3. The Intrigue of Peltarch

The Intrigue of Peltarch


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    The King is Dead. New Councillors are elected. City and military officials retired or deceased from war. A magistrate seat, council advisors, clerks to Crown appointees, and others. Each an avenue into City Hall.

    Disorder. Conflict. Grudges. They are the stuff of quiet conversations, and of long-term calculations. They are not the grand violence of war and invasion, but rather the slow-burning simmer of power and collusion. To the cold-hearted, they are all synonyms for opportunity to be seized. To the stoic and kind, they are warning signs to be heeded.

    Schemers and whisperers gather in secret plots and maneuver for influence and power. Pledge your allegiance to noble families, ideological factions, and the elite of the city to carve your own position. Accumulate debts and favors alike as you weave your way through the upper echelons of Peltarchian society. Beware your colleagues, for they may have made bargains of their own.

    The air of intrigue in Peltarch has thickened, as its denizens on high ponder what games to play. Whether they like it or not, you are now invited, whoever you are.

    [DM Xanatos Gambit]


  • Nihil sine Lege

    With the reconstruction of Peltarch largely being completed, and many of the powers that be now looking outward against new external threats, Cobin Daedalus has determined now is the time for his tenure as Acting Guard General to wind down.

    Daedalus had reluctantly stepped into the role at royal request, following the defection of the previous Guard General Velhar, who fled the Jewel's justice following the downfall of her erstwhile ally, Jessica Whyte.

    Now, Councillor Daedalus has made it known he will bring a shortlist of candidates for the position of Guard General to the Royal Council for consideration. Expected candidates are the existing Guard Captains; Fortescue, Halbrook and Garand, but the Councillor is said to be open-minded about submissions from others who may wish to be considered. So long as they are citizens of Peltarch and have solid leadership experience, be it within the Guard, the Defenders or perhaps even other organisations, due consideration will be given.

    Any citizen interested in furthering the cause of Law and Order in Peltarch is invited to recommend any appropriate candidates to Councillor Daedalus, and to attend the public meeting of the Royal Council where the shortlist will be reviewed, and a final recommendation submitted to King Thalaman.

    [DM Lazarus]


  • The Year of Doubt comes to its end. Courtiers, nobles, and guild officials consider the year's events:

    • King Thalaman's ability to credibly govern has been cast in serious doubt among the elite. The King appears more interested in luxury and leisure than he is in governing the city. At the same time, the thriftless King's spending on lavish parties has gained him considerable popularity among the commonfolk.

    • The King's formerly favored consort, Lillian Aster, has been cast aside for other prettier noblewomen. Incidentally, the King's position regarding High Hold has become more aggressive, and he now talks of restoring Peltarch's lost territories.

    • Excepting all matters that might affect war or the King's leisurely parties, the King simply adheres to whatever the Royal Council recommends. The King's complacence has let the Royal Council become the nexus of life at City Hall, and the entity at which most final decisions are made.

    • Karg Hooktusk, former Royal Counsellor and Black Sails, has been missing and no one is looking for him.

    • Deacon Sterr has returned, to lead the Black Sails and to take Hooktusk's place on the Royal Council.

    • The King received a gift from Lucy Rhodes, a divination shard which revealed Reyhenna Jorino defrauded her way into the royal family by masquerading as Princess Elizabeth Fisher. The Princess is real, but Jorino is not her. This was confirmed by Siamorphan High Priestess Temperance of Gulderhorn. The real Princess' location is anyone's guess. The King subsequently exiled Jorino from the royal family.

    • Adrian Fisher, son to Damian Fisher, and brother to Elizabeth Fisher, disagrees with the King's exile of Reyhenna Jorino. This has caused a rift between two royal factions: on the one hand, King Thalaman and his brother Kasimir Fisher, who exiled Reyhenna or agree with the exile. On the other hand, Adrian Fisher and former Queen Martha Fisher, who disagree.

    • Adventurers have slain Lucy Rhodes. Rhodes was the leader of the Nars bandits and mercenaries exacting tolls, pillaging small towns, and enslaving villagers. She was slain by an adventuring raid. The majority of Rhodes' forces are either dead or gone. Remaining bandits have been scattered.

    • Arch Weyland died in the raid against Lucy Rhodes. What this means for the Autonomists and for Berlinne Toews is for now unclear.

