Rainmakers Group
For as long as anyone can remember, drinking water was supplied in Freeport as in any other city, from wells or, when needed, by means of magic casts by priests or summoners. For the past two or three years, though, since the Salt Curse fell upon Freeport, potable water is no longer taken for granted. No one, not even the priests of the Odis, seems to know what caused the curse or how it might be lifted. If someone does know, she's not talking.
Officially known as the Rainmakers Group, the Rainmakers are a very enigmatic bunch. Based out of a large building in the heart of the Warehouse District, they have a monopoly on what is undeniably the city’s most important commodity: fresh water. They supply virtually every drop in every district of Freeport and throughout most of the Serpent's Teeth. Their label is everywhere, their clay water jugs shipped all over the city on a daily basis, morning, noon, and night. Of course, everyone else in a position of power—the Captain’s Council, Finn, the Wizards’ Guild, and so on—wants a piece of the action, or at least they want to know the Rainmakers’ secret. About the only other person to profit from the current situation is Jedpha Delican, who can barely keep up with the demand for barrels, casks, wagons, and horses.
The Rainmakers know they must be careful with public opinion. If they are too greedy, careless, or arrogant, people might simply riot and wipe out their operation. That said, some citizens have already tried to force the issue. Mister Wednesday was the first, sending a number of men over with the intention of stealing or wresting away the Rainmakers’ secret, only to have their heads sent back to him in an empty rain barrel. Others have tried threats, bribery, stealth, or subterfuge, but always they have been denied one way or another. The city has been forced to respect this mysterious organization.
Whatever the truth, the Rainmakers have made it very clear that no one is getting their secret, at least not without a fight. If they were to set their prices any higher, they might find that fight is at hand. But so far they have played it very carefully, charging just enough to make it possible for pretty much everyone to get enough fresh water to survive. And if the fight does come, well, not only do they patrol the warehouse and the street outside, but they have powerful guardians in the sewers and magical wards as well.
The one topic that has come up in every Captain’s Council meeting since the Salt Curse fell is how to regulate the supply of water; they have contemplated everything from taxation to an open, government imposed review of Rainmaker operations. Spies for the Council have confirmed that the merchants are not shipping water in; there is no visible pipeline into their warehouse, aboveground or below. So where is the water coming from? Everyone, from the most common laborer on The Docks to the High Wizard and even the priests at the Church of Laido, has a theory.
- “They extract the water from the sewers and have some process that purifies it.”
- “They’re the ones who must’ve called down the Salt Curse, so they’re the only ones who can bypass it. “
- “They bring the water in through a teleportation circle under a waterfall.”
Architecture
The Rainmakers’ headquarters is a large warehouse, heavily fortified and well protected magically. Guards armed with scimitars and spears, swathed in swirling cloth headgear and wearing long robes over scale armor, patrol the street surrounding the building. Situated on the slightly angled roof are a number of guard emplacements positioned along a catwalk. In the sewers below, the Rainmakers have installed stone guardians and water elementals to protect against an underground approach. Of course, this level protection feeds speculation about what it is that the Rainmakers have to hide. It also shows the extent of their resources, both monetary and magical, and confirms that they are both vigilant and highly intelligent.
Should someone actually get inside the warehouse, they would see enormous banks of water tanks along the walls. Large arrays of pipes and valves dominate the space around the tanks, traveling the length of the warehouse. These pipes eventually emerge in another portion of the warehouse that is partitioned off; from them, water is released into an ingenious clockwork carousel that fills clay jugs, casks, and barrels (1 gallon, 8 gallons, and 75 gallons, respectively). These containers are then loaded and shipped in uncovered wagons. The huge doors for the wagons open with a number of alert sentries at the ready with spear and bow.
The delivery wagons, many of them rented from Jedpha Delican, are crewed buy two Rainmakers, with a complement of two or three hired mercenaries who accompany the wagon on foot only once it has left the warehouse—they are never allowed inside. The Rainmakers also have a second warehouse nearby that holds a number of wagons and horses (along with feed, tack and harness, etc.) that they use for delivery; it is also fortified, but not as heavily as this main warehouse. The horses are cared for by well-paid grooms brought in from the mainland; they know nothing of the layout inside the main warehouse and little about the Rainmakers themselves. Spies have managed to infiltrate this far, only to realize that the grooms are privy to nothing useful.
History
A small group of businessmen from Al Nuzied, comprised of humans and led by an Elf of rare beauty, arrived in the city not long after Sea Lord Milton Drac took office. For the first few years, they kept a low profile, and their operations were minimal. By the time the Salt Curse fell upon the city, they had established themselves in the Warehouse District and were in a perfect position to take full advantage. Right now they are content to distribute their water at reasonable prices. People in the city are of two minds about them. Some feel thankful that they are here, able to procure or produce fresh drinking water, while others chafe at being forced to buy their water.
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