The Merchant Class

The Merchant Class is a campaign set in Gernon.

Autumn-38 a.s.r.
The Merchants of BL° began their workday under considerable stress. The Scientarian Parliament was attempting to outlaw the Elven Fire Herb, a potent magical plant that gave a strong high and a limited fire breathing capacity, and a major component of the companies new product Fire Ale. The directors of the company made their plans to influence key members of parliament. After discussing at length with their intelligence agent Klaus Fuchs, getting information from the Daily Spice newspaper, and talking to their lobbyist Otto Van Meertens, they began to arrange meetings with the MPs most likely to be swayed. Before any meetings could commence, the Orc gang leader Jacques Beli tried to convince Donatello DeCorvo that they could continue to sell their drug through his illicit organization. Also, there was news of strange happenings surrounding a strangely militant and controlling new pontiff of the Liber church. To combat the muscling into their territory, the head of alcohol production for BL° Maffeo Greenbark asked for more advertisements for their product, as well as more security for their facilities. The directors also ordered the creation of a BL° Research and Development division that would combine the efforts of both drug and alcohol production, trying to make a perfect combination of the two. The plan also involved creating a version of the drug that had stripped the inherent magical qualities out of the herb, and another that was highly magical for sale to Daluxians if such a prospect ever came up.

Over the week prior to the votes on their herb, the directors spoke to Alatariel Jade, head of the north elven coalition in the house of commons. She was heavily against the drug due to how it was so addictive to elves who used it, but she was eventually bought off by a hefty sum of gold, and a cheap supply of the company's highest quality brandy. Thus securing the vote in the house of commons, which made sure that their drug would stay legal, they subsequently spoke to the remembrancers Zeitoun Vespucci and Heather Galiani. Zeitoun was easily convinced, only needing some gold for the political campaign to get his son, Fahd Vespucci, into the house of commons. While meeting with Heather Galiani, it was revealed that she was in a relationship with Hayate Ryu, the half-simian son of Oyashiman ambassador, Asahi Ryu. She took some savvy convincing, but after telling her about the new R&D department working to make less magical, safer drugs, and threatening to reveal her relationship with the odd half-breed, she got on board. Thus, all 5 remembrancers agreed to keep the government from taxing their products within Belleza. The final man that needed convincing was the lord of Reyken Timothy Letta, the only member of the house of lords powerful enough and not under Adele's direct influence that could be swayed by the directors. The directors instantly took a liking to the fast talking, charismatic lord. He made the simple offer, "I'll help you today, but if the day comes, and that day may never come but if it does, I expect you to help me out." With this final piece of the puzzle put together, it seemed like BL° was poised to be skyrocketing to success. The bills were either struck down or passed, but all were to the advantage of the directors business interests. They rode out the rest of the economic quarter safely, but barely keeping ahead of the aggressive work of the Liber church taking away their business with their incessant charity and lack of capitalistic business sense. They made it to the end of the quarter barely breaking even due to all their bribing, but they had more than enough money to move ahead with their new business interests.

As they approached the end of Autumn, they were called out to their farm producing the fire herb by the head of their drug production Marcus Paul. They were brought there to make the executive decisions regarding a thief that was taken prisoner after he was caught trying to steal some of the R&D's new products.

Winter-38 a.s.r
While inspecting a new R&D building, a spy from the rival Masako Spice Company was apprehended. During the following torture and interrogation, 3 ninja assassins burst in through the buildings windows attempting to forestall the information leak. They quickly tried to kill the captured employee and steal the new products, but one was killed, one captured, and one escaped with an experimental lightning breath drug.

The next several weeks were involved with the legal case involving the break-in and theft. After making a pact with the first failed thief to give testimony against Masako Spice in exchange for BL°'s protection, and hiring Yitzhak Skazmuppet as their lawyer, enough evidence was gathered to find the thieves and Masako Spice guilty of the crimes. The company thereafter would have a vendetta against BL°.

On Tellumnar Day, the directors spent some much needed time relaxing in Reyken with Timothy Letta. There they met a half-elf bum asking for a bottle of the group's booze, which they offered, who said he wouldn't forget the kindness.

Several months later, the royal wedding of Adele Tellumnar and Leopold Dedalus took place at the Black Powder Palace. Several assassination attempts ensued, including a woman with a poisoned needle hidden within her and soliciting the directors for sex, and poisoned alcoholic beverages. Over the evening, Don made an effort to become friends with Leopold, and Vincent got on good terms with Abraham Darien. Several times over the night Giovanni Mariovanni annoyed Asahi Ryu, directly insulting his Simian wife and calling him many slurs about this relationship. He was later poisoned by one of Asahi's assassins, but he was so drunk that he quickly vomited all the poison out, directly onto Asahi. Asahi was so enraged that he pulled off his fake finger revealing a hidden knife, and tried to kill Giovanni. Adele's quick eyes and hands were too much for the older man, and she quickly shot off his hand before he could commit murder in the middle of her wedding. Asahi's wife summarily stabbed out Giovanni's testicles with a hidden blade in her stiletto heels, before the two ran off into the night. The Dalux ambassador Salim noticed Giovanni's behavior over the evening and took a liking to his bravado, saying they may be able to do business.

