As Ardhmen's importance as an international port of call grows, Adarans, Tashanans, and Syrks alike have begun to send delegations to the town to discuss the common issues their people share while living in the shadow of Riedra. These meetings take place four times per year in Three Branch House, an upscale rooming house whose owner Yrdivan (CG male human psion 1/expert 2) is a Riedran exile with a passionate hatred of the Inspired.
Councils are typically chaotic affairs, and infighting between allied factions (particularly the shifters and dwarves of the Tundra) is common. Despite that, the councils are an effective clearinghouse for intelligence of Thousand Eyes activities along the frontiers and within Riedra itself. Members in active opposition to Inspired rule also use the council as a forum for their own views (whether true or not), hoping to spread their hatred of the lords of Riedra across Sarlona and beyond.
Virtually anyone can participate in the Three Branch Council, but knowledge that Riedra maintains a constant watch on Ardhmen (as it does all Syrkarn) means that members typically make no effort to hide their activities. Instead, they trust in detection magic and psionics to weed out spies, and in the expectation that the Thousand Eyes will risk no direct confrontation in a town so densely populated (for Syrkarn, at any rate). So far, the Thousand Eyes has allowed the Three Branch Council its freedom, though many suspect this only proves that the council's plans must inadvertently serve the interests of Riedra in some way.
Adventure Hooks: Despite the openness of its operations, the Three Branch Council is involved with a number of covert operations and clandestine activities. Whether native Sarlonans or Khorvairian observers, PCs wishing to take part in the council will be welcomed (or possibly even recruited) by one of its regional factions. In particular, characters who have come up against the Inspired or their agents in Khorvaire can use the council as a means of taking the fight to their foes.
At the same time, the unified front presented by the council's fluctuating membership hides deep divisions between the Adarans (who live at constant war with Riedra) and the Tashanans and Syrks (who have much to lose should they decide to formally join that war). PCs with a connection to Adar might discover that the Three Branch Council has secret ties to Riedra and is designed to weaken the defense of the mountain land.