Wharftown's demise

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Elena
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Wharftown's demise

Post by Elena » Mon Jun 26, 2017 12:55 pm

Wharftown's docks were already near, and Laurick sighed heavily.

"What?" The Hoarite couldn't see much, the sea spray raised by the local winds took almost all of her sight.

The old boatsman gave a single nod with his head, spitting over the ship's rail. "Militia.. 'gain." A volley of oaths escaped from the old shipmaster's mouth, as he steered clear of the rocks near Wharftown's docks and finally berthed.

The Militia approached immediately with a list, checking citizenship with everyone. Laura was immediately sent back to Cordor, regardless of the offer to surrender all her weaponry upon entrance.
Back in Cordor, she went straight to the City Hall and renounced citizenship in Cordor with immediate effect. It was about time anyway, there was little hope that under Casimir de Lanza could foster anything good. A brief stop by the bank so she could quickly withdraw the fee to enlist in Wharftown. Which was what she did.

Just as she landed again on Wharftown's shores, she saw a body in front of the bank. Mortal remains of a Cordorian and a dwar. How could this have happened? The answer came in form of a man, clad in black armor with a Greataxe on his shoulder. He didn't care much for the remains in the streets, and neither for the Hoarite. He walked to the Lighthouse and disappeared behind the massive gate of iron bars. Laura shrugged and proceeded into the mercantile, there was nothing she could do for the two corpses, as they were mutilated to almost beyond recognition.
Richards settled the registration process and if that wasn't enough, a prominent shop was free to take, right in the middle of the mercantile. She didn't need to be told twice and bought the shop immediately. Stocking it with highy sought after goods to maintain a steady income.

Outside the mercantile, some onlookers had gathered, but the Hoarite knew just as little as anyone, what lead to the death of a Cordorian General and his his dwarven escort. A grim dwarf who showed up from the Shanty gave some brief explanation. "Dead shite-head over yonder came here to make demands and barking insults, he got served by me and the Mayor!" The Hoarite nodded at that and decided to stay in Wharftown, to see about the who is who.


It didn't take a long time, maybe only two days, until she witnessed what was the daily business of the Militia, that had replaced the abandoned Waymen. Intimidation was key, everyone - official or militia - presented their weapons, at any time. Mummed figures as far as the eye could see, outcast folk and everyone lurking around, avoiding contact whatsoever. Sometimes, not a single word was exchanged, but a nod and the figures kept creeping along, trying to sneak past, using spells of invisibility, just to eavesdrop beind a corner and what have you.

The Hoarite kept a low profile, not engaging in much conversations herself, but smalltalk with the casual passerby. One early morning, when she approached the cross section of the town, she spotted a Goblin sitting next to the well, in the middle fot the Town. She readied her spell and approached the figure, with the intent to banish it as she saw the exact same dwarf, his axe on the shoulder, sitting next to the Goblin. She stood there, dumbfounded, somehow unable to react at first, but when she raised her voice, the dwarf simply replied with a relaxed voice "Mayor allows it, so I'm fine." That was when an elf walked up from the eastern gate, similarly or even more shocked about the fact that a Goblin was sitting in the middle of Wharftown, he simply shook his head and marched on, briefly stopping next to the Hoarite, asking if that was a new thing in Wharftown. Laura denied and explined that she would raise a complaint. Monsters in Wharftown can't be good for the trade.

Two days afterwards, she was approached by the Mayor Armenius, who brought some officials or loyals with him. He began to question the Hoarite, her business and her reasons to linger in Wharftown. She provided most answers, not in detail, but satisfying to some degree - though not to the Half-Orc. Karerk Zirik, known as Zir, recognised her as the former Commander of Cordor and immediately informed his Mayor, asking him to make the Hoarite leave or even expel her, albeit nothing could be done at the moment. She was a citizen, with a now clean record.

From that day on, she was harassed daily, with insults, accusations of espionage and more.. the plot thickened.
Might I respectfully suggest playing the game, rather than indulging in speculation about how we might screw the game up in future? - Mithreas, 2014

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Re: Wharftown's demise

Post by ANC » Tue Jun 27, 2017 7:02 am

Captivating and well written!

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Elena
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Re: Wharftown's demise

Post by Elena » Tue Jun 27, 2017 5:13 pm

If she knew one thing, it was running a shop. Combine that knowledge with a top quality location that is Wharftown, and financial problems are passé. Not that she had them in the first place, but running a worthy store also qualifies for credit from people. That is a necessary thing, anyone should build up so people know whom to place reliance on. Right beside trust and confidence, though whom to trust in Wharftown? This next stept was a difficult one and required a meticulous approach. Maquillage and acting were no strangers to the Hoarite, so she used it to gain the necessary information and camouflage to access important places. At some point, she almost made a dire mistake, stumbling out of the shadows, just as the Wizard opened the closed iron bars up to the Lighthouse. The adrenaline rush was real, but she made it away safely.

She kept following certain people around, who she knew, had a say when it came to Wharftown politics. Not only the Mayor gave directions, but also others, who maintained frequent business with the lowlives of Andunor. It did not surprise her, but she wanted to find out who they were, and what positions they held. For obvious reasons, she could not allow herself to be seen in the Underdark, so she installed one of her trusted agents, providing her information about what was going on while she kept her attentive eyes open in Wharftown.

The Mayor made himself scarce in the following weeks. And the town become more and more abandoned. Rarely did she make an encounter, and the shops around hers displayed the same wares day after day. And the days became weeks... and weren't it for the once in a while noxious post on the public board, she would've been quite positive that she was the only one left. At the same time, she had become used to the hostility she encountered in the streets, even though it became rarer. Not because Armenius' loyalists started to accept her presence, but simply because they weren't there anymore. This lead to the dangerous state of affairs, where one could get the war off one's mind. But it was still there and very real. The Hoarite didn't know back then, but this particular wrongly valuation would haunt her later..

Several days later, the King of Cordor let people know of a decision he made with a heavy heart. The destruction of Wharftown, should the Mayor not surrender himself, voluntary or by force. An idle threat? That was the first thing that came to the Hoarite's mind. Possibly.. likely, even. This war had lasted for almost 10 months, nothing unusual, since there were wars in the past, that lasted almost three years - so this one was still in the early stages of development. She shrugged it off, even the announcenment of a public statement. Although it definitely stirred her curiosity.
Might I respectfully suggest playing the game, rather than indulging in speculation about how we might screw the game up in future? - Mithreas, 2014

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