Mosaic

The Chalonsio raid aims to bring down the priests of the God of Chains.

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A Rising Storm

After the Summer Solstice, more than eighty warbands under the banner of independent captains, and more than twice that many fleets, depart for the port of Xeier on the shores of the Sumaah Republic. The northernmost point of what was once the pirate nation of Frieøyer - before Zemress of the Isles brought them the Salvation of the Way - serves as the staging point for the attack on Chalonsio. There are many more ships here than can find berths at the actual docks. A forest of Imperial and Sumaah masts creates a second town on the sea around Xeier that swells to near the size of a city once the Commonwealth ships arrive. It seems almost every free ship in the Republic is here, and most of the Sumaah military captains likewise. There is little time to waste - the Asaveans most likely already suspect something is happening. Perhaps an evening to visit the great Storm Temple on the cliffs overlooking the town, that marks the spot where Zemress herself swayed the pirate princes of Frieøyer to the path of Prosperity.

Then, the armada sails. The Sumaah vessels lead the way, notable in that the sails of all their warships bear either the seven-sided labyrinth or some icon of the virtues. The Imperial and Commonwealth ships follow in their wake. Every vessel is laden down with soldiers - any ship with space on deck or in the hold for a unit of Sumaah soldiers finds them eager to board. Language barriers create some minor obstacles, but the sheer fact everyone is united in a single cause does much to quell misunderstandings.

The first Asavean ships encountered by the armada barely have time to realise what is happening before they have been sunk or boarded. Yet it is only a matter of time before some swift vessel spots the great naval host and manages to bear word to Chalonsio of what is coming, like a bird of ill-omen before a storm. it makes little difference.

A City of Corruption

It cannot be denied that the city is impressive - practically covering the island that bears its name with bridges connecting it to neighbouring islands where more modest settlements cluster around the shores. The largest settlement in the satrapy of Chanteolleth. One of the richest Asavean cities outside of Nemoria itself. A city of temples, and palaces. A city of slavery and corruption. A city of shipyards, where shipwrights craft warships for the Asavean plenum. A city where the high priesthood of the God of Chains - the Asavean patron of slavers, torturers, and jailers - are holding their grand convocation.

The harbour falls quickly - few ships manage to evade the crushing might of the armada. The city defences are swiftly overrun as well - the catapults and ballistae barely have time to fire more than a few shots before grim Commonwealth marines and Imperial sailors have swarmed their towers and turned them against the Asavean defenders. Once the docks are taken, the ships unload their cargo of virtuous warriors. The fighting in the streets is fierce - the Ceruleo family pay well and they ensure that the soldiers who represent them are clad in fine armour and wield the finest weapons their tainted wealth can provide.

