Prelude in G Minor

Episode Two: The World According to Xagye

AK 594/1/11-19 (1720-1728 PK)

To repay Ganeth for sparing her life and saving her from some confused owlbear constructs, Xagye accepted a quest from Hanali (via Silvana) to be his guide, informant, contact, go-between, etc. while he carries out his mission. The party arrived in C-Ra to find the city preparing for the upcoming war (probably on both sides). Thorongil's fighter buddies mentioned that kenku have been mugging people in the city. According to a random assistant left in charge of the trading post, Silvator is among the growing cast of characters currently to be found in Banzeel.

The rest of this page covers information Xagye provided after being quested.

Banzeel geography

• The East Side of the city is controlled by the Empire, the West Side is held by revolutionaries, and the "Free Zone" in the middle is most notably occupied by the Priests of Insanity (who are expanding now that the Empire isn't really around to oppress them like it used to). The south end of town is generally poorer than the north; the stink of the muckpits drives away anyone who can afford to leave.
  
• There are four gates into the city, called the Westgate, the Eastgate, the Northgate, and the Quartermoon Gate (in the northeast). The gates are generally sites for fighting and rioting. Some mages make money by levitating people over the wall on wooden platforms. Technically, one can also enter the city via the sewers, which empty into muckpits south of the city, but the otyughs etc. tend to make this option unattractive (except to the Insanity Priests, who make offerings to the critters). Xagye's recommended approach is to fly in.

People and merchant houses of Banzeel

• Rakila of the Quarter Moon, aka the Hakima of Banzeel, used to be in charge of the place, but she officially went "on holiday" after the revolution broke out. Some suspect she was executed by the Empire for incompetence.
  
• Rushkita House used to be based in Banzeel but now has its HQ in Marakeel. They have access to the Imperial Library.
  
• Jeltha House, run by Elbleem, is based primarily in C-Ra these days. (I wonder what they're up to now that the Shade Lord is mostly out of action.)
  
• Borine House has also moved its main base to Marakeel. They're currently the most favored of the merchant houses, mainly because they've been actively bribing people (art and imported objects are especially popular bribes in the East) and blackmailing members of the nobility. The Borine have come up with a plan they call the Lifeblood Ambush; all Xagye knows about this is that it involves letting the elves capture some "sacrificial agents" and that the owlbears were part of a plan to delay the Western army in case it moved before the ambush was ready. (Ganeth and Silvana suspect that their goal is to contaminate Lifeblood Forest's mana pool through these sacrificial agents.)
  
• Baleel House is the de facto thieves' guild and is "strongly ensconced in the sewers"; they've kept their HQ in Banzeel. The Baleel found or bought a stash of kenku eggs about ten years ago; the kenku assassins, mages, and kensai that have been appearing recently could be from this batch. (Kenku, incidentally, have villages in the Far East.)
  
• Banzeel has a Wizards' Association for mages over fifth level; members are prohibited from killing each other. Xagye's understanding of the Shadowing is that the Association suppressed priestly magic to punish the priests for their scheming. (If one of the conspiracy members turns out to be an Association member, there could even be a grain of truth to this.)

The revolutionaries...

...seem to be even sadder than we'd feared. Nobody expects them to win, but everybody does business with them (at very inflated prices). The merchant houses all sell them arms and supplies and send them off to attack targets held by the other houses; the merchants all turn a nice profit, and the revolutionaries don't seem to make much headway.

He's from what clan?

Rushkita House recently started doing business with a (probably) magically disguised male high elven fighter/mage from Auramkil who claimed to be from the Barshen Clan. This elf bought information about ruins under Banzeel's sewers (where there are rumored to be secrets dating back to Bokenja's time).

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