Meet the Vanthampurs
The Council of Four, whose individual members were referred to as the Dukes was the governing body of the city of Baldur's Gate consisting of four powerful individuals elected for life.
The current members are:
Grand Duke Ulder Ravengard, a career officer within the Flaming Fist
Ulder Ravenguard is currently missing and was last seen in EluturekThalamra Vanthampur, a cunning patriar who built her family's wealth and lifted herself out of poverty;
Dillard Portyr;
Belynne Stelmane.
Rumor has it that Thalamra Vanthampur is making a play for Grand Duke in Ulder Ravenguard absences.
Thalmara Vanthampur
She is barrel-bodied, with strong hands and forearms that speak to her beginnings as a manual laborer. Her youth was spent in the cellars and sewers of Baldur’s Gate, repairing pipes and clearing out the city’s filth. Thalamra rose from such lowly work to become the minister of the city’s sewers and waterworks. Now she dresses in the finery that suits her station as a duke of Baldur’s Gate.`
She is a widow three times over.
Mortlock Vanthampur
Mortlock is tolerated by his mother, Duke Thalamra Vanthampur, and despised by his older brothers, Thurstwell and Amrik, who view him as a simpleton and an abomination.
Mortlock is Thalmara’s youngest son from her third husband.
Amrik Vanthampur
Amrik is Thalmara’s middle son from her second husband.
He is widely seen as the natural successor to Thalmara Vanthampur, much to Thurstwell’s annoyance.
Thurstwell Vanthampur
Thurstwell is Thalmara’s eldest son from her first husband.
Thurstwell’s real problem is that his mother doesn’t see him as her successor, and is grooming Amrik to fill that role. Despite his jealousy, Thurstwell would never visit harm upon Amrik for fear of incurring his mother’s wrath. Mortlock is a different matter, as it’s been made abundantly clear that Thalamra would disown him had she not agreed to the dying wish of her third husband to look after Mortlock despite his countless imperfections.
