Re: Chapter 5: Occupied
Kreyg's pale eyes burn with the cold fire of barely suppressed rage, but the rest of his porcelain features belie doubt and, perhaps, even a little fear. A pervading sense of danger hangs heavy over the entire torch-lit scene, a pregnant pause that threatens to give birth at any moment to slaughter. The dread is cut by an uncertainty, the faint promise of détente lingering on the shoulders of the obvious path to violence.
The mercenary captain signals his men to hold fast, then gestures to his senior officers. A brief confab ensues. Resolved, Kreyg turns his pink irises back to his accusers.
"Fuck this one-horse town!" he spits. "This place isn't worth another minute of our time. You want it back, you can have it. We'll leave come morning. You or anyone else gets in our way, there will be blood."
Kreyg turns to his lieutenant and issues orders. The mustachioed man rounds up a detachment of about thirty men and leads them on the double towards the nearby docks, presumably to secure the company's modes of egress. Kreyg takes the rest of the mercenaries- 70 men, give or take- and heads back to the Gate Ward. The ring is broken, the conspiracy, unmasked, survives. It seems almost too easy.
The evacuation takes all night. After collecting the rest of his men and about two-dozen high-value hostages from the keep, Kreyg's first stop is Fire Hall, his intent rather obvious. The city treasury is emptied of its last golden dregs and the council building, one of the oldest and grandest in the entire city, put to the torch, a final "fuck you" to the city that has caused Kreyg and his men so much grief. From the blazing city hall, the company marches directly towards the docks. A few small parties of would-be freelancers break away from the main body to conduct a little looting of their own. These stragglers are met with resistance, and many fall to angry mobs, stiffened by a backbone of gangsters, union brawlers, and Overmark's rebels. Kreyg leaves the renegades to their fate.
Gronk joins the mobs, encouraging the Bloodforged to move quickly and forsake any detours to plunder. Corros and Muzz Breakwater head to the docks to move what they can of the fishing fleet out of harm's way. The young warlock manages to round up enough able-bodied men to row Swordfish out of the harbor as well.
Just before boarding a pair of sway-backed cogs, the departing Bloodforged set Jet Spear alight, depriving Balefyre of half of its seminal navy and reducing the chances of pursuit. Nearly a fortnight ago, 200 red-armored mercenaries arrived in Balefyre. This morning, less than 170 sail away, accompanied by a few collaborators, including Councilman Vander's traitorous elder son. And then, with the ebb tide, the red menace passes into recent memory.
A sense of normalcy quickly returns to the city in the wake of the Redcloaks' abrupt departure. The citizens of Balefyre, freed from their red-lacquered chains, get right back to business. The taverns, shops, and houses of ill repute reopen; citizens visit the temples to give thanks for their deliverance; merchant ships once again come and go from a once again bustling harbor, and hopeful would-be prospectors hike north on the wagon trail to Yonder's Hole.
The foreign buyers quietly skip town soon after the Bloodforged. The Varimori emissary is not pleased with his unnatural captivity but he appears to bear the city itself no grudge. He probably realizes that he was caught with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar and that he could easily end up dangling from the end of a lynch mob's rope if he doesn't step carefully. He leaves his captors with a few choice words and the warning that he will see to it that they do not find welcome in the Kingdom of Varimor.
Despite modestly trying to keep a low profile, the Four are widely lauded as heroes. Vernar Vander, eager to hitch his political wagon to their rising star, gifts the Four his illicit love nest, comfortably furnished, to go along with the decidedly humbler Balint House. The heroes soon discover that they very rarely have to pay for their own drinks anymore, and it's hard to walk down the street without having to stop and shake some grateful citizen's hand.
It's election season, and Vander plays up his own "integral part in the resistance". Consequently, the wealthy merchant's popularity soars, and he parleys the momentum from his landslide Harbor Ward victory into the Lord Mayorship, replacing the disgraced Corlis Bragge. Lord Mayor Vander's first official act as head of the Fire Council is to declare the Four "Heroes of Balefyre" and award them the key to the city, ordering four platinum medals struck as in their honor as soon as supplies are available. Muzz Breakwater and Pudo the Elder retain their seats on the Fire Council; Veloura Dame, the "Golden Widow", never particularly popular in the city, loses hers. Dame and Bragge are replaced by...
With the promise of increased funding (once the platinum fields give up their hidden bounty), Overmark is restored to her rightful post as commandant of the Fire Watch. She embarks on the difficult task of rebuilding the city guard around a small core of 25 remaining loyalists. With the city coffers bare, she has to do this on the cheap. Without consulting them first, Gronk volunteers the Four to help train the new recruits, pro bono.
A cold but quiet winter passes, and spring arrives from the south. Prospectors begin to return with from Yonder's Hole with platinum; whispered rumors of a mother lode strike soon follow.
Congratulations, you've levelled up!
Your Turn.
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This message was last edited by the GM at 17:10, Thu 24 Nov 2016.