Spring- 38 a.s.r.
Dealing with the aftermath of the debacle surrounding Giovanni and Asahi, the directors of BL° were at the bedside of Giovanni at the hospital. In order to get out of town while the heat was still high, the remaining directors decided to make a trip to Dalux to help establish their new bases in the far west, with Giovanni running things on the home front.

Summer- 38 a.s.r
Travelling to Dalux aboard the new steamships, the directors were able to arrive in a little over 5 weeks. The directors of BL°, gained an immense amount of gold, following the offloading of their products they had brought from the empire.

The directors made their way back to their ships to await the return of their messengers, and within two days were called back to the city to talk to the Sultan. Alongside him sat Menthus, the physically incarnate God of the city and the Djinn in general. The sultan made the directors an offer about the incredibly delicious fire ale, a product that he has come to love from the few his men were able to buy. For 100,000 barrels a year, the directors would receive mountains of gold and a monopoly on trade coming in from the Scientarian Empire. They debated for some time on this offer, thinking that their production levels may not be enough to keep up, but eventually capitulated with a plan to reorient the company towards the west rather than its current domestic involvements.

Over the next week, the nobles of Dalux partied with the directors, all sampling from the Fire Ale that was being sent around town. After that week, the Sultan called the director's back, and took them on a hunt in the savannah. There the directors assisted in the hunt of a noble White Lion and a Violet Giraffe. While on the hunt, the sultan asked the directors all they knew about the Gern Heart of Skarlsboro. After learning how to get there, the Sultan expressed interest in seeing such a massive and powerful object, and commanded them to take them to Skarlsboro on their steam ships along the Cannibal Coast as quickly as possible. Uncertain how to avoid the sultain's demands without getting their heads chopped off, the directors first sent 3 of their ships plus the Scientarian battleship back to Belleza with much of the profits this expedition raised, before setting off north into the unknown waters of the northwest coast.

The trip lasted months, and even with all of their heightened technology and skilled ship captains, it was a harrowing journey through the Glacial Expanse and The Breach. Upon their arrival in the northern coastal town of Jalkuth on the Whispering Sea, they quickly made their way overland to Skarlsboro. The Sultan was incredibly glad to have made it to this strange new land, and gave them sovereignty over the islands south of his domains as thanks. Upon their arrival, news of the Oyashiman-Scientarian War finally got to their ears. The fighting had started soon after the directors had left their westernmost port of Blomore some 6 months ago. The principal details involved the destruction of most of Belleza by Oyashimans, the involvement of It was also made clear that Adele Tellumnar had made contact with the Gern Heart one month previously, and the entire city was waiting impatiently to see if she would survive the ordeal.

Autumn 39 asr
The Sultan, his retinue, and the directors were allowed into the grand hall of the Gern Heart, walking down the endless staircase, into the grand hall containing 100 foot tall statues of all the known gods, even the evil ones, and hundreds of priests of all races praying and studying the newly revealed cavern. At the end of the mile long hall, sat stone itself, surrounded by plant life and a hot wet jungle atmosphere completely different than the cold and mountainous world above. On each side of the gateway were 100 foot tall gongs, with two 100 foot statues holding hammers on each side. Two days after their arrival, coincidentally on Victory Day of the Scientarian Calendar and the begining of year 39 a.s.r.,the entire city was rocked with an incredibly powerful earthquake. The priests were calling out that the gateway was shimmering in a golden light, and the statues had come to life and begun striking the gongs. Thousands pushed and shoved to be admitted into the grand hall, but the directors of BL° managed to get a front of the hall view. From the shimmering, spinning gateway stepped forward the new goddess Adele. Adele's new godly form gave out sparks of electrical static, had electrical bolts moving throughout the blood veins in her arms, and her hair became long and silver. She also had glowing blue eyes, and was even more beautiful than before. She made her proclamation that she would now go to reclaim her empire, and right the wrongs that had been dealt to her people. Then her form stabilized, returning to one more mundane and similar to her birth form, but it was clear that the empress was a newly empowered being. While surprised to see the Daluxian Sultan and the directors of BL°, she offered to have them travel with her on her express train back to Belleza, which they all gladly accepted.

Winter- 39 a.s.r.
Adele won the Oyashiman-Scientarian War for the Scientarian Empire with her newfound power, and the oppression of the archipelago began.