Fair play is turnabout

The sky overhead was the colour of old blood and the air carried the shouts of street vendors, the clatter of construction work and the screams of distant violence. The servants lurking around a side entrance to the Basileia's Palazzo paused for a second to see if any of the sounds were getting closer, before turning back to their conversation."That settles it." The First Footman snapped his pocket watch shut. "This is officially the longest meeting they've ever had. We'll be serving them dinner in there as well as lunch if it goes on any longer.""Really? This? Not the one after she became Basileia?"The other servants rolled their eyes. The Food Taster was new, freshly hired after her predecessor helpfully discovered that a shipment of cakes had been laced with arsenic. "No," the First Footman replied, his tone heavy with condescension, "that was actually very short. Not even an hour. They'd been planning the ascension for almost a full year. How else do you think they got the election results so nicely tied up?"The Food Taster nodded, oblivious to the looks she was getting. "That was a good election. Really classy. Hardly any violence, and I made good money forging ballots. I heard they didn't even have to pay off the Tellers, they rigged it so well that they could just announce the numbers as they came in.""Yeah, very classy. Do we reckon any of the Pillars are getting the chop?" The Kitchen Skivvy craned her neck to look at the upper floors, as if they could spy out the secrets within by sheer force of concentration. "I heard Boss Callarook got attacked by some idiots out of the slaughterhouse district, and they're saying that the Basileia didn't warn him because he was getting too big for his boots!"The First Footman shook his head emphatically. "That's bullshit. That was Overseer Hook sending a message for beating up one of his surveyors the other month, nothing serious. I happen to know that he warned Callarook about it before it happened, just so he'd know who was responsible.""Old news, old news. None of you know what you're talking about." The Junior Undersecretary of the Diary, unable to keep silent any longer, broke into the conversation. "If you want to ask about who's up and who's down, ask why the Basileia booked out an entire evening to spend at the bathhouse with President Orlando. Or why she's got dinner and breakfast booked with Mistress Alabaster the next day. Whatever they've been up to, the Princess is very happy with them. And Facilitator Kaige hasn't had the schedule doctored even once, so she's definitely pulling the strings, whatever's going on."The door slammed open and one of the Senior Runners stuck their head out. "Oi! If you idiots have finished gossiping, get your arses in here. It's all hands on deck."There was a flurry of activity as the servants began to straighten their uniforms and knock out their pipes. The First Footman pulled out his notebook. "I knew it was something serious. What's the situation?"The Runner shrugged. "I'm not entirely sure, but based on what I've been eavesdropping on, it's all hands on deck. Sounds like the Empire is open for business.

Overview

Heralds of the City of Locks have been more active in the Empire since the ascension of Basileia in Autumn 386YE. Inevitably, this has resulted in opportunities for assassination, bribery, conspiracy, and espionage being freely offered to Imperial citizens.

The only one of the Five Pillars who has not made an official approach is the Boss of the Union of Stevedores and Lock-Keepers, but considering that his area of interest is smuggling, it is perhaps unsurprising that he would choose to avoid the attention of the authorities. Whatever good Boss Callarook is smuggling into the Empire, it hasn't come to the attention of the relevant authorities... yet.

As winter turns into spring, the City of Locks shows no signs of slowing down in its pursuit of whatever advantages it can procure, either from mortals, or for them.

Blood On Account

The Guild Of Accountants have been asked to provide an opportunity to assassinate Salt Lord Seonag This opportunity will be neither quick, nor cheap, nor simple and it will come with a heavy price

The presence of heralds of Basileia complicted efforts to kill Jarl Haakon Gydasson. The interest of the City of Locks seems to have been piqued by a request to help arrange for the Jarl's untimely death, something the City is only to happy to try and facilitate. But having procured an opportunity to unceremoniously dispatch the jarl, the Empire refused to deal with their enemy in a way that might have won Basiliea's favour. By all accounts the jarl went to meet his ancestors with his honour intact. The Sovereign Lord of the City of Locks was not impressed.

But, they are not quite ready to give up on the Empire just yet. Basiliea earnestly desired to have some of the jarl's personal effects, a way to get leverage over the Jotun who otherwise refuse to have anything to do with the city (according to rumours, anyone the Jotun catch dealing with the City of Locks is drowned). Mistress Alabaster of the Guild of Accountants offered to take any of Haakon's possessions given to her as a down payment on another assassination scouting contract.

It's not clear what was sent to the City of Locks or by whom, but some of Haakon's belongings have made their way into her hands, along with a name... Salt Lord Seonag, the defacto chair of the Council of Salt Lords.

Heralds of the City of Locks are a common sight on the Broken Shore, where their bracing attitude to spying and smuggling is welcomed. They don't, by all accounts, do a lot of trade with Mistress Alabaster, but former Salt Lord Kalliact has confirmed that Overseer Hook had an open invitation to attend the Salt Lords Council. Of course Hook is never going to pass that information on to Mistress Alabaster, but there's every reason to think that she has a way to find out.

