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The Bandit Kingdoms CY 576 - The Eastern Lands |
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| Posted on Mon, October 19, 2009 by LordCeb |
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Oerthman writes "(Heretic's Nest?)
The Eastern Bandit Kingdoms - Artonsamay, Johrase, Dimre, and Stoink - all border the Artonsamay river. In other words, easy access to loot. Tenh, the Pale, Nyrond, and Urnst are all fair game and favorite targets. The raiders are adept at avoiding patrols, feinting one place while striking another, or using secret paths through the Phostwood or Nutherwood to raid miles from the border and return safely. Of course, the reverse is true. The Artonsamay is no great barrier to retaliation, either.
A Gazetteer of the Bandit Kingdoms
CY 576
The Bandit Kingdoms are broken into four groups:
- The Western Lands: Warfields, Wormhall, Freehold, Abarra
- The South/Central Lands: Redhand, Reyhu, Rift, Tangles, Midlands
- The Eastern Lands: Artonsamay, Johrase, Dimre, Stoink
- The Northern Lands: Rookroost, Greenkeep, Groskopf, Fellands
The Eastern Lands - Artonasamay
Territory Name: Artonsamay Duchy
Ruler: Duke Nebon Gellor (F9)
Major Town: Cathierry
Allies: Rift
Enemies: Urnst
Troops: Cav 250, Inf 250
Artonsamay Duchy is the gateway to Urnst for the Bandit Kingdoms. The river is broad and slow-moving from the Nutherwood to the Nyr Dyv, and the duchy borders a great bend in the river, There are several fords where groups of horsemen can cross (albeit with difficulty). The Urnstfolk repay this raiding in kind, and the land on either side of the river is thinly populated. Artonsamay also borders the Riftcanyon, which emits flying and burrowing beasts with some regularity. The duchy's troops regularly coordinate with those of the Rift, exchanging scouting reports and plans. Troop strength is low currently due to recent attacks from Rift and the complete loss of an entire light cavalry group in Nyrond; they had the misfortune to run into a large heavy cavalry force on maneuvers south of Midmeadow.
The capital of Artonsamay is at Cathierry, northeast of the eastern end of Riftcanyon and just south of the barrens surrounding it. Cathierry is at the crossroads of the southern bandit states. Bandits pass through heading east, south, and west to raid the surrounding lands. The ducal palace was just completed in 575, funded mainly by involuntary contributions from Urnst and Nyrond. Both the palace and the town proper are heavily fortified to resist attacks from the air due to the menace of the Riftcanyon.
Duke Nebon Gellor is a renegade from County Urnst, and takes great satisfaction in raiding across the river into his former homeland. He is a distant relative of Countess Belissica - she despises him for his crudity and lawless life. Nebon often mocks her, sending her the dregs of his loot from the County, particularly items that can be identified as belonging to one of her supporters. She has returned the favor when her troops mount punitive expeditions into Artonsamay. The duke's court at Cathierry is a gathering place for many who oppose Urnst (both the County and the Duchy). Much intrigue is hatched here, but precious little in the way of realistic plots. This partially due to the ineptness of the plotters, and partially to Duke Gellor. He expels any competent or over-eager conspirators. Taunting his distant cousin is one thing; becoming enough of an irritant that Belissica would take official notice of him would be awkward to say the least. Internally, Gellor strongly supports the Domain of the Rift. His territory borders the Riftcanyon, albeit at a place where only flying creatures may exit.
The Eastern Lands - Johrase
Territory Name: Kingdom of Johrase
Ruler: King Selnon (F11)
Major Town: Cornwald
Allies: Dimre
Enemies: Tenh, Rookroost
Troops: Cav 350, Inf 550
Along with Tangles and Midlands, Johrase feeds the Bandit Kingdoms and even exports some in the best years (to Tenh, surprisingly). Johrase is also known for its medium war horses, renowned across the central Flanaess for their unique combination of speed and stamina. The Johrase use these horses in lightning raids into Tenh, often threatening one place, drawing the Tenha military in, and riding away to raid elsewhere, long before the plodding Tenha can react. Nearly all of the people of this land believe that the best defense is a good offense, forcing the Tehna host to remain dispersed in garrison posts rather than concentrating against the bandits. Even this far north, the Artonsamay is a wide river, and extremely turbulent south of the Zumker fork. King Selnon has encouraged the growth of a breed of hardy rivermen, handy for ferrying raiding parties across even the wildest stretches of the river. The only easy way across the Artonsamay is by a narrow bridge at Redspan. A strong wall and gatehouse guard the western end of the bridge, manned by alert and veteran troops stiffened by mages and priests.
The chief city of Johrase is Cornvald, formerly an agricultural center for Furyondian Northreach. While still a thriving agricultural town, the city also boasts the biggest horse market in the Bandit Kingdoms. Although it is kept quiet, Cornvald and the surrounding territory are the destination for nearly a third of the slave traffic in the Kingdoms (the Groskopf and Fellands mines account for most of the rest). Selnon has encouraged this, as it frees up more able-bodied men for militia duty, raiding, and warfare.
King Selnon is a grizzled bear of a man, whose brutish appearance hides a keen mind. He is utterly pragmatic and amoral, and hates the Tenhese with a passion. He keeps his hate under tight control, however. An Aerdian from the Bone March, he turned mercenary with his company after the fall of that state. Hearing of good pay in Tenh for little work, he led his men west and north. Ordered on what he considered a suicide mission (ford the swift-flowing Zumker and raid Rookroost), Selnon instead rode due west, across the Redspan bridge and into the Bandit Kingdoms. He found Johrase in the throes of an extremely nasty civil war, which he quickly ended by virtue of being the only surviving candidate.
