Friday 16 December 2022

The Sea Barons, Part 2


“The sea is a desert of waves,
A wilderness of water.”
― Langston Hughes, Selected Poems

“Those who live by the sea can hardly form a single thought of which the sea would not be part.”
― Hermann Broch


The Guardians of the Seas
Are the Sea Barons the guardians of the seas, the protectors of the coast? If not them, then who?
We are privateers, they say. Their ships may bear letters of marque from the Overking, but a writ from Rauxes is but a piece of paper. There are those who call them pirates, regardless their letters of marque, saying that there’s little distinction between their methods and those they vie with. What’s in a name, then? Privateer or pirate; each of them fall upon those that take their trade to the high seas, each take their prize, with one supposedly reaving and thieving, the other declaring they are upholding law and order and suppressing smuggling, only targeting “enemies of the state.”
Guardians of the seas, the protectors of the coast? If they are, a perfidious protector are they.

577 CY
In 577 CY the Sea Barons finally landed a blow upon the northern Barbarians.
During the season of 577, much minor activity took place along the coast of North Province and off the northern end of the Island of Asperdi. Some raiders were met and actions were fought; some slipped through, some turned elsewhere. Reportedly a squadron of seven Schnai longships were set upon whilst sinking the hulks of two provincial merchants, the vessels Marntig and Solos. Guided by the smoke and flames, a flotilla of Baronial warships surprised the barbarians. Three of the Schnai were rammed and sunk. In hand-to-hand action, the flagship of the barbarians’ fleet was captured, but the three remaining longships escaped after jettisoning all of their captured cargo.
The flagship was occupied with the help of prisoners who broke free during the confused fighting and set fire to the vessel’s sail. Jarl Froztilth, leader of the Schnai, many of his men, and the captured ship were all taken to Asperdi. News of this success was said to have greatly heartened the Herzog.
This event notwithstanding, many of the vessels from the cold north did manage to avoid patrolling warships and successfully raid North Province and the Baronial Isles. Captured cargo and undesired weapons are said to find a ready market at Dekspoint (at the easternmost tip of Loftwood Peninsula) or at Marner in Ratik. [Dragon #63 – 16]

577 – 578 CY
The Turmoil Between Crowns and the sundering of the south that created the Iron League had taken their toll. The ties that bound the Houses to the Malachite Throne had tightened as taut as they might stretch. One wondered which strand would snap next.
During the period of CY 577 to 578, the machinations of the See of Medegia seemed aimed at sapping the strength of the Malachite Throne as much as they chivvied the Great Kingdom’s enemies south and east. Likewise, the prideful Sea Barons appeared bent only upon their own ends. [Dragon #63 – 15]

578 CY
The Overking fretted over the constant threat from the north. Luckily, for the Malachite Throne, the Ice Barbarians had divided their attention, looking to their own most hated enemy.
The Snow Barbarians gained more gold and silver, while the Cruski regained their southern harbors. This made the raids into North Province and the Isles of the Sea Barons all the easier next year, and most of the able-bodied men were away on those journeys when the warbands of Stonefist (now Stonehold) rode into the tundra which the King of Cruski claimed. [Dragon #57 – 14]
But it wasn’t these enemies that concerned the Overking. The Barbarians were rabble, to his mind. The real enemies were Nyrond and their ally, Almor. Ivid ordered the islanders inland in support of his cousin, Grenell. The Sea Barons were reluctant to obey, expecting waves of Barbarians from the north that still had not come, but the obeyed, as bid.
A fleet from the recalcitrant Sea Barons has been dispatched to aid the cousin of the OverKing, who commands North Province.
It is rumored that this movement came down as an Imperial order from Rauxes to help alleviate the problems created by the incursions of Almor and Nyrond into the southern part of Bone March, as well as to answer the North Provinces’ call for aid against these attacks. These incursions come at a time of continued raids from the humanoid bands near Bellport who have not thrown in their banners with the Herzog as of yet. [Dragon #59 – 24]

