The Back Alley War

Military action

During the reign of Sea Lord Marquetta, Guild Ebonclad established itself in Freeport, kicking off a war between the thieves and the pirates.

Once Freeport turned from pirate haven into city-state, its population and civic makeup were quick to change. The number of pirates decreased, while the number of merchants and tradesmen increased. Many of these new citizens brought their institutions with them. Primary among them were the guilds. These trade and craft groups were new to Freeport, and the Captains’ Council was initially suspicious of them. The council was won over in time, though, once they saw the benefits the guilds brought to the city.   There was never a problem with a guild until the reign of the fourth Sea Lord, Marquetta. The first woman to become Sea Lord, Marquetta had made her name as a privateer and as a tough but honorable combatant. Her honor was to be sorely tested during the first years of her reign by a new force in Freeport: the Ebonclad thieves' guild.   Thieves were certainly nothing new to Freeport, but in the early days, the pirate code had kept crime within the city to a minimum. Larceny was practiced largely at sea. When a gang of thieves from the continent established a true guild in Freeport, it was a something new. The city had known gangs before, but not very organized ones. This group was experienced, professional, and ruthless. Inside ten years, they had gained complete control of Freeport’s underworld.   At first, the Captains’ Council was unconcerned. Guild Ebonclad was paying off most of the councilors, and the guildsmen kept their activities in the shadows. Soon after Sea Lord Marquetta’s rise to power, though, she uncovered an operation run by the Guild: in conjunction with a gang of orc pirates, the thieves had established a slave ring. At first, Marquetta attempted to deal with the problem diplomatically. She sent word through discreet channels that slavery was forbidden in Freeport and that the guild had best cease its activities. They supposedly assented to the request, but several months later, Marquetta learned the slave ring was still quite active. In fact, if anything, its scope seemed to have expanded even further than before, though it operated more discreetly.   Again, Marquetta sent word to the guild. This time, they openly defied her, daring her to take action. With the Captains’ Council in their pocket, the guild thought they were immune to the Sea Lord’s meddling. They were quite wrong.   Sea Lord Marquetta immediately launched an undeclared war. Her guards began arresting known guildsmen and rooting out safehouses, while she sent a squadron of ships to hunt down the orc pirates. The Guild was caught by surprise and lost many of their number in the initial forays, but they soon struck back. Three councilors on their payroll were assassinated for their failure to stop Marquetta. Several attempts also were made on the Sea Lord’s life, all of which she survived with the aid of her bodyguards.   The conflict, dubbed the Back Alley War, raged for three years. Marquetta proved herself an implacable foe. She attacked again and again until she broke the back of Ebonclad. All of its leaders were killed or imprisoned, and slavery was forever snuffed out in Freeport. Since the end of the Back Alley War, no single criminal organization has dominated Freeport.