Gunna von Sperren is the so-called Smuggler Queen of Nordland in the Empire of Man. From her grandiose mansion in the Norsaugen ward of Hargendorf, the Smuggler Queen presides, the imperious mistress of a complex web of smuggling bands, trafficking gangs, and wreckers. Contraband rarely lands on the Nordland shore without her blessing...and a hefty donation to her coffers.[1a]
Gunna von Sperren grew up gutting fish in Hargendorf's Seegabe Market. She was always shrewd, ambitious, and amoral -- before her 18th birthday, she blackmailed her way into marriage with the ageing Elmer von Sperren, who ran a small trading concern shipping cargo for House Akkerman of Marienburg. As the respectable wife of a merchant, Gunna slowly assembled her criminal empire before Elmer was killed by a large sea scorpion that had somehow made it into his bedchamber.[1a]
A buyer can obtain almost anything from the Smuggler Queen with enough gold. Her enterprise is principally seven smuggling rings, each overseen by one of her adult children. These gangs secure and beach contraband, conceal it from the authorities, and ensure safe passage through the Empire in innocuous carts and barges.[1a]
Several gangs import taxed or restricted goods, such as Bretonnian brandy, into the Empire, while another deals in exotic herbs and items stolen from the Laurelorn Forest. A smuggling ring organised by Gunna's eldest daughter Edelyn work with House Akkerman's darkest contacts in Marienburg, such as a supplier of Black Lotus known to them only as "The Lascar." He wishes to forge a connection to Gunna to source illicit and corrupting artefacts. The vicious son Esben deals personally with shadowed figures in the sewers under the Kislevite port city of Erengrad, who desire living captives to transport to places unknown.[1a]
Nobody forgets a visit to Gunna von Sperren's "court" in Hargendorf. Minstrels play genteel airs, while her children mingle with accomplished sea captains and several of the cowed von Hargenfels family, who nominally rule the Barony of Hargendorf. The Smuggler Queen is known for her superior manner, referring to herself as the royal "we" and rarely deigning to talk with anyone she deems inferior. She dresses in costly attire more suited to Reikland nobility than a Nordlander crime boss. Accompanying von Sperran is her pet Hyenadon, taken from a wrecked Bretonnian galley returning from Lustria.[1a]