The forces of the Sea Barons were not only sent to him by the Overking, but they are excellent troops as well. [Dragon #63 – 16]
They would be. They had tangled with the Rhizians and southern pirates on both land and sea.
With the addition of the contingent of troops from the Sea Barons, the Herzog’s array again approaches a strength of 10,000, and attaining that size would likely prompt the Herzog into initiating a campaign of his own. [Dragon #63 – 15]
It would seem that Grenell was as reluctant to receive these recalcitrant pirates as those privateers were to aid the Naelaxians.
It is known to Herzog Grenell that his new general is not in favor of having any of the troops from the Sea Barons with the main body of the North Provincial array. Hooglish detests and distrusts the eastern islanders. Friction, including insults, is rife between the General’s command and that of Lord Aldusc. [Dragon #63 – 16]

"Hurricane Ivid."
Magic is not the only force that can wreak havoc. Those of the Old Faith can tell you that those who dismiss the forces the natural world does so at their peril. Nature can and will do more damage than mere wizards, indeed, most wizards, arcane or divine. Those who live in the shadow of smoking volcanoes can attest to such, as can those who live on the banks of rivers, and the sea…. Hurricane "Ivid" is one such reminder. It ravaged the Solnor Coast, crippling the Sea Barons’ majesty over the sea lanes of the north. Trade ground to a halt. So did piracy, for that matter. But that was the least of the coastal settlement’s concerns, as they fled before “Ivid’s” landing.
Most people of the Sea Barons recall this three-day storm, which some laughingly called "Hurricane Ivid." [Ivid – 90]
It would take years for the islanders and coastal communities to recover from “Ivid’s” wrath.

580s CY
“Ivid” notwithstanding, Ivid’s war with the Golden League ground on, causing as much devastation inland as “Ivid” had wrought on the coast.
War has been a steady diet of the Overking’s realm for several years. Allies are few, but include the Herzog of South Province, the See of Medegia, certain tribes of humanoids to the north (those crushed in actions between the North Province and Bone March) and certain factions of the Sea Barons, though the latter—as a whole—are quite untrustworthy. [WG8 – 69]
The Sea Barons’ commitment to Ivid’s war was tepid, at best. They answered his call, but only insofar as by manning coastal garrisons, their ships always at the ready, eager for any excuse to abandon the Naelaxian cause they believed was none of their concern. They set sail at the merest suggestion that the Barbarians had been spotted on the horizon, and at any hint that there might be trouble on the southern seas.
Elven ships were also sighted farther east on the Solnor by Sea Barons' ships in the late 580s, perhaps exploring or trading with distant elf colonies. [LGG – 68]

581 CY
Few Asperdi were committed to Ivid’s cause. Some abandoned the Great Kingdom altogether, dodging his draft. Ivid’s war was an Aerdi war, after all, a Celestial Houses war; and very few of the Asperdi considered themselves a member of any of those august pureblood clubs. What Suel or Oeridian/Flan Asperdi would call their self an Atirr or a Garasteth, let alone a Naelax or a Torquann? None, truth be told. Certainly not Sheroyl Kubiak.
Sheroyl Kubiak
Wasim Qharallah’s Golden Scimitar
This mercenary group has traveled in nearly all parts of the Flanaess. They settled in private quarters in Greyhawk City, looking for work but have had trouble finding employment, possibly because of their Baklunish appearance. In the suspicious and prejudiced times of the past few years, no one has been willing to gamble on a group that might be spies from Ket or worse.
Certain reliable rumours indicate the group is trustworthy, pointing to the Suloise wizard who ravels with these men as evidence. Sheroyl Kubiak, an albino Suloise from the lands of the Sea Barons, has been part of this band for ten years. Wasim Qharallah and his men would all die for her, and Sheroyl will do host anything for her band of brothers. [PGtG – 31]
The odd person among them is their mage, Sheroyl Kubiak, an albino Suloise from the lands of the Sea Barons who has a past she does not speak of. She joined the group in Sefmur in 581 CY. [FtAA – 74]