    • Leslie Fim, allegedly the true force behind the Nars bandits and their re-organization, is nowhere to be found.

    Thus ends the Year of Doubt. Only time will tell what awaits Peltarch in the next.

    [DM Xanatos Gambit]


  • A ceremony held by Temperance of Gulderhorn, High Priestess of Siamorphe, has revealed that Reyhenna Jorino defrauded her way into the royal family by masquerading as Princess Elizabeth Fisher. The Princess is real, but Jorino is not her. The real Princess' location is anyone's guess. The King subsequently exiled Jorino from the royal family.

    In other events, Peltarch's military mobilized against Lucy Rhodes. While General Gom's troops diverted and distracted the brunt of her bandit forces in skirmishes on the outskirts of the gnoll woods, the nars, and the giantspires, an adventuring party raided Rhodes' stronghold. In there, they put an end to Rhodes and to bandit control of the nars. The majority of Rhodes' forces are either dead or gone. Remaining bandits have been scattered.

    Lucy Rhodes is now dead. She was slain by the adventuring raid.

    Arch Weyland is also dead. The fire-affinitive bard, discharged Cerulean, and traitor to the city was permitted to accompany in the military mission under detainment. Weyland burned to death under the fire of one of Rhodes' magical weapons.

    [DM Xanatos Gambit]


  • Veritas Vincit

    City Hall received a gift two tenday ago. Rumors say this gift came from the Renegade Defender Captain Lucy Rhodes. Other whispers have it that the gift was a powerful artefact of Savras. The artefact apparently revealed a secret allegedly concerning the Princess Elizabeth Fisher, also known by her adventurer alias Reyhenna Jorino.

    This secret later crystallized, as the rumor leaked from an unknown member of the Royal Council: Reyhenna Jorino is not truly the Princess Elizabeth Fisher. That she is, rather, a common-blooded mercenary who defrauded Peltarch into believing she was Princess Elizabeth Fisher.

    A few days following this leaked rumor, a Siamorphan delegation lead by the High Priestess Temperance of Gulderhorn arrived to confirm whether the rumor was true or false.

    The Siamorphan delegation led a procession at the home of the now dead former Herald and Regent Damian Fisher. The procession was joined by Guild leaders, noble heads of households, and common-folk alike. At the procession, Temperance of Gulderhorn invited Royal Herald and High Priest Isaac Thaddeus to cast divine incantations that would prove the identity and lineage of Reyhenna Jorino. When Thaddeus was unable to cast such a spell, or indeed, any spell, the High Priestess revealed that Thaddeus had actually fallen from grace. That is due allegedly to Isaac Thaddeus' novel, liberal, and some might argue surprising interpretations of what qualifies as nobility in the eyes of Siamorphe.

    Temperance of Gulderhorn declared that these interpretations have stretched Siamorphan dogma beyond its limits, and into sin. She therefore declared Isaac Thaddeus' doctrine as anathema to the Church, stripped the man's title of High Priest, and exiled him from the Church of Siamorphe until he could properly atone.

    The High Priestess then called upon Reyhenna Jorino to submit to the Priestess' incantations, which would verify Jorino's identity and blood. Jorino refused, on the grounds that she would only submit to such if the King were to ask her to do it in person. Despite this refusal and the absence of incantations, the Siamorphan High Priestess concluded that Reyhenna Jorino was not, in fact, the Princess Elizabeth Fisher.

    Following this conclusion, animosity overtook the gathered crowd.The crowd began to attempt to rush the royal family, including Queen Martha Fisher, who was defended by Captain Hrresh, as well as Isaac Thaddeus. The crowd threw bottles, vegetables, and called out insults at these three, as well as Reyhenna Jorino and her alleged brother. Her alleged brother, the lame, disfigured, and crippled Prince Adrian Fisher shouted back at the crowd, decrying their ingratitude and threatening to order his troops to put a physical and violent end to their animosity. However, Isaac Thaddeus and Isolde Garibaldi successfully calmed the prince. The invalid and disfigured Prince in any case could not support his own weight - as his weak, rotten leg buckled, and he could not balance himself with but one arm. He fell to the ground, and was later escorted away.

    Physical altercations nonetheless followed suit, and the conflict almost turned to armed combat until Sebrienne cast a thunderclap spell, which stunned the crowd. Thereafter Isolde Garibaldi and Aoth Sepret calmed the crowd. The Magistrate d'Arneau then fired a disintegration spell at a nearby chair - and subsequently ordering the crowd to disperse, which it did.

