House Tsalaxa

Tsalaxa has a long and intricate history. After several centuries of existence, no one is certain how much of its origin is fact and how much is mere legend. The Tsalaxa family claims that the house was founded by a powerful mage over 500 years ago; the mage's only aides were loyal half-giants. After a long series of struggles (recounted in great detail in written family histories) in which Tsalaxa found itself beset by enemies ranging from wicked sorcerer-kings to greedy rival merchants and inhuman monsters, the house finally triumphed, becoming a permanent fixture in the city of Draj. From this point forward (so say the chronicles), Tsalaxa's enemies have fled, its rivals have trembled in fear, and the world has grown to love and respect the house. The truth is somewhat less complimentary. The tale of the house's founding may well be true (the house's patriarch continues to maintain a steadfastly loyal bodyguard composed entirely of half-giants), but its subsequent conduct has done little to earn love and respect. While Tsalaxa officially adheres to the Merchants' Code and deals reasonably fairly with its customers, it is also widely known as an underhanded den of intriguers and schemers whose spies and assassins are second to none. Recent conflicts with House Wavir, in which raiders hired by Tsalaxa have attempted to disrupt Wavir's most profitable trade routes, are only part of the story. Tsalaxa is also infamous for its long memory. “Never cross the dragon or House Tsalaxa” is a popular proverb in Draj.

Draj's major products – hemp and grain – are in great demand, giving Tsalaxa a solid economic base on which to build. With a steady source of profit, Tsalaxa is able to speculate in more risky commodities, such as artwork, ornate weapons, and slaves. Many claim that Tsalaxa also deals in contraband, if for no other reason than their wellknown love of intrigue and backroom dealing. Tsalaxa maintains outposts in all the major cities of the Tyr region. It also administers several villages along the trade routes between Draj, Raam, and Urik.

Caravans

Tsalaxa caravans are generally built for speed – small, swift, with numerous riders and few, if any, wagons. Slave caravans are much slower and more ponderous than ordinary caravans; these contain many more wagons and are heavily guarded. As raids against slave caravans have increased of late, Tsalaxa has taken care to increase security. A typical Tsalaxan caravan is five to ten wagons preceded by a dozen or more crodlu-riders. The wagons are usually open, with 5,000- to 10,000- pound capacity. Armored caravans are rarely used. When a slave coffle is present, it drags along behind the main caravan, constantly patrolled by crodlu riders and whip-wielding mul or human overseers.

Facilities

Tsalaxa's Draj headquarters are disarmingly innocuous – a simple walled villa with a couple of bored-looking guards lounging about. As might be expected, appearances are deceiving. The villa is protected by numerous traps, magical wards, and hidden snipers. The seemingly bored guards are actually elite senior agents. The structure is built atop solid rock, and most of its rooms are located underground. Rumors speak of secret tunnels stretching throughout Draj, beyond the knowledge of even the templars. No one knows how such tunnels can be built in the muddy, unstable ground beneath the city. Tsalaxan outposts are located throughout the Tyr region, all similarly simple but well defended. The exception is Balic, where Houses Wavir and Rees have managed to keep Tsalaxa out. Needless to say, this infuriates Ydris, the family patriarch. Tsalaxa agents are constantly dispatched to Balic to disrupt or destroy Ydris's enemies. The following are major outposts and other installations.

Fort Ebon: 100 employees, 250 slaves. Supply point between Draj and Raam. Ebon is a vital supply link for all of Tsalaxa's caravans.

Fort Kalvis: 50 employees, 125 slaves. Supply and storage point and trading post in verdant belt between Gulg and Altaruk.

Rumish's Rock: 20 employees, 20 slaves. Outpost and trading post 30 miles southeast of Lost Oasis. A small but important post, this is where Tsalaxa obtains much of its gold via trading with caravans coming east from Walis.

Ablath: Trade village, 500 citizens. Located near an oasis 20 miles southwest of Silver Spring. Ablath is Tsalaxa's contact with the tribes of the Tablelands. It is a frequent stopover spot for caravans bound to and from Altaruk.

Troops

Tsalaxa maintains about 1,500 warriors of various races, all bearing the house's two bestial eyes somewhere on their uniform. These troops are divided up into garrisons that occupy Tsalaxa's facilities in all major cities of the Tyr region.

Tsalaxa is always on the lookout for caravan guards and individuals with skills as spies or assassins. Unfortunately, once hirelings learn some of Tsalaxa's secrets, the house is reluctant to let them leave. Keeping such individuals around is accomplished through a combination of rewards and threats. Although long-term hirelings and agents are well paid, they know that they would be in grave danger if they ever left. This house has few qualms about who it hires – defilers, assassins, raiding tribes, even gith, braxat, and anakore, individuals whom more sensible employers avoid like the dragon. Psionicists with detection and observation skills, such as clairaudience and clairvoyance, can almost always find employment. Tsalaxa has a tendency to distrust traditional mages because of the supposed influence and threat of the Veiled Alliance. Tsalaxa's pay rates are somewhat higher than average. Particularly trusted hirelings and agents are given the run of Tsalaxa's extensive facilities and their choice of luxuries, so long as they get the job done. Tsalaxa has been known to eliminate its own employees if they grow soft from the luxuries and perquisites of the job.

Tsalaxa's attitude toward competition is that the fit survive, the rest die. House Tsalaxa succeeds and thrives, while others – weak, sentimental, and outdated – fall by the wayside. Of course, if House Tsalaxa can provide rivals with a push to hasten that fall, so much the better. Tsalaxa specializes in undercutting rivals by offering premium prices for its goods, losing money for a season or two until opposing houses are eliminated, then tripling or quadrupling prices to make up for the losses. By this time, of course, most of the competition has been eliminated, and the customer is at Tsalaxa's mercy. Recently, customers have been catching on to this scheme and refusing even the most favorable of Tsalaxa's deals, forcing the house to rethink some of its tactics. Now enemies have begun to be eliminated in more creative ways. Blackmail, kidnapping, and even assassination have all entered Tsalaxa's arsenal, along with outright military harassment utilizing the services of mercenary raiding tribes. Tsalaxa maintains cordial relations with the sorcererkings, realizing that their good will is necessary for continued success. As may be gathered from the previous material, Tsalaxa's relations with most other trade houses are anything but cordial. House Stel, which often allows Tsalaxa to hire its mercenaries, is the only house with which Tsalaxa maintains a good relationship. Some have suggested that this is not surprising, in that Tsalaxa and Stel are the most unscrupulous and violent merchant houses. Other houses are seen as little more than obstacles on the way to Tsalaxa's total domination of the Tyr region. Small houses are ruthlessly exterminated by agents wearing Tsalaxa colors and freely admitting their allegiance. Actions against larger houses are carried out more stealthily, by secret agents and hired mercenaries. When hirelings learn too much about Tsalaxa's operations and inner workings, they may be invited to join the household (and woe unto them if they refuse), but this is often simply to keep them on a short leash. On other occasions, hirelings simply disappear. Larger houses may be plagued by mysterious assassins, raided by masked bandits, affected by strange curses, or investigated by templars on trumped-up charges. Tsalaxa is especially talented at discovering guilty secrets – illegal dealings, illicit assignations, or suspicious political views. Such information, devastating in the hands of templars, can be kept secret for a high price. Tsalaxa also takes pains to avoid being caught in similar traps, so digging up the buried bones in Tsalaxa's past might prove both difficult and dangerous.