Participants in the Chalonsio Raid

Citizen	Nation
Destan Weaver of house DeRondell	Dawn
Goblet Grassman	Dawn
Leohnar	Dawn
Maximilian Plowman	Dawn
Morgan Redgrave	Dawn
Percival de Clément	Dawn
Ruse	Dawn
Salem	Dawn
Solene d'Alba	Dawn
Vincent Steward	Dawn
Aaron	Highguard
Accalon	Highguard
Aelric	Highguard
Ames the Amiable	Highguard
Ariel	Highguard
Asterisk	Highguard
Baal	Highguard
Balaam	Highguard
Caleb of the Cenotaph	Highguard
Creed	Highguard
David	Highguard
Drothdir	Highguard
Eli	Highguard
Ezriel "Ez"	Highguard
Issachar	Highguard
Kapik	Highguard
Keturah	Highguard
Lazarus of the Necropolis	Highguard
Liora Daughter of Rebekah	Highguard
Roman	Highguard
Zacchaeus	Highguard
Zachariah	Highguard
Urq	Imperial Orcs
Ag'row	Imperial Orcs
Arora	Imperial Orcs
Ashborn Trosk	Imperial Orcs
Bloodcrow Angna	Imperial Orcs
Bloodcrow Graa	Imperial Orcs
Bloodcrow Na'grul	Imperial Orcs
Bull	Imperial Orcs
Dayus	Imperial Orcs
Frith	Imperial Orcs
Garron	Imperial Orcs
Gaterender Brik	Imperial Orcs
Gol	Imperial Orcs
Graul	Imperial Orcs
Groza	Imperial Orcs
Irontide Bavoose	Imperial Orcs
Irontide Dakred (Dak)	Imperial Orcs
Irontide Kragg	Imperial Orcs
Irontide Nix	Imperial Orcs
Irontide Rak'sha	Imperial Orcs
Irontide Rus	Imperial Orcs
Irontide stagg	Imperial Orcs
Ka’bal	Imperial Orcs
Krak	Imperial Orcs
Mog	Imperial Orcs
Rasp	Imperial Orcs
Rek	Imperial Orcs
Ringforge Kerath	Imperial Orcs
Ringforge Naani	Imperial Orcs
Rurik	Imperial Orcs
Stormcrow Dren	Imperial Orcs
Styx	Imperial Orcs
Teach	Imperial Orcs
Tog	Imperial Orcs
Vana	Imperial Orcs
Wessek	Imperial Orcs
Zerk	Imperial Orcs
Zorra	Imperial Orcs
gertreg	Imperial Orcs
Aisling Dancing Leaf	Navarr
Arron	Navarr
Avalina	Navarr
Boden Emberhill	Navarr
Brennos Brackensong	Navarr
Brodi Brackensong	Navarr
Caerlon	Navarr
Cara	Navarr
Cormac	Navarr
Culhwch	Navarr
Danza Pathfinder	Navarr
Darius Tanglehorn	Navarr
Eckhard	Navarr
Elias	Navarr
Fayre Tanglehorn	Navarr
Flynn DancingLeaf	Navarr
Garr	Navarr
Gelert Ashborn	Navarr
Hellac	Navarr
Ioan Longshadow	Navarr
J'zarr	Navarr
Keelia Scorched Pine	Navarr
Keyan	Navarr
Kigen Longstalk	Navarr
Lith	Navarr
Llewellyn Leafstalker	Navarr
Llewelyn Y Caim	Navarr
Matteo "Free Wolf"	Navarr
Nim	Navarr
Nook Foxden	Navarr
Podine Halfthorn	Navarr
Reaghan Emberedgrove	Navarr
Rowan	Navarr
Tarran Two-Feet	Navarr
Terah	Navarr
Varik	Navarr
face	Navarr
Ademar Escarra Erigo	The Brass Coast
Ahraz i Guerra	The Brass Coast
Amarie Elidor	The Brass Coast
Ana i Taziel i Riqueza	The Brass Coast
Andras Leafstalker	The Brass Coast
Aoife i Corterra i Erigo	The Brass Coast
Arlo i Nunez i Guerra	The Brass Coast
Asbet I Muhajim I guerra	The Brass Coast
Asier i Elia i Guerra	The Brass Coast
Aurélio i Valiente i Erigo	The Brass Coast
Aziz i Guerra i Avalon	The Brass Coast
Azzam i Zaydan i Riqueza	The Brass Coast
Bastiana i Fontanilla i Riqueza	The Brass Coast
Bayan Zayden Riqueza	The Brass Coast
Beatriz i Valiente i Erigo	The Brass Coast
Cadenza I Fontanilla I Riqueza	The Brass Coast
Carlos i Del'Toro i Riqueza	The Brass Coast
Cassandra i Periera i Erigo	The Brass Coast
Chiara Zayden Riqueza	The Brass Coast
Cimmaron i Niebla i Riqueza	The Brass Coast
Connoroth I Ragnaraz I Erigo	The Brass Coast
Constanza Ramos i Erigo	The Brass Coast
Corwyn i Caballo i Riqueza	The Brass Coast
Diego i Del Toro i Erigo	The Brass Coast
Dimitri I Avalon I Guerra	The Brass Coast
Eduardo I del Succa | Guerra	The Brass Coast
Elentiya	The Brass Coast
Elian i Carilla i Guerra	The Brass Coast
Enea y Corterra y Enigo	The Brass Coast
Enzo i Niebla i Riqueza	The Brass Coast
Estana I Mestiere I Guerra	The Brass Coast
Esteban I Del Rio Blanco I Guerra	The Brass Coast
Ezro i Alvera i Erigo	The Brass Coast
Florina i Sol-Devorador i Erigo	The Brass Coast
Francisco i Cervantes i Riqueza	The Brass Coast
Galib I Jlassi I Erigo	The Brass Coast
Garviel i Abrira i Erigo	The Brass Coast
Gray Leafstalker	The Brass Coast
Helio i Feugo i Requeza	The Brass Coast
Henrique i Fijadoz i Guerra	The Brass Coast
Ibbie Zayden Riqueza	The Brass Coast
Idylla I Orianza I Riqueza	The Brass Coast
Ismael Meridian	The Brass Coast
Itziar i Zuhri i Erigo	The Brass Coast
Javier i Erigo	The Brass Coast
Jeziah i Radah	The Brass Coast
Joaquim i Erigo	The Brass Coast
Joaquin i Shartha i Riqueza	The Brass Coast
Johannah i DelToro i Asavea	The Brass Coast
