A public letter to the Shield of Dawn

[Wyrd]

This parchment is pinned to the front gate of the Shield of Dawn keep. The letter bears the stylized W of the Wyrd Cabal, meaning it is an official missive from Fort Risencrantz.

[[It is up to you whether your character read it or not.]]

Greetings and salutations to all members of the esteemed Shield of Dawn and its leader, Sir Lance Dulac, to whom this letter is addressed.

We write to you now in regards to an unfortunate episode of which a member of your guild was the protagonist. A week ago, Overseer Zomactelonyvarix was unjustly attacked by one Grim of clan Vulfclaw, dwarf paladin, in the entrance to the Azamul Mine Camp. With no choice but to fend for themself, the Overseer was forced to overpower the dwarf and knock him out. It should be noted, however, the dwarf's life was spared and the Overseer helped him to regain his senses, after which they sought to understand the reasoning for such attack. It should also be noted that Grim bore the insignia of the Shield of Dawn throughout, and as such was considered an agent of the guild in his actions.

This letter seeks to address such reasonings and how both our guilds can collaborate to that end. Moreover, since a week has passed and we have not yet heard an apology for the grievance suffered, this letter will also address the compensation expected by The Most Venerated Wyrd Cabal and Antiquary.

According to Grim, the attack pertained to the fact The Wyrd Cabal has among its members an undead dwarf thrall by the name of Maktrur Imir. Allow us to shed some light on the story of such character.

Mak is an old friend of the Overseer's; both of them served the same House in Kelt, many years ago. The master of that House, a wizard himself, was the one who placed the enthrallment enchantment upon his servants. An enchantment off which Zomactelonyvarix managed to break free. As the years passed, the wizard was defeated, but the enthrallment remained and no attempt to dispel it using the arcane was successful. As Maktrur grew old and his time approached, the Overseer feared the enthrallment would prevent Mak's spirit from leaving this Plane, trapped by a sense of duty planted in his mind. He would eventually become a lost spirit and turn into a wraith. Fearing such fate, to bid the time, Zomactelonyvarix, being a powerful necromancer himself, turned Maktrur undead upon his death, with hopes to revert the old enchantment some day.

As it was said to Grim of clan Vulfclaw then, we repeat now: if the Shield of Dawn designs a divine ritual to purge the enthrallment, then the Overseer would be delighted to undo the undeath process and release Maktrur at last. The Wyrd Cabal will invest any and all resources required for such ritual, and will assist in it personally, since it is in our best interest that one of ours is relieved from any predicament. Our offer stands and we have since been waiting a response.

Now, in regards to our compensation for the foul commited against us.

Our groups have the common goal of protecting humanity and guarding resources integral to our survival in Regisfall. The Mainland is vast, however. We have been focusing our efforts and logistics on the southern part of the continent, taking residence near Tilverton, this derelict bastion of humanity overtaken by crime and poverty. We intend to assist the tilvan people, not only to help them emancipate out of the Consortium's claws, but also to reconstruct the harbor city. We believe having a strong and established community in the untamed Southlands will bring progress and glory to this land and the ones beyond. That is our compromise.

It is well known that the Shield of Dawn currently holds possession of most resource Nodes across the realms, two of which are in the Southlands. Namely the mines southwest of Ameresh and the quarry west of the Monastery. The Wyrd Cabal kindly requests that the Shield of Dawn relinquish ownership over these two Nodes, after which they will be under our protection. This also means you will no longer have to spend resources, human or otherwise, in the safekeeping of such Nodes - we will take that responsability. We have taken it upon ourselves to guard the Southlands, its people and their interests. The resources provided by these Nodes will no doubt help the people of Tilverton and the reclamation of the city.

We will await a response from your group in that regard until December 28th. With the approaching end of 16.900, it would mean the world to us and the tilvan people to start 16.901 turning a new chapter in the history of the Southlands.

Best regards,

Una Voluntas, Nullo Adstricta.

The Most Venerated Wyrd Cabal and Antiquary.

[Stihl]

Reghar sat upon his chair in the main chamber of Westgate Keep with a parchment he found at the gate in his hand. He took a moment to carefully examine the writing and then grunted in response as he stood and shook his head. He crumpled the note in his fist and tossed it into the flames of the fireplace before turning back to his chair.
He considered for several moments, tapping a finger of his gauntleted hand against the rough wooden armrests until his thoughts were organized. He then picked up a pen and drafted this letter of response to be delivered back to the Wyrd Cabal.

To the group so called Wyrd Cabal. I am quite surprised to have received your letter regarding a resolved skirmish between the dwarf and the necromancer. As stated in your letter, you spared him, and you discussed the option of a ritual. This all sounded like a mutual burying of the hatchet. A week later you have now decided to add additional demands. Due to this, I have no confidence in making any deal with the Wyrd Cabal at this time regarding the undead dwarf "Mak". Furthermore, I am uncertain how one would be shocked to note a dwarf of holy persuasion may take offense to one of his kin being turned into an undead, never mind ask compensation for a battle in which they were the victor.