    Rumor now has it that King Thalaman Fisher will be soon addressing the status of the former Princess Elizabeth Fisher - by accepting her ultimatum that he witness the divine procession to verify her identity. It seems the King will be summoning Reyhenna Jorino for this verification shortly. Rumor further has it that the King is also displeased with Isaac Thaddeus and Adrian Fisher, and that consequences will surely follow for both in short order.

    [DM Xanatos Gambit]


  • Black Sails leader Deacon Sterr has returned from his sojourn in the Pirate Isles of the Sea of Fallen Stars. Rumors abound as to the reason for his homecoming. Some say that Sterr returned to overhaul the Black Sails leadership following its recent misfortunes. Indeed, it is said the Black Sails' Peltarch coffers were nigh empty following the heavy fines imposed by the Crown due to the Sails' perceived allegiance to the traitor Jessica Whyte. The former head of the Sails in Peltarch, City Council member Karg Hooktusk, is nowhere to be found. Hooktusk is the one who had agreed to pay the Crown's heavy fines.

    King Thalaman's attention appears to be divided between conquest and leisure. On the one hand, the King's interest in warfare and conquest appear to have crystallized in his announcement at the party in Baron Aelthasson's estate to restore Peltarch's territorial integrity through military force. On the other hand, High Hold lady Lillian Aster appears to occupy just as much of the King's time with leisurely parties and events, attended not only by Peltarchian nobles but also merchants and powerful families from High Hold.

    Questions remain about the source of funds for King's expensive nightlife. Many believe that the treasury has funded the King's expensive tastes at least in part. Rumors have it that the King actually had a rolling credit account with the Bank of Peltarch, until the Royal Council convinced the Bank to shut the account down. Whether this rumor is true remains to be seen, though it has led to questions whether the Council is advising or curtailing the King, and which of the two has final say.

    [DM Xanatos Gambit]


  • King Thalaman grows ever-the-more popular among commoners and noble socialites alike, as he has thrown and funded one party after another and invited all willing to join. The parties are quite lavish, with imported wines, meats, and fruits, though the King has also taken to purchasing from local merchants as well, thankfully bringing in a more local flavour to the celebration, relaxation, and merriment.

    While he grows in popularity among his subjects, the City Councillors are nowhere to be found at his parties. Speculation is on the rise that the Council disapproves of the King's spending. There is a rumor that Master of Coin, that is the House Snydders delegate Rowe has gone so far as to deny the King access to the public purse insofar as royal parties are concerned. Currently, it remains merely a rumor.

    Councillor and Black Sails delegate Kark Hooktusk is nowhere to be seen, and has missed the past four City Council meetings in the past two months, even in the wake of the bandit attacks and later demonic incursions. All the same, the Black Sails have reportedly refused to relinquish their seat at the Council, despite motions by both the Seafarer representative Edward Ashald and the Wavebreaker head Amber Hardin to permanently remove the Black Sails' seat and vote from the Council.

    The Nars Bandits and their vicious leader Leslie Fim have made no overt actions of late. Adventurers, travelers, and traders are accosted only by the occasional roadblock, from bandits who have apparently broken off from the brunt of Fim's forces who, it appears, are under orders to lay low. But, for what?

    Finally, the republican Autonomists have taken action against both the City Council and against the Nars Bandits. Berlinne Toews continues her public critique of the Council, calling it an institution bloated by the Crown's appointments which now outnumber the democratically elected positions. Toews has also gone on to critique King Thalaman himself, calling the King's many lavish parties wasteful and imprudent, and demanding the City Council confirm that no taxed funds were used to pay for what she calls the King's excessive night life. Meanwhile, Arch Weyland and a those Cerulean Knights that support him have been conducting a parallel investigation into Leslie Fim and the Nars Bandits.

    Only time will tell what comes next in the Year of Doubt.

    [DM Xanatos Gambit]


  • 0_1656855331789_a3be3273-d567-4238-bbf6-f7d7d001d0db-image.png

    The Year of Doubt

    King Thalaman, Son of George, has been crowned and now sits on the throne. By his first decree, he ended his cousin Elizabeth Fisher's bans and sanctions against High Hold. Whispers suggest that the King's favored consort Lillian Aster is to thank for this change of policy. The woman is of noble High Hold blood and appears to have the King's ear, among other parts; indeed, the King Thalaman is known to enjoy the company of many women in his spare time. The effect of women upon the King, including the sway of Lady Aster, has left some wondering whether such influence is undue ...

