Acherus
is said to have been once been a factol of the Guvners,
but he felt hollow and unfulfilled by the post. Indeed,
the well-oiled bureaucracy of the Fraternity of Order
made him lose interest. Acherus felt as if the group was
merely using him, and he needed to truly rule by fear,
not law. Acherus may retain knowledge of an Axiom or two
-- his uncanny knowledge of distant and glimpses of
future events indicate something of the kind. A few of
the original Merkhant councillors once conspired to kill
him, when his power was too great, but when his secret
police spies got wind of it, they were betrayed and cast
from power. None of the new councillors have dared to
challenge Acherus yet, but they'll not wait too much
longer.
Minerus
is the youngest and newest of the Lord Councillors -- he
is but 23, and he oversees all gathering of raw
materials. Minerus prefers to become personally involved
in random inspection of the mines, and is fond of making
"examples" of unproductive workers, with his powerful
(+3) magical claymore. He calls the sword
Shattersoul, and it drains life force from his enemies
while they fight, as if a second level caster used
vampiric touch each round of combat. Although
Minerus has not truly studied the art of swordsmanship,
Shattersoul guides his fighting skill, and he fights with
High Mastery of the broad sword. Shattersoul and Minerus
do not attempt to dominate each other; they are kindred
spirits of malice and sadism. Minerus replaced
Camaburion, a lord who was killed in a miner revolt.
Minerus shattered the strike, and was rewarded with his
current status two years ago.
Siberus
is the day-to-day governor of Pollutus. He reports to the
council on the citizens activity. Siberus is incredibly
strong, comes from Athas, and takes the people's
complaints as jests. Those who protest working conditions
are tossed in the catacombs of Pollutus, under the
factories where alien monsters dwell, awaiting human
feasts. Most miners and employees never walk alone on the
lower levels, and never enter the catacombs at all. No
escape is found in the catacombs, which form mysterious
tunnels throughout the great chunk of Ash. Siberus orders
constant display of authority from his personal Guard,
the Corpse Ravens, who are the most feared warriors in
Pollutus. Siberus, with reason, fears Acherus' plots and
is content to wait on his death to try to seize control.
Siberus has independent agents spying for him, and he
learns first of any visitors. Siberus took power when the
original lords were cast down.
Exarius
is the factory manager. She is responsible for quality of
product, and waste disposal. She was a worker who
advanced quickly through the ranks of Pollutus, leaving a
trail of corpses, among her supervisors. Even so, Exarius
orders employees killed who show too much independent
thought, and has totally forgotten her roots. Acherus
needed a replacement for a disloyal Councillor six years
ago, and chose Exarius, although she tried to kill him
before. He has humiliated her time and again, and she
still aspires to replace Acherus, but has not yet made
any plain movement toward this goal. Once in a while,
Exarius leaves the upper buildings to oversee the
smokestacks, and she also guides the floating cinder,
avoiding collision with other Ash particles.
Tanalius
sells the products, and manages funds. Tanalius uses her
polymorph self ability to cater to the purchaser.
She retains no ties to her Abyssal kin, and often takes
time off to have fun. People go missing when she
has her "fun", only to be found days later, horribly yet
creatively mangled. Products are exported to various
Abyssal lords, yugoloth captains, and baatezu generals.
She has no problem with baatezu, but sends other
negotiators to deal with them, to avoid conflicts.
Tanalius was Acherus' mistress, and she assassinated two
of the previous lords, so she was granted her own title.
Tanalius likes to do personal killings but also has an
elite force of mercenaries (she feels the locals have no
real spirit) to do her dirty work at times.
Behind the
Throne:
Many
petty Incorporata give lip service to the council, and
act more independently and brutally to the populace, but
no single police chief, psionic interrogator, mining
overseer, or guard captain has much influence.
Description:
Pollutus
is a city of humans on the plane of Ashes. They live in a
large city, primarily operating great furnaces which burn
all manner of fuel. The great stone factories produce
weapons, wagons, armour, barding, gears, arrows, cannons,
bricks, and assorted products.
Several
hundred thousand humans live on Pollutus, as indentured
servants to the Incorporata. The Incorporata is a group
which sticks together for mutual and equally split
profit. All Incorporata are evil, and many are Guvners,
Merkhants, fiends, or Mercykillers. The Incorporata has
powerful and high level connections in Sigil, though they
do not openly operate in that city. Incorporata swear an
powerful oath of loyalty to each other, but treachery is
not uncommon.
History:
This
town was founded by a few Merkhants as a joint venture,
and has grown into the greatest interplanar trade route
of the Inner Planes. Twenty years ago Acherus and four
forgotten councillors began this project, but after three
years Acherus eliminated them and replaced them with men
and women more to his liking. Acherus has rapidly
established a powerful network of Spies throughout the
planes.
Militia:
While
each Lord Councillor has their own extensive personal
forces, Pollutus is protected by the Incorporata Police
Force, which is mostly concerned with oppressing
citizenry and taking bribes, although they do maintain a
watch for outsiders. Pollutus' existence is secret, so no
one can leave without orders from a
councillor.
Services:
In
addition to many manufactured products of a generic
quality, Pollutus has great mineral resources and
contains two permanent planar gates. The Great Portal of
Pollutus is a highway to Sigil, with the gate key of
exactly a 175 (celsius) degree air temperature (generated
by enormous smokestacks). A would be traveller must
engage protective magic and jump into the smokestack. In
addition to this portal, Acherus alone knows the dark of
the Spinning Gate, which is contained in a closed sector.
The Spinning Gate randomly leads to different
destinations on the Inner Planes. Acherus can use the
Gate to enter any Inner plane, while the average cutter
has no idea what destination it will take him
to.
Local
News:
Tanalius'
has hit the jackpot. She made a secret deal with an
Abyssal Lord, and more gold is rolling in. They will have
to start a new product in order to do it,
though...