582 CY
Others remained. Most remained, and did their bit, whatever that might be. What might that be? Whatever their feudal lords told them it was.
Basmajian Arras
The Commander of the Sea Barons is a middle-aged copper-haired man, survivor of decades of piracy, ship-to-ship battles and assassination attempts. [PGtG – 24]

Others found their way into Ivid’s service; and then out of it.
Erthara (Kallarn)
Erthara (Kallarn)
Small at 5' 1" and slender of build, Erthara (almost always known by her first name alone) is 37 years old, with long wavy auburn hair and hazel eyes. […] Erthara's father is a captain among the Sea Barons, and she still manages to get some goods smuggled into Rauxes through that route and via Roland. She has to pay the Town Guard, but she can afford that from her looting of many nobles' houses in the past.
Erthara is an important council member of the Thieves' Guild (long driven underground by Ivid). […]
Erthara is a good "street level" contact within Rauxes. She has maps of Undercity areas and knows the patrol times of the Town Guard in various sections of Rauxes. However, she is thoroughly unprincipled, and she is not above informing the Town Guard of one or two subversives from time to time. Dealing with her is safest if one can offer some magical aid to disguise her (especially a permanent magical item). Such an item would be useful for her forays into the city. [Ivid – 37]

Sencho Foy
Whether coerced, or not,
Sencho Foy answered Ivid’s call for troops. Before long, young sharks and old salts were finding their land legs, wondering why in the Hells they were knee-deep in mud in the inlands where no mariner was ever meant to be, drummed into Ivid’s service, and embroiled in a war that was none of their business. Served them right, their kin might opine, for having strayed so far inland, where no shark had reason to be.
Ivid V ordered the Great Kingdom's armies to muster, with the intention of paying back his foes for centuries of impudence. The war that followed was staggering in scope and consequence. [LGG – 15]
Ivid expected a quick victory. He was wrong.
Though the winter halted armies, it seemed to spur diplomatic efforts forward. The Bone March, fairly reeling from promises of gold and land, cast its lot with Ivid V, pledging to march when the snows lifted. Ahlissa, sensing its fate could have been like Medegia’s, affirmed its intention to fight at the Overking’s side. The Sea Barons too expressed their steadfast resolve, while the North Province crowed about its ever faithful loyalty to the crown. [Wars – 14]
Steadfast resolve does not equate with actual action, though.
Sencho Foy might have confirmed the Sea Barons’ cooperation and resolve, but Admiral Basmajian Arras decided that protecting his fleet for what might come was more important than spilling the blood of his sharks in battles with Nyrond. There were enough enemies afloat on the sea, much closer to home, for islanders to go looking for trouble elsewhere, in his opinion.
He was not wrong, in that regard.
The Snow Barbarians have concentrated on attacks on Great Kingdom and Sea Baron shipping, although some of the Schnai have been seen “assisting” the Frost Barbarians in Stonefist. [WGS1 – 4/ WGS2 – 6]
Admiral Basmajian Arras
Admiral Basmajian was not the only one to think that.
During the wars, [the Mage-prince] Lakaster cooperated fully with Ivid’s orders regarding the use of Winetha as a vital supply port and in cooperating with the Sea Barons. Lakaster saved himself that way, and he also saved the Winethan navy by confining it to port for fear of barbarian sea raids. Indeed, shortly after Ivid demanded that Lakaster dispatch his vessels to Asperdi to support the Sea Barons (an order Lakaster refused), the barbarians raided the city and Winetha’s six war galleys were vital in preserving the city. Ivid did not issue the same order to Lakaster again. [Ivid – 62,63/Dragon #204 – 53]

