Marsember Watch

The Marsember Watch, also called the City Watch or the Watch, was the local constabulary of Marsember, an organization of city guards that protected the Cormyrian city and its economic interests. While they were charged with the city's protections, many of their members were considered to be corrupt and thuggish. Each of its members was called a Watchman, or Watchmen for plural.

Organization
The watch had a military-like hierarchy, with ranks similar to those used in the Purple Dragons, such as topsword, blademaster, oversword, constal, and lord marshall. Only officers of the Watch were permitted to take families and live in their own homes.

Activities
Many watchmen regularly accepted bribes, particularly when offered by the city's mercantile interests. It also provided watchmen with Watch flans, which were steel meal tokens they could use to buy the cooperation of the hungry by letting them obtain a free full meal from the King's Tower in Marsember. The thump from a body hitting the floor was a common sound in any Watch barracks, where the residents often returned too drunk to find their beds.

Besides the sword, a majority of watchmen favored the halberd.

Relationships
The group had a contentious though not outwardly hostile relationship with Cormyr's Purple Dragons.

History
The Watch was founded some time after 1386 DR as a private militia for the merchant's guild of Marsember. They were originally tasked with providing interference between the merchants and the local contingent of the Purple Dragons. The order's founders left a deep strain of corruption, however, and the Marsemban Kenric family, a long line of Helmites, spent three generations trying to purge the Watch of corruption and bring Helm's Law of Service to their fellow watchmen. They joined when they were of age.

Ilgrim Marduth became Lord Marshall of the Watch a tenday after Taggar Kenric died.

When their city was evacuated on Uktar 2 of the, watchmen under the command of Topsword Kleef Kenric cleared out Wilhastle Square, while Kleef himself fought off a number of shades singlehandedly.

Members

 * Ilgrim Marduth, Lord Marshall of the Watch circa 1486 DR.
 * Taggar Kenric, a constal and follower of Helm.
 * Kleef Kenric, a topsword and chosen of Helm.
 * Tanner, a guardsman under Kleef.
 * Jang, Kleef's first blade, from Xiousing.
 * Ardul, a young guardsman under Kleef.

Appearances

 * Novels
 * The Sentinel