    Meanwhile, the Seafarer's Guild has funded the royal treasuries, through levied taxes but also sizable donations. It appears that Edwin Ashald, Seafarer Chief Operations Officer, intends to change the public's image of the guild left behind by the now-notorious former Seafarer head Jessica Whyte. Though some suggest that Ashald's generosity may be too generous, and the he may be hiding an ulterior motive, such that these donations are about something else entirely ...

    The republican Autonomist faction has taken aim against the Royal Council in its latest pamphlets and speeches. In the past, Autonomists have not shied away from armed revolt in their endeavor to see Peltarch return to a democratically elected Senate. They were placated in the past by the addition of three elected positions to the Royal Council. Yet recently Autonomist leaders Berlinne Toews and Arch Weyland have both criticized what they call the bloated council, which seats more unelected Lords, Guild Leaders, and Barons than it does public representatives. Indeed, there are at least twice that if not more positions held by individuals appointed at the Crown's pleasure than there are elected by vote. It remains to be seen what the Autonomists intend to do about it ...

    In unwelcome addition, the Nars Bandits, headed by the notorious and cruel Leslie Fim have made known their official demands of Peltarch. These bandits are made at least in part of former mercenaries hired from abroad by Jessica Whyte during her overthrow of City Hall. Apparently Whyte did not pay them the money owed for their violence against the city. Now the bandits demand that the Crown pay them the gold they are owed for their work. Though recently, the string of demonic incursions has led the Bandits in the Nars to lay low, as bandit incursions have been fewer and farther between. It's doubtful they are idle, however ...

    ... thus the clouds of intrigue only thicken around Peltarch's new order, as we enter the Year of Doubt.

    [DM Xanatos Gambit]


  • Novus ordo

    The City Council has ceded power back to the monarchy. The late Regent Damian Fisher's Will has been read, and decreed that Thalaman Fisher be King on his 18th birthday, which was one week at the time of reading. As of this announcement, it is one day away. The Royal Family is scheduled to return on that one day, which shall serve as coronation. In the meantime, Elizabeth Fisher has assumed the Regency of Peltarch.

    The Regent has imposed heavy fines upon the Seafarer's Guild and the Black Sails, the former for the actions of Jessica Whyte, and the latter for the inaction of Karg Hooktusk, during and following the bandit incursions.

    The Regent has further banned the name 'Jessica Whyte,' which is to be removed from all civil records and history, and forbade its use in future records and history books.

    Edwin Ashald, the current controlling interest in the Seafarers Guild, and once an ally of the Crown, has expressed his opposition to the heavy fines. It is the current Seafarer position that the misdeeds of the past are not the Seafarer Guild's, but rather Jessica Whyte's.

    Meanwhile, Elizabeth Fisher has declared several baronies, and decreed that Peltarch's baronies will now include the eastern townships of Cloudmeadow and Hillport, and the western logging town of Greensbury. She has further declared a barony the Nars stretching all the way to the Witch and Seer Inn. Most controversially, she declared High Hold a barony as well. How the various towns will react remains a mystery.

    And this, just before the Coronation of King Thalaman, son of King George.

    [DM Xanatos Gambit]


  • Moments after the trial of Reyhenna Jorino, Erilo, Sebrienne, and the Seafarers began, the courthouse erupted in white-hot flame, as powderkegs and explosives hidden in the sewers beneath the Residential District ignited in a sequence of two explosions. Multiple Snydders, Ashald, Wavebreaker, as well as several bystanders perished in the flames.

    The courthouse lies in rubble and ruin.

    Seafarer Troops immediately attended the scene, and attempted to arrest those fleeing the burning courthouse. However, General Gom turned a sizable fraction of the Defender/Seafarer forces against the Seafarers proper. Lieutenant Varya Tiller and the General Gom apparently conspired to re-locate, re-station, and minimize Seafarer loyalists amidst the Defenders in those days prior to the courthouse attack.

    It became eminently clear in the immediate aftermath and Jessica Whyte's conspicuous absence from the trial that she was the one who orchestrated the eruption as a means to put an end to her enemies in one fell swoop.

