Villben

A medium sized city on the western coast of Eskillion. Villben is known primarily as a merchant town and center of commerce for many artisans, fishermen and entrepreneurs.

History
The city of Villben had been a contested settlement for much of its history. Over time its walls were reinforced and grew higher and thicker as a means of defense against invading forces. These walls started to provide a stark contrast the wide open farmland in which the majority of the city's vassals chose to settle and thus gave the city it's signature look.

Several centuries ago, after a long period of instability, custodianship of the city fell to the wealthy merchants who had settled there. The Cors family became the de facto rulers but not before establishing the small council which would preside over the city's administration for years to come.



The Night of Knives
Twenty years ago, all 8 members of the small council was murdered with the exception of Lord Derrand Cors in an event that became known as the Night of Knives. It was a great shock and upset to the city and a manhunt began immediately for the ones responsible. At first, Lord Derrand Cors was suspected as he was the only one who stood to gain from the killings. However, there was no evidence brought forth to support the claim. Without any real leads, it was a surprise to many when the thieves’ guild gave up two of their own members, brothers named Claude and Morvis Jurell, who were suspected of masterminding the murders. Justice was swift after the brothers freely admitted their guilt. They were both hung a few days after their admission in the city square.

In the aftermath, with the city reeling from the incident, the citizens began to rally a call for the forceful disbandment of the thieves’ guild as they were already a nuisance for many in a city of merchants and tradesmen. In a surprising effort to counter the anger of her vassals, Lady Dahlia Cors held a secret meeting with the leader of the thieves’ guild, a man known as Grim. The decision to forgive the thieves’ guild came publicly from Lady Dahlia Cors as she announced that due to their quick and forthright disavowment of the Jurell brothers, the guild would need to provide the city with ongoing monetary recompense as an apology for their part in the Night of Knives. This decision was hailed by most as a wise and fair ruling as many in the city were not happy with the guild’s standing purpose of the redistribution of wealth. At least now the wealth would ostensibly find its way back into the pockets of those who needed it or so it was thought.