Nieut Gyngrijk

"Sure, I feed the people dreams. But their dreams might one day put me in the Staadtholder's chair. Want some taffy?"

- Nieut Gyngrijk, Speaker of the Burgeshof

In his forties, of medium height and portly build. His bright grey eyes seem welcoming and cheerful, though a piggish squint reveals the calculating, selfish personality within.

In a city that specialises in back-room deals, Speaker Gyngrijk is the consummate mass-politician. He rose from a middle-class family in Noordmuur and quickly gained a reputation as a firebrand orator for the rights of the working man in Marienburg's courts. But he is not an idealist - rather, he desires power and money. Since his birth denied him the advantages of the rich, he pragmatically created his own power base: the resentful and unsophisticated who seek to blame others for their own troubles.

His success brought him to the attention of the Directorate. But, instead of arranging a anonymous trip to Rijker's for him, they played on his venality and came to a mutually beneficial arrangement: he would become their creature, especially of the van de Kuypers faction. He would use his considerable skills to protect their interests in the Burgerhof, and they would see he enjoyed the perquisites he had always wanted. For the past seven years, he has served them well.

But Nieut isn't satisfied to be the cats-paw of Jaan van de Kuypers. He's set his eyes on the greatest prize of all - he wants to be nothing less than Staadtholder of Marienburg.

The Speaker has regular contact with all the Directors, especially van de Kuypers, van Haagen and de Roelefs. Recently, his contacts with the de Roelefs family has taken on a more intimate tone, as he has recently begun to pay court to Clotilde de Roelefs niece, Clara, who has just reached marriageable age. Nieut Gyngrijk has become a regular visitor to the Rood Haan Paleis in Oudgeldwijk. Director de Roelef herself is considering the match, since it would bring the Speaker's considerable public appeal into the anti-van de Kuypers faction. Clara's opinions are unknown.

Speaker Gyngrijk makes frequent visits to working-class neighbourhoods of Marienburg, where he "presses the flesh" and lets everyone know he's in the common man's corner. He's especially popular in Kruiersmuur. Understandably, the Elves and Dwarfs are quite cool to him.

Someone, though, actively dislikes him. Recent rumours and suspicious happenings have convinced him that someone wants him dead. But who? Taking no chances, he has engaged Marquandt's Escort Service to provide a round-the-clock bodyguard.

Source
[[Category:N]] [[Category:G]]
 * Warhammer Fantasy RPG 1st ED -- Marienburg: Sold Down the River
 * pg. 121
 * pg. 122