The Boundless Star and its ignorant-but-dedicated crew brought the vessel alongside the coast of the Great Isle by another long, sandy beach, dotted with dark, wet rocks. Master Kelren knew from the maps he had studied that the shore grew more stony and rough the farther southeast from this point one travelled. That was the direction that the troop of intense veteran mercenaries had set out on, once they had disembarked from the ship. If they were lucky, they wouldn’t have to look beyond the land-bridge between the Southern Sea and Copper Cove to encounter some of Tarro’s subordinates and complete their secretive mission.
Kelren and his own party—consisting of Councillor Ghomal and eleven of the crew’s own warriors—continued northeast from their point of landfall, climbing higher and higher into the steep highlands that shaped the horizon at this point of the Great Isle. At Ghomal’s advice, they posed as mercantile businessmen and had half of their warriors conceal their armour beneath baggy plain clothes or even in their packs. With “servants” and a few guards, they gingerly approached the small city of Tav Rock.
The Rock itself was an enormous, rolling mountain amid various foothills and farther peaks. From its walls and watchtowers, the sentries would have many miles of terrain to survey. They were aware of Kelren and his troop long before anyone could see the guards themselves.
The East Storm Company, and all the alliances of the Raderan mainland, remained unaware as to the city’s fate. The first confirmation was that it still stood and had not been razed. The sovereignty of the city remained in question even as they approached the gate. Would they be met by bandit gangsters in Tarro’s employ? Or would they face wary lawmen who had managed to defend their city or prevent it from becoming a target of the Isle’s scourge?
The guards at the gate had no insignia—they weren’t even wearing matching armour. Kelren only spoke enough to treat them with a businessman’s disdain. He let Ghomal answer some more of their questions, but all were standard. When the guards asked, “Why Tav Rock? Why now?” Kelren explained that now is the ideal time to start a new business. At that, they were allowed through the open gates.
In the coming days, Kelren and his group found accommodations at one of the larger inns and began spreading out between different parts of the city to learn what they could. The first information they gained was something they had all felt in their gut by that point—one of Tarro’s subordinates ruled Tav Rock now. They also learned that the city had not fallen to a conventional siege. Instead, internal tension had torn the government apart. Enough of Tav’s inhabitants felt a connection to the wild tribes and bandits that were waging the war, that insurrection had overthrown the Baron and his government.
This was the first that many of the Company had realized what was true in any war: the bandits and pirates were not mindless monsters—they had as many families as the soldiers of Radregar had, and they were, in some way, fighting for those relationships.
For Ghomal’s relationship—with his son—this only served to confound things further. No one seemed to know who had died in the insurrection and who had not. Kelren tried not to be too harsh in his warning to Ghomal, that his son might already be dead.
The innkeeper made things worse yet. On the 6th, he approached Kelren as the master magician crossed the common room and informed him that the mercenary outfit would need to leave his establishment at once. “Nothing personal, my friend,” he added, “but I need those rooms again.”
Kelren reached for his coin purse. “If the price is going up, there’s not much we can do aside from pay.”
The innkeeper, a bald man with a bushy beard, held up his hands. “It’s the risk I can’t afford, not your money. I’m sorry.” He seemed apologetic, but anxiety overwhelmed him.
“I see.” Kelren swiftly pocketed his money once more. He glanced at the waiting mercenaries nearest him—two men and a scrawny girl who would leap to action at his word. But then Kelren nodded. “We’re so sorry for the trouble. We’ll be on our way,” he told the bearded man. He pretended to be on his way, but then paused and turned back. He reached for his coin purse once more. “I’d be more than happy to compensate you for the trouble we’ve caused, if you were to give your honest opinion of us.”
This time the innkeeper extended his hand for the bribe. He stepped a little closer. “You’re good folk, I can tell. I don’t know what you’re doing here, but I have no issues with you. That said, the majority on this street leans the other way.” He dropped his voice and whispered, “Loyal to the new regime.” Then, raising his voice back to a more comfortable volume he assured Kelren: “You’d probably be better off camping outside of town, or trying another neighborhood.”
Kelren quickly thanked him for his hosting and his information, then gave his men some orders to quickly vacate the place. They spent half that day finding accommodations that were more favourable to them.
On the 8th, having grown tired of fruitless searching, Kelren arranged for the patrols to vacate the vicinity of the old Baron’s hall, where the war-lady Zanaria ruled. Kelren had a few tricks for getting inside, but this time he simply traded one of the valuable secrets that he carried. It was a short enough meeting: Kelren established his presence in Tav Rock and convinced Zanaria why she should let him remain, then the two struck an accord concerning Ghomal’s son and a group of troublesome rebels that still resisted Tarro’s rule.
That evening, Kelren rewarded himself with a bowl of their new inn’s finest soup. Finding Ghomal’s son was only a matter of time now, and then they could get off this greatly-divided Isle.