Sunnyglade Ratters

"Enough faffing around. We’re on the job. You can save your good cheer for when we’ve collected. Saltzwald expects us to conduct ourselves proper." - Backtalk

About

The 1st Sunnyglade Free Company - known more popularly as the Sunnyglade Ratters - was alledgedly formed from the heroic survivors of Sunnyglade’s destruction at the hands of the orcish Horde and since has dedicated itself to building a reputation of keen professionalism and never going back on a contract.

The truth, of course, is far murkier - the work they have taken on and completed without fail has lead to them being compared to Duskwood’s rat snakes - poisonous creatures you employ to deal with a problem that may come to trouble you in turn. Their connection to Sunnyglade and the legend of their founding appears to be a fabrication, too - there are no records in the Kingdom of Stormwind of their organisation until past the Cataclysm, and some whisper that despite ostensibly being led by their two captains, their founder and paymaster is a disgraced scion of one of Sunnyglade’s great families - fallen from favour when the corruption of the House of Nobles was put to a swift end by King Varian’s return.
If they have any agenda beyond building a reputation and cutting a tidy profit among the ashes of the Fourth War is anyone’s guess - but it is said they’ve recently become particularly active in the capital after securing particularly lucrative contract with the Kingdom of Stormwind to deal with a number of local threats.

The First Age

The first large recruitment drive for the company saw it’s two Captains (Gallvin and Heldric) searching the streets of Stormwind City. Men and women already working as mercenaries joined up, but the Captains also took in many lowlifes and ex-criminals. Now members of the company, they would be reshaped into hardworking soldiers of fortune. The promise of a mostly legal income, brotherhood and a place to rest their head was encouraging to many, as it gave them something they would struggle to achieve alone.

Working for Kingdom of Stormwind helped to both establish a name for themselves and begin building a stronger, more professional company. The lands of Darkshire, Elwynn, Westfall and Redridge saw these navy clad mercenaries dealing with all sorts of minor threats. From Murlocs to the Undead, the Ratters took on many contracts but mostly handled monsters that common folk could not.
Their growing reputation landed the company a higher paying contract, amongst several military forces under the Alliance. They headed to Zangarmarsh, Outland. It was a big step for the company, but despite operating on an alien land they performed impressively - setting a high standard that would become a common theme for each campaign they attended. These events were also how they gained a long term contract with these military forces, who used the name ‘The Concordat’.
From the “outside in” the Ratters were simply a strong band of mercenaries fighting for the Alliance. However, the dark pasts of certain members was not forgotten after they were given this new life. Even one of the Captains himself, Heldric Lawson, struggled to separate from the sins of his bloodline. His connection to the Executor of The Rotgarde through his Forsaken brother, landed Heldric some secret side jobs from these Sylvanas Loyalists. In the next campaign they attended, in Silverpine Forest, a small group from the Ratters would dress in black and sabotage their mutual enemies for coin and sometimes even their own allies. As should be expected, these dark dealings could not last forever and they did not end well. The criminal operations were exposed by a Ratter who took part in them. The guilt ate the man, Gerrard Greyam, up inside to the point where he blurted it out in front of the Order of Oronaar. With both their Concordat contract and freedom in jeopardy, every Ratter was in great trouble. Heldric had fled the Kingdom and their Concordat allies began to turn on them. Captain Gallvin tried to handle their image whilst suffering from the betrayal. Heldric had gone against Gallvin's vision, in which mercenaries can be more than just hired thugs. Darkplume the Deft, a Dwarf that the crooked Captain had recruited fresh out of the Stockades devised a plan to deal with the problem. He was part of the group that aided Heldric in his dark deals. His hope to not return to imprisonment lead him to take Resindra Shadecaller, Layne Morrigan and Albert Smith into Gerrard Greyam's holding cell where they assassinated him. The man was used as a scapegoat to clear everyone's names. Heldric was said to have been killed soon after by Darkplume, but in reality he took his own life and was raised as an eternal servant of The Rotgarde.
The Concordat contract was allowed to continue by it’s organisers and Captain Gallvin took full hold of the reins. As a former Knight, Gallvin promised to let his moral code help guide the Sunnyglade Ratters to better things. With Darkplume the Deft and Albert Smith serving as his new Lieutenants (Rat Catchers), they would keep any future illegal dealings from being exposed and become a shining example of what a free company can be. They would continue on to be both elite scouts and an unbreakable frontline in battles all over the world.

