Verdun Republic

The Republic’s steamships have a range and speed that gives them access to every port in Myrnia. Their cleverness with iron and coal have made them formidable economically, crafting many complex items much more cheaply than could be done by hand. The cost to them is the raw materials, and the labor to pull those raw materials from the earth. To that end they have colonized much of the Rock Sea and forced the people there to work on the extraction.

Agents
Their agents are primarily gnome traders. When they can convince their trading partners to grant them an embassy you can find their staff do more than polish silver. Bribed officials are very common. For a time they tried to use slaves who were kept loyal through threats to family members, but they found them ineffective at infiltration of northern civilization.

Capabilities
The pressure Verdun can apply is solely economic, but don’t underestimate their leverage. Goods and cash can be quite influential. The gnomes are also open to using their machines as a service, but they are not willing to part with the secrets of making them. You can use that to sew mistrust when trying to convert one of their assets to our cause.

Agenda
They are very clear that they want to build bigger and better machines. It has long seemed to our organization that there must be some greater purpose at work in their designs, but over time I have come to believe that the machines are an end unto themselves. Iron, coal, and innovative designs are worth more to them than gold.