New port, old wine

John of the Rushes stared at the steward. She was surprisingly young to be the head of such an important Household. He reminded himself not to underestimate this woman, the steward had earned a reputation for being canny and utterly ruthless getting to where she was today. He pursed his lips into a thin smile and looked down at his notes.

"Ah... what would you say is the... erm... notable quality of... Eel's Landing?"

"What?" the woman's voice was cold and sharp. "What do you need to know that for?" somehow she made the question sound like a threat.

"Er... well. When the Imperatrix granted a charter to Sarcombe she recognised their expertise in the field of Mining. She gave them the right to create a permanent trading post for metals and granted them license to charge handling fees to benefit the town's citizens. Folks will ask... what you feel Eel's Landing has to offer..."

His voice trailed of. The steward was reported to have a nasty temper. She rarely raised her voice by all accounts, but it was claimed that her pupils went completely white when she was angry. It was gossip's nonsence of course, people spread all sorts of nasty rumours about the Greywaters.

A pair of predatory eyes fixed him with an icy glare and there was a long pause pregnant with hostility. Finally the woman spoke.

"Fishing" she deadpanned. "Tell them we land all the best catches at Eel's Landing."

Mathilda Fisher is dead, and will lie with whatever honour the Jotun choose to grant her in far off Tromsa; now the challenge of dealing with her legacy can truly begin.

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Overview

The majority of the Bregas are delighted that the Jotun have been banished from the territory and pleased that the pretender Mathilda Fisher is no more. Had she been given years to establish her stewards council, she might have won more of them over - certainly Bushel Sykes worked hard to try and convince Bregasland that they had more to gain by leading themselves than being ruled from Anvil.

Mathilda's attempts to sway the Bregas to her cause was seriously impeded by the constant presence of the Strong Reeds. House Greywater enabled the army to lay low in the territory throughout the occupation - ensuring that Mathilda Fisher's grip on Bregasland was never secure. Their presence did more than just shorten the Fisher queen's rule, it actively undermined her authority which helped to curtail her influence. If things are bad now, they would have been much worse without the Loyalty of the Strong Reeds.

Thus the majority were not taken in, but sadly enough people did buy what the old poacher was selling to leave a deep legacy of problems when the Jotun were finally driven out. There were no good choices on how to deal with the problem, every solution promised to store up trouble for years to come. Somewhat reluctantly the Empire chose the moral high ground of letting the law take its toll, rather than allow people to settle scores themselves. Justice has been done, but it has left some feeling aggrieved with the Empire.

To top it all, the Empire has yet to decide what reward, if any, to give to the Greywaters, the large household of eel-fishers and notorious poachers, whose knowledge of the land was so valuable during the occupation. They paid a heavy price for their aid, and argue that they are at least as much to thank for preventing the Fishers and the Jotun from securing their hold on the land.

The Civil Service were unable to present any opportunities to address the Bregas grievances, but the Marchers were careful not to make the existing situation worse by allowing the pretender to be buried at Fisher's Rock. Building on those successes Empress Vesna's inaugural address calling for unity and imploring citizens to offer aid to those who are disillusioned has created an opportunity to mend at least some of the wounds.

There's a wide ditch between saying and doing

Marcher Proverb

New Oaths, Old Boots

• The General of the Strong Reeds has made a powerful oath to protect Bregasland

House Greywater's dubious knowledge of other folk's land was critical in allowing the Strong Reeds to lay low in the territory throughout the Jotun occupation. After the army led the attack that drove the Jotun out, General Amberlain proudly boasted that "The Reeds will not forget this and we will never abandon Bregasland again."

Know your heart and what commands its devotion above all else. We send Larkin Otterways with 25 doses of liao to let everyone in Bregasland know that this is the land of the Strong Reeds, and they will never abandon it.

Father Edmund, 385YE Winter Solstice, Vote: Greater Majority (176-0)

It might have been nothing more than an idle boast, but more than a few people wondered if she really meant it, and Knife-eared Francis, a friar of Graven, challenged the general to repeat the oath in front of the Marcher Assembly. His intention was that the Assembly could use a mandate to let Loyal folk across Bregasland know that the oath had been sworn and witnessed. Such oaths can be powerful hearth magic, putting your money where your mouth is, buys a lot more respect than empty words in the Marches.

Of course some fool had to go further, and suggest that the general could swear the oath on the Lictors if they really meant it, but that was daft talk and got short shrift. Heath magic is one thing - the lictors are another thing entirely. So nobody is too surprised that that plan was thrown on the midden, but they are pleased to hear from Larkin Otterways that General Amberlain has sworn a binding oath that the Strong Reeds will protect Bregasland.

The general's oath won't do much for those who are bitter about the occupation and the outcome, or those who sided with the Jotun are left feeling resentful and rebellious. But it does impress the Loyal folk of Bregasland - the ones who kept faith with the Empire throughout are more than pleased to know that the general intends to keep faith with them. Amberlain's action cements the affection that many Loyal Bregas feel for the Strong Reeds, ensuring their support should in any fight here in the future. Of course if Bregasland comes under attack, and the Strong Reeds are not present by the start of the very next season, then the oath will have been broken, and the trust shattered. Provided everyone is as good as their word, then that won't ever be a problem.

There's two ways to bury a hatchet.

Marcher Proverb

House Greywater

• House Greywater have taken inspiration from Emperor Vesna's inaugural address
• They welcome the decision to reward them with a significant amount of money from the Virtue Fund

The one group that arguably does have some right to feel aggrieved, House Greywater, are definitely listening to what the Empress has got to say. It has helped considerably that the Imperial Synod has just taken the decision to reward the Household with twenty thrones in recognition of their efforts to support the Empire. Margery Greywater is a proud woman, but not so proud that she'll turn down a stewards ransom.

