Bertram’s Cove Clearing
Description
The town of Bertram’s Cove surrounds the area where the
Alberdon River feeds into the eastern shore of the Grand Lake.
The town has been a Marquisate supply line hub for many years
and is a key piece of military infrastructure. The Woodland
Alliance understands the area’s value and is providing weaponry
and logistical support to the local rebel forces.
Rebel pirates, bearing the colors of the Woodland Alliance, have
been raiding Marquisate supply ships, mining random transport
routes with explosives, and generally causing chaos on the
water. Spurred forward by the mysterious rebel hero, Captain
Sparrowhawk, the rate of these incursions has increased and the
damage caused has taken a toll on the local naval fleet.
The journey across the lake by ship takes approximately
one full day and night. The alternative overland path either
takes a fortnight of dangerous wayfaring through bear-filled
forests and jagged rocky terrain, or even longer by traveling
along the paths circuitously. Bertram’s Cove is an invaluable
logistical resource for whoever occupies it.
As has been the case for generations, the denizens of Bertram’s
Cove cherish the lake as their home and birthright. Seeing the
Marquisate slowly claim more and more ownership of their
waters, the residents of Bertram’s Cove have had enough.
Some are willing to take action to return the area to their own
stewardship. The Marquisate has kept the town stable and
grown the quality of life for its inhabitants. Yet the stability
comes at the cost of obedience and an understanding that
the Cove is a part of the Marquisate’s overall war effort. The
Woodland Alliance offers freedom and the opportunity to
choose a new path for the Cove. That said, however, the
current local Alliance strategy requires sacrifices from the local
denizens that few would pay if they had all of the details.
At First Sight:
Standing on the deck of the pirate ship Twice Sunk, the silhouette
of Bertram’s Cove appears in the distance, backlit by the rising sun.
The smells of drying salted fish, morning fires, and freshly-pitched
hulls mix as the ship approaches the river mooring.
As the full light of the day takes hold, the sheer overwhelming
scale of Grand Lake becomes evident. Fishing vessels fill the cove’s
harbor with a bustle of activity. One large Marquisate brig, Le
Grande Tigre, sits in a silent watch over the proceedings as it
undergoes repairs. Glittering jewels of light dance across the
water on the farthest reaches of the western horizon where one
normally expects the hint of a distant shore.
Once the ship is tethered to the inspection dock, dockmaster
Daisy Delaware walks boldly up the plank to collect both harbor
taxes and juicy gossip in equal measure. Across the pier a military
officer, Marquisate Commandant Astrid Montague, stands in
gleaming armor dressing down a small group of troops. They are
surrounded by a sea of brightly-colored wanted posters plastered
to every piling. Each poster features a ridiculously grim face, with
scars and fangs and red eyes, framed by bold lettering declaring,
“Captain Sparrowhawk—Wanted dead or alive.”
Conflicts
Core Conflict: Set to Blow
Marquisate Commandant Astrid Montague has set a standing
bounty for the capture of any of the local Woodland Alliance
rebel pirates that have harried her troops in recent months.
She has reserved the largest reward for the face of the
rebellion, Captain Sparrowhawk. Montague believes that
Sparrowhawk’s defeat or capture will break the spirit of those
responsible for the insurrection.
Little does Montague know that prominent Cove denizen
Saffron Goodacre is the true leader of the opposition. The
Marquisate knows her only as the town treasurer and its
primary historian. Goodacre will be satisfied with nothing
less than the complete withdrawal and defeat of the
Marquisate military. In meetings with Woodland Alliance
sympathizers, she has been vocal in recent weeks about the
need to “take it to the cats” and has planned a bomb attack
on the local Marquisate-funded hospital—the same hospital
where an entire company of sailors is being quarantined after
some of their number fell ill from the Cuttlefish Cough.
The bomb is almost complete, but no one inside Goodacre’s
supporters wants to deliver the explosive device, even under
the current plan of hiding it amid a shipment of crates
containing blankets and bedding. Saffron’s inner circle is
concerned about the number of civilians who might be
caught in the blast—the hospital treats all the denizens of
Bertram’s Cove, and patients, staff, and visitors might all
be hurt. Goodacre plans to use the chaos of the blast and
any ensuing rescue effort to launch a secondary attack on
the responding soldiers, wiping out the majority of the
Marquisate force stationed in Bertram’s Cove. She needs a
competent team to deliver the bomb, arm the device, and
leave without arousing suspicions.
Unfortunately, the only volunteer is Aiden Birch, an
impulsive adolescent mouse eager to prove his bravery. Aiden
recently arrived in Bertram’s Cove after hearing word that the
local rebels had officially joined the Woodland Alliance. His
eagerness is not tempered with wisdom and he is known to
make reckless choices.
Astrid Montague has been given credible information of an
imminent attack on the fort. The exact target is unknown
to her but her advisors unanimously agree that the armory
or docks are the most likely targets. That the local Alliance
might bomb a hospital hasn’t even been considered. Astrid
is desperate for actionable information so the attack can be
stopped and the rebellion quelled.
Between wasting time chasing down too many false leads,
the damage to her fleet from Alliance attacks, and having
so many troops in the hospital, Montague’s resources are
stretched thin and she needs help. While Saffron has a plan
in place to do real harm, those rebels aware of the plan worry
it comes at too high a price. They aren’t sure what to do,
some looking for an alternative that won’t cost so many lives,
others paralyzed by indecision.