Sadly for those hoping for a swift strike on a vulnerable target, Salt Lord Seonag, is the very opposite of an easy mark like Jarl Haakon. Murder is frowned on in Grendel society, but it is often the fastest way to reach the top and the Grendel are nothing if not ambitious. As a consequence the Salt Lord is one of the most well-guarded individuals on the contintent, with the possible exception of some of the Buruk Tepel. What is more, they are far from Imperial eyes, and far from Imperial hands. Mistress Alabaster won't stoop to dirtying her own hands, that isn't what the City of Locks offers. What she is prepared to do is help open a window for the Empire - it is up to them to climb through it.

That will be difficult. Seonag spends much of her time in her home territory of Claudeehl, a place that does not border any regions controlled by the Empire and whose short coastline is difficult to access for Imperial ships. She lives in a heavily fortified estate, and surrounds herself with bodyguards and servants whose Fidelity she works hard to ensure. She has already survived numerous assassination attempts of varying levels of seriousness... the Empire are not even the first to ask for this particular favour...

In short, the Empire could not have asked for a harder target. Mistress Alabaster welcomes this challenge, but the Empire must understand how fantastically expensive this any opportunity to kill a Salt Lord will be - certainly a lot more than the down payment that has been provided so far.

Mistress Alabaster states that the up-front cost to the Empire will be forty measures each of Ambergelt, Beggars lye, Dragonbone and Iridescent gloaming. If the price is too high and the Empire prefer to cut their losses and let this go she will not hold it against them, and will count the contract as completed to the client's satisfaction. If the Empire does wish to go down this path, the payment can be sent to her via an escrow service in the City of Gold and Lead. The materials should be send via a standard casting of Ephisis' Scale, accompanied by a written note indicating that the materials are 'For the attention of Mistress Alabaster' and signed with the rune Lann.

Mistress Alabaster wants to make things very clear: if the Empire chooses to follow through on this, it will be a long and complex process. There will likely be supplementary actions that the Empire will need to take in order to achieve the final goal. Mistress Alabaster will do what she can to create an opportunity, but against such a careful target, it will take time, it could be seasons, it could be years. If there are things that can be done to speed the opportunity up, then the Mistress of assassins will present them, but if the Empire refuses to take those risks then they could be waiting forever.

But provided the Empire commits to this course of action, then Mistress Alabaster guarantees success. She is very explicit what "guarantees success" means - it means she will identify an opportunity for some of the heroes of Anvil to butcher the Salt Lord personally. Whether or not they succeed will be down to their skill, ingenuity and strength of will.

It won't be easy, even with the aid of the City of Locks, but if the Empire is willing to put in the effort, they could potentially pull off the biggest political assassination that the Bay of Catazar has seen in decades. It would turn Grendel politics upside down... it would be the biggest disruption since the dethroning of Salt Lord Suriad. Grendel operations would be disrupted for months until they could find a replacement. It would be the perfect moment to launch an all out attack on all fronts.

The Worth Of A Life

Noting the large difference in cost and complexity between the assassinations of Jarl Haakon and Salt Lord Soenag, Mistress Alabaster has provided context for how the Guild of Accountants prices such work. The better the Empire understands the Guild, the more they will be able to make use of their serives. Everything in life must have rules, even the City of Locks. Comparing the two lives of Haakon and Soenag is a good way to illustrate some of those rules.

Proximity. Jarl Haakon was in the Mournwold, entirely surrounded by Imperial land and Imperial armies. Even without the aid of the Sentinel Gate, the Empire's military forces could doubtless have cornered and slaughtered him with minimal travel. Salt Lord Soenag, by contrast, spends much of her time in an area that the Empire cannot possibly access. Attempting to assassinate someone even further afield, such as in Jarm or the Commonwealth, would be even more difficult. Mistress Alabaster might have to wait years to discover a moment when the Salt Lord will be within reach of the Empire's assassins.

Security. Jarl Haakon was a formidable warrior with a dedicated cadre of bodyguards and a small but significant military force surrounding him. Despite this, he was not alert to the threat of assassination, concerning himself solely with warfare. Salt Lord Soenag lacks Haakon's military experience and has fewer armed followers, but makes up for this by being intensely aware of how many people would like to put a knife in her back. It is always easier, and thus cheaper, to try and murder an unsuspecting target, especially one who has taken no steps to protect themselves.

Accessibility. Salt Lord Soenag travels almost exclusively between heavily guarded locations, often travelling under false names. During times of great threat she has even used decoys and body doubles to confuse would-be killers. Jarl Haakon was loudly proclaiming his identity to anyone who would listen, while walking around under a large banner with his personal coat of arms on it, actively looking for a fight in which he could die honourably. The more often a target puts themselves in danger, the easier and cheaper it is to find the Empire a chance to murder them.

