Garatonian Aubergine Landgrab
Background 🔗
Voracious Land Co., a company owned by wealthy land speculator Lamarie DeVos found that a Garatonian reserve in [Aubergine] was seated upon a rich vein of electrum.
Voracious employs a number of Dredge Mages who have access to the spell legend lore to look for areas with valuable raw materials, then he buys the land prior to development. In this case however, the sale of lands in the Garatonian reserve is prohibited by law, and any development must be in coordination with their council of elders.
The Garatonian Elders voted unanimously to forbid any mining operations by Voracious, and due to his contempt, barred DeVos from entering Aubergine Garatonie.
Paula Abdul 🔗
DeVos met Paula Abdul at curtain call at a production of Cowl of the Moonlight. Since then, they have become frequent companions. During one of their nights out, he had told her about the frustrating encounter with the Garatonian Elders, and that the veins of electrum would "at least double his company's value at least four-fold". Abdul knew of certain superstitions that might make the Garatonians more "amenable" to exploitation.
Performance 🔗
Abdul convinced a number of performers in the Guildenstern Travelling Troupe to stage a performance in the Garatonian reserve. She drafted a script about the awakening of the Seed of Destruction in the forests surrounding the prospective mines.
Immediately, the panicked Garatonians started running away, only a small few even attempted to pack their bags in the wake of the perceived world-ending threat. The rush to evacuate had led to a number of fires, some hurried looting and destruction of many collectively-owned establishments.
Aftermath 🔗
The Garatonians that survived, filed a complaint against both DeVos and Abdul in the Aubergine capital. The court proceeding against Voracious Land Co. was delayed for many years by DeVos' lawyers. By the time the case was settled, DeVos had extracted 10 million gold worth of raw material, and had cause massive environmental damage for irresponsible mining practices. Some Garatonians chose to move back into the area, but most were forced to seek opportunities elsewhere, due to the decreased productivity of the reserve.
Abdul did not expect the reaction to be so violent, but it was effective for DeVos' purposes. She was given a large sum in gold, and a 10% equity in his mining company. The performers she had used reported the matter to the Guildensterns, who had held a meeting to discuss next steps. Abdul was invited to come, but she did not join the proceedings. As a result, she was exiled, and was barred from using the Guildenstern name for performances of any nature.