The Cache

The Cache was first constructed over 600 years ago. The oba had declared war on the Shadows, seeking to eliminate them entirely from the city. The talon-master of that time, Prezas, defended herself and her talon as well as she could, but even the Shadows found it difficult to survive in the face of the power of the forest goddess Lalali-Puy and her Templar servants. Prezas ordered that a secure fortress be built in the Mekillot Mountains. She originally intended to use the base only until the oba stopped persecuting the Shadows. However, her battle against the elven assassins escalated, and soon the base became the only safe haven for most of the Shadows in the region. No one knows why the oba eventually stopped her war on the shadows. Some speculate that they performed some service that appeased the queen's wrath. In any event, with the queen's attention elsewhere, the Shadows returned to Gulg. However, Prezas chose to keep the headquarters of the talon in the Mekillot Mountains, where it has remained ever since. The location of the Cache is known to few outside the Shadows. Non-Shadows who somehow stumble across the location of the site will be killed immediately and without hesitation.

Today, as for the last 600 years, the primary purpose of the Cache is to train Shadows. Much of the talon leadership, including the talon-master Vollen, can be found here, imparting wisdom to younger, less experienced members and administering the Shadows' many affairs. The Cache is also a resting place for the elves who are often forced to live within human society; when they have tired of life within the city they can remove themselves to an entirely elven environment once again. Once the isolated fortress of the head of assassins, the Cache is changing. It is transforming more and more into a merchant's fortress. The merchant claw (the portion of the Shadows' organization involved in trade) has burgeoned with the growth in legal trade in the Tyr region. Trade in the illegal goods with which the Shadows deal has been further boosted by the revolt in Tyr and the unrest in Raam. While both of these cities are far from the Ivory Triangle, the effects of the changes there can be felt throughout the entire Tyr region. Today the clash of weapons and calm words of the teachers have been augmented with the calls of inventory counts and the scratching of the record-keepers' tablets. While the Cache sees no regular trade (its location is far too secret to allow outsiders to visit), the volume of trade done in elven markets throughout the Ivory Triangle region has pushed the elves into running occasional caravans to the Cache to store goods. Vollen, the current talon-master, is concerned by the increased traffic to the Cache, and is afraid that this will lead to its discovery, but thus far no one has come up with a better alternative. There is some discussion among the leadership of the talon that the best thing to do would be to move the talon back into the city. After 600 years, however, the desire to remain is strong, and no real threat has arisen to force the Shadows to act. Business is good enough that the current leadership feels they have time to deal with the problem; the elven tendency to resolve a problem tomorrow instead of today may ill serve them in this.

The exact population of the Cache varies over time. Agents and trainees arrive and leave, caravans bring new members, and special operations may deplete the garrison by as much as half. However, the following generalizations may be made. The mercenary and raiding claws (which offer mercenary and raiding services to outside groups) are responsible for providing the first line of defense for the Cache. There are at least 100 warriors of 5th to 10th level from various mercenary and raiding groups here, some recovering from injuries, others in training. They are organized in a rough command, but as most of them are here only temporarily, there is little troop cohesion. In case of attack, however, they will rapidly become a formidable force.

The magical claw is also comprised primarily of temporary visitors. At any one time, roughly a dozen defilers of 4th to 12th level can be found here. Most are studying magical fundamentals or new spells, and are not likely to have a wide variety of offensive magic available in case of a surprise attack. However, four of the visiting mages are assigned to garrison duty on a daily basis, and are required to be fully prepared with offensive and defensive magics. In addition to the visiting mages, there are a half-dozen experienced wizards who are teachers. One teacher is assigned to lead the magical contingent of the garrison each week. The thieving, espionage, and merchant claws operate a training center for rogues. (Illusionists in the thieving claw are assigned to the magical claw for training.) Perhaps a dozen students and three teachers can be found here at any one time; in an emergency they can be called upon to defend the Cache, but in general they are typically held as a reserve or surprise force.

In addition to the trainees and their teachers, there are approximately 40 “staff” members who are permanent residents of the Cache. These include the talon-master, his immediate assistants, and various members of the claws assigned to administrative duties. In short, while the Cache has no formal garrison of troops, it is not an easily conquered site. It would require a significant portion of the military forces of a sorcererking to dislodge the Shadows from the Cache. Assuming, of course, that they could find it.