When at last spring came […] ships from the Sea Barons and the Lordship of the Isles raced to Grendep Bay to end the barbarians’ longship raids. [Wars – 15]
Basmajian’s remaining fleet remained in perpetual defence of the home islands.
Under Admiral Basmajian, the Sea Barons remained out of the Wars and kept their fleets largely confined to their ports and the Solnor Ocean. [FtAA – 36]
Ivid was livid!
The Sea Barons were not as successful: though they gained control over the Aerdi fleet, the Overking closed all mainland ports to them. Left with only hostile non-Aerdi neighbors, the Sea Barons sued for peace. [Wars – 4]
Sencho Foy ordered Basmajian to “cooperate” thereafter, concerned about reprisals. This is not to say that any more of his sharks were shipped inland.
As the clouds of spring cleared in the east, [s]hips of the Sea Barons – the sharks of Ivid V – patrolled the waters of the Aerdi Sea. [Wars – 19]

582 – 584 CY
Asperdi City
Militarily, the Sea Barons simply stayed out of the Greyhawk Wars. With war far to the west, and Rauxes many hundreds of miles away, the old Lord High Admiral Sencho Foy could decide that the threats of the northern barbarians, clearly excited into a war-seeking frenzy, were too dangerous to ignore. Dispatching navies to Relmor Bay to fight Nyrond would be suicidal, especially with the overthrow of the Lordship of the Isles leaving the southern waters of the Aerdi Sea more dangerous than ever.
[Ivid – 88/Dragon #206 – 35]

Ivid was not the only one livid. Basmajian Arras had had enough of Sencho Foy’s deference to the Malachite Throne, however soft his submission.
The old High Admiral, Sencho Foy, suffered a sad mishap early in Aerdy's entry into the Greyhawk Wars. He choked on a fishbone stuck in his throat (although some say the dagger which had impaled the fishbone first did the important damage). [FtAA – 36]
The old admiral suffered one of those sudden deaths so common among Aerdy rulers, and his replacement is a stern and hard man who has the support of the barons of the two remaining isles, Fairisle and Oakenisle. All are aware that they are faced with increased threats and unknowns. [Ivid – 88/Dragon #206 – 35]

The Sea Barons
The Sea Barons
Pop.: 45,000 (plus 8,000 on Leastisle)
Capital: Aspedri (pop. 7,750)
Ruler: Lord High Admiral Basmajian Arras
Rulership: Moderate-High (except Leastisle)
Cost Multiplier: 110%
[Ivid – 88]

[Basmajian] Arras kept the Sea Barons out of the Greyhawk Wars and favors neutrality, though there are concerns about the Sea Barons' ability to stay neutral in the face of recent shipbuilding efforts by the Great Kingdom of Northern Aerdy, which may allow Aerdy to attack. He lives richly and well. [PGtG – 24]

Lord Basmajian thought it best to reaffirm mutual protection pacts and trade alliances with those coastal settlements that had begun to distance themselves from Ivid’s mad rule.
Historically, the cities of Rinloru and Winetha have not been as intimately intertwined as the now-common appellation Twin Cities implies. Winetha developed as a naval base and fishing town, and also as a trade port for importing goods the Sea Barons brought in from their isles and the lands to the south. [Ivid – 62/Dragon #204 – 53]
Pearl Beacon also trades with the Sea Barons, though most vessels head for Winetha rather than to this southern outpost. [Ivid – 66/Dragon #204 – 56]
He felt lesser loyalty to those who had not.
The Sea Barons now raid parts of the eastern coast of Aerdy (though they trade with Rel Astra), skirmish with Lendore and the Lordship of the Isles, and prefer to avoid needless combats with the barbarians. [FtAA – 36]
The old Medegian lands offer a soft target and the Barons raid there, but apart from the occasional foray into Hepmonaland to loot the spices, ivory, and furs which come from that vast land, that is about the limit of the Barons' current exploits. [Ivid – 88/ Dragon 206 – 35]
The Sea Barons and northern Barbarians raid the Lordship’s fleet. [TAB – 18]
A shark has to live, after all.