Juuzou i Radah i Guerra	The Brass Coast
Khaladace I Jlassi I Erigo	The Brass Coast
Khalama i Radah i Guera	The Brass Coast
Khalil i Carno i Guerra	The Brass Coast
Lakshmi i Shartha i Riquez	The Brass Coast
Lao y Corterra y Guerra	The Brass Coast
Liliana i Herrera i Erigo	The Brass Coast
Lorenzo	The Brass Coast
Líovani í Vella í Erigo	The Brass Coast
Madia i Mestiere i Guerra	The Brass Coast
Madura Radah Guerra	The Brass Coast
Marco I Navarro I Erigo	The Brass Coast
Marco rieu gurrera	The Brass Coast
Martinez i Rek i Riqueza	The Brass Coast
Matiaz i Riqueza	The Brass Coast
Mauro i Valiente i Erigo	The Brass Coast
Miguel i Angel i Riqueza	The Brass Coast
Miguel i Valiente i Erigo	The Brass Coast
Monroe i Burr i Guerra	The Brass Coast
Mont i Sawa i Erigo	The Brass Coast
Mycella i Ruiloba i Erigo	The Brass Coast
Nehima i Carno i Riqueza	The Brass Coast
Noordin I Mestiere I Guerra	The Brass Coast
Oria i Shartha i Riqueza	The Brass Coast
Pashad i Cantabra i Erigo	The Brass Coast
Qayid Daker	The Brass Coast
Qir-at i Phirenza i Riqueza	The Brass Coast
Quiberon i Caballo i Erigo	The Brass Coast
Qusay i Kalamar i Guerra	The Brass Coast
Rahmah i Darwisj i Erigo	The Brass Coast
Ramos I Inigo I Raqueza	The Brass Coast
Razin I Muhajim I Guerra	The Brass Coast
Reuben i Avalon i Guerra	The Brass Coast
Sadiq i Isa i Erigo	The Brass Coast
Safya i Kalamar i Guerra	The Brass Coast
Sagremar I Zayden I Guerra	The Brass Coast
Sahir i Projimo i Erigo	The Brass Coast
Sakar i Colabra i Riqueza	The Brass Coast
Salah i adin i Valiente i Erigo	The Brass Coast
Salim i Erigo	The Brass Coast
Sannan y corterra y guerra	The Brass Coast
Santiago i Nadir i Erigo	The Brass Coast
Santiago i Romero i Riqueza	The Brass Coast
Sayid i Zuhri i Erigo	The Brass Coast
Scevola i Taziel	The Brass Coast
Sebastian I Fijidoz I Guerra	The Brass Coast
Silvia Avalon	The Brass Coast
Silvio i Riqueza	The Brass Coast
Sofia i DelToro i Riqueza	The Brass Coast
Tahir i Tuzju i Erigo	The Brass Coast
Talmez i Fijadoz i Guerra	The Brass Coast
Tancred Enrico i Taziel i Riqueza	The Brass Coast
Tehos i Ghurayb i Erigo	The Brass Coast
Teodoro i Suero	The Brass Coast
Tesni i Fijadoz i Riqueza	The Brass Coast
Thoraya i Zuhri i Erigo	The Brass Coast
Tia Osso I Mestiere I Guerra	The Brass Coast
Tobias i DelToro i Requeza	The Brass Coast
Tono Shartha Riqueza	The Brass Coast
Tullio i Dotado i Riqueza	The Brass Coast
Umbar i Radah i Guerra	The Brass Coast
Vilvessa Oakwood	The Brass Coast
Vincente i Zayden i Guerra	The Brass Coast
Xenia i Alvera i Erigo	The Brass Coast
Yara i Rivera i Erigo	The Brass Coast
Zoraida	The Brass Coast
Basch Van Holberg	The League
Celia Evangeline Leora Di Tassato	The League
Danica Lidija van Temeschwar	The League
Emilio Ventura	The League
Gancio di Catazar	The League
Giovanni Temeschwar	The League
Katya Taziel Von Holberg	The League
Kianthris Valknir Le'Mirrin	The League
Lorelan Thoress	The League
Lupita di Marcela di Catazar	The League
Magdalena Teyhard von Holberg	The League
Nathrach McNeb	The League
Othello di Severio von Holberg	The League
Raphaella di Madeira	The League
Richardo Glostari di Sarvos	The League
Serrusto Caeli Rezia di Tassato	The League
Timur Van Temeschwar	The League
Tomothy Crowle	The Marches
William Delerougemont	The Marches
Abel	Urizen
Alexios	Urizen
Aulus	Urizen
Bacauda Netherwatch	Urizen
Brynn Lonerock	Urizen
Calgacus Apulian	Urizen
Catena	Urizen
Constantina	Urizen
Esteban i Ezmara i Erigo	Urizen
Laurentius Julianus Netherwatch	Urizen
Marinus	Urizen
Romulus of the Scarlet Guard	Urizen
Telemachus	Urizen
Xenia	Urizen
Amris Johan Merikovich	Varushka
Bushka Poprovskii Urislavf Ydrazilavic	Varushka
Casimir Sproyscz	Varushka
Doubravka Nadjaovna Vanek-Vessely	Varushka
Fania Vessely-Vanek	Varushka
Kalina Jadwigowna Piosnkowa	Varushka
Kostjya	Varushka
Marya Zoranova Doubek	Varushka
Pavel Novak	Varushka
Radomir Dobromilovich Straskovich	Varushka
Torski Fengwich	Varushka
Triska Markova	Varushka
Vasili Zoryakovich Zverokaz	Varushka
Vraalbuka Strascovich	Varushka
Vuk The Wolfeater	Varushka
Yevanshka Saprykina Nickolaiova	Varushka
Yulia Kasimirova Voronov	Varushka
staz	Varushka
Caleb Tallhart	Wintermark
Gísli Baerson	Wintermark
Howland Dayne	Wintermark
Leif Arnbjorn	Wintermark
Sarlina Nevala	Wintermark
Sven Cuttler	Wintermark

