Succession Crisis

Political event

An unclear succession of the Sea Lord's position leads to a period of strife and uncertainty for the people of Freeport.

Freeport’s succession law required a descendent of the original Sea Lord Drac to take over, and this bloodline seemingly ended with the death of Milton Drac. To make matters worse, Drac had murdered Councilor Verlaine; Councilors Melkior Magoran and Brock Wallace died defending the mad Sea Lord; and the Privateer Seat (the only council seat with a term limit) was soon to be up for grabs as well. Freeport was lacking a Sea Lord and three of the twelve members of the Captains’ Council. Marilise Magoran took over the seat of her slain brother Melkior (as permitted by the law), but the larger issues remained. The city had not seen such a power vacuum since its early days.   Candidates claiming to be members of Drac’s bloodline cropped up everywhere. Their claims ranged from the dubious to the ridiculous, but the council tried its best to vet them all while debating whether the succession law should simply be abolished. The candidate with the best claim was Drak Sockit, a half-orc bastard son of Milton Drac who led a militant group of orcs (the Sons of Krom) responsible for several riots.   Freeporters who hoped Drac’s death would lead to renewed peace and prosperity were sorely disappointed. Multiple disasters rocked the city over the following year. First, another war erupted on the continent. When the war went against the barbarians, the aggressors of that conflict, they tried to save face by sacking Freeport. The citizens rose up to defend their homes, and a vicious battle raged in the streets. The formidable warrior Drak Sockit led the city’s orcs against the barbarians, aiding Freeport in its hour of need, but he lost his life in the battle. After much bitter fighting, the barbarians were expelled and the city saved.   Months of rebuilding followed, and the political crisis continued. Finally, the Captains’ Council made its decision: the succession law would be revoked. To the shock and horror of the councilors, the city erupted in violence. Gangs of Freeport used the announcement as an excuse to stir up the populace, which blossomed into full-fledged rioting. While the gangs had hoped for a certain amount of anarchy to enjoy a crime spree, the rioting spun out of control. The Sea Lord’s Guard was unleashed to quash the rioters, and blood ran in the city gutters once again. The Commissioner of the Sea Lord’s Guard was killed by an angry mob, and in return, the forces of law and order went on a rampage of their own.   The two dominant gangs of the city, the Buccaneers and the Cutthroats, were utterly smashed, drastically changing the politics of Freeport’s underworld. Also during the riots, Arias Soderheim had his rival, Councilor Elise Grossette, kidnapped and whisked out of Freeport. He wanted her out of the way so he could make his move and become Sea Lord. In turn, he was betrayed by a continental agent who bribed the kidnapper into torturing and killing Grossette and pinning the blame on Soderheim. Grossette was rescued, but only after suffering terribly at the hands of her kidnapper. The whole ugly mess went public, and Councilor Marilise Magoran called for Soderheim’s head, which she received in short order, ending the whole affair. Grossette, disgusted with politics and traumatized by the torture she had endured, resigned from the Captains’ Council and quit politics forever.   And then, just to keep things interesting in the City of Adventure, a hurricane slammed into Freeport and caused yet more destruction.