    At this juncture, the Ashald Seafarer Splinter Faction, Daedalus, Snydders, Wavebreaker, ODS, G.F.C. and Defender troops battled the Seafarer Organization in the streets. Swords clashed, ballistae fired, and spells were flung as the battle progressed slowly through the districts, street by street.

    The street-fights crescendo comprised volleys of canon-fire from Seafarer ships, which ripped through buildings, guild and Defender forces alike, and sunk portions of the docks. Thankfully, half of the ships were sunk from the magic and return fire of the guild and defender forces, whereas the other half fled.

    Those guild and Defender forces took Seafarer HQ, surrounding it whilst Salin Ashald castplanar anchor upon its entire vicinity. The battles surely followed within the Seafarer HQ.

    In the events thereafter, Jessica Whyte was reported dead, and it was allegedly revealed that Whyte further orchestrated those invading mercenaries and bandits, which killed Regent Fisher and decimated Peltarch so many months ago. All, it appears, to further Whyte's personal, political gain.

    [See also: The Iconoclast, a manuscript recovered from one of Jessica Whyte's attendants.]

    Now that she is dead, those victorious guild leaders, nobles, and royals met at City Hall to discuss Peltarch's fate . . .

    Thus Concludes,

    Casus Belli

    [DM Xanatos Gambit]


  • The trial of the Seafarer Officers and the adventurers who brawled with them awaits.

    In those days approaching the trial, rumors further surround those Seafarer Investors that were poisoned, such as Jessica Whyte's father and former chair of the Seafarer's Guild Chadwick Whyte, or vanished, such as Seafarer Officer Hughes, as well as five other key investors that were present and backed Edwin Ashald's no-confidence motion.

    The remainder of the City Council appears to have veered against Jessica Whyte. The leadership of the Daedalus Company, the Snydders Family, the Ashald Family, the Royal Family, and the Wavebreakers Guild, are each poised against the current Seafarer Organization under the helm of Whyte. They have removed Whyte's perceived ally and favored Guard General Velhar, and now the Daedalas Company has control of the Gaol and the Guard. These recent actions have caused political observers to deem the coalition a sufficient balance of power to oppose Jessica Whyte's army of Seafarers and Defenders, but only time can tell.

    Like the elite, the public has likewise turned against Jessica Whyte. Even children chant hateful songs directed at the woman. Older commoners and docks labourers claim Whyte abuses Peltarch's political and legal system. And residential dwellers and the well-to-do question Whyte's position, pondering whether she has the right character necessary to head up a guild, let alone City Hall.

    Casus Belli Continues.

    [DM Xanatos Gambit]


  • After Edwin Ashald fell ill, he was taken to recover at his home in the Residential District. Later in the evening, an altercation followed between Asha Jonnisdottir and Isolde Garibaldi against the Seafarer Guards of the Ashald residence, who apparently refused entry into the home and oversight of the administration of the antidote. A battle ensued in the streets. Details are unclear, except for the result: Reyhenna Jorino attacked and beheaded two Seafarer Guards.

    Amidst the chaos, alarm horns sounded, and a small army of Seafarers, Residential District Guards, Defenders, and Ceruleans piled on to arrest the former Princess and her two accomplices, Sebrienne and a half-orc named Eliro, as well as five Seafarer Guards, a Seafarer doctor, and Seafarer Officer Orn.

    Edwin Ashald later made a public statement thanking Asha Jonisdottir, Isolde Garibaldi, Eliro, and Reyhenna Jorino for saving his life.

    Edwin Ashald then conferred with other Councillors Cobin Daedalus, Amber Hardin, and Rowe, of House Snydders, who voted to remove Guard General Velhar from her post. The elf has been replaced by Cobin Daedalus who is now acting as interim Guard General and is overseeing the Gaol where the prisoners are being held captive.

    Daedalus soldiers, House Snydders men-at-arms, armed Wavebreaker sailors, and the troops following Edwin Ashald's splinter Seafarer faction now occupy the Gaol.

    Edwin Ashald has hired his cousin Salin Ashald to take up the legal defense of Reyhenna Jorino, Sebrienne, and Eliro, and has apparently poured a sizable fraction of his fortune into supplying his cousin with legal resources in the form of associates and clerks.

