Turn 9 Results
February, 1033 DR
The Sav Altulas Standard
Don't Worry, We Got This
Sponsored by the Bookbinder's Guild
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The UAL, while still an official union organization, is know known to be controlled by outside forces, with many members moving to Stacks to work with the new offices there being built by the Mercantile's Guild. Those who remain in the Underdocks answer to either the Blackfist or the Gear's Chosen.
A grand opera is in production, being written by one Alscot Lascelles and backed by Doctor Vassari, the Mercantile's Guild, the Heladuit Court and the Silversmith's Guild.
Mercantile's Guild guards are training under the command of House Laurier troops, in exchange for rumored high-value payments.
Workshops are being rebuilt in the Gear.
Electrical wiring has been constructed in Factories South, Pits and Rot's Burrough. Reports of fires and electrocutions are being called "The mark of progress" by Chosen Designers.
OOC Note
Spoiler
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The neighborhoods named above now have the traits Light and Warmth and Dangerous Systems.
The Militia of Order and Justice, followed by the Fist of Neposh, are striking at the Empty Blood Gang in Annosus, in a move hailed as extremely welcome by locals. Meanwhile, agents of the Ram Revolution provide aid to those affected by the conflict.
Democratic philosophers with ties to the Ram Revolution are holding sway in the coffee houses of Scholar's Compass.
Thanks to a massive effort by the ESGE, with assistance from several other factions, the newly-refurbished University Daimot is just about ready to open its doors to students.
Doctors at Bloodhaven are working double time to compensate for a sudden morphine shortage, aided by volunteers sent by the Champions of Sovereignty.
Even as the neighborhood begins to settle down, riots begin to break out in Fat Tippest, but are stopped before they can really begin by Blackfist supporters.
Daisong Palace has been cleared of its decaying enchantments by a massive coalition.
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Excerpt from the Standard
Vile Sorcery Driven From Palace!
Body of the Tyrant Desoui Found!
Spoiler
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There is a long, wide room around the back of the palace, near the very upper stories. The roof is made of glass and slopes down to the floor, lighting the set of comfortable lounge chairs and tables, which are covered in books and papers. A perusal of them could tell the reader anything they needed to know about the day in July when city politics suddenly became very interesting. Here was a ledger of expenses accurate up to halfway through the month, here was a list of crimes that still needed to be judged, and here, open in the lap of the dead woman, were the updated records of tariffs on Traitor’s Bridge. Desoui, inexplicably, had not yet begun to decompose, and appeared as if she were simply relaxing in the chair, head lolled back as though asleep. The only mark that she was not alive was the paleness of her skin, the thin trickle of dried blood snaking down her face from the neat red hole in her forehead, matching the neat little hole in the glass wall. It was here, in that little hole, that the magic of Daisong Palace first broke, when the assassin’s dart somehow breached the wards stretched across the window and surrounding the sorceress herself.
The body itself has not yet been touched, though the mages have confirmed that there is no lingering magic surrounding it. Which, however comforting, does not explain why it has not decayed: hence, the caution.
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It has become known that it was a blade of Merdallan steel that slew Skeeve Redeye. As such, demand for such weapons has soared, pushing the smiths of Swordsware to their limit.
The Wardens, with permission from the Champions of Sovereignty, have set up a checkpoint on Traitor's Bridge in order to root out what they deem to be contraband headed to the warlords of the Shattered Lands. The local representative of the Verdan artificer known as MecLochire has publicly denounced the checkpoint as an impediment to commerce after several shipments of Veras weaponry intended for various warlords were turned back at the bridge.
The Wardens, with assistance from scouts loyal to King James, have mounted an expeditionary force to perform reconnaissance of the area surrounding Sav Altulas and assess any threats that may have arisen while the city has been focused on its own inner turmoil.
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Excerpt from the Standard
Warlords Fear Once Again!
Spoiler
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The news that the Wardens are venturing beyond the walls of Sav Altulas once again spreads from bandit band to warlord’s camp, traveling in the dead of night and open day, on the wind with signal fires and through hidden villages and in the mouths of captives trying to buy their lives with any information they have. The news comes swiftly to Sakel-Doge, who dismisses it as irrelevant and orders that the execution proceed; to Maximillian Greeves, who smiles his shark-toothed smile; to Cord Witchbrother, who has not smiled since his sister died; and to Agia Lonecutter, who summons soothsayers to make sense of this new omen.
