02 - Iron Kingdoms W.. - Captain Spud Is Amazing

108.1.141.197
82 Iron Kingdoms
rail to Llael and was negotiating before the Khadoran
occupation to hire engineers and skilled craftsmen
away from Steelwater Rail in Cygnar. They also typically
fund well-paid but dangerous expeditions into Llael’s
northern mountains to search for new mining sites.
These projects will continue and may even accelerate,
for it would serve Khador well to be able to bring more
resources home and send supplies to the front line
more quickly. Even with this encouragement, covering
Llael with track will be a long-term project that would
take too much time and money to be of immediate use
to the occupiers. Nonetheless, Queen Ayn does not
intend to relinquish control of these territories and
planning for the future.
The board of trustees once comprised a
representative from member families of the former
Council of Nobles who controlled the amount of
coal shipped and the price set for all shipments. Now
many of these seats are empty and representatives
from only a handful of major families untouched by
the Khadoran occupation have a full vote while the
remaining representatives have but half a vote. From
time to time, regarding important matters a silent and
mysterious member would arrive to cast a deciding
final vote—some masked individual known only as the
“Black Baron.”
rumor has it…
some believe the board of trustees direCtly aided the invasion.
no proof has been unearthed of these Claims, but it is knoWn
they had an important meeting months before the outbreak
of War and that many of their operations and personnel Were
moved around or involved in unusual projeCts. it may be that
sovereign Coal Was foreWarned and deCided the best Way
to Continue their business Would be to Cooperate in order
to save both lives and money. Certainly it is probable that
individuals operating on orders from prime minister glabryn
himself played a role in the invasion.
Wythestyn Fine Comestibles
Operated by the d’Wythestyn family in Laedry, this
trade house has warehouses and distribution centers
in most Llaelese cities and in most major cities in
Khador and Cygnar. Wythestyn Fine Comestibles deals
in the import and export of fine foods, wines, and
beers. Working with the vineyards of southern Llael,
they specialize in distributing fine wines throughout
western Immoren.
Ord
Berck Imports House
This trading house has old roots among some
of the finest Tordoran sailors and pilots, including
several families of rich castellans who help strengthen
the backbone of Ord’s ocean-based trade. Although
it was a Mercarian League captain and vessel that
discovered the southern continent of Zu, Captain
D.H. Wexbourne employed pilots and navigators of
the Berck Imports House on the Seacutter, and it was
their skill that made the route possible. Establishing
a reliable trade route with the continent of Zu was
not easy. The waters between are treacherous to even
skilled captains and require the finest deep-sea vessels
and well-seasoned crews. The charts, notebooks, and
logs—sometimes referred to as rutters—that record
the particulars of this passage are tightly held trade
secrets and considered priceless to those who guard
them. Were these documents to fall into the hands
of competitors, Berck Imports would soon lose its
monopoly.
About thirteen years ago, Berck Imports House
came under Mercarian ownership, serving as an
additional trade arm for the League’s far-flung
markets. No one outside of the League’s Trade
Alliance and certain Ordic factions is entirely sure
just how this came about, but it left many Tordoran
castellans furious. In truth little has changed. Berck
Imports’ ships still sail out of Berck harbor and many
Tordoran navigators, sailors, and some captains still
work the ships. Even so, the castellans continue
to seethe and find it intolerable that one of Ord’s
greatest trading houses has fallen into Mercarian
hands. The League has opened a main office for
the trading house in Mercir, amongst its many other
offices, and roughly one-third of the import house’s
fleet is docked in Mercir’s harbor at any given time.
While orders and instructions come from Mercir and
profits are channeled through the Mercir office, at
least three ships are available for various jobs at the
discretion of Berck Imports.
At the same time, many of the Tordoran captains
have been replaced with competent Thurians and
Caspians the likes of Captain Wexbourne. These
dismissals have come after much deliberation. The
League supervisors to Berck Imports had hoped