Serault Town is in uproar. The glassworkers have revolted, broken out of the guild and occupied the bridge that spans the river. They deny anyone passage until their demands are met: freedom, privileges, and the election of a person of their choosing to the rank of guildmaster.
Meanwhile, the town's business grinds to a halt. Many are stuck on the wrong side of the river, unable to return to their homes or places of work. Some want you to take the bridge by force, others to accede to the glassworkers' demands. Speculation is rife. Some say the Glassworkers are led by an Elusive Iconoclast.
Available actions[]
1.
Drive them from the bridge It won't be easy - they hold the gates at either end - but you've had enough of this nonsense.
Difficulty: Derring-Do*6/5
Success: Victory Once the first gate falls, it's all over. Your riders spill onto the bridge, driving the glassworkers before them. Some of the dissidents leap into the river to escape. Most surrender. Arrests are made, and the stocks are full, that night. There is no sign, though, of their ringleader. Someone was responsible for this. The glassworkers held the bridge in good order, and their morale was strong. This warrants investigation.
-3 Authority, +1 Secret, -10 Prosperity, unlocks Case: The Uprising
Failure: Attrition For three days there is fighting at the eastern gate of the bridge. The glassworkers execute an orderly defence, scuppering the boats moored under its arches, stripping them down for wood, and using them to heat pots of boiling water to pour on the attackers. You call in additional troops from patrols elsewhere in Serault, and with sortie after sortie you wear the glassworkers down. On the fourth day their will abruptly collapses. Your guard pushes through their frayed defence to take the bridge. They find it turned into a hospital, with injured defenders stretched across every yard. Their ringleader, it seems, abandoned them in the small hours and escaped via the river. This warrants investigation.
-20 Prosperity, +10 Peril, -3 Authority, unlocks Case: The Uprising
2.
Tempt them from the bridge This can be solved without bloodshed
Difficulty: Cunning*2
Success: Hunger speaks louder than principles First, you blockade the river. Next, you send men into the town to buy food and wine. As night falls, you hold a feast in the square before the bridge. All citizens are invited. Musicians play, wine flows, and the smell of roasting meat drifts over the river. The glassworkers, hungry after a long day's insubordination, feel their resolve wither. Any who leave the bridge are welcomed and fed in full view of the bridge gates. Soon there are too few dissidents left on the bridge to hold it, and your men march on and secure it. The identity of the rebels' leader remains a mystery. One worth of investigations.
-3 Bags of Royals, +1 Secret, -10 Prosperity, -20 Rumors of Revolution, unlocks Case: The Uprising
Failure: Besieged You extent amnesty to any dissident that leaves the bridge and hold a feast in the adjacent square to help tempt them out. They stand firm. Not one glassworker leaves. Their occupation lasts a full week, by which time it becomes clear that they had stored provisions on the bridge in advance. This was no spontaneous uprising. It was planned. In the end you have no choice but to send your soldiers in. The glassworkers break and the bridge is retaken, but there is no sign of the mastermind behind the affair. Further investigation is called for.
-3 Bags of Royals, +1 Secret, -10 Prosperity, unlocks Case: The Uprising
