Anno Domini 1837 The Crossing at Benares

A real, historically grounded building — and the most carefully guarded thing at Fort York.

History

Tied to the real 1813 explosion at Fort York, which killed General Pike, and the reason a second, better-secured magazine was built afterward. Background weight rather than a plot to solve — but the fort remembers.

Security

Access is layered, and deliberately hard to get around casually:

  • A sentry posted outside at all times, no exceptions
  • Written authorisation required to approach — orders signed off by an officer such as Major Boulton or Lieutenant Colonel Ashworth
  • Two separate locks on the building, held by two separate keyholders, so no single person can gain entry alone — a real historical practice for powder stores

Walter Croft, Cooper

Gunpowder at this time is stored in wooden barrels. Walter splits his working week between the cooperage stall near Gooderham & Worts and repair work here — re-hooping, resealing, and patching the powder barrels rather than building them from scratch. New empty barrels arrive by supply wagon from York; Walter’s job here is upkeep. He has one apprentice working under him.

Walter is sweet on Sable — a fondness the rest of the forge crew and half the tavern good-naturedly tease him about. It also means Walter often hears things secondhand from Sable before anyone else would. Befriend him early and he is a soft way into news you have not yet earned at the forge.

Why You Might Go In

Legitimately: you may later need gunpowder in quantity for a real fight, giving you honest cause to be sent here with proper orders. The real tension is securing the paperwork and getting both keyholders to cooperate.

Less legitimately: Ben is Chaotic Neutral with an ambition to become the greatest thief who ever lived, and a heavily guarded, double-locked Crown armoury is exactly the kind of target that appeals to him — whether or not the rest of the party approves. Guthrum and Azorin would likely balk at robbing a Crown gunpowder store outright. Consider that friction a feature.

For the careful observer

The stonework inside is not uniform everywhere. Somebody, at some point, matched the surrounding wall and did not quite manage it. That is all anyone is going to tell you.

Further Reading