3. The Intrigue of Peltarch

The Intrigue of Peltarch


  • 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]


  • Labor Durus

    You've made your way into Peltarch's elite, and even secured a position at or near the Council. On the matter of Terra Firma, the Crown has decided: the Bank is the winner of the solid ground in the Residential District. Leases and tithes will surely now increase, as the profit motive casts its long shadow over Peltarch's most traditional and historic district.

    The Bank is expected to release its list of leases soon. No doubt organizations have already bargained for their leases prior to the Crown's decision. To whom and for how much have they leased which plot? Only time will tell.

    But now, a new Union encompassing the entirety of the Docks' labour force has assumed control of the district: the Docks Union. It is difficult to take a single step without running into a member. Its leader, Wilkes, and the Docks District Councillor, Roslyn Underhill, staged a series of lockdowns and strikes to cast out Jessica Whyte as the managing partner of the Seafarers. Now the major force in the Docks District, rumor has it that the Union has turned his eyes on the labour found in other districts ...

    Of course, you already knew that. Just as you know that, despite its popularity among the working class, not everyone is a fan of the new Union. Opportunists see opportunity wherever they can find it, and discord is no exception. Meanwhile, the kind-hearted must navigate turmoil for the betterment of the city and its denizens. What is the future of Peltarch's common-folk and labourers? What will be the effect of the decisions you've made? What dangers lurk in the designs, both old and new, of man upon man?

    [DM Xanatos Gambit]


  • Terra Firma continues at 2:00 EST (approx. 3 hours from this post).


  • Hello schemers,

    Hoping to find some time today, depends on progress on my work. I'll ping Discord if and when I have the time (fingers crossed).


  • The tenday's time is up, and the upper echelons of Peltarch once again turn their eyes unto matters of state.

    Candles are lit.

    Cloaks hung.

    Whisperers whisper,

    Schemers scheme,

    And the Council gathers anew to endeavor:

    Terra Firma.

    ((Tomorrow))


  • Terra Firma

    Most people are blissfully unaware of the invaluable, free plots of land that litter the residential district. But not you. The lands were vacated following the deaths of several noble families during the demon siege. Most died from the abyssal attack. Most.

    The Crown is expected to choose new owners soon. Wealthy families, guilds, and certain others vie for the land. This spells opportunity. While they pine for the land, you sense the chance to curry favor, pay off debts, and get noticed. Who will receive the land? Who will owe who by the end of the ordeal?

    [DM Xanatos Gambit]