Marponeth 4, 151 Mayor and Council Townhall Regard Sanctuary's Security
The situation with the Shadow Tribe and its draconic master has become--frankly put a grave risk to security which has been ignored and handled poorly for far too long. There are over three hundred kobolds in Lower Sanctuary, supported by a dragon and Baldev Cole.
Cole himself is currently wanted on a warrant for attempted murder. I'd ask the Council to void this warrant for the good of Sanctuary. If Cole is arrested and tried, he will I expect be found guilty. Then four hundred kobolds and a dragon will descend upon our city and quickly slaughter the two hundred civilians in Lower Sanctuary.
The Spellguard and the Watch will respond, we will be outnumbered 3 to 1. I do not suspect that battle will go well. Meanwhile, a force of 1000 lizardmen prepares to march an army at our gates. If the kobolds and the lizards were to form an alliance, we'd be crushed without doubt.
Our only option at this point is to appoint someone to negotiate with Cole. I attempted to find him to bring him in on his warrant for murder last dark. When I found him, a dozen men were at my back--one of them foolishly attacked first while I was still trying diplomacy with Cole to settle the matter peacefully--yet Cole fought off a dozen attackers. I ordered them to retreat after it was clear Cole could have slain them all, and after he'd made it equally clear he was with-holding the full force of his strikes against them.
I later approached Cole to discuss his actions and again to try to peacefully get him to return to Sanctuary to face trial. He intimated that all he wishes is for negotiations with his master to open. I informed him this appeared unlikely considering the alleged attack against Councilor Fryar and the fact his kobolds have seized the Canal Ward. I told him that if he were to enter Sanctuary, he'd be arrested for attempted murder and tried.
He responded that he would be willing to order the kobolds to move out of the Canal Ward. That he'd even consider offering their services to protect Sanctuary from the lizardfolk should they attack. However, he raised points that highlight why this situation is in the poor state it is.
His forces offered to protect Sanctuary. Yet he claims no one attempted to negotiate with him. Then the Council exiled all kobolds from Sanctuary. I can not help but think the last session of Council entirely failed Sanctuary. Even if the rumors that Cole hired the drow that attacked our gates are true, it is unwise to reject out of hand an offer to negotiate from a powerful military force that has already conquered de facto a 1/5th of your territory.
By stripping deurgar of citizenship, allowing citizens to murder them and suffer only for serious crimes (a few hours in jail or a 100 gold fine) we drove off the Grunstubhle leaving us without a supply of steel or ore. One approach to Sanctuary entirely unguarded and now infested with monsters. Allies that helped guard our flank for 150 years spit upon us and took a bribe from the lizardfolk to forsake our old contracts.
Opening a city sponsored bank to directly compete with Grahm Fathand caused him to flee the city with the life savings of hundreds of citizens.
This action forced the goblins and kobolds to seize and claim ownership of the Canal Wards and back alleys of Lower Sanctuary. Instead of an uneasy co-existance, we now have a hostile city directly on the borders of our own. We could have bargained away uninhabited sections of Dunwarren and gained a military alliance-instead we face a war.
Stripping tieflings and half-orcs of citizenship to keep them from the polls; has also made it harder to catch them for crimes at all. We have no citizen stones or paperwork to check to verify identity. Without the protection of citizenship, they have no reason to protect our secrecy or settlement. When they are captured, they prefer to fight to the death rather than consent to arrest because they know that a punishment for a serious crime now will result in their executions.
The Council unwisely misunderstood the suffrage--the right to vote and to hold office in our city with citizenship. The right to defend and be defended by the city, the right to be protected by our laws while agreeing to live by our laws. There was no reason to strip suffrage and citizenship when the problems of the previous election was one of suffrage not citizenship.
Now this warrant on Cole's head for attempted murder risks bringing Sanctuary to war. To punish one man for attempting allegedly to kill a Councilor, we may consign hundreds of citizens to death by the kobolds and dragon who will surely seek vengeance. While there is justice in punishing Cole, there is not wisdom in it.
As I am sworn to protect Sanctuary, I must urge the Mayor to repeal the decrees on Monstrous Races, Slaver Races, the warrant on Baldev Cole. The Council can not repeal these without suffering political fall-out, but the Mayor is above this and must use his wisdom to do what is necessary not what is politically expedient. The Council may later adopt legislation that is less dangerous to our security, perhaps in consulatation with the Spellguard and the Watch to insure we avoid the mistakes of the last session.
I must urge the Council to open negotiations with Cole or best to allow the Watch to open negotiations on behalf of the city with approval subject to the Council and Mayor.
If the goal of the laws against Monstrous races was to keep them away from the polls, then pass a law that prevents them from voting. Sanctuary can no longer ignore however the plain and simple truth that for 150 years we survived because the goblins and the deurgar helped us survive. They are proving now that we will not last.
We may have the citizens needed to defend the mines and reopen them, although the 25 Stoutheart dwarves will not be enough. We have opened a new bank. We may even be able to find citizens to do the foul jobs that the goblins use to fill.
However, we will not survive in the Underdark if every sentient race out their believes we despise them. That we view them as evil monsters that must be crushed out. If things do not soon change, I do not believe that the sixty men in the Watch are enough to protect Sanctuary any longer.
Lieutenant Fawkes