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| Action Id: 1236 | Crisis: | Participants: Aleksei, Ferrando, Ailith, Samantha and Mason | |
| Status: Resolved | Submitted: Oct. 3, 2017, 2:41 p.m. | Public: True | GM: Apostate |
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Action by Aleksei
The Liberators of Skald have been quite busy. Mason and Aleksei organized the opening of an art show featuring the works of Fortunato Grayhope (and an anonymous artist). The show was entitled "Freedom" and featured work on the subject of slavery in its many forms, both inside and outside the Compact. The show ran for about a month, at which time the art was auctioned off in an event organized by Saedrus Whisper. All donations and winning bids were collected into one fund. In the end, the Liberators raised 3.2 million silver.
Using that 3.2 million silver, Aleksei and Mason are going to get to work. They have a list of thrall debts throughout the Isles that was procured very quietly and expertly by Ferrando some months ago. They're using this as a basis of where to start in order to identify the most appropriate candidates and also to hopefully minimize any inflation of debt when the sellers realize that they have a buyer with considerable funds at hand. As far as "appropriate candidates" goes, they're focusing on people in the following order of priority:
1) People who enslaved because of the debts of their parents who committed no crimes of their own.
2) People who were enthralled for nonviolent crimes.
3) People who were enslaved via reaving, i.e. people from Abandoned tribes that Compact citizens specifically targeted to attack and enthrall. (As opposed to actual prisoners of war from Abandoned tribes who were attacking Compact settlements.) On the stipulation that they can agree to become sworn citizens of the Compact.
They're not spending the full 3.2 million on just debts; they're going to use the money to purchase the debt and pay the cost of transport and resettling for as many thralls as they can manage with the funds. The Faith will offer the thralls transport to wherever they'd like to resettle within the Compact (so long as they'll swear fealty). The ex-thralls will be housed by the Faith in their parish of choice, and the local Godsworn will help them to find work or apprenticeships within the parish with the expectation that the freedmen will procure their own room and board when they have become self-sufficient.
Individuals are working their particular strengths in the following ways:
- Mason is using his investigation skills to work through the lists of debts Ferrando procured and help identify the best candidates, while also trying to not drain any one area of the Mourning Isles.
- Aleksei isn't exactly a negotiator or a businessman, so he's relying on the lists of debts they procured and a well-honed sense of empathy to try and figure out the best way to talk with both the debtholders and the thralls themselves.
- Saedrus is also helping with this part with a similar skillset to try and charm and empathize his way through negotiations.
- Since the Liberators know that there will possibly be some friction from the Faithful and the Godsworn in the parishes chosen -- "of course you should free those slaves! but don't bring them here, they might be dangerous." -- they have recruited Seraph Ailith to lend her commanding prowess of propaganda to help drum up public support among the Faithful and within the Faith for this initiative.
Action by Ferrando
Action by Ailith
Action by Samantha
Action by Mason
Result
The most remarkable sucess through it all is the complete lack of violence. Here empathy was absolutely vital, and Aleksei in particular finds out a truth that isn't entirely reassuring- when going to buy a thrall, expressiong concerns about violence in their past is quick to have a seller willing to talk up the many reasons that would be unlikely. Sellers, if they think a buyer is concerned about a thrall potentially turning on them or start a revolt, go out of their way to talk about how they were peaceful before they were taken by reavers, or how their debt was inherited and they always were docile, or the many disturbing reasons that a thrall won't be a problem. It's horrifying, but it still allows them to vet ones that are far less likely to cause violence. Mason and Saedrus help find the best candidates off of Aleksei's work, and in the end, they have the better part of five thousand thralls able to be bought (and well below market price for their life debts! A thousand per wouldn't be uncommon).
Ailith and Samantha do great work in preparing for a lack of violence in where they wish to settle, and a few hundred choose to stay in the Isles, as the place they've known, or have always lived. A few hundred more return to other places in the Compact- but a full four thousand are interested in one place in particular, Old Oak.
Samantha's march has acquired quite a reputation as a place of safe refugee for new Prodigals, and so a massive number of ex-thralls believe they can find a new beginning there.
((Old Oak will see a massive bump in its labor numbers of vassals int he domain))