The Regicide Plot
The Regicide plot was born from a simple problem: the Sunken Saints could not kill the Rat King. Every assassin they sent to the Kingdom was caught, beheaded, and returned with the same mocking note: "I do always say one should follow their dreams! But I think that this dream is something that you and your boys and girls may want to let go of." The Rat King's army was too large, his guards too vigilant, and his Kingdom too well-defended for a direct strike.
The catalyst was the Rat King's decision to ally with the Iron Works. The Pure Blood Royals had argued, not without reason, that a rebellion among the Irons could eventually spread to the Kingdom itself. The Rat King agreed and committed his forces to supporting the Iron Works against the Uprising. This triggered a cascade of opposition: the Postal Workers Union, the Sunken Saints, the Trade Union, and their allies formed the New Kingdom coalition.
The Sunken Saints contacted the Rusty Lanterns, and together they devised the strategy. The Rat King could not be killed while his army surrounded him. But if a settlement could be made to look like a genuine military threat, the Rat King would be forced to send his forces to deal with it. During that window, the Kingdom would be briefly unguarded, and the assassins could finally reach their target.
The plan unfolded in three phases across the Rum Coast.
In the first phase, the Knights of the Rat King attacked postal workers across settlements. The Dim Lantern, a Rusty Lantern operative, was sent to scout viable locations for the diversionary rebellion. Once she identified a settlement, she brought the Rusty Lanterns in to rally the town, while First Mate Sathrik Son Louise of the Conch Battalion provided naval support to protect refugees fleeing the Kingdom by sea. The Rising Tide, Captain Roberts' pirate fleet, allied with the Conch Battalion to raid Kingdom ships.
In the second phase, the provocation escalated. Settlements intercepted Rat King supply shipments, distributed revolutionary propaganda, and destroyed enemy supply caches. Pirate radio broadcasts denounced the Rat King across the wasteland. The Sunken Saints coordinated guild and black market contacts to create the impression that their settlements were controlled by powerful, dangerous organizations. Elite assassination squads from the Knights were met with prepared defenses. Intelligence was intercepted that revealed Captain William Palmer's plans for a major offensive.
In the third phase, the Rat King was to send his full army to crush the rebellion. The settlement's role was not to win but to survive long enough for the Sunken Saints' assassins to reach the unguarded Kingdom and eliminate the Royals and the Rat King himself. If the plan succeeded, the army would be recalled to a Kingdom without a ruler, and the power structure that had sustained the Iron Works alliance would collapse.
The conspiracy drew together the Rusty Lanterns, the Sunken Saints, the Conch Battalion, the Rising Tide, the Postal Service, and settlements across the Rum Coast in a coordinated effort to destroy a regime that had endured for a generation.
The catalyst was the Rat King's decision to ally with the Iron Works. The Pure Blood Royals had argued, not without reason, that a rebellion among the Irons could eventually spread to the Kingdom itself. The Rat King agreed and committed his forces to supporting the Iron Works against the Uprising. This triggered a cascade of opposition: the Postal Workers Union, the Sunken Saints, the Trade Union, and their allies formed the New Kingdom coalition.
The Sunken Saints contacted the Rusty Lanterns, and together they devised the strategy. The Rat King could not be killed while his army surrounded him. But if a settlement could be made to look like a genuine military threat, the Rat King would be forced to send his forces to deal with it. During that window, the Kingdom would be briefly unguarded, and the assassins could finally reach their target.
The plan unfolded in three phases across the Rum Coast.
In the first phase, the Knights of the Rat King attacked postal workers across settlements. The Dim Lantern, a Rusty Lantern operative, was sent to scout viable locations for the diversionary rebellion. Once she identified a settlement, she brought the Rusty Lanterns in to rally the town, while First Mate Sathrik Son Louise of the Conch Battalion provided naval support to protect refugees fleeing the Kingdom by sea. The Rising Tide, Captain Roberts' pirate fleet, allied with the Conch Battalion to raid Kingdom ships.
In the second phase, the provocation escalated. Settlements intercepted Rat King supply shipments, distributed revolutionary propaganda, and destroyed enemy supply caches. Pirate radio broadcasts denounced the Rat King across the wasteland. The Sunken Saints coordinated guild and black market contacts to create the impression that their settlements were controlled by powerful, dangerous organizations. Elite assassination squads from the Knights were met with prepared defenses. Intelligence was intercepted that revealed Captain William Palmer's plans for a major offensive.
In the third phase, the Rat King was to send his full army to crush the rebellion. The settlement's role was not to win but to survive long enough for the Sunken Saints' assassins to reach the unguarded Kingdom and eliminate the Royals and the Rat King himself. If the plan succeeded, the army would be recalled to a Kingdom without a ruler, and the power structure that had sustained the Iron Works alliance would collapse.
The conspiracy drew together the Rusty Lanterns, the Sunken Saints, the Conch Battalion, the Rising Tide, the Postal Service, and settlements across the Rum Coast in a coordinated effort to destroy a regime that had endured for a generation.
