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Matron Astara asked me to collect a few thoughts and salient facts about the movers and shakers of the Gold Coast—specifically, the most important people whom we might have to deal with at some point in the future. Now, that doesn't mean we have to kill these people. We might have to work with them, or request a favor, or—no, we'll probably have to kill them. That's usually what we do.
Provincial Governor Fortunata ap Dugal: The one-time Pirate Queen started out as a minor functionary in the Gold Coast Trading Company before her skills and ambitions earned her a place among the merchant lords at the top of the organization. But that wasn't enough for Fortunata. She set sail for an extended trade mission. When she returned, she was at the head of an armada of pirate vessels as the wildly popular queen of the Red Sails pirates. She easily seized control of Anvil and proclaimed herself the Provincial Governor of the city. Now Fortunata rules Anvil with an iron fist wrapped in a velvet glove. No one dares challenge her due to her own strong personality and demonstrated fighting skills, and because there are always at least a dozen heavily armed pirates at her beck and call. Not to mention her personal Rat Master, who brings her secrets like a lover brings gifts. Her ambitions exceed the borders of the port city, however, and she has already declared that the entire Gold Coast is under her control. That's not quite true, but it appears that it soon will be.
Count Carolus Aquilarios: The Wolf of Kvatch is the nephew of Varen Aquilarios. He's served his city and defended it ever since Varen marched off to war. He may be the only truly good person among the movers and shakers of the Gold Coast. He's a man of faith and conviction, honorable and proud of his heritage. I also find him to be extremely dull. He doesn't like Fortunata, though, and has so far been able to keep her pirates out of Kvatch. He has an uneasy alliance with the Cathedral of Akatosh, which dominates not only his city's skyline but serves as its spiritual conscience as well. In fact, he recently granted the Cathedral's protectors, the Order of the Hour, expanded rights and duties to supplement the efforts of the Kvatch Guard. He could prove to be a powerful opponent of the Brotherhood—if he weren't mired in the politics of just keeping his city safe from those who would like to carve it up like a festival goose.
Primate Artorius Ponticus: The head of the Akatosh faith and the leader of the Great Cathedral, presents an interesting and complicated man. He practically burns with religious fervor and truly believes that Akatosh guides and supports his efforts. He's also as ambitious in his own way as Fortunata, as demonstrated by his swift rise through the religious hierarchy. For a religious man, he has a surprisingly vast network of spies and informants hidden throughout the Gold Coast. It's exceedingly rare for something to happen that the Primate doesn't know about. He is supported by Grand Chanter Surus and Grand Sermonizer Fithia, as well as the warrior-priests of the Order of the Hour. If Artorius were ever to turn his faithful followers against us, they might be powerful enough to threaten the Brotherhood. Not that I think that scenario is likely.
Other notables include Lord Quintus Jarol, Commander Marcus Scipio of the Order of the Hour, Lord Harthaw Brent of the Gold Coast Trading Company, and a visitor to our lands who thought to go unnoticed, Razum-dar of the Queen's Eyes. Reports on these potential threats, targets, or allies will be on your desk shortly.