Bexlife

Iron Kingdoms Gazetteer — NQ 53

The Llaelese town of Bexlyfe, located on the northwestern edge of the Territory of the Northern Crusade, was until recently a prosperous township with strong prospects in both mining and river trade. Now locked in a stranglehold by Protectorate occupation and essentially cut off from its major shipping route, Bexlyfe is in the midst of a downward spiral marked by widespread unemployment and escalating civil unrest. The town’s tenuous economic position has, at least for now, also led to an increase in petty crime despite the Protectorate’s harsh policies against thievery.

DEMOGRAPHICS
Ruler: Scrutator Waldryn di Morsini
Approximate Population: 17,000 Ryn; 7,000 Caspian/Sulese; 3,000 Umbrean; 2,000 Idrian; 250 Midlunder; 100 Skirov;
small numbers of trollkin, Rhulfolk, and gobbers
Climate: Temperate. Winters are cold and cloudy with frequent snowfall. Summers are sunny and warm but rarely hot, with significant rain and thunderstorms.
Terrain: Dominated by steep hills and wide, shallow valleys, Bexlyfe is built to accommodate sharp changes in elevation. The outlying area west of Bexlyfe, long used for farmland, is less hilly and more fertile than most of the immediate area.
Military Presence: Only a dozen miles removed from the edge of Khadoran Llael, Bexlyfe serves as a significant waypoint for the Protectorate military. There are typically several thousand Protectorate soldiers within the town at any time. The defenders here are always on alert and are keenly aware of the sizable Khadoran garrison protecting Riversmet to the south, which is being steadily rebuilt and fortified.
Natural Resources: A steady trickle of iron and other industrial metal ore is mined out of the nearby foothills of the Llaelese Mountains, then refined and in some cases fabricated into consumer goods within the town. Prior to the war these goods, as well as processed metals, were shipped downriver to the rest of Llael and then to the Black River and beyond, though under Protectorate rule such trade is forbidden. The area also has a respectable industry of consumer crops, particularly fruit trees.

HISTORY

Bexlyfe lies in the Llaelese duchy of Esmyna, currently within the western edge of the Territory of the Northern Crusade. Only a day’s ride from the ruins of Riversmet and half as far from the Rangercliffe Run, Bexlyfe sprawls beside a significant tributary off the Rangercliffe and among the steep, rolling foothills of the nearby Llaelese Mountains. The terrain grows ever more rugged toward the north end of town, though even alongside the river the elevation is pronounced.

Bexlyfe was founded in 327 AR to serve mining interests operating in and around the mountains to the east. In hopes of using the river to cover the greatest span of shipping distance as possible, mining magnates built the town among previously mined hills at what is roughly the easternmost navigable point of the river for most large vessels. With easy access to both raw ore and to a reliable shipping lane, as well as to sufficient arable land to serve the needs of the community, Bexlyfe seemed destined to prosper indefinitely. Over the following decades the town grew beyond its original design, attracting a secondary industry of metal refinery and expanding deeper into the northern hills.

Over time Bexlyfe’s industry developed further as manufacturers moved into town, drawn by easy access to refined metals and to Bexlyfe’s enviable river shipping network. Well established by 604 AR as an affluent though somewhat geographically isolated township, Bexlyfe’s fate took a dark turn that year with the start of the Llaelese War.

When the nearby town of Riversmet was destroyed in early 605 AR, many of the survivors fled to Bexlyfe, and though the town struggled to accommodate them it filled beyond capacity virtually overnight. Having little financial resources and no real prospects for employment, these refugees flocked to hastily constructed communal housing that still exists for their benefit at the southern edge of town. Naturally, many of these refugees count themselves among the most adamant opposition to Khadoran occupation.

These people were horrified when the Khadorans then marched into their town and seized control as part of their intent to secure the rest of the region extending east. Fortunately Bexlyfe did not suffer the same fate as Riversmet, which had been destroyed in order to break the will of the defenders of Leryn. The resources here were deemed valuable enough to the occupiers to inspire them to preserve Bexlyfe largely intact. The town was also fortunate in that the Khadorans were spread thin and never had the liberty of garrisoning more than a token force. This was sufficient to maintain control but not to defend it from other, more determined external forces.

The town’s future grew darker still with the arrival of the Protectorate of Menoth’s Northern Crusade, after Grand Scrutator Severius seized Leryn and transformed it into a regional capital. The small Khadoran garrison heard of an approaching Menite army and fled across the river to the west, leaving the town no choice but to welcome the Sul-Menites. Mercifully, the town’s Protectorate rulers have taken a relatively light hand with the populace, being far more concerned with Khadoran forces garrisoned nearby.

