Kreutzhofen

Kreutzhofen is a town in Wissenland. It's convieniently situated at the cross of the River Soll and the Winter's Teeth and Montdidlier passes. It's also the closest port destination after one comes out of the Vaults after a long trek over treacherous smuggling trails from Tilea.

It's famous as a haunt for smugglers as a result; smuggled goods from Brettonia, Tilea, and the Border regions all tend to bunch up in southern Wissenland and head down the River Soll to Nuln and beyond.

The Black Shepard's Run

<for anyone with reasonable connections to the criminal element ie all of you, this information is widely known.>

Every few years, Kreutzhofen's population of criminals, fixers, thugs, and general rabble explodes in size. The reason? Gunter Golbsfahren, unofficial Smuggler King of Kreutzhofen, indulges the ancient tradition of the Black Shepard's run - a competition of sorts in the town's critical industry - the smuggling of goods across the "secure lines" that delineate the Central Empire from the auxiliaries. The production of various smuggling enterprises is tracked, and the most resourceful and successful team are given the title of Lamb Princes, usually a substantial cash reward, and an invitation to join Golbsfahren's operation if they aren't already involved.

There hasn't been a Black Shepard's for several years on account of the plague; Golbsfahren's organization is somewhat depleted, work is hard to come by - all these factors are adding to the electric feeling that this years' Black Shepard's is going to be a big deal. Criminals from all over have drifted to Kreutzhofen, and are chomping at the bit to gain the underground status that winning it accords.

Of course, agents of the Empire always attend as well, trying to infiltrate the contest. It's a phenomenally dangerous job that's rather thankless; Golbsfahren is more or less immune to prosecution because of his friendship with Count Pfiefracher, and always keeps a plausibly deniable distance from actual criminal activity. Actually arresting any particular team for smuggling does very little to deter the activity overall.

The town itself becomes a bawdy, dangerous, rough place for several months during a Black Shepard's, and the Town Watch is extra-vigilant. The Militia is generally employed full-time arresting and disrupting various teams, usually on tips from rival teams.

Tallying a team's performance is done primarily by means of money - the amount that changes hands in Kreutzhofen is a reasonable indicator of a particular smuggling team's efficacy. Teams are scored by "points", which are essentially an estimate to the closest hundred Karls of how much a particular team has accrued.