The Beachburg Trading Company

The Beachburg Trading Company
During the 2nd Era the Beachburg Trading Company, also known as the BTC and the Beachburg Trading Empire, was one of the most powerful and influential organizations in the world. They possessed a large amount of control over the western coast of Hollyhaal and the eastern coast of South Auros, holding firmly over the land they owned with an enormous military presence and strong resource control.

While the BTC was in power it was (for the most part) a time of relative peace and calm in the regions, but around the year 500 2E the Gnomish Merchants of the Coast took a strong hold over the eastern coast of Hollyhaal and the two merchant companies began a several centuries long conflict. While never escalating to a full on war, there were several skirmishes between forces of the two companies, with the GMC often coming out on top thanks to their superior technological and magical prowess.

In the year 846 2E, the GMC launched a stealth operation guided by one Françoise Jean-Marie Paris and her personal group of saboteurs, dubbed "Le Bombardier Femmes". This operation had saboteurs infiltrate the BTC capital, Beachburg, and plant explosive devices powered by the highly explosive refined whale oil in the water purifiers for the city. It went off without a hitch and the city of Beachburg was plunged into chaos from the attack, with clean water suddenly being largely unavailable for the poorer citizens of the city and one of the main exports of the city, purified water, no longer being available. As a result, the BTC lost a large amount of confidence from the citizens under its banner, with many no longer thinking that the BTC could keep them safe. This is often thought to be the start of the fall for the BTC.

Origins
The Beachburg Trading Company was initially established as Clan Wasserhändler on the eastern shores of South Auros. Being a proud and large seafaring clan, the South Auros Reich requested that Clan Wasserhändler send half of its members across Das Trennende Wasser (the South Aurosian Dwarven name for the Breathing Waters) to discover new trade opportunity and land for the Reich. Shortly after this request, Clan Wasserhändler began to prepare for the enormous journey.