Ladinh Fronts

## The cult of Lene

Players got word of 'moon parties' in lo Marais, led by the devotees of Lene. "harmless hippies". Sounds like a cult that could get popular.

Players discovered a small group of Hueste soldiers that were sneaking out to worship Lene and get messed up. Lobo and his kid Lorenzo were among the group. Things went wrong when Alexa, another soldier, transformed into a glitchy werewolf and went on a rampage. Marcus and Roquette both have silver scars where the werewolf hit them.

Lobo is in exile, making his peace with Lene and his conscience. Lorenzo did a ritual to unbind himself from the god's influence, he's with the army still.

The cult in lo Marais was never stopped. It grows on, in the darkness.

Lorenzo should turn up in Delemont asking for help to save his father from himself. Lobo has somehow managed to get sucked back into the cult during carnival season in lo Marais. The cultists have started kidnapping and sacrificing people from the tourist town. They believe that sacrificing people to Lene will make her strong enough to prevent more of the shattered moon from falling out of the sky. Sailors are joining the cult in good numbers; the moon's ongoing degradation seems to be messing with tides and causing strange happenings at sea.

## The Grand Causality

Spitzbergen's the home of our mysterious dragons. All the party knows so far is that in ancient times (over 2,500 years ago) the Desh and the Dragons had a severe falling out, a mutually destructive war and eventually signed a magical Armistice. The Great Contract binding the two civilisations appears to be carved into the skin of the goblin matriarch Volumnia.

Dragon society's based on an initmate relationship between the Great Dragons and their energy sources - usually a volcano. Great Dragons are immensely magical and powerful, but they're bound by a dependency on rare earth minerals and geothermal energy to do their thing.

Mortal observers perceive Great Dragons as existing both inside reality and not inside it. They remain airborne on enormous fractal wings, traverse great distances and deploy deadly force by bending and subverting the physical space and energies around them. To that extent, they're similar to divine entities, though dragons themselves don't want to be worshipped and don't see themselves as gods. Their little descendants, lesser drakes, are more mundane and fly by manipulating thermal updrafts. The lesser drakes are not very intelligent, more like 'worker bees' in a draconic colony.

The Armistice's conditions imposed a no fly zone on the dragons, which extended across Desh territories and adjacent oceanic territories. The Desh weren't big on sailing, but the elves of Ladinh have captured all sorts of lttle island colonies, and it's playing havoc with the dragons' territories and the lesser drakes' feeding grounds. Both the Great Dragons and their lesser descendants are bound by the no-fly zone.

The archipelago of Cheri is indispute between two of Ladinh's powers (del Flor and Vilaverde) as well as the Ningalu, who lay claim to the reef and territory under the waterline. The main island is also an active volcano. This makes it an ideal neutral place for Great Dragons and kin to negotiate the dissolution of the Great Contract and to potentially unite against Vestfal.

## Cartel Cachot

Itria LeLouche in the Cartel has been well disposed to the players and offered them jobs, clothes and connections. The party is travelling with her undead alraune mother, formerly called Myreille LeLouche, who now goes by the name Dedalera (foxglove). Itria's father Ariosto is missing presumed dead.

While the party visits the Heath, Itria's lover Leu Septime Rivet, the 'Bebe' of Cartel Cachot, dies by poisoning. Itria is still partnered to her weak-wristed husband Giuliu LeLouche, but her political power just got cut off at the knees. Itria will be racing to secure a quick and advantageous alliance and fill the vacant 'youth tribune' spot in the Cartel with someone who's friendly to her. That's most likely to be Mamselle Feliciene Castile. Felicienne gets on well with one of the Delemont tribunes, Fioca. She's still pretty naive and her father is two-faced and corrupt, but Felicienne does have her own principles and a decent sword arm - she might grow into a decent leader, with the right support.

Yuri decided not to become a Made member of the Cartel and he is forging his own path as the adult co-leader of Delemont.

Vilaverde sent an agent to try and buy "dirt" from Elek, about Itria and family

## The Gopniki

The party are local heroes among the Gopniki for a few reasons:

* Roquette is the star pupil of Kyrill the Colossus, and has won some victories that excited the Gopniks!
* The party rescued some Gopniki kids, Masha, Vanya and Vasily (and some weirdo called Massimo) from a Desh ruin
* Yiuri's identity as a long lost Vestfalian noble from House Grogorovich is slowly being discovered
* Delemont is a haven for Gopniki fleeing Vestfal
* Elena is a friend in Piedamonte
* Crazy Masha is a volatile, drunken scout who traveled with the party to the Heath

The Gopniki and Trasgu communities in Piedamonte got together for a secret fighting tournament and party - with cool golems!

## The Banco

Three Pentacles Savings Bank has Yiuri in its sights!

Morom Abel Guidry challenged Yiuri to a ballroom duel, trying to cheekily force Yiuri to cede power and let Abel set up a bank in Delemont. Fortunately for Yiuri, he played the fool so hard that Morom Abel totally underestimated his guile in combat. Yiuri forced Morom Abel to play by Elven rules of chivalry, and Abel ceded in furious humiliation.

Roquette managed to scare Abel's daughter Rachel. Rachel is, however, absolutely enticed by Elek's misunderstood bad-boy appearance. As long as Elek keeps his mouth shut, he'll seem very sexy to her.

Expect the Banco to come after Yiuri in any number of underhanded ways. Rachel has already sent a coded message via Elek, warning the party that Abel is planning to ambush them as they return from the Heath.

