Karcin's Raiders

Karcin's Raiders, sometimes simply called the Raiders, are a fearsome group of bandits and mercenaries operating mostly in western Larendor, and are based in the Yeowend Forest Region. The group is named for its leader Karcin of Terry, who styles himself as "Warlord".

History

When the 11 Years of War began in the 1,237th year of the Storm, Karcin was a soldier in the retinue of Roneo Debius in Caledonia, and fought in the Battle of the Tristane before deserting in the 1,238th year of the Storm after becoming disillusioned with soldiering following the battle. Karcin believed the work done by common soldiers for feudal lords during wars was done for too little, and initially began fomenting a rebellion in western Larendor before turning to mercenary work. While evading capture by his former lord, Karcin made a name for himself as a brutal but effective mercenary over the following two years before recruiting some of his friends to form a mercenary company to further profit from the war.

Karcin's Raiders were founded in the 1,240th year of the storm, initially consisting of Karcin and sixteen others. The group initially took on a number of small jobs that earned them a distinguished reputation for being small but efficient, which landed them an extremely profitable contract with the Principality of Marovine who were rebelling against the Hadasen Knightship. While the group enjoyed great success in the war, their contract eventually came to a close when the Marovinian royal family were wiped out during the Black Betrayal, which also resulted in all but three of the Raiders being killed as well.

Following the event, Karcin and his two captains, Pelerean and Sawel, returned to western Larendor where they recuperated for a time before turning to small-time scams, extorting merchants and peasants on the roads from Penetine to Yeora. During this time they recruited a number of other bandits and mercenaries to reform the raiders, after which they took residence in the abandoned Fort Crisus in the Yeowend Forest Region.

In the 1,253rd year of the Storm when Yeowendia rebelled against the Grest Empire, Karcin's Raiders took up a contract with the crown to aid in the war effort, though the group has done very little on the front lines of battle, mainly raiding small Grest convoys and plundering in western Larendor.

Activities

Karcin's Raiders engage in a wide number of criminal activities, usually violent, mainly robbing peasants and raiding merchant caravans in western Larendor, preferring to stay away from their base of operations in order to not attract attention to themselves. Since the beginning of the Great War the group has taken a contract with Yeowendia but has rarely fulfilled their obligations while still collecting cylc from the crown. The group also allegedly has a number of protection rackets with the villages in the Forest Region, promising to leave them alone in exchange for cylc, and a promise not to surrender information on their whereabouts.

Members

The group have a membership of about forty, though this number is disputed. While small, the group's members are strong and effective in their activities, making them a force to be reckoned with. Their base of operations in Fort Crisus usually has a heavy concentration of members, with small raiding parties of six to ten being sent out to preserve the fort.

Base of Operations

Main article: Fort Crisus

The main base of operations of Karcin's Raiders is the abandoned Fort Crisus in the Yeowend Forest Region, which was besieged and destroyed by Elwin Grest in the 1,197th year of the Storm during the invasion of Yeowendia.

While not under their direct rule, the raiders indirectly control much of the Forest Region, save for parts of the Yeowend Forest itself, due to widespread fear of the goblins that prowl the forest.