Biography

Suton's father Barlowe was Bree's apiarist; she is apprenticing in the ways of the beekeeper. Their home lies in the outskirts of Greybourn, where a stray insect accident won't disturb the townsfolk overly much. However, such precautions are rarely necessary past children's dares: Suton is always a careful steward of her charges. Not only does she harvest honey and wax, but she crafts these into useful products. Barlowe's Bee Yard has a measure of fame for their candles, used in everything from rough-and-tumble coal mining to exquisite religious observance.

She's a surprisingly quiet young thing, always underfoot in her own polite way, and many have taken to calling her "Sudden" or "Sudden Suton" because of it. But there is a reason for that, hidden away from prying eyes, beneath a blanket of constant buzzing...

Barlowe was once a capable burglar, and though retired, he was training his daughter in his old trade as well as his new. A cautious man who saw little profit when risk and worry hung over it, he devised what he felt was the perfect scheme...town beekeeper.

And why not? They could easily make wax key impressions, securing such treasure at their convenience without the need to pick a lock. They could open sealed documents, using their wax to reseal it and forging the signet mark anew. Candle wicks are just one step away from bomb fuses, and harvesting enough bee venom can make for a potent poison.

Though quite often, it was far more profitable for them to sell thieving aids to others than to personally use them. They dealt in subtle work: skimming a little off the top here and there when it wouldn't draw attention to themselves. They weren't afraid to back off from a risky opportunity -- the bee yard does make a modest living all on its own -- and they never wanted to hurt anyone intentionally. That's not just physically, but financially too: while they had no qualms about robbing from anyone, the rich could handle it better than the poor. They knew everyone needs to make a crust somehow, especially their neighbors. Travelers were the big game, especially army regiments where one man's wages would just be considered lost to drink and gambling. So all in all her father was a safe and practical man.​

Suton's mother passed away years ago. Her father, never around during her childhood, took the responsibility to return and care for the child in her stead. He knew they had to settle down, since a bandit's life was no way to raise a daughter. It was at this time he came up with the bee yard idea. While it was rough going at first -- he had no more notion of bee wrangling than you do -- that was thankfully years ago and few villagers approached close enough to remember their beginnings of their disastrous con. Thankfully father and daughter became practiced hands at the trade.

Everything Changes

However, things took a far darker turn recently when Barlowe vanished. He told Suton nothing in the days leading up to his mysterious departure; the only contact he seems to have made is with an old friend, Kragosi, whom he hadn't seen in decades. He told Ol' Crag that he was on his deathbed from illness, but something about that never rang quite true to the dwarf. Whatever his fate, Barlowe begged Crag to pick up his life, travel to Bree and watch over Suton as her guardian.

Only a child, Suton now tries to continue her father's work with a zeal only a child can muster. Her training regimen is unique indeed, though it proves an effective method for an apprentice who's getting to the age where she's starting to backtalk. Suton learns to be silent and accurate by practicing sleight of hand inside their bee hives and apiaries. Delicacy and precision is the order of the day, and increasingly angry nests teach her speed. Her dad started banging on the boxes when she was mid-pilfer, though he did so only as a training tool: she's already developed immunity to their toxin, and can suffer only itching and embarrassment at this point. Now she's beginning training in the lockpicks, also inside the hives, where the sticky honey is adding further challenge.

Her newfound foster father shares Barlowe's pragmatism, if not his morals. Crag insists that if Suton's going to steal, she only do it from those that deserve it. "And only ever whittle off shavings" as he puts it. He'd much prefer that she just stick to the beekeeping, but he doesn't feel that it's his right to parent her as much as protect her. Thankfully, sometimes other heroes have stepped in to try and help raise her.

Barlowe's Bee Yard

The yard supplies Bree with a several needs in a variety of medieval applications. She has enough stock on-hand or close by to meet any of the following needs:

Waxworks...

• Candles of all shapes and sizes
• Wicks for Candles
• Sealing Wax
• Wax Earplugs for friends who swim, or their friends who snore
• Wax coating for cheesemakers
• Wax resin for bowyers
• Wax for dental fills and temporary teeth

Other Commodities...

• Honey for cooking or brewing
• Royal Jelly for potions and reagents
• Flowers (garden needed for bees, and it allows them to make scented candles and incense oil)

Additional Services...

• Extermination, Standard (mundane vermin only) 
• Extermination, Exotic (giant vermin only)

Suton's Secret Shoppe...

She also has access to the following thieving items, if you're a friend of the Cant. Upon such realization the young girl will instantly seem a touch older, as she uses her hobbit looks to play it a little young to help with her cover.

• Lockpicks (hidden in candles and flower bouquets)
• Honey Press & Pollen (acts as rosin cube and powder)
• Aniseed Wax-Lined Pouch (secretly growing in her garden, licorice smelling seeds can make dogs tracking you lose your scent) 
• Wax Keys
• Fuses for Explosives
• "Timer Marked" Candles to aid in tracking guard rotations
• "Self-Dousing" Candles for planning surprise darkness
• Harvested Bee Toxin (a minor poison)
• Money Laundering (availability depends on risk involved)

Thanks to Suton's hobbit heritage and particularly childlike looks, she often finds herself trying to convince the villagers of Fullbridge that she's younger than she really is, while trying to convince her father's thieves guild contacts that she's older. Truth to tell...since much of their work is done over correspondence, she hasn't even told the guild that Barlough passed away. It's a dangerous game she's playing, particularly since the money laundering aspect of the Secret Shoppe is far more adult work than hiding lockpicks in candles, and Crag believes her "thievery" ranks among low-grade mischief. Make no mistake: regardless of what people might think, she is very much a 'tween,' and all that entails.