General Information

Olaf's father, Gunnar Greybeard, built the fleet on which Alexander Nevsky ? sailed across the North Sea to defeat the Teutonic Knights ?. The elder Greybeard made a fortune in the process, and Olaf now carries on his father's legacy. In addition to the shipbuilding business, Greybeard also controls the majority of the lumber trade in Novgorod, making him a powerful man indeed.

With Novgorod now at war with Kiev, Greybeard stands to profit handsomely by providing ships to carry Prince Vladimir and his warriors across the sea, just as his father did for Prince Alexander Nevsky.

Greybeard's Fortress

Greybeard's primary residence is a fortress ? which stands on a steep cliff not far from the mouth of the Neva River, two days' ride to the northwest of the city of Novgorod. (Greybeard's fortress is more fully described in another post.) Through General Bodrashov, Olaf Greybeard has a friendly relationship with the Cult of Loki, and has permitted the Cult to use part of the dungeon beneath his fortress to house prisoners.

Dealings with the player characters

Assassination of Yegor Dolgorukiy

The player characters have once dealt directly with Greybeard, carrying out an assassination on the shipwright's order. When the Kievan businessman Yegor Dolgorukiy came to Novgorod, hoping to make his fortune there through manipulation and underhanded dealings, he made the mistake of attempting to move in on Greybeard's business. Greybeard put out the word that he wanted Yegor dead; when the PCs heard of this (through Vasily's Cult associate, Lev Gurov), they jumped at the opportunity. They tracked down Yegor Dolgorukiy and killed him, to their own profit (both from the payment for the job, Yegor's personal wealth, the information he had on Novgorod's markets, merchants, and trade affairs, and his informants and shady associates in both Novgorod and Kiev) and Olaf Greybeard's satisfaction.