The New Age

One of the first of these battles was the campaign in Grizzly Hills. During it the Sunnyglade Ratters fully regained the trust of most of their Concordat clients due to their performance, lead by the heroic Captain Gallvin. Out in these snowy lands, the understanding some of the once Ratters had with The Rotgarde turned to a bloody feud. After Antoine Saltzwald had heard that a certain Forsaken amongst the Loyalist regiment had been trying to make claims on his belongings, he sent Richter Sullivan (Sully) and Wolfgang Capon to deliver her a brutal message. Lady Camila of the Saltzwald-Perroy family, was beaten up by the two Ratters severely. This act began the real hatred between the mercenary company and the regiment.
Throughout the campaign the Sunnyglade Ratters played a major role in sabotaging their enemies, ransacking supplies and would also enter the forests at night to intercept passing scouts and rob them of their belongings and intel. They were not involved however in the bombing of Solstice Village.

The next campaign deployment for the Sunnyglade Ratters saw them entering the Stranglethorn Jungle. Their Concordat allies were split up following several disagreements between the different military forces and the Solstice incident. Fitting in-between the fractured groups, the Ratters worked for all sides during the campaign due to their roles as soldiers of fortune rather than being loyal to anyone else's code or ideals. The entrance of the Stormwind City Sentry into the warzone caused the company to favour the more war-like side of the broken Concordat because of their past and their distrust of Lawmen. They put themselves to good use, fighting with mostly guerrilla tactics and again using sabotage and night raids to seize goods and helpful information.
Beneath the trees of the jungle a deal was made with the Defias Brotherhood. They were using the warzone to their advantage to steal treasure and supplies, which landed them with a bounty on their heads. The Sunnyglade Ratters were given this contract but used a loophole in its wording and instead turned in half of their stolen treasure and several spare masks as 'proof' of their deaths.

Eventually the time came to return to Northrend for the company, as the situation there had worsened. Death Cultists pulled the strings to ignite conflict between the Horde and the Alliance. It was simply the start of a greater plan. They deployed with the Stormwind City Sentry, as Declan Dryden decided he wanted the mercenaries close to keep an eye on them. By this point the Concordat had officially disbanded and the military forces that once belonged to it were also under close surveillance. However the conflict split them apart from the Lawmen and they fell back into fighting alongside their ex-Concordat allies once again.
They worked more as a frontline group and whilst battling against Sylvanas Loyalists, found it necessary to briefly team up with the Red Venturers. Both being mercenaries, they had similar values and recognised the greater threat of the Loyalist cause, but parted ways afterwards.
They later became witnesses to the shattering of the sky following Sylvanas' actions against the Lich King Bolvar in Icecrown. The horrors of the unleashed undead had a great effect on many of the Ratters, but their survivalist nature got them through to the next day. They were more than pleased to leave the continent afterwards, but unfortunately didn't have long until the crisis began to spill out into the Eastern Kingdoms too. Although they are a free company, they still valued their ex-Concordat friends and their usual haunts. They would not shy away from their duty to help combat the incoming invasion of undeath - for a price, of course.

Stories from Sunnyglade

• The Hasic Firebrands
• Lord Victarth and the Ghosts of Pandaria
• No Cowboys in Heaven
• Hannithya, the Hidden Venom
• The Metal Hand Conspiracy

Notable Moments

The Defias War

The Defias leaders around the time of their deals in the past had faded away. The new group wearing the red shared none of the history, leaving the Sunnyglade Ratters confused when they found out three of their members were robbed by Defias thieves in Moonbrook. A bloody war started between the criminals and the mercenary company, resulting in several brawls and one Defias murdered.
To stop the bloodshed Robinson of the Defias stepped up and reached out to the company, coming understanding akin to the one from the past. To seal the deal the Ratters helped Robinson secure his place as a leader by having Mathias Winters infiltrate the Stockades and stab his predecessor.

