The Ten Lashes

Summary

The Ten Lashes was a ruthless underground organization operating in Idir, parts of Peredhel and perhaps beyond, and it was led by the infamous Captain “Torr” Walter. Known for harsh treatment and for keeping its business to itself, it specialized in person trafficking and slavery, a deeply despised practice in a region that values freedom above all. Its influence spread out from the shadows of Haudh-Gwenn to smaller towns such as Loshev and Harad, where its people worked their way into local communities and preyed on the unsuspecting and the vulnerable.

Structure

Captain Torr, who bore the tattoo of a Cat o’ nine tails whip, led the Ten Lashes. Below him were his nine trusted lieutenants, each marked by the tattoo of a single lash for rank and allegiance. Each of them oversaw a part of the operation, from handling local contacts to managing trade routes, and that division is how the organization kept its grip firm across Idir.

Goals

The Ten Lashes set out to dominate the illicit slave trade, and worked discreetly even in regions that would otherwise have been hostile to the practice. Through bribery, coercion and brute force they bought influence in town councils and local governments, and used those connections to evade detection and law enforcement. Operations ran under a strict code of silence, and betrayal was met with a violent end.

Notable Members

Captain “Torr” Walter: The leader of the Ten Lashes, known for his iron will and his unrelenting cruelty. His Cat o’ nine tails tattoo was a fearsome thing in itself, and marked him as the highest authority.

Dan: A guard who served in Loshev, since imprisoned. His capture is what opened the closer investigation into the organization. Aldo wrote the mocking tavern song “Dan the Man” about him, and it outlived his post.

Ashtara Walnut: A wealthy and influential member of Idir’s higher society. She lured high-profile targets, found wealthy buyers, leaned on local leadership, and kept the business running smoothly.

Samir: A hunter and trapper who traveled with his close companion Zara, scouting targets all the while and occasionally taking them without her knowing. He was part of the group that killed Phil.

Zahir: No newcomer to the organization, but after a long stretch spent close to Torr he had begun to have second thoughts about staying.

Xylum: Ashtara’s nearest competitor for the place at Torr’s right hand. Where Ashtara brought protection and business through influence, Xylum would do whatever Torr asked.

Gargoth: The primary mover of cargo. He collected captives from Haudh-Gwenn, Harad, or Westwood and brought them to their final location, and handled deliveries himself for certain more prominent bidders.

Cazzik: Guard captain of Forven, and corrupt the entire time he held the post. A lash under the uniform meant a shipment could cross his district without ever being stopped.

Gleb Meadows: Of Veren, and the last of the nine whose name was ever written down.

Unnamed: One lash is unaccounted for. The tattoo was worn, the seat was filled, and nobody who was made to talk could say by whom.

Notoriety and Rumors

For all their secrecy the Ten Lashes stirred fear and anger through Idir’s population. Locals whispered of hideouts in abandoned ruins and caves where the unlucky were held, and tales of tattooed enforcers along the riverways raised suspicion everywhere. After Cleven Gemsmith was taken, the leadership of Loshev committed itself to hunting them down, and working in populated places grew steadily harder for them.

Base of Operations

They worked out of a good many places, hidden caves and urban ruins among them, and their primary headquarters was never found until the raid on the hideout in the caves between Haudh-Gwenn and Westwood. What was left of them went further underground after it.

The moving was done by a crew out of Ravenhold, who took crates and people down the river through Loshev with the jailer Dan seeing them past the questions that would otherwise have been asked. What they carried came up out of Amulta and went south toward Meshtes, and was held in the cave outside Haudh-Gwenn in between.

Symbolism and Tactics

Each member’s tattoo was a permanent mark of rank and of loyalty to Torr. Members worked in pairs more often than not and kept their errands quiet to avoid notice. They were meticulous about covering their tracks, and they killed anyone who looked likely to threaten their secrecy.

Current Status

The raid cost them several members captured and freed the people they were holding, and it was a heavy blow. Torr died in it. Some feared that, given the chance, the survivors would try to rebuild.

Campaign Updates

The ring was broken at the end of the party’s first season. Torr was killed on the 6th of Orie, 671 AYR. Ashtara Walnut was exiled rather than executed, and she bought that outcome: she handed over her documents and the names in them, and in exchange the party kept her out of the report they gave the Loshev council and let her go to Peredhel. She has survived it. The roster itself was the real damage: exposed, named, and handed to people who had reason to act on it, which is worse for a slaver ring than losing any one member.

It did not end them so much as scatter them. Members remain loose in Forven and Veren, without a captain and without a captain’s protection, and the trade in Idir has not stopped so much as changed hands.

The larger thing the party turned up came later. The Ten Lashes were bankrolled from above by Beltran Grayeras, the lordling who, by the season after their collapse, had taken Haudh-Gwenn’s guard outright. Koa had seen him flee the auction and did not know who he was looking at. The party stated it plainly to the Loshev council in S5E58, and Yullen Gemsmith, whose son they took, heard it there for the first time.