The Kingdom’s unofficial troubleshooters — and the party’s employer.
What They Are
Followers of Salmaan ayd-Bara (“Uncle”) who handle affairs too sensitive or unusual for the formal mechanisms of the state or the Order of the Eagle. Some are women despite the name. The full roster is known only to Salmaan and presumably his immediate family; some work deep undercover.
Known Members
- Maajid ibn-Salmaan — Uncle’s eldest son and chosen successor; runs the clandestine side (S6)
- Ismad ibn-Salmaan — Uncle’s second son and de facto “Captain”; gives the party its orders
- The party: Gnaeus Clodius Ulpius · Farraj ibn Ihab al-Rabi · Haroun al-Affan (plus Titus Caetronius Surus and Ari)
- Dolgrim Zum-Akar — a dwarf of formidable physique
- Jinan al-Karim — quiet and shrewd
- Ahad al-Faruk and Jabari al-Faruk — twins, experienced soldiers
- Achmed — Uncle’s Factor in Halwa (S4)
- An unnamed agent stationed in Halwa, Haroun’s replacement there (S4)
Current Assignments (party’s)
- Follow up on the three sanctums from the decoded documents — The Sanctum Investigation
- Find out why the Phoenix Knights came to Hazad — Why Did the Phoenix Knights Come to Hazad
Standing Orders from the S6 Debriefs
Issued by Ismad, with Uncle and Maajid behind him:
- Estelle — treat as an agent contact. Play along. Avoid being recruited. Try mildly to recruit her. Learn more, especially about her organization. Suspected Phoenix (no proof).
- Sanctums, the Six Voices, the orrery — obscure, help needed, and be quiet about all of it.
- House Balventia — letter of introduction provided, for research on the Order of the Dawn. Sanctums may be raised carefully; Haroun’s temptation may not be raised at all.
- Lindse — keep her as a servant.
- Madeline Foussard — reported to the Eagle; theirs to decide; Ismad will keep them updated.
- Citadel of Gazra — introduction given, Captain Faqir instructed that Visenne de Tarrand and Isabel d’Allais may be released into the party’s custody on request. Ismad deliberately gave no briefing first, so as not to bias them.
Speculation
Uncle’s Men produced, inside two days: a priest who could lift a sanctum-laid curse, a door into a Great House, the identity of the Most Holy’s heretic brother, a 1720 massacre in Krenau, a name to speculate about for the Kraus’s Folly warp circle, and the keys to two prisoners of state. They are much better resourced than four sessions of “unofficial troubleshooters” implied, and the party has been the last to know most of it. Worth asking what else is in the file.