Jim Beam

Jim Beam
Jim Beam is some guy that came about when Vince was looking through his couch.

Appearance
Jim is a lightly skinned wood elf with a red beard. He looks like he's seen the world and live to tell the tale.

Early Life
Born in The Wardens. Third son to the great paladin, Solus Beam. He would occasionally accompany his father on missions as his squire, helping with armor and weapons and other squire duties. Jim picked up some paladin skills, but didn't complete his training to become a full paladin. During his travels, he met a few key individuals that would become his lifelong friends and in some cases, accomplices. After reaching adulthood, he drifted for a while before settling down in Obertal to start a family and become a merchant.

Obertal
Despite the rough nature of the great port town of Obertal, Jim founded a successful trading company. He became proficient in the deal and seeking a profit. Over time, he became known as a person to see if you wanted to trade in perfume or other luxuries from far off lands. He found love in the daughter of a prominent merchant family, Liadi Windrider, and soon had a son.

Things were going well until he caught the attention of Sir Buick. A man who wanted to be the most powerful business man in Obertal, Buick was willing to do anything further his plans. This included the Beam Trading Company and it's associated routes across Tiphor and across the sea. Buick wasn't just interested in perfume, but the other goods that the perfume was hiding. Various illicit potions and goods that no hound could detect past the perfume. Indeed, the sweet smelling carts of Beam had a darker side. Buick made an offer that Jim couldn't refuse. When Jim did refuse, he arranged an accident for Jim's family. A group of bandits ambushed the cart carrying Jim and his family on the way back to Obertal after a stay at the Windrider vacation home. Jim and his guard were able to take down the bandits, but not before they slayed his wife.

At this point, Jim realized how much in danger he and his son were in. He wouldn't be able to protect him by himself forever. Following his connections, he was able to arrange to have a group take in his son and ensure his safety. The Windrider matriarch pleaded to have Jim send his son to their safe haven, but Jim knew that Buick would attack them the same way he attacked Jim's family. Only by disappearing into the underground would his son be safe. Buick set upon the Beam Trading Company with a vengeance. Deals were cancelled. Routes were attacked. It wasn't long before the company would have to be closed or sold for pennies on the dollar. Jim was able to escape back to The Wardens and met up with his father's order. He thought he could sink into his training to ease his grief over his wife. After a year, his heart didn't long for service, but vengeance.

The J-team
Again, Jim left the order. He met with his old friends to form a team to take down Buick. There was Thavamahl the goliath barbarian. Nothing could stand in his way. Biltor the gnome bard. He could talk his way into any situation and talk himself out of it. Finally Sar the human mage. Nothing was beyond his understanding.

Going up against Buick in a frontal assault would have been suicide. Instead, they would have to take him down with a thousand cuts. Just like Buick's campaign against Jim, the J-team attacked Buick. Caravans were attacked. Deals would mysteriously fall through. Over several months, with support from the Windrider matriarch, the J-team was able to land blow after blow upon the Buick empire.

The Obertal Guard had initially turned a blind eye to the early actions of Buick due to generous bribes and kickbacks. As time went on and Buick got more reckless and bloodthirsty, Buick became a larger and larger problem for the guard. This caught the attention of the captain of the guard. With Buick's many connections to Obertal leadership, the guard couldn't move directly against him. They could, however, turn a blind eye here, harass an important person there, delay a caravan for inspection, tip off a certain team, and generally cause trouble for a certain troublemaker. Buick had the mark of death and the J-team was going to take full advantage of it.

Soon the end came for Buick. Tipped off to when and how he was returning from Heldenburg, the J-team set up an ambush. Supplied with powerful magical items from the Windrider vault, the team descended on Buick's caravan with an unbound fury. Missiles and arrows shot to and fro. Divine vengeance rained from above. When dawn came, the only thing recognizable in the smoldering debris was Buick's face. They had ensured that there would be no mistake on who was slain that night.

Windriders
After his revenge had been fulfilled, the J-team disbanded and went their separate ways. Jim was still in danger from Buick's allies. He decided to put down his sword and join the Windrider Sailing company under an alias and grew out his distinctive red beard. Now Ken Scorpio, he resumed his life as a merchant across the great sea. He still had a knack for deals and was able to find success.

Jim eventually returned to Obertal when he felt the heat had died down. After some hard searching, he found Poppins and his son, now named Hank. Hank had only known Poppins as his father and Jim didn't want to take him away from the only family he had known. Jim was able to give him the last name Scorpio. Then he arranged a small fund to help with Hank so he would never go hungry and even had a bit of schooling. He couldn't stay in Obertal, but would visit Hank from time to time with gifts from across the sea. Visits from Uncle Kenny always brought a smile to Hank's face.

Return to the sword
Jim was at sea when the Sweeps were wiped out by The Road. He didn't find out until months later. He knew the life Hank was leading, but was still saddened by his loss.

Three more times, the J-team came together to face their foes. They were mostly successful, but Biltor was lost. The third time came during an important business deal, but Jim couldn't turn down his friends. The deal fell through without him and he was asked to resign. Jim decided to leave the world of business for a while and travel as a paladin of justice.