As you may know, the Shield of Dawn welcomes all manner of like-minded and motivated individuals of all known races in the land, and as such each may have their own cultures and opinions on different matters. That said, know that this Grimgrin's actions were not sanctioned by the Shield, nor condoned. This was an isolated incident involving a dwarf's holy faith and the relatively new unsettling profession of raising corpses to roam the lands with.

Unlike the Shield of Dawn, who are esteemed, as you stated in your letter, is the Wyrd Cabal. A new group of relatively unknown individuals who arose in the south in the vacancy left by the Divine Order's absence. We do not know you, nor your intentions. What I see here in your letter could be construed as a group of individuals practicing dark magic and unknown religion away from prying eyes and looking to seize power by claiming Tilverton under the guise of protection in their time of need. I have the natural concern of trading Consortium criminals for necromancers using a populated village for corpse fodder.

The Shield of Dawn will be there for the people of Tilverton, as we are always there for the people of Mercadia, and all our allies. Our help does not involve them giving up ownership of their land or becoming their new overlords. If you truly wish to be seen as an ally, then I'd start by reconsidering your tactics of sending demands for compensation for slight misunderstandings and focusing more on your actions of working with us to liberate Tilverton against the Consortium. This is the fundamental part of building trust, both with the people of Tilverton, and making a new alliance.

Now, on to the matter of the nodes. The Shield has held the majority, simply for the fact they were unoccupied. If you wish to discuss amicable terms of sharing these, I am open to a meeting in person, as letters are not my preferred method of communication.

Signed,

Commander Stihl,
Knight of The Shield of Dawn.

[Wyrd]

When Zoma received the letter, they smiled before opening it, thinking to themself: "So they want to continue privately. Fine". As they ripped the envelope and read the letter, however, their smile quickly waned. Their upper lip twitched slightly as they finished reading it for the second time.

"A dog who wants attention barks loudly", Zoma thought to themself. "To the animal, barking is the solution; maybe the only solution. To us, it is just noise."

After writing a reply, Zoma sealed it and dispatched the raven to Westgate Keep immediatelly.

Esteemed Reghar Stihl,

We fail to understand why you reply to our letter addressed to Sir Lance Dulac, but since you have taken the initiate on his stead, we shall entertain a response to your message.

If the Shield of Dawn wishes to withdraw from the divine ritual, that is up to the Shield of Dawn. Disappointing, but not entirely unexpected; it wouldn't be their first withdrawing. No matter; we will continue to research ways to free our member and compatriot, with or without assistance. It seemed fitting, however, to involve your group, since one of your members was concerned enough to assault one of ours over it.

Speaking of which, if Grimgrin's actions were not supported by the Shield of Dawn, it seems to me a matter of unsubordination. This is something for your group to handle internally. Though I do find peculiar how you seem happy to throw your sheep to the lions by accusing him of acting on his own. While I understand how it would be in your best interest to separate the guild from this dwarf's actions, we cannot simply ignore the fact he was wearing the Dawn insignia and most likely using the equipment provided to him by the guild. Just as the Wyrd Cabal would be deemed responsible for the actions of one member walking out of line. Moreover, the dwarf stated he would bring the matter before your group and yet not a single diplomat reached out to make amendments for the actions you "didn't sanction nor condoned".

Perhaps you should be more cautious in the use of the "We" pronoum, lest you incur the same mistake as your comrade Grimgrin. You clearly do not speak for the Shield of Dawn when you claim you do not know us or our intentions. That is not true. When we arrived in the Mainland, we have made our intentions public from the very start. As a matter of fact, the Shield of Dawn was the first group we met in that regard. Curious, I don't remember you in any such occasions. Odd that you seem to speak for the group now, yet seems a tad unimformed and shortsighted. But you need not search too far or too long: we value transparency above all else, and as such you can find every announcement we made in the public boards of most major cities.

As for our intentions with Tilverton, this was never a topic of debate. You overstep your boundaries. We find it inelegant, for lack of a better term, that you somehow imply we hide ulterior motives for the harbor city. Ask yourself, Reghar Stihl, what do we gain from this? A derelict slum entirely forgotten by the Northlands and abandoned to their own luck against all manner of criminals? Please... Your group has held all these resources for many months and still Tilverton reeks of Consortium piss. We will make a better use of these nodes.

To that effect, and to conclude, we are afraid your timing and attitude have made an amicable discussion impossible. First, the attitude in your letter doesn't echo the faintest semblance of amicability; on the contrary. And second, the timing: we have said in our first communication that the deadline was today and we always honor our word. The Shield of Dawn had seven days to reply to arrange a meeting to discuss terms amicably. I'm afraid you missed the mark and now there is nothing left to discuss.

Now, if Sir Lance Dulac would receive us, or come to us himself, he'll always be welcome among us. He knows amicability, that one. A natural diplomat, even when regarding an afront to his every belief. An example we all can learn from.

Best regards,

Una Voluntas, Nullo Adstricta.

The Most Venerated Wyrd Cabal and Antiquary.