583 CY
Did the war stir up sahuagin up from the deeps? It was as if they knew the surface dwellers were vulnerable, and that the coastal settlements were left all but undefended.
In the past two years, the sahuagin have grown more bold and even attacked a coaster recently, and some fear that someone, or something, is organizing and directing the creatures. Since their numbers, and home location, are unknown, this makes people increasingly anxious. [Ivid – 89/ Dragon #206 – 36]
The Barons began to patrol in the vicinity of the Sinking Isle, expecting to find their archipelago increased by one, or at the very least, its narrows aboil with the savage fishy folk.

(Winter)
They also wanted to investigate developments in the Duxchan Isles.
[A]sudden coup replaced Prince Latmac Ranold of the Lordship of the Isles with his distant cousin, Prince Frolmar Ingerskatti. The new ruler surprisingly proclaimed his support of the Great and Hidden Empire of the Scarlet Brotherhood. [Wars – 15]
What might that mean to access to the western seas? They were soon to find out.
With Duxchan ships and charmed monsters, the Brotherhood set up a blockade along the Tilva Strait, effectively choking mercantile trade between the east and west. [LGG – 98]
A complete blockade of the straits was applied, with only ships of the Scarlet Brotherhood or Lordship of the Isles being allowed free passage. Cargo from other states could be shipped by Lordship vessels through the straits for an exceptionally high fee. [LGG – 150]

584 CY
With his fleets north and south, try as he might, Basmajian could not stem the tide of the desperate fleeing from the madness of the Overking.
Lord Basmajian has worked hard since his accession during the wars to ensure that the fate that befell so many other nations is not shared by his own. He kept his fleets out of the Greyhawk Wars, but the Sea Barons were not prepared for the sacking and capture of the smallest of their realms, Leastisle, by marauders in 584 CY. [LGG – 100]
Leastisle
Leastisle fell to pirates and buccaneers at the end of the Greyhawk Wars. Most of these men were fleeing the eastern coastal cities of Aerdi, but they brought enough mercenaries and seapower to sack Vernport. They now sail widely, attacking any target which looks soft enough, from North Province to Hepmonaland. As yet, they have avoided any raids on the other isles of the Barons after one abortive attack against Port Elder. The Sea Barons lack the will to strike against the 8,000 or so ne'er-do-wells on Leastisle, again because they fear that the men and ships they might lose in such an action would leave them vulnerable to other enemies.
[Ivid – 88/ Dragon #206 – 35]
These usurpers pale in comparison to the external threats that the remaining three barons face, and they are confident they will win back the small barony. However, they cannot afford the effort so long as the Scarlet Brotherhood's threat in Duxchan exists, and so long as they lack a treaty with the barbarians of the north. For the time being, Vernport on Leastisle remains a free city, if a dangerous and anarchistic one. [LGG – 100]
Leastisle's baron was overthrown in 584 CY, and the isle is in complete anarchy. [LGG – 99]

Lord Basmajian was not alone in his troubles.
So, after the wars Lakaster is in a strong position. His military forces are intact. Winetha is subject to barbarian coastal raids, but these are not as severe as those inflicted on the Sea Barons. [Ivid – 63/Dragon #204 – 54]

585 CY
The Sea Barons were finding their island nation more isolated by the year.
Basmajian and the other Barons want to keep their ships close to home for protection [.] [Ivid – 88/ Dragon #206 – 35]
A grave future threat is sure to come when the shipbuilding programs of the Great Kingdom of Northern Aerdy and the United Kingdom of Ahlissa turn these realms into naval giants over the next decade. [TAB – 18]
Basmajian began looking for allies in the most unusual places.
Agents of the Sea Barons have approached Evaleigh to gain access to Marner. [LGG – 91]
Basmajian favors an alliance, or at least a truce, with the barbarians and Ratik. His argument is that this would remove the greatest threat to the Sea Barons, and leave them better able to handle the others. However, the Barons of the other isles do not agree. They point out that such an agreement might not go down well with the eastern Aerdi cities with which the Sea Barons trade. [Ivid – 88/ Dragon #206 – 35]