    Jessica Whyte has not been seen in public since her ascension to chair of the Seafarers. The army of Seafarers and Defenders at her disposal occupy the docks, and have secured Seafarer HQ as well as City Hall after the battles that took place in the city streets.

    Whyte is further set to hear and reply to Edwin Ashald's motion of no-confidence against her in the upcoming week. Observers expect she will likely refuse his motion of no-confidence, given that she owns the controlling shares in the Seafarers Guild, and Ashald's allegations are against herself.

    Casus Belli Continues.

    [DM Xanatos Gambit]


  • Several Seafarer investors have grown mysteriously ill over the past few days. Among them is the current chair of the Seafarers Guild, Chadwick Whyte. His daughter, chief operations officer Jessica Whyte, has assumed his role as chair during his illness.

    Casus Belli Continues.

    [DM Xanatos Gambit]


  • Under the guiding hand of Chief Operations Officer Jessica Whyte, it is by now clear that the Seafarers Guild dominates life at City Hall. The Seafarers have an effective veto over almost all decisions, thanks to the sheer number of armed forces at their disposal.

    However, it appears as though the Seafarers Guild is losing money fast, thanks to the continued recall of almost the entirety of its armies to Peltarch. Without security and feet on the ground abroad, the Seafarers Guild cannot operate at maximum capacity -- or even half capacity -- at its foreign establishments and shipping. In short, by keeping the Seafarer army in Peltarch instead of returning it to protect its interests abroad, Jessica Whyte is apparently choosing control of Peltarch over business and wealth.

    Accordingly, certain other members of the City Council have reacted in turn:

    • Edwin Ashald, leading a splintering faction within the Seafarers Guild, has filed a public motion of no-confidence in Jessica Whyte within the organization. The motion is tabled with those other controlling interests if the Seafarers Guild, and is meant to vote on whether Jessica Whyte is fit for continued service. Whether this motion has any effect will depend on Chadwick Whyte, Jessica's father, who owns the controlling interest in the Seafarers Guild, as well as certain other minority investors.

    • Cobin Daedalus has given up on discussions in City Council, and instead focused on putting the resources of the Daedalus Company to work rebuilding city walls and structures.

    • Amber Hardin, as well as her brother Darien Hardin, co-managers of the Wavebreakers Guild, have grown bolder in their disregard for Seafarer security and control of the city. Rumor has it that Wavebreaker ships have ignored Seafarer nautical orders off the coasts of Peltarch.

    Less clear are the actions of those other Councillors, notably Rowe, and Enenan Snydders' apprentice and representative; Jonathon Pendergast, of the Order of the Divine Shield; and, Karg Hooktusk, current leader of the Black Sails.

    Casus Belli Continues.

    [DM Xanatos Gambit]


  • Casus Belli (Continued)

    The hostile and foreign mercenary forces have laid siege to Peltarch.

    Sophisticated, organized, and well-supplied, the bandits have decimated the city's outer walls and several structures with their siege equipment. The invading force breached the walls and squared off against the scant military forces and the much more ample Guild soldiers and noble men-at-arms.

    During the battle, a red miasma cloaked the city in fog. Shortly after, infernal summons joined in the siege. Whispers abound of hooded figures skulking in the shadows during the altercations.

    Following heroism of the guild soldiers and men-at-arms (as well as, of course, the adventurers of the city), the bandits were rebuffed. Amidst the chaos, the royal family, the Fishers, escaped the city. Circumstances of their escape currently elude the public record, but rumors abound that the family was attacked by assassins.

    Regent Damian Fisher is dead. He was put under the sword of bandits who invaded City Hall. Here talk has it he stubbornly refused to flee the city and instead ordered the Kingsguard and Cerulean Knights to barricade Cerulean H.Q. to scry for his missing daughter, Reyhenna Jorino. She mysteriously vanished prior to the attacks, and the Regent refused to escape the city with the royal family but without her.

    General Frederic Del'rosa is missing. Public accounts have the general battling devils and bandits in the commerce district before the altercation saw both he and the city assailants barreling through one of the infernal portals used to summon devils.

    Stepping in to fill the void left at City Hall are those guild and noble house leaders that spearheaded the City's defenses, using their respective factions' troops:

    • Cobin Daedalus, of the Daedalus Company and noble family, an old and wealthy house with strong connections to the residential district nobility, Magistracy, and Temple.

    • Edwin Ashald, of the Ashald family, which has vested interests in the Seafarers Guild and several others.

