The Marden House
The Marden
House is a house of merchants operating out of the town of
House History.
The small border town of
The dialogue were surprising.
The Human leader, Ergon Knight promised the Humanoids
loyalty in return for equal status in the tribe and the continued right to
exist- they believed the Humanoids would soon settle into complacency and could
easily be eliminated thereafter. Wolfstan was no fool, he demanded a sign that he could trust the Human's and
their allies against threats of revenge. Out manoeuvred by their
underestimation of the Half-Ogre Ergon was forced to
promise his daughter's hand in marriage, which was accepted. The marriage
ceremony of Narden and Wolfstan
was concluded with a rite of loyalty and initiation into the tribe of the
remaining defenders.
Narden's sacrifice- she
had recently lost her first husband to the Orcs while
he was defending her and their child Zeali appeased
the Humanoids. Life in the town degraded, but only for a short time. Wolfstan was a very strict leader and initiated a very
strong honour code, and under pressure from Narden,
and though ideas of his own began a program of rebuilding and reorganisation to
consolidate his holdings and educate all the tribe.
It was working, two years after the birth of their child Luap, also called Eaglesight, and
a year after the birth of Marrik their second, the
town had stabilised. All accepted and lived bound by the strict honour code,
that kept crime down and the tribe's outlook and alignment generally neutral.
All the members of the tribe had found a way of reliving tensions and conflicts
with the establishment of the Arena. The idea, suggested by T'Kel
the Minotaur Mage allowed the warrior instincts of the Humanoids space to be
vented, created new gladiatorial spectator sports, allowed annual mock combat
contests, and the like to develop. The Arena became an important part of life, political differences were settled within its walls,
using both mental and physical tests to decide conflicts. Increasingly who got
the important positions on the tribe's Council were
settled this way.
Trade had also stabilised, the town's commerce with the
outside world had never been great due to its location, and when traders
approaching after the 'tribelization' (as the
invasion was called ) saw the Humanoids living in the
area trade disappeared. To restart the economy Wolfstan
sent out loyal bands of Humans and Dwarves (the family they left at home was
partly the reason they were loyal ) to find trade
using the name 'The Marden House'. One such group
discovered that the Harding Family representative, a Half-Orc
called Dexian who agreed would supply them and a trading
post was established. The Harding family would grow to use the post as a means
of trading with the Humanoids of the mountains further north. Marden became an important 'underground' trading town, for
the Hardings, the only town it was safe for a Human
or Demi-Human to trade with the Humanoids in. When
traders from Marden itself left to trade the name
'The Marden House' became their merchant and tribal
name.
In AC 972 the tribe was betrayed, an Elf called Elmon stole several 'artefacts' from the tribe, what
exactly they were is never discussed, but it incensed the town and was enough
for Wolfstan himself, with Narden
at his side to lead a war party of tribal warriors from all the races to get
them back.
The chase lasted
a year and led as far south as the Five Shires. Wolfstan
was killed early in the chase and to ensure the continuation of the peace deal,
beneficial as it had been to the otherwise struggling town, Narden
immediately married Darken the intelligent Orc chief
advisor and second in command of the party. The marriage probably saved the
tribal alliance and the chase continued.
The final confrontation came just outside the Halfling
town of
The Hin's reaction was strong.
The arrival of a heavily armed party of Humanoids, led by a woman sparked a
gossip mill that included rumours that they were the vanguard of an invasion
'scouting' the country out, to the idea they were escaping persecution in the Black
Eagle Barony of Karameikos. The birth of Yantar in 'The Spitting Dragon Inn' was a secret affair.
Previous births showed Half-Orc children tended to
show their Orcan heritage far more at birth than
later on, Narden calculated this would not go down
well with the Orc hating Hin.
As soon as possible afterward the group returned north.
The town's fortunes since the chase have been remarkable,
few other traders have found their way there but the Darokin
Diplomatic Corps have contacted the tribe and use the town as a training centre
for their diplomats interested in tribal cultures. The town remains largely
secret, the tribe clannish and very close, outsiders are not trusted, very few
are initiated into the tribe and the current generation of youth whatever race,
believe wholly in the tribe and are loyal only to it. Nominally in Darokin the tribe conforms to its own rules rather than the
countries, a fact outsiders are often caught out
about.
Adventurers are
common from the Marden Tribe, the wander lust of all
races often hits the youth, these youngsters tend to have several things in
common; the tribal mark is long hair, generally black as is the Orcish norm, tied back in a certain way and held with the
tribal crest- a dragon and sword intertwined, standing over the Arena in
silhouette. A small tattoo of the crest is also a mark of the tribe and is
usually placed on the back of the hand or forehead in a recognisable way. The
crest is often used extensively on clothes and weapons, and is very frustrating
for those not in the know, for Mardener's will not
reveal their tribe to outsiders, unless they are very close friends. Small
communities of Marden merchants can often be found in
Darokin city and Selenica,
though hard to find, who will help those tribe members who contact them.
