The Uneasy Truce of Stonebridge

Political event

Following a skirmish that left over two dozen dead, the now disparate dwarven factions found themselves at extreme odds and on the brink of all out war following a territorial dispute concerning the resources in the God's Teeth Mountains. The Hiversteadian Commander Chief, seeing the threat this posed to his people and their way of life, stepped in and demanded a diplomatic solution under the threat of him mobilizing his own troops against either faction should they fail to stand down.

While it was not uncommon for the dwarves of Grundhome and the residents of Culvarkti to cross paths, the meetings were seldom if ever pleasant ones. The tension of the divide between them stood firm in the memories of both sides, and dwarves are known to hold long standing grudges. As the tensions of the west mounted following the Airtam Publications, many turned a critical eye upon the Culvarkt Council of Houses for their involvement in clandestine and matters of substandard scientific moral principals. While the Hiversteadians placed little faith in matters of rumor and hearsay, preferring culturally to base judgement of such things of hard fact rather than a manifesto published by a proposed terrorist organization, the Fouvienians saw only their worst suspicions actualized in print, their opinions of their high altitude kinsfolk already soured. What began with snide comments and the occasional accusation, grew swiftly into angry arguments and threats as the days passed until, during a chance encounter between a merchant group of Culvarkt and a small crew of couriers sent by the Fouvienians crossed paths at the edge of Blightcap . Harsh words turned quickly to threats, and threats moved into violence. The altercation that broke out was a bloody one and left all six of the Fouvienian couriers dead along with five of the Culvarkt merchants and two Hiversteadian guards that overheard the sounds of gunfire and attempted to intervene. The surviving Culvarkt, realizing the potential political fallout of what had transpired, immediately returned to Culvarkti and reported the incident directly to Joseph Culvarkt himself.   Joseph Culvarkt went immediately to Jorgan Panuk to attempt to get ahead of the situation before it escalated into something far more serious. He was arrested at the gates of Stonebridge and imprisoned. Not long after he was joined in the holding cells by his long time rival, Jules Argaelast who had come to the surface to demand retribution for his dead couriers. The two men were left to stew in their cells for a full day, hurling insults and grave promises of war at one another before finally being uncerimoniously dragged from holding and brought before the Commander Chief of Hiverstead .   Jorgan Panuk, a towering and imposing man, was furious as he glared down at the two dwarven leaders from his seat in Hammerspark . He remained silent as a large gathering of Hiversteadian, Fouvienian, and Culvarkt citizens gathered to watch the proceedings. All dwarven attendants had been disarmed upon entry into the city. The dwarven leaders continued to bicker, pass blame, make threats and demands for some time, Jorgan allowing them to say whatever they felt they needed to before finally becoming weary of the scene and standing up, calling for silence. The two dwarves, enraged to the point of being unaware of anything else around them, continued to fight. Jorgan, clearly losing patience with the entire situation, calmly walked up first to Jules and then to Joseph, and laid each one of them out with a single punch each, much to the shock, awe, and anger of those gathered while his own people remained silent, standing at the ready should any further violence be attempted. He looked down at the two men as they regained their composure and roared at them his own discontent. The sound of the huge man's anger quieted the entire chamber. In a scathing accusation, Jorgan reminded the two where they were and that two of his own people who had done nothing to either faction now lay dead, victims of the "petty" dwarven rift. Jorgan went on to make it clear that if any further hostilities were to be enacted by either faction, that he would mobilize every able bodied Hiversteadian he had an march on both of them with a "fury and vengeance not seen since the Blight itself was unleashed upon Cairne." He reminded Joseph of the robust trade that his people enjoyed with his own, as well as the additional defense of having Stonebridge at the edge of the Blight, here at the base of the God's Teeth Mountains, and how many horrors were kept from making their way up the slopes to his home. He reminded Jules of the fallback measures put in place to give the Fouvienian's a safe retreat should they be overrun, and the haven that the very building they now stood in offered to his infirmed, young, and elderly countrymen, as well as the crucial supplies brought through Blightcap . Both dwarves, despite their anger and stubbornness, appeared to be humbled into silence at the Commander Chief's words.   Jorgan Panuk allowed this all to sink in, and on the spot called for a scribe and between the three of them, before the entire gathering, demanded a truce be signed on the spot. The terms were simple, a cessation of aggression between the two factions, and recompense in the form of goods and services to be named in the future the the families of the fallen Hiversteadian guards. All three parties signed the document.   Following the signing, all parties went their ways back to their respective homes, but according to a great many observations on all sides, the incident was far from forgotten, both factions of dwarves continuing to blame the other for the tensions, and both considering the political damage done between them and their mutual allies, the Hiversteadians, being the fault of the other.