The river that had for so long been the town’s lifeblood, and which now leads directly to the contested border of Khadoran Llael, is closed to all traffic except that allowed by the Protectorate military itself. Thankfully, Protectorate forces purchase some of Bexlyfe’s refined metals for their own war industry, so there isn’t a total lack of custom. Likewise the town is permitted to engage in limited trade with Free Llael to the south. Such trade must be authorized by agents of the scrutators before being shipped overland. Some commerce with Rhul also passes through these channels, serving as a useful conduit for Rhulic merchants and smugglers intent on avoiding Khadoran checkpoints to the south.

POLITICS

Though some within Bexlyfe were more concerned with the prospect of life under the Protectorate than under Khador, ultimately they had little hope of mustering any significant resistance to their new masters. The town’s former ruler, Baron Baeys d’Votis, passed his command peaceably to the Protectorate’s chosen representative, a scrutator of Llaelese descent named Waldryn di Morsini.

Though Scrutator di Morsini’s star had been on the rise since before the outset of the Northern Crusade, Bexlyfe had been put under his command in the hopes that having one of their own in charge would make the populace more agreeable to Protectorate control, and that di Morsini’s faith and high standing would serve as a bold inspiration to local Menites. Indeed, it is well known that the scrutator originally hails not only from Llael but from the very town of Bexlyfe itself.

Waldryn di Morsini emigrated to the Protectorate of Menoth along with his family when he was a boy, though he does have vague memories of Bexlyfe and has quickly re-familiarized himself with the town. Scrutator di Morsini is far more concerned with the town’s ability and willingness to contribute to the war effort than to its daily governance, however, and while he is a capable administrator, much of his attention has been focused on rooting out potential spies and informants. His seemingly faultless ability to sense any manner of deception, despite a lack of reliance on the physical tortures for which his caste is infamous, has led many citizens to believe the scrutator possesses a supernatural ability to recognize any falsehood and see into the heart of even the smallest ruse.

Not entirely unsympathetic to the townsfolk and understanding the difficult position the lack of river trade has put them in, di Morsini has allowed most local officials to retain the positions they’d held prior to the Northern Crusade’s arrival — though they now do so under the supervision of his agents. This includes a few dozen Knights Exemplar, a similar number of monks of the Order of the Fist, and four subordinate scrutators, all tasked to root out potential traitors. A permanent garrison of Temple Flameguard is quartered here to see to the town’s defense, and its officers sometimes assist in keeping the peace. As a whole, the Protectorate hierarchy has little direct influence over the day-to-day operations of Bexlyfe, and ordinary law enforcement is left to the original constabulary, provided they obey Temple agents.

THE TOWN

Bexlyfe’s architecture is elaborate and well designed in the style typical of Llael. Because the elevation is so pronounced throughout the city, most of the roadways wind and curve around the natural hills and valley across which they’ve been built. Few streets, particularly minor streets, run straight for any considerable distance. The town is further interspersed with countless narrow, looping footpaths and alleyways — which make it extremely easy for cautious residents to avoid being followed and to evade pursuit. Bexlyfe’s most prominent architectural feature, however, is the extraordinary preponderance of exterior staircases carved into the myriad hillsides.

THE BARON’S ESTATE

Currently inhabited by Scrutator di Morsini himself, this grand, walled riverside estate commands an impressive view of the town’s bridges as well as of any river traffic. The structure is two stories tall, built from white stone, and capped with a wide domed tower. Much of the lower building is used to house the subordinate scrutators and Knights Exemplar under di Morsini. The estate is framed by a lavish network of gardens, sectioned off by wrought-iron fences and cobblestone walkways and flanked by a pair of small houses and a stable. Servants of the estate reside in one of these houses while the other is now home to Baron Baeys d’Votis himself. The baron is ever in the presence of his personal bodyguards, two of his own former men-at-arms, though both are Menites now secretly loyal to di Morsini himself. The baron’s once impressive wealth has suffered due to the repeated occupations of Bexlyfe.

Following its invasion, the Khadoran military seized a sizable portion as spoils of war, and much of what remained was gradually siphoned away as a tithe to the Temple authorities. D’Votis now lives a shadow of his former life, scraping by with what little of his affluence remains.

CHURCH OF ASC. SAMBERT

Alongside and slightly uphill of the Baron’s estate, and joined to its grounds by a sculpted white marble staircase, is a large and well-appointed Church of Morrow that serves as the local seat of the faith. Due to the proliferation of craftsmen in Bexlyfe, it is dedicated to Asc. Sambert. There are a dozen other, lesser Morrowan churches and shrines in the town, but this is the largest and most elaborate; it is easily the second most majestic structure within Bexlyfe. The head of this church, Prelate Antio di Valius, is the town’s principle Morrowan authority, and though each church and shrine has at least one priest of its own, all of them ultimately answer to Prelate di Valius. Justifiably fearful in his dealings with the new Menite authorities, di Valius is extremely averse to any perception that he might be subversive toward the Protectorate. He has grudgingly, though unhesitatingly, incorporated the supremacy of the Creator into his sermons and met the demands of the Protectorate in all other ways.

