Located at the eastern end of the
Titan Wall, where it seems to disappear under the
Northwall Mountains, lies a small stone fortress. Surrounded by low-slung wooden barracks buildings, the ground trampled by hundreds of training soldiers, this fort - named Guildhall - is the home of
Mercenary Guild operations across the
City-States Region.
Command and Training
The foremost reason for Guildhall's existence is to serve as a home and training ground for the newest members of the Mercenary Guild. New recruits can sign up in any city, but upon acceptance they are all directed to make their way north, to the shadow of the Titan Wall, where they will be properly trained and inducted into the guild. The process takes some months, but at the end of it they are considered full members of the guild and ready to be assigned to units across the region.
Many of the soldiers at the hall are these newer recruits, though the population also includes a number of more experienced guild members who are rotating through for additional training as well as those assigned here to do said training. There is also a semi-permanent roster of specialists - such as blacksmiths or horsemasters - who exist at Guildhall to support the guild's needs.
Most prominent among those stationed at Guildhall, however, is the command staff for the guild. The commandant, senior officer of the guild and selected from among candidates by the
Mages responsible for guild oversight, has his staff with him at the hall. From here the commanders of the guild balance unit rosters across the region, manage logisgics and supply, and decide whether or not to support various proposed missions.
Among the command staff are a number of dedicated messengers, usually skilled in fast riding, for delivering orders and other missives to units across the region. There are also a handful of apprentice
Mages - usually of the divination or martial
specialties - to assist with critical messages where speed of horse is not enough.
Location at the Wall
The decision to place Guildhall at the
Titan Wall was not a random one. As the northern border of the
City-States Region and a naturally defensive barrier, the wall made perfect sense when the guild was established. Early on, after the
Lasair Compact was ratified but before the agreement with the
Orcs to define their mutual border was established, there were occasional conflicts between the two societies.
Even though the Orcs now safely keep to their side of the wall, a constant guild presence serves an important purpose. For one, not all
Humans are respectful of the treaty with the Orcs and will sometimes try to range into the
Savage Lands to hunt. The Guild serves to dissuade those who would attempt such actions. For another, the threat posed by the
Ratlings is constant - if highly variable. The diminutive creatures will regularly probe around the wall, trying to sneak into human lands to raid. They will also (much less frequently) organize around a leader and attempt a more forceful attack on the wall. These are usually easily repelled but not without effort on the part of the Guild.
From Guildhall, the
Mercenary Guild maintains a number of watchforts along the wall. These small two- or three-room structures are meant to keep a small unit of soldiers warm and safe year-round while enabling them to maintain a watch over the lands on either side of the wall. From here they can send riders along the "wall road", a well-trodden dirt path that follows the path of the wall from Guildhall to the sea.
Supply and Support
Another benefit of Guildhall's location is that it is close to the mining city of
Aratosa. While there is not a direct road between them (the hills in the way are not great for wagons) there is enough of a pathway that units of soldiers can rapidly march to the city if needed. Otherwise, supply of weapons and armor from Aratosa makes its way around the mountains via
Alanor - a smooth but lengthy trip.
As the
Mercenary Guild is under the oversight of the
Mages (the one governmental function that the Mages trouble themselves with) they are frequent visitors to Guildhall. In general, the most common visitor are the more senior Mages of the Martial school of magic (they have the most knowledge in military matters), sometimes along with apprentices to be dropped off for training.
The Guild also sometimes has support from junior mages of various
Mage Schools assigned here to serve in the field with units. Elemental mages in particular are prized by many soldiers for their offensive capabilities, while the more senior members of the guild know the value in a good abjurer.
The church of
The Virtues also frequently has clerics volunteering to spend time with the guild, usually offering their healing services. These clerics will not only serve to heal soldiers wounded in combat, but may even heal those wounded by the guild. Neither the guild nor the church considers opposing them a death sentence - the charter of the guild is to protect, not to execute - and will instead take violators of the law into custody.
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