Yet More Encounters Within the Avenues of Thagwar, Primal City!

(And our delve into the various places of interest within the Primal City of Thagwar continues...)

Zed Varrl, Fixer and Investigator (#18/31, #291/365)

"If you've come to me for help, you must be in trouble."

Zed Varrl is a Lesser Shadow Demon (nondescript, patient), who uses their tenebrous skills to ferret out information, find lost entities (or their remains), conduct independent covert surveillance, and a host of other marginal activities, for a price, of course. They have an excellence knowledge of Thagwar, its customs and factions, but, being a freelance operator, work very carefully and slowly to avoid disturbances. A relatively simple personal assignment may cost 50-100GP while something involving one of the larger political groups within the city will likely price at 500-1000GP, assuming Zed takes the case at all.

Zed's office and storage library is in a backstreet part of the central quarter, not far from the Broken Tusk Tavern, a several story town-house of moss-covered brick, overgrown at its summit with writhing vines and creepers. Zed presents as a typical Shadow Demon, aside from an impressive array of masks and disguises, and an unfortunate addiction to Smoking Weed and warm ale. When not working on a case, Zed can typically be found at the Circus Demonicus, placing bets with various bookies, particularly on Orc-Knees teams, informed by scuttlebutt picked up while out on the street.

Watch Blockhouse (#19/31, #292/365)

These cuboidal fortress-like structures, like compact urban keeps, can be found in each quarter of Thagwar, usually one of several in that sector, reporting to the central bureaucracy at the head T.U.P. offices. Each Blockhouse holds 8-48 of the Watch, who are mainly Fiends, Vorpits, Quagdin and other abyssal humanoids; one will be the Captain, with 2-7 Sergeants, and the rest rank and file officers of the Watch. They wear a purple steel chainmail cuirass and are usually armed with a club and a shortsword. Each blockhouse may also have 2-12 missile specialists, typically carrying hand crossbows, with a variety of poisoned bolts. Inside each watch-house are barracks, a mess-hall, a waiting chamber, storerooms for records, weapons, armour, and 'contraband', interrogation chambers and holding cells for prisoners (including those who lack proper identification when stopped fo a 'ID check' while within Thagwar). The Watch Commander is a Hell Demon, Valgrievus Firehoof (imposing, distractable), who works within a division of the T.U.P central headquarters, and has proved clear-sighted and adept at rooting out threats to the First Overlord, less so when the threats are directed at others.

Free Fungus Front Infiltration Cell (#20/31, #293/365)

The Free Fungus Front arose from a realization among some Demons that plants and fungi have souls too and thus those dwelling within the Pit should have greater choice over their fate. Subsequently, the Front, which is largely based within the Plane of Rust, though there are breakaway factions on other Planes, has proved remarkably resilient at infiltrating small cells within settlements or other regions, waiting for the moment is right before striking. Actions undertaken by the Front in Thagwar typically include liberating shipments to and from the Grand Fungi Souq, fire-bombing the homes and offices of merchants linked to the trade in plants and fungi, and generally interfering anywhere they perceive slights and injustices to have been committed on our more sessile and immobile lifeforms.

The leader of the Front in the Primal City is Thatanthia Indigo-Calabash, a Wood Demon (rotting, paranoid) who has put down roots in a ruined villa within the poorer regions of the Lake Quarter. Here they order cohorts of vat-grown renegade Clone Warriors on secretive missions across Thagwar. The FFF are sworn enemies of the Monks of Fungus and the Clerics of the Darkthorn, who they view as state-sanctioned religious oppressors of the spiritual freedom of all plants and fungi. This low-level street war has yet to spiral outwards into full-blown conflict, but the seeds of such a potential urban conflagration are certainly there!

The Grand Fungi Souq (#21/31, #294/365)

One of the major markets of Thagwar is this enormous souq, a huge plaza full of Qagdin trading caravans and their Wudrefmik steeds, vast quantities of weird fungi and plants for sale, and a bewildering diversity of customers of all shapes, colours and sizes from across the Primal City. With such olfactory confusion, nose plugs or filters are almost mandatory for the sensible purchaser. To create a list of potential items for sale, see the Fungal Wares table, and assume there are 2-7 Grand Caravans visiting the market at any given time. Selling produce requires a Merchants Permit from the Qagdin-only Fungi Traders sub-section of the T.U.P. - such permits are rarely issued to non-Qagdin. 3-18 Watch patrol the Souq at all times, dealing with pickpockets, grab-thieves, fake traders, fungi-authenticity disputes and escaped plant or fungi-based monsters.