1409

## **Ground breaking for North Point Keep**

### ***1409******: Ground was officially broken for the keep…***

Situated on the mid-Sword Coast, North Point Keep (NPK) would be an outpost of Western Heartlands civilization, anchoring west Faerûn against a seemingly endless population of trolls and the undead.

Earth Work: Building the motte-and-bailey structure first started with shaping the earth to exactly where they wanted the hill in relation to the deep-water area that would serve as the marina. Most of this was accomplished with Move Earth spells.

As construction got into moving the giant blocks of magically cut dark-gray granite, it was clear this was going to be some muscular architecture. The keep alone would make a statement.

By the end of the first year of construction, the Keep was four stories tall – and still climbing. There was a basement, cut from the middle of the bailey

The keep itself was built first of heavy cut granite with magically-assisted moving. Once the keep was built, it was surrounded by tall keep walls and a barracks with fortified stone construction.

### ***The Marquisate was now an empowered polity***

The symbolic start of breaking ground accompanied the declaration that the Marquisate was now empowered.

The Marquisate headquarters officially moored just off shore of the North Point site in a man o’ war. Where they’d been operating similar to a government in exile from Baldur’s Gate, they were now an official sovereign state.

### ***Stonehearth’s diplomatic outreach***

291 miles north from North Point, the Stonehearth Merchant Company had an office in Waterdeep. As of 1409, the Marquisate opened a separate consulate. It wasn’t an effective port yet, but it would be soon…

Likewise, when North Point took over as the seat of the House, the Baldur’s Gate estate became a consulate (a heavy duty, mythal-protected consulate). Worth noting: given the massive amount of property and business Stonehearth still owned and operated in Baldur’s Gate, they were still *the* *patriars* of the city.

### **The Noble Coffers: now augmented by the *Stamp Duty***

House Stonehearth was doing a lot – and it all needed funding.

It wasn’t the most popular thing in the world, but the tax on established items started small, while the tax on new items was more sizable, generating revenue where there was no sense of previous value.

Items to be taxed:

The First Wave of Stamp Taxes
* The sale of paper.
The sale of ink.
The sale of printed goods.

The Second Wave of Stamp Taxes
* Most exported goods – the stamps were considerably more efficient.
Ultimately, it led to a great deal more revenue than previous inspection

There was some public dissonance over the taxation between Richard and his father – but it was mostly for appearances.

Since printing itself hadn't existed six months prior, this amounted to what many saw as a form of luxury tax. While there was some grumbling, the tax was marginal, somewhat expected and otherwise well tolerated.

The Royal Company was taxed on sales, but those sales included sales to the Crown…

For the taxes levied, the RC sold the printing press, and was selling the stamp paper and the ink, as well as the paste to other export merchants for the stamps to be affixed.

There was public dissonance over the taxation levied by the Crown without Parliamentary oversight.