"An Open Letter to Members of the Castle Alliance and other Friends"

Having lived in exile for a few years now, I have decided that it is time to consider how we should go about preparations to leave the Lok'Groton islands en masse and return to The Ascendancy.

The principal difficulty is that Mobius has seen to it that we don't have the means to cross the ocean and return to the Western Continent. Or to travel elsewhere for that matter. The rowboats we have are too small to cross the ocean, and too small to be used to capture an Imperial ship when they arrive with new exiles. We must build our own ships instead.

There are two primary difficulties that need to be overcome before we can start to begin building ships:

1. The Darshaks - they seem to have been infiltrated by Imperial agents who are using the Darshaks to suppress us and monitor us. The Darshaks would also have their own reasons to prevent our constructing any ships. Capturing ships from the Darshaks would only serve to alert the Empire to our plans.
2. The Exile ships - any such major construction in or around Puddleby would be spotted by any ships from the Empire when they stop offshore to offload new exiles.
3. Spies - I have no doubts that agents of the Inquisitors live amongst us in Puddleby.

Because the shipyard would have to be built away from Puddleby it would also have to have walls and other defenses built as well as housing. In short: a new, secret town built by us for our own purposes.

This town would have to be built in stages:

1. The walls or palisades for initial defense during construction.
2. A castle or other fortress to provide lodging and a safe haven in the east. Ideally this would be the Alliance Castle in order to keep our growing organization away from prying Darshak and Imperial eyes.
3. Support structures including houses, warehouses, pubs, an inn, and library.
4. A sawmill.
5. Piers and other dock facilities.
6. The shipyard itself.

I haven't been able to scout for locations, but somewhere beyond the eastern passes might be best. There appears to be several secluded coves where the shipyard could be set up and the east is convenient to supplies of raw materials. One of the other islands may be better for keeping the new town hidden, but the need for regular boat traffic might make it too noticeable.

Marcus Antonius, Toisech of the Brotherhood of Independents