But young sharks will be young sharks.
A New Astrolabe
[T]he younger men want to sail the blue seas and oceans in search of adventure and bounty, freed as they now are from rulership by Rauxes.
[Ivid – 88/ Dragon #206 – 35]
And now, they could venture further out asea than ever before.
The new astrolabe […] has just invented [by the wizard Livensten]—and his almanacs showing how to compute latitude and distances from the position of sun and moons—is receiving considerable approval from the galleon captains. These aids have enabled the Sea Barons to become true ocean-goers should they wish, in contrast to their traditional role as coastal defenders and patrollers. [Ivid – 90/ Dragon #206 – 37]
Although tech was not always a match for mother Beory, Velnius, or Xerbo.
Recently a Sea Barons vessel was blown off course and sighted the [orc] camp [at Montesser]; an initial attempt to loot it was swiftly fought off by the well-drilled orcs, and the captain of the Asperdi vessel was sufficiently impressed to make peace with them. Now, the Sea Barons ship goods here, as the orcs desperately want better weapons and armor to defend themselves and tools to work their gardents. In exchange for the goods, the orcs provide foodstuffs and information about events in Medegia. The captain of the Asperdi vessel is always interested, given his trading with cities north of this troubled land and his periodic raiding of Medegian coastal towns and villages. [Ivid – 105]

Basmajian kept his ear to the trade winds. But news from the Duxchan Isles was scarce and of mixed reliability. Had he believed the rumours that the Duxchan’s alliance with the Scarlet Brotherhood was not as portrayed, he might have attempted to infiltrate those hated isles, he might have considered aiding his most hated foes. He might also have discovered that the would be rebels there had little desire to lash out against their overlords, rather preferring to spend their strength against his people, instead.
Many [Duxchan] isle lords chafe at the rule of the Scarlet Brotherhood, despite the improved opportunity to take revenge on their longtime enemies, the Sea Barons. [LGG – 72]

586 – 589 CY
Across the Solnor Ocean
A cold war had replaced the spent hot one.
The realm of the Sea Barons seems little changed – different faces, same daggers in the backs, as one wag remarked. [TAB – 29]
Had the Duxchan pirates infiltrated the Asperdis? None could believe that could be so. Besides, their fears had become fixed on the threat from the mainland.
The Sea Barons are very disturbed at events in the Great Kingdom of Northern Aerdy and are undoubtedly considering raids against shipbuilding facilities in Winetha and elsewhere. [TAB – 29]
Trade waned. Very soon the ports of the east coast began to wonder what might lay over the eastern horizon.
 A small fleet of ships set sail across the Solnor Ocean from Asperdi in 586 CY, to discover what did. [TAB – 29]
Next to nothing is known of events in the Spindrift Isles, though elven ships are often seen cruising the Aerdi and Oljatt Seas. The fleet sent forth by the Sea Barons across the Solnor in 586-589 believes it saw elven ships on several occasions many hundreds of leagues from the Spindrifts. Were they exploring, or on regular runs to elven colonies elsewhere? [TAB – 29]
In the years since the Greyhawk Wars, some of the surviving exiles have joined together with half-elven captains on the Medegian coast. It is an open secret that they are smugglers, willing to transport any cargo for a price. Several of these ships secretly accompanied the flotilla of the Sea Barons in their voyage over the Solnor in 586-589 CY. The Spindrift exiles were thought to be searching for the last members of the Council of Five, who had fled across the waves when the clerics of Sehanine usurped their authority. [LGG – 69,70]