The civilian population of Chalonsio flee - cower in cellars, trust to stout wooden doors to protect them. For the most part the raiders simply ignore them. The Distrito de Cadena - the Chain District - is the main focus of the raid. Here are the slave markets, where human lives are bound in misery in return for a bowl of coins. Here, people are reduced to the status of objects, of cargo, of produce to be bartered like cattle, like haybales, like barrels. Here also are sold accoutrements of indignity - chains, whips, cages, muzzles. Here, the raiders show no mercy to those who have built their fortunes on the suffering of their fellows.

Many of the slavers employ soldiers of their own - well paid mercenaries as guilty as their masters. The narrow paths between the stalls, the wide marketplaces, the twisting alleyways, become a battlefield. The paved streets flow with blood. The doors of the cages are wrenched off, the chains broken. Wherever they are found the slaves are freed. Some of the soldiers provide escorts back to the docks to the waiting ships - but not all those enslaved by the Asaveans want escape. Some want revenge. These people are former soldiers who fought the Asaveans, trained in the arts of war, and they seize the weapons and armour of the fallen mercenaries and join the fight.

A Final Convocation

At the same time, a second force assaults the Grand Temple du Maître de la Cage d'Or - the foul fane dedicated to the worship of the Master of the Golden Cage, the god of slaves. The doors of the temple have been closed - sealed against the raiders. Ironically, the Sumaah have armed themselves with mithril chains that bite deep into the weirwood doors and tear them down allowing access to the awful temple beyond. The great statues of the God of Chains - the hooded god of slavery and imprisonment - meet a similar fate. The fighting spreads into the interior where a great convocation of the priesthood is apparently underway - a gathering of all the most influential priests of the lash come together to discuss what to do about the Liberty Pact. There is no end to the irony.

The temple has its own guardians - templars bound in mithril armour armed with scourges and flails - and many of the priests themselves are more than capable of defending themselves. The God of Chains is also a god of traps and entrapment, and there are cunning nets and snapping metal jaws that the priests employ to their advantage. Many of the tattooed priests are potent sorcerers. Their faces are hidden behind leather hoods but their mortified and painted flesh exposed thanks to the spiked mage armour they favour. They wield rods and staffs of imprisonment - magic items that boost their already impressive ability to entangle and paralyse and weaken.

For all their malice and dark magic, though, they cannot stand against the righteous flood that pours through the halls of their filthy temple. They die, unmourned, and not one of their torturous inner sanctums evades the attention of the Liberty Pact. Their information about the so-called Noble Lady of the Sea is recovered - the Liberty Pact now knows where the aerie of the slaver-lords lies and can potentially strike a decisive blow against the international slave trade. At the same time, a great many prisoners - some of whom have not seen the light of the sun in decades - are brought blinking into the open air and offered sanctuary in Sumaah if they wish to take it. All of them do.

