Trez Arrigo

“Corsairs? No, I think not. Experts in supply chain and procurement! Wish my old man could see it: the family business is alive and, yes, booming!”

Trez is a reformed(?) privateer and the owner and operator of Pie-Rat Industries, a totally legitimate business. At the Rites of Spring Grand Feast of 2023, he was elevated to The Knights and Nobles Council-- granted the title Sir Trez Arrigo, Captain of Commerce, Knight of the Realm. He is the first and current Guildmaster of The Merchant's Guild.

Origin

After Captain Flipside’s death, the Family Sword and the ship passed to Do’su-- who one day said ‘no more’. It was an outrage to Trez: all those resources wasted on a man who was now to become a baker. So when Do’su abdicated his family responsibility and retired in search of a peaceful life, Trez tracked him down– to The Grove's doorstep.

Trez could not bring his brother back to the Strix. But by family law, he could also not succeed him as Captain. And so he plied every trick in the book to remain near to his truant of a brother, with a mind to return him to the family business. Though skeptical and watchful, the Circle welcomed him into the Faction alongside Do’su.

The Plains of Sorrow Campaign

"...Bloody Land Politics."

Trez first collided with Faction matters when he stumbled upon harbingers of the Black Caravan at midnight, after pulling off an... acquisition of a painting. He survived the encounter with the demons, and before he knew it, he was put in front of the Council of Osterra to report what he saw. From that moment forward, he was drawn into the conflict, at first unwillingly. What did this Ebon Gate business have anything to do with native Osterrans, anyway? He planned to slip away when the attention was no longer on him.

But the next day, as he watched the legion of demons amassed on the Plains of Sorrow, it gave him pause. The Sisterhood awakened a nagging sense of responsibility in Trez. Standing alongside the Grove in combat, he witnessed the destruction of Fonti's Fancy, which poured the entire reservoir onto the advancing demonic host, crushing a battalion. And then, he acted in a fire of pride. He fought and died that day to demon blades... and woke up alive.

That doesn't always happen for natives.

It impacted Trez profoundly, fighting for his homeworld against powerful Demons seeking to subjugate Osterra. He found a healthy respect for his Sisterhood and learned much from them. Two years and many adventures later, on the eve of Vermintide, Trez stood among the Knights of the Realm, facing down the last of the demons of the Demonic Dominion. As he watched his Faction leader, Oonagh, cleanse the Plains of Sorrow, he wondered how it might have gone, had he not lifted that painting that fateful night.

Personality

A charismatic merchant, Trez is always curious, collecting information, negotiating deals, and procuring wares. He tinkers nearly constantly. In most scenes, he often appears doing something else, multitasking, or arriving incidentally on an errand. When focused on a task, he chillingly reflects his father more than he cares to admit. His methods can range from playful to ruthless, with a particular brusqueness for uptight ‘land politics' in private. He is always half a heartbeat away from a joke and loves a good roast, especially at his brother’s expense.

Since joining the Grove, he now pays careful attention especially to those unlooked after: the new arrivals, the unaffiliated, the nomads, and ‘monstrous’ races like the orcs. With no real responsibilities or recognition of his efforts in his early life, he operates as a foil to his older brother-- with a constant caustic wit that borders on derision to dampen Do’su’s quiet optimism and calm. Like his brother, though, he values potential.

The Secondborn Son of the Strix sees himself as a pragmatic voice of reason in The Grove. He weighs costs and benefits of particular courses of action and navigates appropriately as a keen observer. He is a pleasant and disarming host, growing his network as well as his security solutions business with collaborators of every form and creed. Trez knows all too well the ways to be stabbed in the back; his family made a business of avoiding this fate with varying levels of success. He forgives quite amiably, but rarely does he forget—that’s what the ledger is for.

Trez is a collector, especially of art and antiquities, legal or otherwise. He has been across the world in his business dealings and brings wares from all over the world and from Portals beyond Osterra to sell. Like most native Osterrans, he is deeply suspicious of magic-- but he also recognizes its utility.

He dutifully assists the Grove with their coffers and has evolved the idea of the Arrigo family business. Pie-Rat Industries, his multi-service one-stop shop, now operates on all discovered Osterran continents with a prominent philanthropy arm. He is charming, hospitable, and efficient, with a ready smile and grand gesture.

But Trez is still his father's son. The infamous glare of Captain Flipside did not die with the Pirate Legend, nor did his ambition. Both still smolder deep within Trez.

Appearance

Trez is a tall blonde human of limber build and tan skin, conventional of sailors. His first appearances in Osterra featured light armor in varying shades of grey and black. He wears spectacles, which he uses for balancing the books. His initial dark outfits have increasingly featured greens and golds typical of his Faction, as he has journeyed with them. With every new pushback of the Demonic Dominion, he has added a new green item to his outfit.

Both in combat and at his shop, he wears a cavalier hat with black and green plumes, and is known to wear reinforced green armor covered in pouches on his travels. He wears knee-high leather boots, housing a blade or two. He is rarely without his brown pocket ledger. Like any member of the Grove, Trez may choose to wear a Tree of Life pendant around his neck, conferred by the Faction Leader-- Gwion Triarta at the time.

At court, festivals, and events, Trez typically wears the outfit befitting those of the merchant or noble class. His outfits prioritize freedom of movement both for dancing and for inevitable roguish activities that have become commonplace at Feast Days. A white shirt, green-and-gold paisley vest, and a cravat allow for more flexibility as situations demand.