587 CY
Assassins Among Us
The cold war continued to heat up. The Duxchaners had indeed infiltrated their hated foes supposedly impenetrable island fortress.
[T]he Duxchaners, with the resources of the Scarlet Brotherhood at their backs, have made a comeback. Two captains loyal to the Sea Barons were killed and replaced by agents of the Brotherhood in 587 CY. The spies were uncovered, but the Sea Barons are extremely concerned that they will be targeted by the Scarlet Ones to suffer the same fate. For that reason, they have allied with Lord Drax and the Free Cities of the Solnor Compact, keeping a close watch over the activities of their captains. [LGG – 100]

589 CY
The fleet that set sail in 586 CY return[ed] late in 589 CY (missing several ships and many crewmen) with startling tales of the lands beyond the horizon. This has sparked general interest in a return voyage, particularly in Ratik, Rel Astra, and the villages of the northern barbarians, as well as among young sharks of the Sea Barons. [TAB – 29]

590 CY
Why do the Duxchaners hate the Asperdi so? I suppose a long habit is hard, if not impossible, to break.
The [Duxchan] islanders have a long history of animosity toward the Great Kingdom particularly the Kingdom’s former province of the Sea Barons, whom the Lordship islanders hate with a fury. The sailors, diplomats, and others who have come from the Lordship appear to share this attitude to an extreme, leading to speculation that these crews were carefully recruited for their absolute loyalty and with the promise that their success at such trade would move the Brotherhood to aid them in some way in their eternal war with the Sea Barons. On the other hand, one wag has stated that he would be on his best behavior, too, if his family were in the hands of the Brotherhood’s treacherous goons. That no red-robed overseen were found among the crews is usually credited to the faith that the Brotherhood has in them, though the same wag as before – a merchant of some standing – said it was just good marketing on the part of the Brotherhood to gain everyone’s sympathy and get others to let their guard down. [TAB – 34]

591 CY
Having discovered who lay behind the assassination of their captains, the Barons are cautious about outsiders. Indeed, they are somewhat paranoid concerning them.
It comes to no surprise then that emissaries of the Scarlet Sign were turned away, regardless how enticing the diplomats were with offers of trade deals and mutual beneficence.
The seamen and barons here are very uncertain of their future, not knowing with whom to ally. They have kept Scarlet Brotherhood "advisers" at a safe distance after seeing what happened to Latmac Ranold. Basmajian himself is believed to favor an alliance with Ratik and the Frost Barbarians, but it will be years before the other barons agree to any kind of binding concord. [FtAA – 36]

They need not worry. Yet.
Korenth Zan [is] ignoring the Sea Barons and the Spindrift isles, seeing them as insignificant forces, or at best potential thorns in the sides of Ahlissa and Northern Aerdi. [SB – 24]
The Scarlet Brotherhood already extends its tendrils into southern Aerdy, and the probable initial goals of the Brotherhood are the capture of the Sea Barons and the subversion of South Province. [Ivid – 25]

