Eppen.
This coastal city, which was once a bustling gateway of trade and salt-scented prosperity, has become the last stronghold of Blande.
After their defeat at Ergel, all of its soldiers fled here in disarray. No one spoke of counteroffensives anymore.
Survival was the only thought left.
Eppen's port was crowded with people. Whether they are nobles, merchants or common people, everybody wants to get on board the ships to leave.
Ships... Any ship that could still float was being boarded.
Fishing vessels. Coastal traders. Smugglers' craft that normally crept in under the cover of night now docked openly, charging obscene prices for passage.
Everyone knows this country is doomed. And so Eppen became a marketplace of desperation.
Public security collapses as soon as the news of defeat reaches the city.
The city watch, undermanned and demoralised, either fled, joined the mobs, or sold their authority to the highest bidder.