Yiuri, has a potential banker ally in the form of businesswoman Abril Abundantia, who's based in Speranza.

## The Trasgu Fascia

The party has met three Trasgu matriarchs so far - Seianthi Wolfmother the Kindly One, Petra Tarpeia the Bridge Builder and Volumnia, Beloved of Uni. All three matriarchs are incredibly ancient, not just by goblin but by elven standards. Both matriarchs actually pre-date the creation of the elves.

Seianthi and Yiuri have formed a close bond of friendship over the months. She seems to trust him enough to leave young Marcus Neandros, Moonfire of the Pines in Yiuri's care. Seianthi is clearly grooming Marcus to become Princeps of the goblin tribes. Yiuri has gained an ability point through a goblin ritual: in return, he owes, not Seianthi, but Marcus himself a favour.

Marcus is newly come of age and a real "golden boy" among the goblins.

Seianthi seems keen to bring the Gopniki and the Trasgu closer, into an alliance. She set up the Big Fight and used it to show off goblin magic to the Gopniki. She is also angling for Marcus to become Cachot's next Tribune of the Youth, which would mean buttering up Itria and pulling off some kind of miracle in the Cartel elections.

Volumnia was found by the party in the Heath, She was held in a weird mix of quarantine and protective custody by the Tigers, a clutch of fanatical Desh survivors who have been hiding in the jungle for over 2000 years.

It appears that the ancient Desh used Volumnia's immortal body as the 'paper' to preserve a contract signing an armistice between their Empire and the Dragons. Volumnia has visited Speranza and met with the Desh Maharaj, Lord Rama. She's also met with a few kobolds - the servants of the Greater Dragons.

Kobolds are the descendents of goblins and over long association and contact with the Greater Dragons, they take on an exotic, often metallic appearance and often develop a strong affinity for alamantal magic. Kobolds come in three forms: Heinzelmann, Klabautermann and Hoedekin. Heinzelmann are very large, bulky and hairy, Klabautermann are medium sized and lithe and Hoedekin are small but heavily infused with wild magic, probability magic or a combination of both.

## Cartel Cimmaron

The party got two offers:

* One from Auberto d'Itria - the head of Rio Copos Mining Corp: resources and trade
* One from Sabio Francisco de la Plata, the head Mage of Cimmaron - magic collabs

Yiuri picked the mining deal. It will be interesting to see how the Cimmaron head family reacts! Lago has good coal; and at some point, Yiuri may get word from further south about a nice interesting mineral called bismuth, that nobody really knows what to do with.

Cimmaron renewed and honoured an ancient deal between the city of Lago and the local goblin tribe, the Janitors. Specifically, DomNa Pepito de Carros manages the relationship - they offered the goblins jobs manning their ferry service and guarding both Lago City and Pepito themselves.

In a stunning twist, Pepito and Unata hit it off and Pepito is pushing hard to make Unata their next consort - scandalous - but if it gets them an heir... why not?

## House Speranza

Isolationists, who will pay for people to go fetch good magic items. Except they came out of isolation, went hog wild in the Spring War, and now they are hosting fancy parties.

Speranza are the human intermediaries for a remnant of the once great Desh Empire.

Aelaf Elsson, janjarri Envoy of Albion, adventurer, sportsman and lover (his own titles) worked for Speranza briefly but he seems to be doing his own thing now. He's joined the party in the Heath.

## House Pontevecchio/Cartel del Flor

They make nice roads and have lots of colonies offshore. Carabosse, an elven del Flor cleric of Atina with Big Preacher Hair, was almost murdered by House Speranza during the Spring Torno. He kind of went rogue when del Flor stayed out of Spring War. Pontevecchio got a bit involved, mostly to test out some cool new inventions (they're like that). Carabosse and Pomeranius seem to be an item now.

Lorenzino di Credenza stays in Delemont and makes inventions now! He seems nice, if a bit mad.

The party recently found out what happened to La Paz, Del Flor's lovely summer palace/ settlement of greenhouses near Kindgom Plantae. Apparently they laid off their indentured goblin labour after building the place, and triggered a slave revolt. La Paz is presumably full of posh dead elf corpses: some of the goblins have scattered into hiding, and a small band went on a mission to the Heath and miraculously found their ancient "Grandma" Volumnia in the jungle. Del Flor will want revenge on the goblins.

## Cartel Vilaverde

There's bad blood between them and Itria's family. The party did a quest to steal a scandalous painting of a Vilaverde noble and nab it for Itria to use as blackmail material. Someone in Vilaverde is probably a prime suspect for the murder of Leu Septime Rivet (Itria's lover).

Thierry the Tavern is an ex-gang member who used to work for the Vilaverdes. He's done a lot for Delemont, and joined the party on a trade mission through the Heath recently.

Prospero, a Storm Reader (tempest/divination), wants to buy Elek as an informer. He's been fascinated by the party's antics ever since Cachou, and mostly wants dirt on Mam Itria and family. In return, he offers divination services and connections to help Delemont maintain its independence.

## House Otranto

Armoured suits with no person inside! Lots of black! Hot twin princes! That one lich Pomeranius (human). Also twins, one of whom (Laerzio) is definitely a big emo and slightly terrified of Roquette.

They did some fighting in Spring war.

## House Venere

Party House, up north, lots of Y'd live there.

Rachel Guidry, Elek's new love interest, used to live there and says Venere is very arty. Sounds like a cool place.