THE DOCKS

Bexlyfe’s northern riverbank features three large dock areas, with a fourth on the river’s south side near the second bridge. This eastern bridge is too low to allow large river craft to pass below it, however, and the water beyond that point is questionably capable of accommodating such vessels regardless. The easternmost dock beyond the bridge on the north side of the river was built exclusively for the use of smaller boats formerly used as transportation in both directions along the river.

Because of the steep elevation of the riverbank, many of the town’s warehouses are either carved right into the hillside or built on the hills directly above the water. In the latter case, warehouses are accessed primarily by ramps or by wide platform elevators, while large cargo is hoisted and loaded into storage by one of the docks’ many cargo cranes.

Formerly serving as the vital connection between the heavy industry of Bexlyfe and the world beyond the mountains, the once bustling activity of the dockside has undergone the town’s most dramatic changes since the Protectorate’s occupation. All five dock areas are well maintained and in current use, although to nowhere near the extent they were in times past. They are also regularly patrolled by both Protectorate and local authorities, as only ships of the Northern Crusade are permitted to travel along the river and only members of the Protectorate or other authorized personnel are allowed enter the dockside area.

Few outside the ranks of the Protectorate have such authorization, though Scrutator di Morsini has wisely retained the services of the old harbormaster, Lazo Ongori, a surly Tordoran Menite. Ongori has been permitted to keep on a few of his old dockworkers, as well as his assistant and resident ’jack marshal, Olson d’Rosso. Most of the former staff did not pass the Protectorate’s intense scrutiny and were forced to seek employment elsewhere.

THE SHIPYARD

A former harbormaster of Riversmet who moved to Bexlyfe long before that city’s destruction, Corvyn di Bovio today operates as the town’s primary remaining shipwright. All repair work and fabrication is done under his direction, though he and his employees now work exclusively in servicing Protectorate supply ships. He is overt and unapologetic in his hatred for all things Khadoran, which is at least part of the reason he was left in place at the shipyard.

Unknown to the forces of the Protectorate, di Bovio has for years operated as a smuggler, shipping illicit goods into and out of Bexlyfe. In fact, the sole reason he moved to Bexlyfe was for the opportunity to corner a then-untapped illegal market. The shipwright’s habits have not changed since the Protectorate’s arrival, though his primary service has.

Utilizing his unique status and his prime riverfront location, di Bovio provides those who most fear the Protectorate’s rule with simple, black-painted river craft, used to send folk upriver on a one-way trip to Khadoran Llael. Though the man’s hatred of the Khadorans is genuine, it is in fact not as pronounced as he would lead others to believe. He agrees, as do many others, that Khadoran rule would be far better in the long run than that of the Protectorate. Even if such were not his belief, he would certainly be willing to provide relocation there to anyone with the coin to pay for it.

Corvyn di Bovio is aided in this endeavor by his remaining employees, each of whom was originally hired to assist in di Bovio’s criminal enterprises. Chief among di Bovio’s organizers is Huxfyr di Morsini — the owner of a profitable fruit plantation outside of town and uncle to Scrutator di Morsini himself. As it is a given that those who take up the scrutator’s mask put aside all family ties, Jorvyn’s blood ties to the new power in Bexlyfe have, thankfully, brought him no special attention from Protectorate agents. It has never occurred to Scrutator di Morsini to check in on Corvyn or any of his extended family. Corvyn di Bovio and Huxfyr di Morsini have no apparent professional connection to one another, and both men are adamant about keeping it that way.

Assistant Harbormaster Olson d’Rosso is also heavily involved in di Bovio’s scheme, though d’Rosso is motivated not by his earnings but by the prospect of helping others to escape the Protectorate’s grasp.

TEMPLE OF MENOTH

Smaller and far less impressive than the town’s major Morrowan churches, this is the primary temple of what were, until recently, only three modest temples of Menoth in Bexlyfe. Several more temples have been built since the Protectorate’s arrival, and construction is currently underway to transform the structure into something more impressive than its Morrowan counterpart. This necessitated the demolition of several neighboring buildings, creating yet another bone of contention for the residents of Bexlyfe.