Rel Astra

Basmajian’s main ally at present are Rel Astra, Ountsy, and Roland, the Solnor Compact.
Rel Astra has a new defensive alliance with Ountsy and Roland (the Solnor Compact, signed in 589 CY), and it has very friendly relations with the Sea Barons. [TAB – 18]
Sea trade has been much expanded with Ratik, the Sea Barons, the Lordship of the Isles (under great scrutiny), and any northern barbarians willing to lay aside their weapons to bargain for goods. [TAB – 18]
Rel Astra[’s] vast shipyards offer safe harbor. In its expansive markets are displayed half the wonders of the world, and its streets are trodden daily by dark-skinned folk of Hepmonaland, golden Baklunish in flowing cloaks, and pale, gruff barbarians of the far north. At any time, a great chaotic fleet of ships chokes its harbor, bearing the flags of numerous states, but dominated by those of the Sea Barons and the Free Cities of the Solnor Compact. [LGG – 92]
But Basmajian and his Sea Barons had best beware. Lord Drax might prove a greater enemy in the long run than the Lordship of the Isles, or the Scarlet Brotherhood, could have ever posed.
A New Coastal Garasteth Kingdom
Drax desires to absorb the Sea Barons into the Solnor Compact and create a new coastal Garasteth kingdom, with Rel Astra as its capital.
[LGG – 94]
The Sea Barons do not desire a permanent alliance with the Cities of the Solnor Compact, distrusting Drax's motives, but they feign friendship. The Sea Barons fear assassination or worse by the Scarlet Brotherhood, and treat with strangers in their lands harshly. Expeditions launched to the mysterious south in the last few years have returned with tales of fantastic wonders and riches [.] [LGG – 100]
Ships from resource-hungry lands of the eastern Flanaess are striking out in search of trading partners, hoping to rebuild from the wars. The Sea Barons and the east coast city-states of Rel Astra, Ountsy, and Roland are now exploring the mini-continent of Hepmonaland, returning with fantastic tales and riches. (Many fall prey to disease, pirates, monsters, and privateers from the Scarlet Brotherhood and Lordship of the Isles, however.) Several major kingdoms full of new peoples are said to lie in this tropical land, some rumored to be at war with the slave-taking Brotherhood. [TAB – 38]

We need not worry about them, though. The Sea Barons have always kept their options open. They are likely alwread wary of Lord Drax; he’s a Garasteth, after all; and the Garasteth have always had designs on their Islands since losing them to the Atirr.
The Barons know who they are, after all. They’re Atirr, not Garasteth.
Atirr vessels also trade with the Sea Barons, although not as often as they once did. [Ivid – 51]

They are more than Atirr, as well, though, aren't they? They are Suel. They are Flan. Most of all, they are mariners. They sail the seas, North and South. None shall bar their way, no matter that they might try.

NORTHEASTERN WATERS
The Solnor Ocean and the vast Grendep Bay are disputed among the Sea Barons and Ice Barbarians, the latter holding greater sway the farther north one goes. [FtAA – 48]

SOUTHEASTERN WATERS
These waters comprise the Aerdi and Oljatt Seas, the Tilva Strait, and the Spindrift Sound. The Scarlet Brotherhood controls much of these seas, contesting northern areas with the Sea Barons and in a few incursions from Ice Barbarians [.] [FtAA – 48]


“The sea, the snotgreen sea, the scrotumtightening sea.”
― James Joyce, Ulysses





One must always give credit where credit is due. This post is made possible primarily by the Imaginings of Gary Gygax and his Old Guard, Lenard Lakofka among them, and the new old guards, Carl Sargant, James Ward, Roger E. Moore. And Erik Mona, Gary Holian, Sean Reynolds, Frederick Weining. The list is exhaustive.
Special thanks to Jason Zavoda for his compiled index, “Greyhawkania,” an invaluable research tool.


The Art: 
Sea Barons map detail, by Darlene, from World of Greyhawk Boxed Set, 1983

Sources:
1015 World of Greyhawk Boxed Set, 1983
1043 The City of Greyhawk Boxed Set, 1989
1064 From the Ashes Boxed Set, 1992
1068 Greyhawk Wars Boxed Set, 1991
2011A Dungeon Masters Guide, 1st Ed., 1977
2023 Greyhawk Adventures Hardback, 1988
9025 World of Greyhawk Folio, 1981
9253 WG8, Fate of Istus, 1989
9317 WGS1 Five Shall be One, 1991
9337 WGS2 Howl From the North, 1991
9577 The Adventure Begins, 1998
9578 Player’s Guide to Greyhawk, 1998
WGR Ivid the Undying, 1998
11374 The Scarlet Brotherhood, 1999
11742 Gazetteer, 2000
11743 Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, 2000
Dragon Magazine #57, 59, 63, 204, 206
Greyhawkania, Jason Zavoda
The Map of Anna B Meyer

No comments:

Post a Comment