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Swindle County
SwindleCounty

Settlement

County (Inn)

Leader

Grigicon Grigaria Gonzette

Affiliations

Alteracbordericonfull Syndicate


Alterac Icon Kingdom of Alterac
ShadowCouncil Shadow Council

Status

Active


Swindle County is a small territory held by the Syndicate in some of the most high reaches of Alterac that are still inhabitable. It is most notably home to the majority of the underlings of House Gonzette and by proxy, House Kessler. It was known as a different name long ago, but it has long been forgotten.

Ironically, it is a rarity that Lady Gonzette herself, the House's leader; will even step foot in the territory, due to the general boisterousness and bustle of the walled settlement.

History

As the Alliance of Lordaeron swept through Alterac in a fervour of vengeance, the County's baron would flee south, leaving the orange-roofed inn and it's adjacent fortifications to rot in the harsh weather.

Abandoned for many years following the ransacking of Alterac in the Second War, Swindle would rest untouched in the mountain peaks of Alterac for many years due to the simple difficulty of trekking to it's confines.

In the Third War, refugees fleeing from the Westweald would find their home in this place, perceiving it to be safe from the threat of the Scourge, despite the living conditions being extremely harsh, food being scarce and vicious snowstorms ripping through the area often.

A Lesser Evil

The newfound home of these refugees would catch the attention of agents of the Syndicate, who would report their findings to the infamous 'Sergeant' Shinedowner, the sight of rising smoke from fires an unexpected sight so high in the mountains of Alterac. This would lead the Syndicate to rediscover the long forgotten county itself, such an untouched locality of their former kingdom leading Shinedowner to develop a zealous desire to reclaim the place for the gangs under Perenolde.

In a rare occasion for the normally thinly split thieves and brigands, a large force of mercenaries was gathered and mobilised for the small undefended county, the unstable Sergeant marching at the head. While they could have slaughtered the entire population and plundered what little riches and resources they had, the gangs serving Shinedowner instead sought to indoctrinate those hiding within the shattered walls. In a perhaps demented desire to simulate the populated settlements of old, he gave them three choices: to join the Syndicate and take on the notorious amber mask; establishing a militia to defend the settlement, work, or die. Most chose to pledge their allegiance, though tenuously.

Quickly, Swindle would be transformed from a small settlement of fleeing refugees into a large semi-fortified stronghold for the Syndicate. Gathering lumber from the surrounding areas, the combined forces of forcefully complicit Lordaeronian refugees and Syndicate would construct brutish walls around the few structures that remained, planting a banner stitched together of the scraps of many discarded masks to fly proud and orange in the centre of the town. Despite the looming threat of the Scourge finally tracking down the fleeing refugees to the mountains, Shinedowner would intimidate and terrify those who had doubts about remaining there into staying and serving the county. Many of the Syndicate who had not been north since the Second War did not know the full scale of the Scourge's devastation, so instead chose to obey the enormous enforcer. A period of relative peace, if anxious, was had.

Death Inescapable

Inevitably, the dead would finally come to take their due led by a newly risen lich, Raz'Jar Plaguemonger. Under his relatively low-ranking command, a force of scourge would be dispatched to track down the escaped refugees and absorb them into the slavering masses. Raz'Jar, even in his wisdom, expected it to be an easy task. Simply seeking to wipe the settlement out through sheer grit, he would send waves of undead to obliterate the county. Something he did not anticipate however, was the ruthlessness of Shinedowner, the military criminal having transformed the pocket of terrified refugees into a band of embittered and uncompromising militiamen, hellbent on defending this final bastion of home. Miraculously, the Syndicate managed to beat back all the undead Raz'Jar sent at them, to the point the Plaguemonger decided it was simply not worth it to waste his forces on such a paltry location. Though moderate losses were taken by the people of Swindle, it was ultimately their victory.

Devotion

The surviving refugees would fully pledge their loyalty, conceding themselves to the life of criminals and thieves. pledge gonzette etc etc 1 sec


  • syndicate are made aware of place again from rising smoke from refugee fires
  • sergeant shinedowner comes
  • proclaims those living there can either be forcibly indoctrinated into the Syndicate, or killed / enslaved
  • working together or using slaves, syndicate and refugees build defenses around the town, shinedowner terrifies his troops into obeying and sticking around despite the scourge possibly showing up any minute
  • scourge inevitably tracks and finds them there, but under shinedowner's ruthless leadership they miraculously manage to beat back the invading waves
  • remaining refugees actually pledge their loyalty to the syndicate officially, despite many losses are willing to do what they need to do to survive and shinedowner proved they certainly could
  • shinedowner puts town under gonzette control, despite her being very young at the time; essentially thrusting the responsibility of governing the place on her shoulders. those that quibble are brutalized by shinedowner


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