Believe it or not, there are some in this world that just refuse to die. Deep into the caves of Catastrophe Falls dwelt a man who survived more than his share of near death experiences. To his followers, it was almost a game to see what he would survive next. Each year the narrow escapes from death grew in number and each year it was shrugged off by the very man who eluded the inevitable for yet another year.
The Favored, they called him, claiming the higher powers must have claimed him their favorite or had cursed the rest of them. Of course, this was near perfection for a man who needed to be up close and personal with dangerous situations. The Favored had picked up the trade of acquiring information long before his encounters with death had grown past a handful.
He began selling information to a man who had suspicions about his neighbor stealing sheep from his lands and claiming them as his own. Little tidbits such as where the man spent his evenings, who he’d spoken to and, of course, who he’d hired to scare the sheep into his lands. After all was said and done and the man had slaughtered his neighbor for the crime, word of mouth began to spread and soon jealous wives, nobles, merchants, and eventually kings had come to him, offering up gold nuggets for key information on a neighboring settlement.
He had fallen from a horse for a noble, taken an arrow to the back for a suspicious character, and choked on poisonous wine for a king. Who wouldn’t want to hire an invincible man to find out every little secret? Of course, those in the same business found it hard to keep up with such a reputation and so, in a strategic move, the Favored offered them employment instead.
“I would rather have a hundred allies than even one enemy.” He had told a few of men years later when they had asked why he didn’t just lop off their heads and be done with it.
While the Favored was indeed a lucky man, he was not one to dirty his hands with blood. His customers were responsible for that themselves. It was not long before he was rapidly growing his business, trusted allies who were keen in the art of sniffing out lies and finding the truth kept any potential risks at bay.
With so many employees there was of course the issue of where to set up base. Catastrophe Falls, the only entrance into Murgulmuck, was a cunning location. The caves were difficult to navigate and it was entirely too easy to keep eyes on who went in and who went out.
While not incredibly power hungry, there was nothing anyone could hide from those working for the Favored, and so bribes were indeed necessary. Even an assassin was cheaper than a secret kept secret.