Mousari Tribe

Made for the History Challenge 2020.

"Mom, when is dad coming back?"
"He won't, sweety. He is working in the cheese factory now."

The Mousari Tribe is one of the unseen factions of Bridgeport, living and working beneath the streets. Only a few people in the city have actual knowledge of the Tribe and its whereabouts and some even have contact to its members.
Mousari have everyday jobs like anyone else in the city as the growing Mousari tribe with currently around 8,000 members all over (or rather under) Bridgeport County has many needs.

[Three Card Tales] - Lord Finnian Mouseton by heronimusink

Structure

The Mousari have copied the official organization structure of Bridgeport with their own Little Council of Ten and a military unit called Grey Guard. All Mousari are part of one of the following groups:

Accountants

The Accountants calculate or estimate the number of things the Tribe needs and send out the Scouts, Gatherers, or Movers to locate those things and bring them in.

Mouse Accountant by HeroForge

Crafters

Things the Tribe needs and cannot be found are made by the Crafters. They also build and furnish the simple homes of the families.

Research & Development

If there is something the Tribe needs but the Crafters can't make it, or if something is interesting enough to examine, the R & D team of the Mousari is coming into play. The team is examining, researching, experimenting and developing. Lately, a few members have taken interest in the works of Wummer Kolfe's Gnome Workshop and have started to copy their inventions. One day one might see a small Mousari airship armada.

Gatherers

Corn, sugar, grapes, needles, nails, small sticks, everything that is carriable by one or two Mousari is collected by the Gatherers.

Grey Watch

The Grey Watch is the military unit of the Mousari Tribe. Highly trained and equipped with tiny weapons, they defend the Tribe where possible.

Movers

Their job is to bring home anything the Tribe might need but is too big to get carried by the Gatherers, like half a pumpkin or a dropped bread.

Mouse Mover by HeroForge

Scouts

They check for danger, enemies or larger interesting objects that require the Movers to get retrieved.

Mouse Scout by HeroForge

"Whole pumpkin rolled off a cart in Burbon Street. Movers, go get it, you need 14!"

Small Council of Ten

The ten most experienced members of the Mousari Tribe come together as the Small Council of Ten and have the last word in all major business, political, and judicial decisions. They also have control over the Grey Watch.

Family

Everyone else belongs to the Family. That's mostly very young, very old, pregnant or other Mousari that need the attention of others.

Public Agenda

"Live a good life!"

"Don't get eaten by the cat!"

"For the mouse, for the family, for the tribe!"

Assets

Mouse Spy by HeroForge

Several ancient basements underneath Bridgeport, that are not accessible for anyone larger, have been taken into possession by the Mousari, as the sewers turned out to be under full control of rats. Those basements are heavily guarded by several lines of defence, Mousari spies watching every entry and members of the Grey Watch guarding the pathways.

History

460 years ago the Mousari Tribe has been founded in Kingshaven (now known as Queenshaven) by a small group of 250 mouse folk. The eldest got elected to rule, and the tribe members were assigned to operational groups.
About 300 years later the 2nd Boresian War between dwarves, elves, and humans began. In four years of war, even Kingshaven could not escape destruction and famine, the size of the Tribe got almost cut in half. Using all their courage and wit the Mousari ended the war by stealing and placing battle plans of the different war parties strategically.
In over 140 years the Tribe regenerated and lived a good life until a devastating fire destroyed the whole city. Too many houses, too tightly packed together, nothing was left after the fire. All inhabitants had to flee into nearby regions, the Mousari did not have that much luck and many were just too slow. After many weeks outside the ruins of the city, the remaining Mousari reassembled and sent out scouts to find a new home.
A long, cold winter killed many of them until finally in the new year the scouts came back with a new place: Bridgeport. Packing up all their belongings the Tribe immediately left, using the next ship that arrived with material for Queenshaven's reconstruction.
600 Mousari exited the ship in Holinda and immediately started marching down the 14 miles to Bridgeport. Unknown predators from the woods attacked the group, causing 50 deaths among the Mousari.
Finally, the Mousari arrived in Bridgeport and moved into the locations found by the scouts. Bridgeport got officially declared the new home of the Mousari Tribe and the Tribe defined the current year as year one of the Era of Reconstruction. The tribe eldest died during the declaration due to exhaustion and excitement, making the Tribe replace the Ruling of the Eldest by Ruling of the Strongest (in body and will).
Within the next 8 years, the Tribe grew significantly, many mouse families spreading out into Bridgeport County. Soon more Mousari lived outside the city than inside.
With the beginning of the 3rd Boresian War, food in the city became rare and almost all Mousari moved to relatives outside the city. After the war, only a small number of Mousari moved back to Bridgeport.
One year later, masses of melting snow flooded one of the large Mousari home areas close to Bridgeport harbour, making it unusable for several months.

The Mousari know a little bit more about the cause of the fire and Cimmerius Shade's involvement, but they kept it a secret until now. They are trying to find help getting justice for the tribe members that died in the fire.

Demography and Population

About 3,000 members of the tribe populate Bridgeport, another 5,000 are spread out over Bridgeport County. The oldest members are about 25 years old, the current average lies at 7 years.

Territories

Bridgeport and all the surroundings are claimed by the Mousari as theirs, which is a ridiculous claim, but it works for them. Inside Bridgeport the Tribe has taken over four large spots:

• The cellars and dungeons that cover the area below the Arcane Academy to the School of Arcane Arts
• The crypt area and attached caves at the Old Cemetary
• The whole area underneath the theatre and attached buildings
• The hidden areas in the west part of the city that reach into the harbour

Technological Level

Mouse Researcher by HeroForge

Mousari scientists (part of R & D) have found out that due to their underground life, Mousari are not uneffected by the tiny bits of Aeum hidden in the ground, granting them their small part of magic power. Mousari magic is not performed by spells, it is rather allowing them to jump higher or wider, fall from heights without much damage or get away unseen when needed. The powers are used intuitively. Individual Mousari though may have found other ways of using Aeum magic.

Agriculture & Industry

Mouse Cook by HeroForge

Most of the Mousari food has its origin in the harbour of Bridgeport. Loading and unloading freight produces a (for the mouse folk) huge quantity of edibles. A fallen down fish or a thrown away piece of an apple nourish several Mousari families. The Gatherers also collect food behind bakeries or butcher shops, and there are countless fruits to find below the bushes and trees in the close vicinity of the city. Large groups of Gatherers are outside the city walls before dawn to bring in what the Tribe needs.

Everyone deserves good cheese!

Race

Mouse Folk

Founding Date

2401 PB

Type

Geopolitical, Tribe

Capital

Bridgeport

Demonym

Mousari

Government System

Tribalism

Economic System

Mixed economy

Location

Bridgeport

Neighboring Nations

• Hoplites

Related Items

• Spear of Death

Related Myths

• Cheese Monster

Bridgeport County

Open full size

Most southern part of Farenia.

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