City Guard Barracks, Mudsitters District
Site Overview
- City: Obsidian Bay
- District: Mudsitters District
- Country: Domain of Obsidian Bay
- Leader: Warden Albis Khorzar
- Population: 25
The Mudsitters District Barracks is the most undesirable guard posting in Obsidian Bay. Guards stationed here must constantly deal with the poorest, most desperate individuals in the city, while at the same time butting heads with the always-strident, often-patrolling Cuthbertians and the equally zealous and always independent Trithereonites. In recent years, they've also had to deal with the rise of the Blackrazor Guild as an effective, if exceedingly destructive and chaotic, force in the district, as well as the more recent arrival of the Temple of the Earth Dragon.
Leadership
These challenges would be hard enough in an upstanding barracks, but the Mudsitters District Barracks is anything but. It is ruled by Warden Albis Khorzar, who views the barracks as his own private fiefdom, and the district as his hunting grounds. He cares little for the suffering of the people or about catching and punishing criminals; his primary motivation is getting his fingers into as many pies as possible. None call him by his first name; indeed almost no one knows it. Instead, he is referred to as "Warden Khorzar" to his face, and "Boss Khorzar" in private.
Khorzar is content to let most of the district's problems fester, and only steps in when one of them might directly affect his power base. He's decided to let the Tritherenites and Cuthbertians beat each other senseless, and ordered his men to keep a safe distance from the Blackrazor Guild. While the guard is still occasionally called to deal with problems originating at that guildhall, most assume that its master, Malphas, has arranged some srt of deal with Khorzar.
Khorzar's right hand man is Street Patrol Commander John Gorman. In a proper barracks, Gorman would be responsible for leading occasional street patrols, dealing with gangs, and breaking up fights. In the Mudsitters District though, his rule is primarily one of enforcer, carrying out the Warden's will, and reveling in the busting of heads.
Most believe Investigator Mattias Bailey is the only good guard in the Mudsitters District. Unfortunately, most believe he's insane, and they may be right. The man is highly eccentric, highly paranoid, and with just enough magical prowess to make himself dangerous. The wards and glyphs that keep his "office" at the barracks free from intruders also makes it a near death trap, and the various half-cursed magic items he wears keeps anyone from trying to mess with him directly. Moreover, while not actively corrupt, what he thinks is worth investigating, and what the common folk might be concerned with, rarely coincide. He's more interested in tracking down conspiracies, most of which end up being figments of his own imagination.
Rank and File
The typical Mudsitters guardsman is a thug, pure and simple. While none are particularly bright, most have the sort of low-cunning that allows them to avoid implicating themselves in any crimes or shakedowns. The guardsmen are all bluster, and revel in bullying the common citizenry. When challenged by someone more competent than the average Mudsitter, they tend to back down, seek back up, and return to beat the crap out of the would-be hero.
People
- Warden Albis Khorzar: The corrupt leader of the barracks.
- Street Patrol Commander John Gorman: The warden's chief enforcer.
- Investigator Mattias Bailey: Some say he's crazy. Others say he's the only honest guard in the Mudsitters District.