In keeping with the Protectorate’s general policy in Llael, Potentiate Goran Zhigovski has maintained his authority over this Temple of Menoth and over the Menite faith in Bexlyfe as a whole. Though outwardly accepting of Protectorate-enforced Sul-Menite revisions to his services, Zhigovski is in fact deeply troubled by such interference and by the town’s prospects under Protectorate rule. He continues to secretly operate counter to the Protectorate’s interests, putting members of his congregation who fear increased scrutiny in touch with Huxfyr di Morsini so that he might facilitate their escape. Ever fearful that the scrutators will discover his treachery, Zhigovski deftly avoids all but the most casual encounters with Scrutator di Morsini and his cohorts.

BROKEN CLIFFS

This wide section of the cliff face along the south side of the river gave way and collapsed into the river many years ago, destroying the few buildings that once stood there. The remaining terrain is not only difficult to traverse, but parts of it could slip into the river at any time. Most of the rubble has long since been cleared to accommodate the adjacent docks, though some remains are scattered along the river’s bottom.

THE ASTON DI LA VYARDI ACADEMY

No longer permitted to operate in its original form due to the Protectorate’s ban on dueling, the former Aston di la Vyardi Dueling Academy has since undergone the unlikely transition from dueling academy to school of dance. Aston di la Vyardi has often touted the idea of familiarizing oneself with the rhythms and techniques of dance as a path to understanding the physicality of certain styles of sword fighting.

In truth, di la Vyardi continues to instruct his students in the classic Llaelese tradition of dueling; he does so now, however, under the guise of dance instruction. To maintain this deception he has employed two full-time dance instructors, Isabella Lasca and Deklyn di Gustyv, both of whom are also accomplished duelists. If di la Vyardi is uncertain of a student’s intentions, that student is put into one of the school’s actual dance classes, taught by Lasca and di Gustyv. All three instructors live within the school and keep a cautious eye on any suspicious activity.

Aston di la Vyardi’s continued instruction in the art of dueling, itself a fairly minor offense, is only the least of his secrets. The Academy also serves as the primary local headquarters for an fringe organization of Llaelese revolutionaries known as the Bexlyfe Liberation Alliance. Distinctly separate from, and often in direct opposition with, the Llaelese Resistance, members of the Alliance have accepted the futility of trying to free Llael from Khadoran occupation. Many of the group’s members, particularly but by no means exclusively Umbreans, are acutely aware that for most folks life under Khadoran rule is as good as or even better than it had been prior to the occupation. The same certainly cannot be said for life under the Protectorate, and there are few who don’t fear what turn their lives may take if the forces of the Northern Crusade ever decide to take a stronger hand.

Staunch patriots with an unwavering loyalty to their beloved nation of Llael, members of the Bexlyfe Liberation Alliance are dedicated to removing the influence of the Protectorate of Menoth by any means necessary — including collusion with Khador itself. As such, they have often worked against the local branch of the Llaelese Resistance to a degree that would be considered treasonous to some, for they blame the Resistance for granting the Protectorate its original foothold within Llael. Most members of the Alliance do not know more than a few of their compatriots, and only the highest among them know of di la Vyardi’s involvement in the organization. Assistant Harbormaster Olson d’Rosso and Potentiate Goran Zhigovski both count themselves as members of the Bexlyfe Liberation Alliance.

HEADQUARTERS OF THE CONSTABULARY

This large, square three-story building bears only a vague architectural resemblance to its neighboring structures, and unlike most of the town’s buildings, it was obviously built with any eye toward functionality instead of architectural style. Stout enough to be a minor fortress, the exterior walls are constructed from thick stone blocks, while ornate wrought-iron bars cover each of its windows. Surrounded by a wide balcony and protected by waist-high crenellations, its domed roof can be accessed by a single door.

The current chief constable of Bexlyfe, a woman named Vessia d’Loryns, is highly regarded as both a peerless investigator with a vast knowledge of Llaelese law and as a quick-draw artist of uncanny accuracy. Relentless in her pursuit of the truth and utterly merciless in her interpretation of justice, d’Loryns is respected and feared by Bexlyfe’s small remaining criminal class.
Like much of the local population, d’Loryns holds to the Morrowan faith — but she is also an extremely pragmatic woman and far more willing than even most Menites to function precisely as the scrutators desire. Ruthless in her desire to exemplify her department’s willingness to stamp out crime and civil unrest despite the considerable political and religious differences she has with the Protectorate, d’Loryns seeks out suspected traitors with a zeal rarely seen beyond the ranks of the Protectorate itself. Chief Constable d’Loryns is as yet unaware of the existence of the Bexlyfe Liberation Alliance, though how long that might last is anyone’s guess.

As with most of the town’s authorities, loyalties and attitudes among the constabulary vary widely. Without exception, however, each of d’Loryn’s constables is far too intimidated by the woman to even consider protesting her methods or openly working against her.