These four are smart. Any agents they had near Sav Altulas are no longer there by the time Warden and Champion scouts sweep through the area. No one Jezel interrogates claims any allegiance to Witchbrother or Greeves, Lonecutter or the Black-Eyed Doge. Instead, they speak of smaller names, of Tinman and his Traitor Legion, of wild men calling themselves Fallen Stars, of the savage beasts ridden by the Stone Wolves and the burning machines built by Brother Told, of the brutal sacrifices demanded by the Upside Circle and the strange, blank-eyed hospitality of Viktor Av’Dulas’ haunted armies. They speak of the black mountain to the south and the cult of the dead god Duvan Ku resurgent there; they speak of Orn Telengrad to the north, where beastmen and orcs have constructed their mockery of civilization; they speak of the Saint of Chains and the Servant who walks the high country, carrying out the will of his unfathomable master; they speak of the empty tower where the Prophet of Hate lies bound in brass, whispering secrets to destroy the hearts of all who listen; they speak of the Kingdom of Gregoria and its headless King, fallen now to his own brutish slaves; they speak of the distant city of Burnelli and the Hand of Six who claimed the King’s Rock for their own; they speak of the Lead Prophet and the Mechanist, hunted by the Imperial Chancery far to the south; they speak of Chaostongue and the fury he brings in the night, raising armies to march to their doom; they speak of oni coming from the mountains to gather at Talidoran standing stones, and of thorn goblins demanding tributes of milk and honey, and of Grey Legion Rangers from the Empire and Heartless Men from the Protectorate and of abominations escaped from dungeons more akin to hell than any mortal plane, free at last in the wilderness. All this and more slides off the tongues of dishonest men and women hoping to convince the Wardens that they are not bandits, or if they are that they might be of more use to the order alive than dead. Treachery is in all of their hearts, as it always is in this wretched place.
Welcome back to the Shattered Lands, Warden. They have been waiting for you.
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The Champions of Soverignity have disbanded part of their espionage network and their entire mage cadre to free up the funds that they were using. Said spies and mages were promptly snapped up by House Wallen and the Wardens, respectively.
The ground rumbles beneath Lomb Circle, Elfwatch and Bunkers.
An appeal from King James to businesses to come to Hopers, Resseville and Stockyards North to bring work to the laborers there has brought much business to that corner of the city.
A festival in Hopers is held on one of the few clear days this month.
The few taxes given to the Champions have been directed to rebuilding Daimot and expanding trade, though the latter had less of an impact than the former.
New markets, shops and other businesses have opened in Dogma, under the direction of Lord Wallen.
The Free Mason and Carpenter's Guild has formed out of the various construction organizations that have been at work in Dogma, and is publicly petitioning the SGA for membership. It is well-known that most members of the Guild are also members of the Lodstrom Party.
The Lodstrom Party has been seeking new adherents in Lomb Circle.
The Grand Designer of the Gear's Chosen has been seen in Downline, along with a small cadre of mages. Rumors that the Blackfist were also active in the neighborhood are unconfirmed at this time, though the new Brotherhood banners hanging across some of the streets might give some idea of their truthfulness.
The Gear's Chosen have retained the services of a Laheim trainer for their Clockwork Swords.
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Excerpt from the Standard
Mystery Man from the City of Bells!
Assassin? Soldier? Spy?
Spoiler
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His armor is neat and sparse, metal plates sliding smoothly over boiled leather painted in subdued tones, dark maroon and brown. The only concession to color is the red sash he wears, brilliantly red, from which are hung two small golden bells, engraved with repeated designs of battle. The sash is obviously some signal of rank, but the meaning is lost on the people of Sav Altulas, who pay more attention to the gentle tinkling of the bells hung from his armor than they do to his appearance. It does not matter what rank he holds in the City of Bells; here, he is merely Laheim, and here, that is enough. The bells hanging from his sash and tied to his armor, his elbows and knees and shoulders, they are small things, and fragile, and one of the first things he mentions when presenting his qualifications as a trainer of soldiers is that in twenty-seven years of mercenary fighting not a single one has broken. Everything else is secondary, and presented in the offhand manner of someone who doesn’t think any of it really matters: the sieges broken, the princes defended from assassins, the undead barrow-kings sent back to their restless sleep, the monsters slain and caravans safely delivered and messages carried a hundred miles through enemy lines, none of that is particularly important. Egil Dagrun has never lost a bell from his armor, and that is all you really need to know.