The Household were well pleased when the Marcher Assembly recognised their Loyalty, Courage, and Vigilance, but the suggestion they could be rewarded with land was not well received. More than a few Greywaters perished during the Jotun occupation, guiding a resistance effort is dangerous work after all. As a result, claims Margary Greywater, the Household have more land than they can usefully farm for years to come. Truthfully, the fact that the Synod has no legal power to grant land in this way is likely the real reason for the house's disgruntlement, but less kind tongues suggest that the Greywaters turned their noses up because "they're nowt but a band of poachers who take more interest in other folk's land than they do in their own".

In fact, it's this open disdain that really rankles with the steward and her household. The Greywaters have always had a poor reputation and if they hoped to improve their fortunes by risking everything to oppose Mathilda Fisher, they have been disappointed thus far. Part of the problem is that they had to keep quiet about what they were up to when the Jotun were ruling Bregasland so most of their neighbours have treated their subsequent claims to be the heroes of the hour with cynicism and derision.

The new judgement has salved their wounded Pride and restored their faith in the Marcher Assembly. A judgement saying they should be rewarded is one thing, a pouch full of thrones is another. "A tree is known by its fruit, not by its leaves." as the Marcher proverb goes. But what Margary Greywater really wants isn't just a way for the family to get rich, it's a chance to finally show her neighbours that the Greywaters are every bit as good as them. So when the canny steward hears the new Throne's address, she puts together a plan that just might do both

Good cider takes good apples.

Marcher Proverb

Eel's Landing

• The Senate could expand the docks at Eel's Landing and ceding the folly to the Greywaters.
• The Throne could grant the tiny "fishing village" its own charter allowing it to become a market town
• If both were done, the North Fens would cease to be embittered

Expand Eel's Landing

Commission Type: Folly

Cost: 6 weirwood, 6 white granite and 36 crowns

Effect: Allows Eel's Landing to expand into a small town and reduces tax revenues by two thrones a season

It's now readily apparent, even to the notoriously greedy Greywater steward, that there is absolutely no chance of them being granted ownership of the Imperial Breadbasket as a reward for their role in evicting Mathilda Fisher from Bregasland. By asking for way too much, it seemed like the Household might have lost any goodwill their efforts had created. But the words of the new Throne, along with the heavy bag of coin the Synod have promised, have given the Household new hope that they might yet get some lasting benefit from their efforts. Margary Greywater is nothing if not a woman with her eye to the main chance.

To that end she has asked the new Throne to consider granting an Imperial charter to the "market town" of Eel's Landing in the North Fens. The proposal has raised more than a few eyebrows in Bregasland. Eel's Landing is barely a town, let alone a market town. It's so small, few people have even heard of it, and those who have - have nowt good to say about the place. It's way out in the North Fens, somewhere on the Gullet, but where exactly is a mystery to decent law-abiding folk. The shifting waters of the Fens get ever more treacherous as they meet the Gullet, and the supposed fishing village has a bad reputation as a home for smugglers, poachers and ne'er-do-wells. "Stolen elvers make for the Landing", as folks in the North Fens like to say.

To create a market town requires the approval of the Throne, who will usually set the terms and conditions for the town when they grant it a charter. When Empress Lizabetta granted a charter to Sarcombe she had the senator for Mournwold raise the charter as a Senate motion to ensure its full legitimacy. If that happened here, the Senate could chose to commission the necessary work to expand the docks with the same motion.

It turns out that Eel's Landing happens to be on land claimed by the Greywaters, because of course it does. To achieve her goal, Margary is asking the Senate to "expand the Eel's docks", by which she means completely rebuild the crude wooden jetties and construct a new warehouse, and for all that construction to be ceded to her family to look after and benefit from. That would need a commission by the Imperial Senate, and require 6 wains of weirwood, 6 wains of white granite, and 36 crowns. If that happens, then it'll be enough to make the Greywaters' fortunes for as long as it lasts. And if Empress Vesna does decide to grant the "town" an Imperial Charter, then there will be no more of folks looking down their nose at the Greywaters. Well, there'll be less of it at least, and being fabulously wealthy will more than make up for the rest.

Expanding the docks at Eel's Landing and granting the charter would be enough to turn the tiny fishing village into a small market town, albeit one with an unsavoury reputation. The Greywater Household would have been richly rewarded for their efforts on behalf of the Empire so the region would cease to be embittered. However there is one small drawback; normally making a market town can help to increase taxation from a territory, as commerce and business flows to the area. In this particular case, it would decrease tax revenues by two thrones a season. Commerce and business would definitely flow to the area, just not the kind that likes to pay their taxes...

Whether honest Bregas want to somewhere like Eels Landing become a place on the map is another matter. It would certainly add to the "rich" character of the territory, but perhaps not in a way that everyone would prefer.

Resolution

• The Imperial Senate agreed to the expansion of Eel's Landing and granted the town a charter
• The embittered mood of the Greywaters has abated

The Imperial Senate passed a motion agreeing to expand Eel's Landing and granting the small port a charter as a market town. Imperial taxation has been reduced by two thrones as a result, but the Greywaters and their allies are well pleased with themselves. The embittered spirit is gone from the territory.

Further Reading

• Fighting fish - 386YE Spring wind of fortune relating developments with the Bushel Sykes situation
• I already know you - 386YE Spring wind of fortune relating to other developments in the Marches
• Despise treachery - 385YE Winter Wind of Fortune about the situation in Bregasland
• When Spring comes - 385YE Autumn Wind of Fortune detailing the problems of post-Jotun Bregasland
• Promising light - the Empire-wide effects of the Throne's address
• The three pillars - the impact of the Empress Vesna's address in Spiral
• Little mercy - the latest developments in the Barrens