A Beacon of Smoke

Then, at least, there is the Sapphire Keep. The fortified palace of the Ceruleo family who have grown fat and powerful on the pain of others. The speed with which the Liberty Pact have struck - made possible due to the sheer number of Imperial vessels that have answered the call of the Republic - has made it impossible for them to flee. It has also bought the raiders time to lay siege to the palace, to breach its defences. Patrio Sebastian, the head of the family, is dragged weeping and begging for mercy from a hidden chamber deep within the edifice. He is treated with the same ruthlessness he has shown to so many other people - his crimes are read and he is decapitated in his own audience chamber. Most of the rest of the family meet similar fates.

The vaults of the castle are emptied - the treasure with which the Ceruleo have glutted themselves is distributed to any who can carry it - and then the entire vile structure is put to the torch. Weirwood burns, white granite collapses, and a great column of black smoke rises into the sky, visible across the whole of the southern Archipelago. Sic semper tyrannis, as the ancient Asaveans once put it.

And then the armada returns to Sumaah - pausing only to fire the docks and the shipyard, adding a second great column of smoke to that issuing from the burning palace. The navies of Asavea are too late to save the city, too late to catch the Liberty Pact, too late to do anything but stare at the ruin of Chalonsio and vent their fury to an uncaring sky.

Game Information

The raid on Chalonsio has been a resounding success. The leadership of the God of Chains' priesthood has been wiped out at a stroke thanks to the attack during their convocation. The slave trade in Asavea will be crippled for years to come, almost certainly forcing the Plenum to respond to the pressures on their society. Other Asavean families will be loathe to openly step into the vacuum created by the destruction of the Ceruleo for fear of a similar attack from the Liberty Pact. Other slaving nations in the Known World - especially the Principalities of Jarm - will be left in no doubt as the fact the Pact intends to wipe the practice out and will take precautions of their own.

Breaking the Chain District has provided an opportunity for gathering some of the ill gotten wealth of Chalonsio, and raiding the temple of the God of Chains has allowed the recovery of large numbers of healing herbs. Successfully besieging the sapphire keep has provided even more wealth to those who took part. Every fleet and military unit will gain an additional 4 crowns, 5 ingots or measures of random materials, and 4 random herbs in addition to the money provided by the Sumaah House of the People. In addition, 10 wains of mithril claimed from the Ceruleo family vaults will be distributed randomly between all the fleets and military units that took part.

Finally, there is also the matter of the Noble Lady of the Sea. Originally believed to be the name of the shadowy organisation, it appears that the Noble Lady is "merely" one of their vessels, part of a large, clandestine slaving fleet that preys on small, undefended settlements and raids coastlines for slaves. The Noble Lady of the Sea's scarlet sails are known to ply their trade in the Asavean Archipelago, the Principalities of Jarm, and even Dubhtraig. The exact location of their base of operations has never been discovered - but the priests of the God of Chains knew where it lay and that information was recovered by the Liberty Pact during the raid of the temple along with crucial sea charts taken from the Noble Lady itself. There is certainly sufficient information to create an opportunity to strike at her stronghold, which will be presented during the Wind of Fortune.

Participation

• Human characters who supported the raid with their military unit or fleet may have had an intense spiritual epiphany
• Imperial Orc characters are encouraged to create stories about hearing the voices of their ancestors during the raid
• Anyone participating in the raid on Chalonsio may find a special ribbon in their pack representing an item with a spontaneous aura

Any human character whose military unit or fleet supported the raid on Chalonsio is free to roleplay that they had an intense spiritual epiphany while doing so. In game terms, they were enveloped by a spontaneous aura that gave them a profound sense that they were doing something righteous, heroic, or courageous in fighting against the corrupt heart of the Asavean slave trade. While that aura lingers for a time, it will have faded completely by the beginning of the Autumn Equinox event. You are free to define your experience up to a point - it should be in line with the kind of thing mentioned - a profound epiphany appropriate to your character that pushes you to take action during the raid.

Imperial Orc players will not have experienced this peculiar epiphany. Instead they may have heard the voice of an ancestor during the raid urging them to fight the slavers of Chalonsio and especially the priests of the God of Chains. Any such orc may continue to hear such an ancestor clearly from that point on - representing a connection to one of those voices that are more often impossible to distinguish from the storm of angry slaves. Such an ancestor is unlikely to like humans very much, but that hatred is likely to be secondary to strongly encouraging their descendant to free the enslaved.

In addition to these immediate effects, some more durable auras have been observed on weapons used to fight the Asaveans. Anyone whose military unit or fleet supported the Break the Slave Trade action may find such a ribbon in their pack. If it would be inappropriate for your character to have such a ribbon, you can simply discard it or hand it back in at GOD when you pick up your pack.