Aside from the occasional cries of a few crows, the forest was silent as Decklan Gilmore made his way through the ancient trees with rifle in hand. Though he was a trapper by trade he was wised to the ways of the woods and knew the value of having a weapon ready to hand, the rifle had served him well in the past despite being over half a century in age. It had belonged to his father before hand and its shots had felled man and beast alike under the leafy canopies of the great Gwentian forests. Like Decklan the rifle was getting old, it had been crafted during a time when the musket was still king and rifling the barrel was unheard of. But the march of progress had rumbled on and Decklan had taken a liking to a new rifle he’d seen in a gunsmith’s back in town, a fairly new design that used a bolt-action rather than the older flintlock.
It also had a price tag to match.
Decklan made a little more than enough to get by from his trapping, his dream of a new rifle would remain just a dream unless he came across a king’s fortune. For now he settled upon finishing his task of checking on his traps in this part of the woods, Lady Luck had indeed smiled upon him these past few days as he came across a number hares that had been ensnared and their furs would fetch a fair few coins. Certainly the hare’s meat meant he wouldn’t starve for a little while and allowed him to add to the other coins he’d secreted away in his hut.
~
He’d just gotten back into town when he noticed the small crowd of people gathering outside the tavern to read a new poster that had been recently nailed up. It was probably some bandit with a new bounty on his head, though as Decklan had learned it paid to gleam as much information as possible from these posters in case he ran into the felon in the depths of the woods. However much to Decklan’s surprise it wasn’t a bounty poster, rather something else entirely. A recruitment poster.
GWENTIA NEEDS YOU!
Calling All Men Stout Of Heart And Of Character, Aged 18-55.
It Has Been Decreed That The Gwentia Militia Now Exists And Requires Its Ranks To Be Filled.
Good Rates Of Pay Offered Willing To Offer Their Service To The Good Of Gwentia.
Seek Your Local Magistrate To Enlist Today!
“A militia eh? Good rates of pay too?” Decklan thought to himself. “I might sign up fer this...”
Fellig, Central Gwentia
The Guildhall had been constructed a couple of centuries earlier in stone rather than the wood like much of the town itself. Its genesis and construction had been brought about by a group of travelling merchants and caravaneers who’d wanted a safe refuge and meeting place in what was becoming the most dominant Gwentian settlement. Over time these merchants and their descendants had acquired the nickname of ‘The Merchant Barons’, a nickname that had stuck and become semi-official titles as far the common Gwentian was concerned. These so-called ‘Barons’ had been the guiding force in shaping Gwentia’s future first with the creation of the Gwentian Outriders to protect the trade caravans that passed through their realm and now they had even bolder plans.
Statehood.
The Outriders had been the first stepping stones towards that goal, an aim to bring stability and security to the realm of Gwentia. Now the Merchant Barons sought to strengthen that by creating a militia, in truth an army but the Barons knew that had to tread carefully least one of the major powers saw the emerging Gwentia as a threat. But at the same time they needed to reach out to the greater world in search of friendly powers that could aid or even ally with them, a difficult choice whether to stay silent to ensure their relative security or reach out and risk everything.
After a heated debate and then eventually a vote, a communiqué was despatched to announce to the world of Gwentia’s change from a lawless frontier to a nation in its own right.
To The Great Nations Of The World
We The Merchant Barons Of The Realm Of Gwentia Wish To Declare Our Intent To Bring The Rule Of Law To Our Land And Unite The Gwentian Peoples Under One Flag.
However To Complete Our Goals We Find That We Must Seek Aid And Trade Partners.
To This End We Request Your Consideration In Lending Support To Our Cause.