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Attempts to build upward in Factories South are hindered by the lightning towers of the Celestial Network.
A 10% tax is being enforced in Old Jack's Run by Clockwork Swords.
The Silversmith's Guild is using goblin labor to improve their shops, guard barracks and general infrastructure.
The Executive Bureaucracy has set out to prove the rule of law by arresting and trying as many criminals as they can find. Lack of access to Gatehouse Prison results in most of the sentences being fines or executions, with some prison sentences haphazardly carried out in the more heavily secured field offices.
The Church of Neposh has attempted preaching to the social clubs of Silvathrien, to little success.
High Watchman Kos of the Militia of Order and Justice has agreed to become the voice and arm of Law in the territory run by the Church of Neposh, during a ceremony where he was granted the title "Sword of Justice" and an amulet presented by Hashawk himself.
A massive party in the Dreuger Grounds ends with the Heladuits and the Brotherhood of the Flowering Rose sharing control of the neighborhood.
"Covert" agents of the Heladuit Court have been asking about the business of the Silversmith's Guild, fully dressed in the latest Court finery.
There are rumors of dead bodies turning up in the opium dens and dilapidated drug-squats of the Lower City, cheeks stained with bloody tears.
Hostilities have increased between the warlords Maximillian Greeves and Sakel-Doge after the Doge had the wife of one of Greeves' lieutenants executed. What she was doing at Sakel-Doge's court has not yet been fully explained.
The Kingdom of Gregoria, a small warlord-state consisting of a handful of villages and a castle, has seen a violent orcish uprising that ended with its King decapitated and many refugees fleeing, refugees who are just now arriving in Sav Altulas.
The 324th Legion, also known as the Stormwings, has begun training exercises near the northern border of the Illarym Empire. Reports of Soulless musketeers accompanying them are unconfirmed at this time.
The Protectorate of the Blood has allowed it to be known in the Shattered Lands that the Lord Protector has placed a bounty on an individual known as Elias DuKree. This person, as well as any accomplices he may have, is wanted dead.
The King's Own Winterborn Guard have begun live-fire exercises on the Merdallan side of Riven Pass.
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Hidden Happenings
Bloodhaven and Order of the Wren (ESP-D: 7)
Spoiler
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Notes by Bugravet Desoui on Threats to the City, current as to the day she died.
1032 DR-
The cult of the Seven Tragic Days has been broken, but I am sure the high priest’s assistant is still out there looking to bring it back. Must keep an eye on cult activity in Runner’s City in the coming months. Meanwhile, some self-proclaimed king of thieves has moved into the neighborhood formerly controlled by the Days. Thieves are better than cultists, to be sure, but I would rather not having them organized—need to remember to get T.V. to look into this Wren figure.
T.V. says someone sent a message from the city to the Craftsman’s Guild last month. I’m not worried, but I think this is the first time I’ve heard that voice panicked.
New doctor building the hospital in the Triphage has less of an interest in patched-together monstrosities formed from human parts than I expected. Should consider replacing him with someone who has more interesting extracurricular pursuits.
Something weird going on in Daimot right now. D says it isn’t him, but I don’t trust him. He’s been lying about Redress Street long enough. He’s the Standing Mage now, I suppose it comes with the territory.
Someone’s been in the tunnels again. T.V. is taking care of it.
G.N. came around again. Might need to have him killed. Man seems to think I’ll change my mind if he stirs up the warlords against me enough.
Imperials think their missing anarchist is hiding up here again. He isn’t, but of course North won’t just take my word for it. Wish I could have him removed, but Q would take that as a sign of guilt and invade. Not sure that T.V. could find the man, anyway.
Conductor says there's a counterfeiter in Dovel. Coins he showed me were perfectly legitimate. I always suspected the man was insane.
Latest king of Gregoria is a complete fool. Need to keep an eye on the orcs he’s using as labor. They may have been down in the flatlands for a few generations now, but these are still mountain orcs we’re talking about here, and there are far too many of them for me to be comfortable having the Kingdom so close by.
Bounty hunters pushed Stone Wolves back into my territory again. Hopefully Wardens will deal with them before I have to.