The Eastern Lands - Dimre
Territory Name: Free State of Dimre
Ruler: Szek Winvid (C10)
Major Town: Ostmark
Allies: Johrase
Enemies: Stoink, Tenh, Theocracy of the Pale, Nyrond
Troops: Cav 300, Inf 550
Dimre is the guardian of the eastern Bandit Kingdoms. Just across the Artonsamay River are Tenh, the Pale, and Nyrond. The Szek of Dimre, Winvid, maintains a vigilant lookout for reprisal raids from these traditional enemies of the bandits. Swift light cavalry patrol the borders with Tenh north of the Phostwood and with Nyrond south of the Nutherwood. Where the Artonsamay runs through the forest, woodwise foresters watch the banks between Ostmark and Longford. These foresters also know the secret ways of the forests on both sides of the river, allowing bandits to strike deep into the surrounding lands without being seen.
Ostmark and Longford [1] are the twin cities of Dimre. Ostmark is older and more sophisticated (as sophisticated as a city of bandits gets, that is), while Longford has more of a country feel. Both cities stand ready to resist outside aggression, however - the town militias are all veterans with a sprinkling of Trithereonite priests (a new addition since Winvid became Szek in 571). Longford tends to be a town bandits pass through on their way somewhere else, while the taverns and festhalls of Ostmark are packed with successful (and flush with gold) raiders.
The ruler of Dimre is Szek Winvid, a priest of Trithereon. He sees it as his duty to resist the forces of law and order (especially the Pholtine priests of the Pale) that would remove the freedoms of the people of the Bandit Kingdoms. His spy network in the eastern lands is even better than Kor of Abarra's, and the two often exchange information. The information from this network along with his own cunning and guile have often allowed the forces of Dimre to triumph without battle over their foes. Winvid holds the ruler of Stoink, Dhaelhy, in contempt. He sees Dhaelhy as just another petty tyrant, cunning enough in his own realm but utterly lost outside it. Winvid knows that were it left up to Dhaelhy, the forces of Urnst and Nyrond would soon be across the river and at his own door.
The Eastern Lands - Stoink
Territory Name: County of Stoink
Ruler: Boss Dhaelhy (F8/T5)
Major Town: Stoink [2]
Allies: Artonsamay, Urnst, Nyrond
Enemies: Johrase
Troops: Cav 200, Inf 650
The County of Stoink survives because the markets of the town of Stoink are too valuable not to. The land itself is unremarkable, other than having the longest border with external states (Urnst and Nyrond) of any of the Bandit Kingdoms. The fertile lands in the bends of the Artonsamay mostly lie fallow now - the current Boss of the County is focused on Stoink proper, not the countryside. As a result, many farmers have relocated to Johrase, who is glad to have them. Food prices have risen steeply in the County recently, and the populace is beginning to murmur.
Stoink was founded as a military outpost of Empire of Aerdy in the year 469 of the Oeridian reckoning (CY -175). The town was one of the first to fall into banditry with the decline of Aerdy and Furyondy. Currently, Stoink and its suburbs of Ratswharf and Holdroon contain around 14,000 people, depending on the number of bandit groups in town recruiting or returning from a raid. The city never sleeps - the markets run all day in the city, and when foreigners are shown the gates at nightfall, the bargaining moves outside the walls (along with much revelry). This is a major stop of the slave trade, with southern purveyors selling here to buyers from Cornvald and Rookroost. Other than slaves, the markets of Stoink have goods from across the Flanaess. Products of almost any country from Zeif to the Great Kingdom may be found at wildly varying prices (usually exorbitantly high); this includes intelligence, rumors, and information. The armorers of Stoink produce a great deal of good quality armor; some stays in the Bandit Kingdoms, but most is shipped (through intermediaries) to the other lands of the Flanaess. Corruption is rampant in the city, with new arrivals being hit with all sorts of bogus fees and taxes. A simple permit to sell loot may take 5-6 weeks until the right palm is greased (assuming the seller doesn't find a buyer under the table, and is willing to risk the wrath of the Boss).
The current Boss of the county is Dhaelhy, who rose through the ranks of the Thieves' Guild as a bravo, pickpocket, and alley-basher. He does his best to appear respectable these days, and reminding him of his low origins is guaranteed to put him in a foul mood. Dhaelhy and his enforcers run the town; they quickly hear any news of note, especially of nosy outsiders asking questions. Any word against the Boss results in an anonymous warning. Beatings and disappearances are saved for repeat offenders. As a result, most of the populace of the town is reluctant to talk. Dhaelhy is masterful at manipulating public opinion in Stoink. Several times he has maneuvered the populace into 'forcing' him to take action and do what he wanted to do anyway. His success in Stoink has made Dhaelhy ambitious. He wants to be the chief of the Lords of the Bandit Kingdoms; unfortunately, the other lords are not intimidated by him and treat his amateurish machinations with contempt. Focused inwards, Dhaelhy has ignored the border patrols with Nyrond and Urnst. It is unclear when (or if) these two nations will send a major raid into the County.
[1] Longford is mentioned briefly in _Saga of Old City_ by EGG (1985).
[2] Details of Stoink taken from _Saga of Old City_ by EGG (1985).
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