The Scarlet Debt

A missionary of the Scarlet Crusade sect, the Blood of Martyrs, reached out in secret to the Sunnyglade Ratters. Without revealing his affiliations he hired the mercenaries to help his zealot brothers against Sylvanas Loyalists: The Rotgarde and the Grim Gest.
The Ratters entered their next battle to give aid, but soon discovered the missionary had died and took his secret with him. This meant the Scarlet Crusaders had no intentions on paying the mercenaries. On top of this, Richter Sullivan (Sully) had been cornered and killed by the dead to save Arnelle Petalet. Swiftly the Ratters turned on the Scarlets, capturing two of them and retreating from the losing battle. They asked for thirty gold in exhange for their lives, but through the madness of the Scarlet leader at the time she failed to see reason. She declined to pay, so Volker Gresham executed the prisoners. Since this day, the Ratters still say they are owed thirty gold by the Scarlet Crusade.
A funeral was held for Sully at the Stormwind Docks. Without a body, a box of his belongings was sailed out to sea in honour of the man. His favourite pipe was given to Harper Maytag and his hat to Darkplume.
Secretly Sully was raised as a Death Knight and eventually reunited with the Sunnyglade Ratters. He continued to be a member of the company and act as their guardian.

The Black Mark

The group amongst the Sunnyglade Ratters that aided Heldric Lawson in his deals with The Rotgarde's Executor, Melany Ashemere, made a pact between them all. Lead by Darkplume the Deft, this small and secret group named themselves The Black Mark and worked to make sure all of the evidence about their past actions stayed buried. They consisted of mainly those who assassinated Gerrard Greyam but others were brought in too if they were trusted and valuable. Several hits were put out to keep people quiet if they had suspicions about them that still lingered after the initial cover-up.
One was on their own member, Duren'thal Starshade. The Void Elf greatly distrusted Darkplume and was overheard by the Dwarf discussing this with Captain Gallvin. Although the Captain dismissed his worry, Darkplume did not. Resindra Shadecaller was sent into Starshade's tent during a night in the Grizzly Hills campaign. With the billiard ball in a sock and a Scarlet insignia handed to her, she beat Starshade severely and left the insignia behind. He survived the attack but was left in a crippled, vegetative state. Eventually, his mind recovered but his memories of what happened did not. Since then The Black Mark has not been needed but the code of silence between them remains.

New Sunnyglade

Following the events of The Metal Hand Conspiracy, the Sunnyglade Ratters were left with an empty compound. They took the place over and turned it into their own fortified safe house. After the defense of Lakeshire against a Scourge invasion is when they properly began to move in. The location made it harder for them to be found as it is on the edge of the perilous Swamp of Sorrows, with a high wall and cannons to keep the company safe inside.

It was here that the past was forgiven and remnants of the Defias Brotherhood switched sides, joining the Sunnyglade Ratters in an attempt to survive and turn over a new leaf. With Scourge attacks occurring across Azeroth the compound, dubbed New Sunnyglade by Layne Morrigan, would serve as a secondary headquarters and training area for the mercenaries. They could grow stronger here and become ready for the state of the outside world.

Training Level

Semi-professional

Veterancy Level

Experienced

Leader

Antoine Saltzwald

Leadership

• Gallvin
• Darkplume the Deft 

Affiliation: Alliance
HQ: Stormwind, Dwarven District

Neutral

Stormwind City Sentry

0

Sunnyglade Ratters

0

Some past members of the Defias were within the ranks of these mercenaries, and some even caused trouble for the Sentry while within the Ratter ranks. The patience of the Third grows thin with these sellswords, though ironically there are no better allies of the Sentry at the moment...

Unfriendly

Order of Oronaar

-10

Sunnyglade Ratters

-10

Considered unreliable, the Order is no fan of the mercenaries from the Sunnyglade Ratters. Their methods in the field of battle are considered uncouth. They also employed a former Sunfury, who has expressed no regrets in their actions.

Enemies

Dustpaw Caravan

-80

Sunnyglade Ratters

-80

The Sunnyglade Ratters and the Caravan have much of a shared history by now as their Caravan mount got stolen and changed faction more than once.

Hostile

Highblood Myrmidons

-100

Sunnyglade Ratters

-100

The Highblood Myrmidons, led by Emissary Vaelene Moonsong will not soon forget nor forgive the Alliance mercenary groups for harboring defectors and traitors to Quel'thalas. Chief among them, the Highblood Myrmidons' own past Emissary turned traitor- Kalinrea Freedreamer.