The Andouir is up to something. The Duke said he was an exile, but he does not act like one. This bears closer watching.
That imbecile Heladuit has been making speeches about his rightful kingship again. T.V. has agreed to let me kill him personally.
Beginning to suspect that D.O.’s deputy is a vampire, or a witch, or something. I wonder if the old man knows?
Some idiot tried getting into Longspeak again. I’m starting to seriously consider just sealing off that entire neighborhood and killing everyone inside. Maybe I should reconsider G.N.’s proposal—I’ve heard his master makes wonderful gasses. Can’t let what’s in there get out, whatever the cost might be.
General of the Dead God made another attempt to breach his prison. I could feel it even up here. It held, fortunately. Those druids knew their bindings, whatever else you might say about them.
T.V.’s been bringing me reports of Sanguine being seen to the east of the city. I’ve been throwing them out, of course. No time for Merdallan children’s rhymes.
Some kind of secret society thing going on in Hopers. T.V. will look into it.
Upside Circle has been too quiet lately. Contemplating preemptive strike.
M.E. asked for more guards until this situation with the anarchists dies down. I’ll give it another couple of weeks and then reconsider, but at the moment I think the Heartspears can handle this Black Hand, or whatever it is they’re calling themselves.
M.R. asked for funding for his damn airship fantasy again. I’ve ordered his dog killed.
Elsinier ambassador turned out to be a high priest for Blood-in-Black-Water. I’ve had him thrown in solitary at Gatehouse for the moment, and confiscated his ritual book. Need to do some research on how to execute skin-walkers.
Shadow Jester showed up in my dreams again. He is mocking me.
Nobility is starting to forget who’s in charge around here. Again. T.V. has been assembling a short list of people who I could execute without actually damaging my power base, nobles who are highly visible but won’t really be missed by their peers. Thus far he’s suggested Orthax, Duboise, Wallen, Kressling and Balathad. Or StigBalathad. I don’t think the current Lord Balathad is actually a blood relative of the family.
That Parliament building in Rot’s Burrough is almost done. Planning on personally destroying it on Tuesday. We’ll put C.R.’s head on a pike in the ruins, and that’ll be the end of that.
Greeves has built an outpost to the west. It’s not close to the city by any means, in the same way that a loaded gun is not close to your eye. I’m not entirely sure if I can afford to destroy it, though. Damn that man.
D.K. is a disgusting little man, and I am ashamed to have heard him speak.
North’s boys had a shootout in Broken Arch yesterday. Bastards leave the Empire and suddenly stop caring about collateral damage. T.V. is going to kill a few as an example to the rest, if we can get our hands on them.
Church of some godslayer is getting a lot of attention in Oldtown. Need to quash that fast. We don’t want the peasants getting any ideas about who they can and can’t kill.
T.V.’s plant in the Merc Guild says the tariff guards passed a man named Nexaddo through the gate today. Could not believe it. I didn’t think the Craftsmen actually used the assassin’s alias from that play. Found the man, had him tortured and killed of course. He claimed that someone had paid him to tell the guards a false name, but only at first: we got the truth out of him eventually. Good night, assassin. Nex Addo. Maybe next time your Guild won’t send someone who uses a name that literally translates to “Death br
The remainder of the page is blank save for a few specks of blood.
Wardens and Champions of Sovereignty (PM)
Spoiler
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This is a map that your scouts created during the previous month's excursion. Please note that this is a very small fraction of the Shattered Lands, and that the power bases of the four major warlords are not on it. Also, the map is as accurate as your scouts, so maybe don't take everything on it for gospel.
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Bounty Board
All prices listed are in t.WEL unless otherwise stated, and will be paid out immediately upon confirmation by the bounty poster.
Elias DuKree: Red hair, close cut. Reddish-brown eyes. Scar on left cheek. Possibly a scar on right leg, depending on how the wound healed--might have a limp. Wanted dead. 4 from Lord Protector.
Unknown Raiders: Whoever stole the Imperial weapons meant for the Wardens from the caravan delivering them to the city.
2 from Imperial Trade Ministry
Blackfist Press
1 from Bookbinder's Guild
Unknown Murderer: Whoever killed the people found dead at the opening of the Wallen Wing at Bloodhaven Hospital last month.
4 from Doctor Vassari
Turn 10 Begins
March, 1033 DR