The Fortress-Town of Latela

 

Art by Gao Xu, source

Sitting on the northern coast of the Great Bay of Norwold, not far from Barathmir, this town and fortresss has a total population of 5700, of whom about 4900 are in the town, the other 800 are in the fortress which is particularly impressive as it has been constructed on top of a massive rocky overhang. There are another 2100 or so folk in hamlets and farmsteads dotted around nearby who are subjects of the lord of Latela. The town is situated on the bay and has a small port used by merchants and fishermen. Latela has a distinctly Thyatian culture and most of the human settlers in the town are either first or second generation colonists from Thyatia itself. 

Latela was founded by Longtooth (male human thief22, chaotic) - superficially a Thyatian adventurer who sought to establish his own dominion here in Norwold, but he turned out to be an agent of Thyatis who turned against King Erical of Alpha in an attempt to seize as much of Norwold for Thyatis as possible. Longtooth was thwarted by more loyal and honourable nobles who sided with the King. Longtooth is now a persona non grata in Norwold and is supposed to be exiled from the region. In fact he now controls and influences from the shadows, based in his fortress of Latela. 

The lord of Latela is Baron Korronius Brunius (male human, fighter17, neutral), a Thyatian soldier turned adventurer who became powerful and ambitious enough that the authorities in Thyatis decided to give him an opportunity to establish his own realm - on the understanding that he owed Thyatis loyalty. When Longtooth failed in his bid to seize power, Korronius was shipped north as soon as possible and nominally took over Latela. Korronius does indeed handle the day to day running of the town including taxes, law and order and construction projects. But the political strategy is handled by Longtooth. Although he would never openly admit it, Korronius answers to Longtooth. 

Some in Alpha (the capital of Alphatian Norwold) wonder why King Ericall would allow a Thyatian to run a town in his kingdom. The simple answer is because this way King Ericall and his advisors know who Korronius is and can better monitor Thyatian activity in Norwold. Since Longtooth exposed his true loyalties, Ericall knows that Thyatis wants a foothold in Norwold and Ericall would rather know where that is and who is in charge. Besides, the population of Latela is Thyatian and they are more content if they are governed by someone they view as one of their own rather than an outsider.  King Ericall and his advisors do not yet realise Longtooth is still based in Latela - they think that Korronius is the top Thyatian in Norwold. 

Latela is a hotbed of intrigue and double-dealing. Alphatia and Thyatis are waging a cold war on the streets of Latela, with Thyatis having the upper hand, partly because of the culture and origins of the town but also because Thyatians have a natural talent for duplicity and betrayal. There are informants and agents of various sorts on every street. Alphatia has not yet managed to get an agent into the fortress yet but would dearly love to. The Alphatians quite rightly suspect that the fortress is the centre of Thyatian activity in the region but do not know what is being planned there. There is quite a lot of crime on the streets of Latela but this is more of a secondary problem. As far as the authorities of Latela is concerned, catching enemy spies is more important than catching criminals, especially when half the criminals are informants or assassins for the Thyatians. 

Baron Korronius actually tries to keep some sort of peace or at least status quo in the big picture. He knows that the forces of Latela would be hopelessly outnumbered if the Alphatians went to war, and also that the fortress, regardless of how imposing it is, would not stand against a force of powerful archmages from the Alphatian mainland. Therefore he does not want to provoke a conflict with Alpha.  Longtooth has a different point of view and tries to spread Thyatian spies and agents into as many Alphatian strongholds and dominions as possible. These spies may appear to be merchants, adventurers, mercenaries or any other cover that is useful. Subverting the loyal subjects of Alpha, whether by magical enchantment, blackmail, seduction or bribery is considered standard practice by these Thyatian spies. Although he would never disclose details about his agents, Longtooth has mentioned to Korronius that he controls at least 50 different Thyatian spies through Norwold, and each of those has a number of people under their influence. While Baron Korronius tries to avoid conflict, Longtooth believes it is inevitable and sees all Alphatians as the enemy, even if war has not broken out. The question is whether Longtooth's expectations become a self-fulfilling prophecy. 

In terms of conventional military power, Latela has 750 troops, both heavy infantry (banded armour and polearms)  and light skirmishers with longbows, leather armour and shortswords. Some of those skirmishers are not as tough as regular soldiers but are surprisingly good at hiding and moving silently and then backstabbing enemies with their shortswords. The town does not have a navy as such but can commandeer fishing vessels when sea transport is required.  

There is the House of the Shimmering Star, an informal mages' guild where training and learning new spells is on offer in return for a steep fee. The archmage in charge of this establishment is Mellax the Incomparable (male human Magic User24, chaotic), a Thyatian by birth. He is playing a dangerous game, acting as an informant for both Longtooth and also the Alphatians, telling both sides about new magic users in town and also using his magical powers to assist each side without giving away his own position. But he has recently been found out by the Alphatians - they gave him a crystal ball with which to spy on the Thyatians. But the crystal ball also allows a mage in Alpha with a similar crystal ball to see and hear through the crystal ball in Mellax's possession without Mellax knowing - The Alphatians have planted a magical bug in Mellax's office. 

The Shrine of Equilibrium is a small temple with twelve clerics devoted to the philosophy of Neutrality, led by Honoria Vennatrix (female human cleric15, neutral). Despite various efforts by both Alphatians and Thyatians, the clerics have generally kept themselves detatched from the politics and espionage so rife in this town. There are times when a cleric has been compromised, and then they have "recused" themselves, declaring they can no longer be as impartial as they should be and leaving the town and the shrine before they can be compelled to cause mischief. Some agents respect this neutrality and leave the clerics alone, but for other spies the clerics' reputation as being neutral makes them even more tempting targets for recruitment - after all, who would suspect them?  

Despite its intrigues and questionable allegiences, Latela is generally a safe place to visit and do business. There is a modest trade in pine timber, fishing (including crabs and lobsters, considered a delicacy in Alpha) and pork. Adventurers sometimes use Latela as a base from which to venture further north into the hinterlands. The most important warning would be to stay out of local affairs. Even if an incident is not directly connected to the Thyatians vs Alphatians, any sort of violence or heroics will attract the attention of various spies who will attempt to recruit the adventurers as new assets, or worse, suspect the adventurers are working for the other side. 

Beyond the town walls there is a vast stretch of coniferous taiga, the eastern Lothbarth Forest. This place is not safe for any but the most experienced of soldiers and adventurers. About 28 miles northwest in the Lothbarth there is a vicious tribe of orc, the Ear-Rippers, who attack all humans and demihumans regardless of allegience. Every few years the orcs cause enough trouble that the lord of Latela sends his forces to destroy the orcs and there is a bloody battle. Although the orcs are generally defeated on the battlefield, they have never been properly wiped out, always regrouping and repopulating in a few months. Another threat is a pack of werewolves based in Splinteraxe village, a logging camp to the northeast. The humans in the village are terrified and subjugated by their lycanthrope rulers. Although the werewolves generally go after animal prey, they will sometimes turn on human villagers that have defied them, or travelers who pass nearby. Longtooth is aware of the situation in Splinteraxe, but rather than killing the werewolves he is trying to find a way to use them against the Alphatians.