How It Develops
If the vagabonds never arrived in Bertram’s Cove, the attack on
the hospital would move forward as planned despite having no
one with the training necessary to arm the bomb. A glowing
ember from a pipe held in Aiden’s trembling hand would fall
unnoticed beside the crates. The resulting wagon fire would
cause a premature explosion, killing Aiden, injuring the couple
of bystanders out on the street at night, and lighting a terrible
fire in Bertram’s Cove.
Reacting to the attack, Astrid Montague would place Bertram’s
Cove under martial law and ban all fishing on Grand Lake.
Any civilian boats caught breaking the ban would be seized,
the boat itself impounded and the crew imprisoned. The town’s
denizens would resort to scrounging in the forest or relying on
Marquisate markets for supplies.
Conflict: Treasure in the Depths
A compact courier ship, the Wavebreaker, had been attacked
in broad daylight while on a top-secret mission for the
Marquisate. This crew managed to outrun the attacking
pirates but the ship was heavily damaged by the pirates’
grenades in the escape. While they still had a chance to act
before the pirates found them again, the sailors scuttled the
ship in deep water to avoid its capture.
The swim to safety proved too much for the exhausted crew
and all perished. The discovery of debris and the sailors’
remains on the surrounding beaches has given those searching
for the missing ship a general search area, but no one knows
the exact location of the wreck of the Wavebreaker.
Word has spread that the wreckage contains a military
payroll chest filled with gold. The Marquisate doesn’t want
to lose such a large sum of money to their enemies and is
offering a 20% bounty to anyone that returns the chest. The
local members of Woodland Alliance have matched that offer.
Both have made clear that anybody surfacing the gold and
not returning it to them will suffer dire consequences.
The two forces are in constant hit-and-run skirmishes as they
patrol the area, searching for any sign of the Wavebreaker.
Both sides offer support and information for allies that join in
the search on their side, attempting to frustrate and obstruct
the other side’s efforts while deploying as many treasure
hunters as they can convince to risk their lives in the deeper
waters of the lake.
One denizen, Daisy Delaware, has struck out on her own and
is looking for a team to join her. She has traded information,
gathered gossip, and used her knowledge of Grand Lake’s
water to pinpoint the most likely location of the wreckage.
Now all Daisy needs is some strong arms and a boat to recover
the treasure. She wants a 50/50 split of the profits with the
vagabonds and in exchange, she shares everything she knows
and gives them access to her experimental dive gear.
How it Develops
If the vagabonds never arrived in Bertram’s Cove, the Alliance
would be the first to discover the ship’s locations and recover
the gold inside. Saffron Goodacre would use the funds to
acquire better weapons, armor, tactical advisors, and logistical
support for the local Alliance forces under her command.
The rebel forces would finally have the resources to start
engaging the Marquisate in more traditional direct warfare,
eventually attacking the clearing outright in a frontal assault.
Conflict: Love and Rebellion
Posters throughout Bertram’s Cove show the face of the
dreaded Alliance rebel Captain Sparrowhawk. The eyes
that stare out from the page are red, filled with malice. The
knitted eyebrows, shadowed jawline, flat expression, and
webwork of scars are all carefully drawn to inspire fear in the
citizenry…to the point that the visage is practically comical
in its dread style. The Marquisate needs Sparrowhawk to be
a monster that loyalists won’t hesitate to turn in. The artist
has so pushed the illustration towards the sinister that it
has become completely disconnected from its source. Kell
Sweetgrass, a fisherman convinced by Saffron Goodacre to
play the role of Sparrowhawk, is unrecognizable in the poster,
his bland expressions and affable smile completely missing
from Sparrowhawk’s ridiculous, cartoonishly evil visage.
Kell was shocked at how fervently the local rebel soldiers rallied
around the character. Even more horrifying was watching
the Marquisate bounty for Sparrowhawk’s capture or death
continue to grow. The reward stands at a full resupply, a sum of
gold (12-Value), and a token allowing one-time passage through
any Marquisate-controlled area without question or delay.
Declan Sheehan, Kell’s future husband, wants his betrothed to
come safely home. They stay in touch with notes left in the knot
of an old tree that they climbed as children. Declan urged Kell to
run away with him but Kell’s parents still live in Bertram’s Cove
and refuse to leave. Kell won’t leave them behind, fearing they
will pay the price for Sparrowhawk’s reputation or suffer Saffron
Goodacre’s wrath at having been betrayed.
Kell is hiding at the Alliance base playing Sparrowhawk
when needed. Scared and tired, he just wants to be free from
Sparrowhawk and to return to his loved ones. Declan will give
everything to make that happen. Goodacre doesn’t want to
take a chance at losing her figurehead and has filled Kell’s head
with certainty that both he and his loved ones will be killed by
the Marquisate if he returns to town before the war is over.
Weighing heavily on Kell is the understanding that his work
as Sparrowhawk was the catalyst for bringing the Woodland
Alliance forces together in a spirit of unity and resolve. His
speeches made a difference and he believes in the removal of
the Marquisate and the Cove’s future. He is unwilling to pay the
price for that future with his life or that of his family though.
How it Develops
If the vagabonds never arrived in Bertram’s Cove, Kell would be
captured—a fluke of chance resulting from a raid on a ship he
visits in full Captain Sparrowhawk regalia. Astrid Montague
would order Kell’s execution by hanging.
After the execution, Declan would hold a silent vigil in honor of
Kell. The depth and honesty of Declan’s grief eventually draws
others to grieve with him. Local denizens would bring him water
while the fort’s soldiers would watch over him and share in his
silence. Their collective understanding of all that had been lost
would move denizens from both sides to demand their leaders
talk and find a solution outside of war.