) is on the line.

Hennetish Great Cog

Well regarded enough within his family to have been entrusted with a small fleet of sturdy great cogs, the original three are named 'Mein Bruder', 'Der Schalger', and 'Guld Schaedel', in reference to an old Hennetish proverb which translates to: 'Be my brother, or I'll crush your skull'. Adal finds the saying endlessly amusing, for some reason. His reputation is one of reliability, even- if some are to be believed and if the price is right, to the exception of law. This man of Nimmin is an adept ship's master, a canny trader, and can be more fierce in defense of his livelihood than most, but he is no soldier.

Most Outside merchants have been wary to travel inside the Barrier to do business, but to this Adalbert is the exception. Where others see danger, a man of Hennetag sees opportunity.

459 (Jul 24) The Hennetish Free City of Nimmin is sacked by the combined navies of it's neighbors, ending the Ursek-Nimmin war and marking the beginning of the Country of Hennetag. The Nimmin opera house is razed in the sack.

480 (Jul 24) Adalbert, fourth of the Friedrich children to survive infancy, is born on the twenty-first anniversary of the Sack of Nimmin.

488 The continued withdrawal of wealthy families from the still rebuilding city of Nimmin leaves the Friedrich Trade Company as the city's oldest surviving trade house.

496 (Jul 24) On his sixteenth birthday, Adalbert takes to sea as an apprentice aboard his brother Algis' ship. From this day forward, he will never spend more than three weeks at a stretch in his home city.

499 (Nov 27) Given his first command, the 'Mein Bruder'. Having completed his apprenticeship, he becomes a full citizen of Nimmin.

501 (Dec 23) The first Hennetish trade ship enters Gateway's Barrier, being stopped at Guardian Isle and turned away without being allowed as far as Gateway. This marks the first time Adalbert entered the Empire, but it would not be the last.

502 (Jan 7) - Adalbert returns to Gateway, this time being allowed to trade his ship's cargo for local goods. Over the following months and years, Gateway becomes his most frequent port of call.

507 - Adalbert's success is rewarded with command of two more great cogs, entrusted to him by Algis, as Adal's oldest brother withdraws from sailing to take a more active hand in managing the family business.

508 (Aug 3) - Georg Friedrich, patriarch of the Friedrich family, dies in his bed, leaving his eldest son Algis to assume control of the Friedrich Trade Company.

508 (November) - Acting as an agent of the Gateway Merchants Guild, Adalbert brokers the sale of two shiploads of exotic hides in the Leuvian, Tyrean and Far Southern markets. The ten percent fee taken for the transport and sale of these goods makes Adalbert, and the Friedrich Trade Company, tremendously wealthy. Four new great cogs are commissioned for his management, among other projects.

Described by some as charming and witty, Adalbert makes no pretenses to be anything more than a merchant, with an eye for pleasure and a tight hand on his purse-strings. Described less kindly as stingy and shallow, money may be the first and last consideration, but this doesn't mean that one cannot behave as a gentleman in the intervening space.

If there is a hole in this stinginess, it lies in the Hennetish obsession with gambling. Adalbert finds time in every day to play at dice or cards- sometimes for coin and sometimes simply for trifles such as brass pennies or dares.

Caprice Trillare - Business partner, and bane of his existence.
Gwyndolen FitzWriothesley - Tyrean ambassador, a friendly acquaintance.

• Don't call him Hennetish. Adalbert insists he is a man of Nimmin, not Hennetag.
• The short sword he carries is of a pattern common to young men who have passed muster in Hennetish pike militias.