Summary
Tray dispatches Freespirit and Duncan to NorthFork to assist his struggling brother Marcus Gallund in governing the city. The party discovers NorthFork is still mourning the deaths of Caivil Strong's two daughters years earlier, Marcus is floundering administratively, and Caivil has become obsessed with tracking down the wizard-assassin Ash who killed his daughters.
Detailed Narrative
Salomon expands his 'A Place to Drink' network across the Gallund Empire and beyond, requiring more time away from Trayalon managing contacts. Admond is drawn deeper into the bureaucratic work of running a city, being 'requested' to understand the inner workings of Trayalon's government. Tray summons Freespirit and Duncan for a private mission: his brother Marcus in NorthFork has gone silent, failed to give full reports, and is reportedly floundering. The party travels to NorthFork and finds a city still subdued — fire damage from two years past unrepaired, a pall of grief from the deaths of Caivil's daughters Tabetha and Guinevere. Caivil Strong has an obsession wall tracking Ash, who killed his daughters, and believes Ash has gone to Arla though reports are fabricated and suspect. Marcus lacks confidence and has allowed governance to slide: taxes not collected, petitions unresolved, forces growing lax. The party helps Marcus address governance crises — a stolen pig dispute, bakers stealing recipes, a Swiftwater claim on Hesh ruins in the mountains, a bigamy case, a Freeriver trade petition, and a petition to establish a Church of Freespirit Flow.
Details
GM Content
Campaign Notes
DM only — campaign-sensitive materialThis chapter functions as a governance/statecraft session. The petitions are decision points that shape the empire's law and reputation. The Church of Freespirit petition is significant — accepting it creates an official religious faction within the empire. Caivil Strong's grief over his daughters is set up here because it becomes critical in ch-11: Caivil will learn that Tray Gallund (through Seamus Adair) orchestrated the attacks that killed his daughters, making him the framed suspect in Tray's assassination. The Edith Faerwald subplot (daughter of the NorthFork advisor) is introduced — she later appears at the ch-11 wedding.