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faction

Black Scales

Summary

The Black Scales are a mercenary faction led by the black dragon Infestus. They maintain a truce with the Underbelly, operate through Blackhold and its Dulpeake doorway, and were later connected with Wrath/Kolin searching for Garadule.

Known Details

  • The Basilisk identified the Black Scales as mercenaries working for Infestus.
  • Day 14 confirms the old gnome tour guide in Salinus’ Prison and his black dragonborn boss were Black Scales.
  • The Black Scales had a truce with the Underbelly, granting the Underbelly access to Salinus’ Prison.
  • Day 14 identifies the Black Scales as mercenaries working for Infestus.
  • Wrath/Kolin, a black dragonborn, would stay beyond the Barrier and was asked to search for Garadule through Black Scales contacts.
  • User clarification identifies Wrath/Kolin as working with The Basilisk.
  • Black Scales is tracked as a faction, not a place.
  • Day 23 identifies Blackhold as a city outside the Barrier controlled or used by the Black Scales.
  • Merfolk said Blackhold had a door into the dome, with access requiring a Grand Towers penny; later clarification identifies the doorway guarded by Nelkish at Coalmount Falls as the Blackhold doorway, connecting to the door at the top of the mountain at Dulpeake near Coalmount Falls.
  • Garadule had reportedly been in Blackhold the day before Baytail Accord and then returned to the dome.
  • The Black Scales were using the party’s kings as servants; their boss liked the Barrier because it kept his food in one place and told Garadule not to bring the Barrier down.
  • TJ Biggins described the Black Scales coming to his outside-dome mining town for tributes and then leaving; he also named the greenscale family and the Loose Teeth in the same context.
  • On Day 56, the party arrived at Dulpeake through Infestus’s coal route. The doorway rules said no member of the Black Scales was to come to harm, truth was the currency, and the party must not disclose the Black Scales’ location or the archway’s location.

Timeline

  • day-14: Black Scales are linked to Infestus; the old gnome tour guide and his black dragonborn boss at Salinus’ Prison are Black Scales, and the Underbelly has a truce with them granting prison access.
  • day-21: Wrath/Kolin links Black Scales contacts to a Garadule search.
  • day-23: Merfolk report the Blackhold door and Grand Towers penny access.
  • day-26: The Black Scales are active around Garadule, the dome, the party’s kings, and the Barrier.
  • day-56: Black Scales rules govern the Dulpeake doorway route to Infestus.

Open Questions

  • Who is the boss whose food depends on the Barrier?
  • Are the Black Scales collecting tribute outside the dome the same group as the Black Scales led by Infestus and tied to Garadule?