Reciprocity. The more important a target, the more the Guild must balance their books by offering the same rates to the other party. The City of Locks gave Jarl Haakon no thought whatsoever before the contract crossed their hands, save for the baseline level of contempt they feel for all Jotun and their so-called 'honour'. They didn't need to warn the Empire about opening up the Jotun to such attacks, because the Jotun have made it repeatedly clear that they will never deal with the City of Locks. The Grendel have no such foibles - they deal with the City all the time. Inevitably then, once they are made aware that the Guild of Accountants is open for international business, there will be Salt Lords looking to settle scores of their own. Those who have previously felt themselves safe at Anvil... ambassadors, senators, generals, grandmasters... would all become fair game.

Each Small Thing Deserves A Ring

The City of Locks Benevolent Association will be providing a standardised mechanism for interested holders of Imperial titles to name their price for bribery. One of the two opportunities to bribe foreign dignitaries remains open.

In between summits, a Herald from the City of Locks Benevolent Association has approached the civil service. The lavishly-bedecked messenger is effusive in their praise of the great Casinean Empire. The willingness of the great and the good of Anvil to offer their services in exchange for financial inducements bodes very well for the future. Orlando is positively overwhelmed, but regrets that he will be unable to individually interview every person who has indicated that they would like to make a little extra on the side. As such, he has arranged for an opportunity for these people and potentially some others to make their terms known.

The City of Locks Benevolent Association have arranged for a series of magical contracts to be produced and distributed to those parties who expressed an interest last time. These can be filled in by any interested parties and returned by entering the Imperial Regio, holding them aloft and loudly declaring "This is my price," at which point the message will be spirited away to the City of Locks. Each contract has five subsections, four of which must be filled in for the contract to be valid.

The first and most obvious is the name of the solicitant. The second is to outline what assets the solicitant controls - an Imperial title, the ability to direct a powerful coven, ownership of a unique ritual text or anything else of note. The third is an outline of what the solicitant is willing to do - the more specific, the better, to avoid misunderstandings. The fourth is the solicitant's price; what specific material reward they require in order to perform the action or actions outlined in section three. The fifth section, which is optional, is for any terms and conditions that the solicitant would like to add to their offer. This could include time limits, specifications on parties that they specifically wish to accept bribes from or who they will not accept bribes from, or anything else that they feel the need to add.

No guidelines can currently be offered about what services are likely to sell well, or what prices are likely to be accepted. The Herald is blasé about the whole matter. If people do not offer tempting services, or charge too much, then they simply will not find buyers. If they charge less than they could have, well, that sounds like their problem.

Any title holders feeling left out, the herald states, should contact Enchanter Edmund Torawyr, who will have extra contracts to distribute to interested parties.

A Slight Issue Of Timing The herald also offers a slightly grudging apology to the bribery enthusiasts of Anvil. Two offers were brought from foreign dignitaries at the Winter Solstice. One was only available for that season and was not taken up. The other, however, apparently had a minor administrative error. The contract stated that the offer would be open until Summer 386 instead of Summer 387, which was the intended deadline. A revised copy of the offer will be made available to the Empire. As a show of goodwill on behalf of all parties, the deadline has been extended to Autumn 387. Anyone wishing to know more about this should once again contact Enchanter Edmund Torawyr. When pressed as to why the City of Locks yet again insists on working through specific Imperial citizens, the herald gives what has become a predictable response - "He knows what he did."

A Mysterious Addendum

The Surveyor's Cartel have indicated that they may be able to spy out traitors if invited to do so. The Union of Lock-Keepers and Stevedores imply that they have contacts that may help to destabilise the rule of the Plenum.

Just before the Spring Equinox, a final herald appears. They bear no direct offer, but instead deliver a pair of letters from two more of the Five Pillars. The missives are short and somewhat opaque. One is from Overseer Hook of the Surveyors' Cartel. In it he states that he has become aware that 'certain pretenders who fail to understand the proper use of other people's secrets' have attempted to taunt the Empire over the notion that certain potential foreign allies might seek to betray their alleged common cause.

Overseer Hook wishes to make it clear that there is no need for the Empire to deal with amateurs when there are professionals at hand. If they want someone to sniff out the secrets of other people, all they need to do is send word to the Princess of Weirs via Plenipotentiary. More details can be discussed then. Provided the Empire keep in mind that reciprocity is one of the City of Lock's watch words of course. Fair play is turnabout afterall.

The second letter is significantly less subtle in its phrasing. It is also barely legible, being stained with spilled beer and what might be a person's blood. After some work, it is identified as an offer from the Union of Lock-Keepers and Stevedores. The wording is blunt: there are many within the criminal underbelly of the Asavean Archipelago who have no love for their overlords in the Plenum and see the potential to profit from political upheaval. All the Empire would need to do is say the word, preferably in the form of a Plenipotentiary to the Mistress of Falls, and introductions could be arranged.