    • Jessica Whyte, managing officer of the Seafarer's Guild, and daughter of Chadwick Whyte, chairman of the League of Guilds.

    • Amber Hardin, co-manager along with her brother Darien of the Wavebreakers Guild.

    • An elf named Rowe, rumored to be Enenan Snydders' apprentice and representative, and who led the Snydders men-at-arms.

    • Jonathon Pendergast, outspoken representative of the Order of the Divine Shield, known to be much more pragmatic and politically minded amongst his religious peers.

    • Karg Hooktusk, current half-orcen leader of the Black Sails, a shifty band of sailors rumored to be involved in the legally gray areas of docks business.

    With new leadership in City Hall, and the martial defenses of the city wearing guild and noble colors, the Fisher monarchy's reign appears to have ended. In its place, an uncertain blend of mercantile, noble, and faction interests have assumed its place.

    The new City Council of guilds, nobles, and powerful factions appears to have support amongst Peltarch's people, who are grateful for their role in taking up the city's defenses. They also have support from Guard General Velhar, and her own forces. Support for the monarchy, in turn, seems to be fading to a minority.

    Peltarch, it appears, is entering a new era.


  • Casus Belli

    Peltarch is surrounded by hostile mercenary forces. Over the course of the past months, these mercenary forces (many from elsewhere) have occupied those peripheral regions that supply its resources.

    This precarious situation follows the unfortunate sequence of events of the past few months leading to a loss of the majority of Peltarch's armed forces. It is clear that Peltarch's military has seen better days.

    • Peltarch's Military Defenders have shrunk to a fraction of their functional size. The outcome of the Trial of Reyhenna Jorino saw the military splinter. The sudden and unexplained disappearance of Defender General Sally Williams and those elite soldiers under her direct command saw the Defenders shrink even further.

    • The magical regiment of Peltarch's Military saw the loss of almost the entirety of its Fifth Star Cerulean Knights, following the eruption at the Jill Special Facility. Something, it seems, went terribly wrong, and a powerful, planar explosion saw the loss of many Cerulean forces and the disappearance of those fifth star Cerulean knights.

    • The Far Scouts, it is whispered, have gone through several purges, and that organization has lost several key members. Far Scout Commander Smoke has been violently deposed, and his replacement, Vick Blake has resigned after that. Far Scout Gaper, Blake's replacement, was recently fired, for circumstances unknown, and few know about Gaper's replacement, a mystery woman code-named Stiletto. There are also reports that the Far Scouts have lost many men in incursion missions attempting to pinpoint the location of these occupying bandit forces. It appears even the clandestine Far Scouts are having their troubles.

    Nonetheless, other martial forces have taken up arms and joined in the defense of the city's walls. Armed forces under the banners of Peltarch's Guilds - notably, the Seafarers, Wavebreakers, and the Black Sails - have manned its walls with their own private security forces alongside the scant public military. They are joined by men-at-arms operating under the banners of the powerful noble families Snydders, Ashald, and Daedelus. They are also joined by knights and clerics of the Order of the Divine Shield, mercenaries of the Goldfish Company, and of course, the police force of the Peltarch Guard.

    In these circumstances, the occupying foreign and bandit forces have grown bolder. They have stripped mines, razed lumberyard forests, and enslaved fishing villages. Peltarch, it seems, is destined for the theatre of war.


  • The Crown and Magistracy have declared Morgan Azzen as Magistrate. The Helmite has previously served as Magistrate Borodin's Inquisitor, and now joins her and Shannon d'Arneau to fill the court's bench. Legal observers note that this means parties can appeal to a Triumvirate of all three Magistrates, and indeed must, rather than appeal directly to the Crown.

    Guard General Velhar has appointed Ravos Calchais to be the Commerce District Guard Captain and administrator of the Gaol. Calchais was involved in a high profile arrest of Crown Princess Reyhenna Jorino, and has hitherto assisted the Guard General on numerous occasions, including her work on the political Crown's Council.

    Defender Captain Hresh has resigned from the Defenders, along with half of his unit, comprising 20 men. Hresh has yet to speak on the record for his resignation, though whisperers murmur that he blames an alleged hypocrisy of the military for its treatment of Reyhenna Jorino. It is likely for this reason that Hresh and his men have joined the Goldfish Company, the new mercenary enterprise led by Reyhenna Jorino and her former squire Adrian.

