The Queen’s Legation, Royal Office, Thistle Hold

The Queen’s Legation

The eldest daughter of House Argona, a meticulous and educated widow named Suria, acts as the official legate of the Queen in Thistle Hold. The newly constructed legation is placed close to the fence of Nighthome and houses a staff of seven, entrusted to speak for Korinthia’s administration and to send daily reports on large and small matters back to Yndaros.

Suria’s father, the imposing Count Alkantor Argona, has come to spend more and more time on the upper floor of the building, a floor which he disposes of as if he owned it. Persistent rumors claim that he governs his daughter with an iron fist, and that she for her part is fully occupied by trying to cover up her father’s taste for all forms of lowly pleasures. Such gossip aside, there is no doubt that the Count often meets with the Mayor and thereason for that is commonly known: both have a lot to lose by the continued growth of Blackmoor, especially since the situation plays in favor of the unruly House Erebus and its charismatic leader, Baron Grafoldo Erebus.

The Legation as a source of information

The Queen’s Legation must also be mentioned among the credible sources of information in town, at least in some areas. Suria Argona has two notaries employed, with the express task of recording everything that has to do with Queen Korinthia’s grandiose endeavor. Hence, the shelves of the cellar vault are jam-packed with books and scrolls, describing huge as well as small events in the history and development of the region. Searching the archives for information costs one thaler per hour, but an alternative is to trade for the time – that is, you agree to tell the notaries of some more or less significant event that they are interested in preserving for posterity.

The latter can also be a way to add to the travel funds or save up for a couple of extra nights at one of Thistle Hold’s guesthouses. Provided you are deemed credible, a witness statement from an expedition into Davokar or from some notable incident inside the palisade can pay between one and five thaler. But liars and showoffs should not bother to try, since the notaries Karasto and Perela are said to possess mystical means of revealing untruths – something which may result in a ban from the building.