Tribal Information
Total Population of Tribe: 551.
|
Breakdown: |
|
|
|
|
Humans |
110 |
|
|
Orcs |
132 |
|
|
Goblins |
75 |
|
|
Kobolds |
53 |
|
|
Half-Orcs |
50 |
|
|
Elves |
50 |
|
|
Dwarves |
32 |
|
|
Minotaurs |
25 |
|
|
Halflings |
10 |
|
|
Orogs |
5 |
|
|
Half-Ogres |
5 |
|
|
Half-Goblins |
2 |
|
|
Ogres |
2 |
|
|
Gnoll |
1 |
|
|
Lupin |
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
551 |
The ruling family within
the Marden House is the family of Narden.
There are several others but Narden's is the most
important.
The family consists of:
Narden Head of the family, and generally the
tribe overall. Sixth level fighter.
Darken Narden's husband and leader of
the Arena and trading parties. He is the tribes
premier trader, and a sixth level merchant. His elite caravan guards rival
those of armies. He's never lost a caravan in a fair fight.
Zaeli The Human daughter of Narden she married one the more resistant Elves and
converted him to equality, her outlook is semi-elven,
but she is very loyal to the tribe and her mother.
Lukian Zaeli's
young Elven husband. He was generally against
the alliance at first but has accepted the tribe as a truly unique thing that
is worth preserving. Their young children display elements of both parents and
are likely to rise high in the tribe.
Luap Aka 'Eaglesight', because of his
uncanny vision. Though a child of Wolfstan, Luap is effectively Human. An mage apprentice of T'Kel's Luap recently went adventuring to continue his studies 'in
the wild'. He had no formal position in the tribe.
Marrik The
wild man of the family Marrik displays the Orgeish tendencies his brother Luap
doesn't. A incredibly strong fighter and current Arena
champion Marrik is tipped for the leadership of the
tribe, and concern over his leadership qualities dulled when he married Soltil, a cleric and one of the most intelligent Orcs in the tribe.
Soltil The clerical wife of Marrik, she is regarded as the most intelligent Orc female in the tribe, as well as one of the meanest
fighters.
Yantar Developing the Orcan
temperament, Yantar was a difficult child and
eventually ran away, later contact revealed him to be a thief and adventurer.
Maff The trader, Maff's
Orcish features are well known around
Kevan Devoted
to his older half-brother Marrik, Kevan
is trained is as a fighter, however his resent
interests has fallen far more towards administration where he has displayed an
immense talent.
Grashnak Driven by an intense curiosity Grashnak is a jack of all trades who knows something about
almost everything, almost driven mad by his incessant questioning, the Council
sent him to Selenica with a trade caravan. He
promptly wandered off and is believed to be adventuring.
Other Families.
The
other important families are;
Lordiam
Family Very loyal
family, largely Orcan.The best fighters are from this
family. Maririk's greatest rival Pilstan
is from this family.
Wibblen
Family Elven family, very close within themselves, the Elves have
assimilated well and treat the tribe as a Elf clan.
The best administrators and judges come from the family. Wibblen
elders (over 200 years old ) are a powerful voice, and
a great pool of learning that the whole tribe draws from. the
younger Elves are amongst the most passionate of the tribal defenders, most are
fighters before mages.
The Fox Family Human
farmers generally, they produce most of the town's food, although the family at
first resented the Orcs and Wolfstan
the increase in trade quickly converted them. they
are amongst the best fighters in the Arena.
Family Imperian
T'Kel
heads this Minotaur family. It was he who first drew up the Honour code for Wolfstan and this family are the enforcers of that code,
they believe in the tribes honour before their own,
and are Marden's first line of defence, there is a
friendly rivalry between Marrik and the younger Minotaurs in the Arena.
'Small's' Not really a
family, the Small's is the name given to the various Dwarf, Kobold, Goblin and Hin families. Jugen Hammersmith
'leads' this miscellaneous grouping. The Small's are amongst the best scouts
and defenders the town has.
Outsiders All outsiders are
treated with suspicion and distrust, none are given any position of power, and
the entire tribe will defend against any behaviour it considers endangering to
the tribe's existence.
The Marden House Honour Code
1.
To live with honour is above all else. To live without honour is to die.
2. Honour:
Always keep your word.
Any who break an oath are to be publicly dishonoured in the Arena.
Always maintain the
tribes principles, accept all responsibility for your actions.
Never betray a
confidence or comrade.
Avoid cheating and
deception at all costs.
Respect life and nature
in all her forms.
3. Courtesy:
Exhibit
proper honourable manners at all times.
Be polite.
Watch your personal
habits, do not pick at your body unless the situation is appropriate.
Repectfullness of any host to be
returned in full.
4. Loyalty:
Tribe
and family before self. The individual means nothing next to those to.
Tribe
before country.
Never betray your tribe,
to do so is dishonourable, and will be punished by the Council and the Arena.
Obey the Council.
Be loyal to the code.
5. Valour:
Fight with honour.
Fight with strength.
Fight clean.
Fight with honour.
It is dishonourable to
kill another Tribe member except in fair combat.
Never abandon a friend,
ally, or noble cause.