    [DM Xanatos Gambit]


  • Defender General Sally Williams found Reyhenna Jorino in transgression of multiple articles of the military code. In a stunning turn of events, Reyhenna Jorino has resigned her post in the Defenders, alongside approximately half of Peltarch's current soldiers in the Defender ranks. Of these resignors, many were mercenaries, bandits, and other thugs put down and then later recruited by Jorino's regiment, alongside a sizable fraction of simple soldiers loyal to the Crown and also, it seems, to the Princess.

    Peltarch's Defenders are now at half capacity!

    As for the resignors, they have made their way to the docks, to congregate in a reformed warehouse that now serves as the barracks to a new and independent mercenary enterprise, the Goldfish Company! This new mercenary company is, it seems, ran by the mysterious Adrian, Jorino's former squire and now apparent business partner. Already it appears as though guilds, businesses, shippers, and caravans are soliciting the company for private security.

    Simultaneously, Oscar Halbrook was fired from his post as Guard Captain of the Commerce District and Gaol for his support of the Princess during a clash between the Defenders and the Guards, and Lt. Janes of Reyhenna Jorino's regiment was gaoled for declaring martial law without proper authority.

    Finally, following revelations of widespread payments that some have called "bribes" amidst the Defender ranks, Defender General Sally Williams announced sweeping reforms to the powers of current Defender Captains. She restricted the ability of any official to pay any monies to their subordinates beyond salaries earned, paid for by the treasury, and announced a forced shuffle of all troops above the rank of lieutenant, to diminish the ability of Captains to cultivate loyalty to themselves, rather than to the Crown. Some have gone so far as to suggest these reforms are the death knell of Peltarch's era of military politics, which saw charismatic Defender Captains vie for power and influence in the city.

    [DM Xanatos Gambit]


  • WILKES is DEAD. The Docks Union is DISMANTLED. The Seafarers once again control the Docks, with Jessica Whyte at the helm following the lost confidence of her predecessor to return the organization to its former position.

    The Crown Princess has aimed her sights at the Bank of Peltarch, the Seafarers Organization, and High Hold alike, declaring each a problem to be solved.

    In her allegations against the bank, the Princess has blamed the bank for swindling the Crown's treasury, duping it in a costly deception! Perceiving this allegation as the reason behind Regent Fisher's refusal to spend the Crown's dole of charity on the poor, a mob of commoners attacked the Bank, killing a clerk, and injuring its head bankers.

    The Magistrate d'Arneau issued a warrant to arrest the Princess, which was swiftly followed by a clash between the Princess' Defender regiment, led by Lieutenant Janes, and a smattering of Guards and Cerulean Knights led by General Velhar, Magistrate d'Arneau, Jonni Aelthasson, and Ravos Calchais. Though the Defenders outnumbered the Guards over 20 to 1, the clash was defused following the intervention of Regent Fisher, who amended the warrant to put the Princess under house arrest rather than the Gaol.

    Now a flurry of publications flood the public, each contradicting the last on who to blame.

    One thing is clear: the Regent is under mounting pressure from all angles to cut the Crown Princess down to size, following her actions against High Hold, against the Seafarers, against the Bank, and, some have now alleged, against Peltarch itself.

    LABUR DURUS CONTINUES.

    [DM Xanatos Gambit]


  • Lo and behold, the Bank has released the public leasing contracts concerning Terra Firma. Lease prices remain a private matter, but the following is now registered information on the Bank's public ledgers:

    1. The litany of plots peppering the district are to go to certain noble families, with the larger of these plots going to houses Hemway and Whitedune respectively. One of these is to go to House Jennings.

    2. The two plots contiguous to the Order of the Divine Shield are to go to the Temple of the same.

    3. The widest plot bordering the Commerce District and the Residential District, containing the tallest edifice, is to go to the Docks Union.

    4. The plot of land near the tourney grounds is reserved for further negotiations with a private actor for a museum.

    5. A series of homes on the walkways toward the O.D.S. and the Courthouse are to go to veteran soldiers of Peltarch's wars.

    Those noble families who petitioned for the plots to be given to them by right of blood -- rather than through lease from a commercial entity such as the Bank -- voice quiet protest, in murmurs amongst themselves. The murmurs concern this, as well as the new denizens bound to move in to the district.

    [DM Xanatos Gambit]