Ghost Swords (militia)

The Ghost Swords were a militia and adventuring company active in Turmish in the Vilhon Reach in the mid–14 century DR who kept watch for and defended against threats to the realm.

Symbol
They were inspired by and named after the Ghost Swords, apparitions of swords that, on moonlit nights, led people to bandit hideouts, those in need of rescue, or lost treasure. For centuries, all the people of Turmish knew to follow a Ghost Sword, and the militia patrols would react and pursue them without hesitation.

Their badge was a hanging white blade, its tip downward, on a black field. They wore this with pride on the shoulders, but if a disguise or hiding was called for, then they would wear it as a medallion beneath their clothes.

Organization
Although mysterious, they were known to comprise adventurers, veteran warriors, great priests and wizards, and other combat-ready folk.

Activities
The Ghost Swords were established to preserve the way of life and the balance of power in peaceful Turmish. To this end, they tried to identify powerful and influential people who entered Turmish and surveilled them to be sure they had no intentions to despoil the realm or the land. They would even follow them in secret so long as they did not need to intervene. They would also keep an eye on any strangers found in the forests and mountains. They also hunted fugitives and knew to check local root cellars and such that might be used as hideaways.

In the 1360s DR, they were investigating the Nail, a nascent cartel of merchants and shopkeepers.

When they discovered wrongdoers who would rob from or desecrate a temple or tomb, the Ghost Swords would reveal themselves and acted to stop them.

Sometimes surprisingly, they also opposed secretive efforts to establish new places of worship to any deity, to avoid disrupting a religious status quo. This extended even to temporary altars, which more than once had shocked adventurers worshiping their own gods. Their main focus however was preventing priests of Talos from establishing secret communities in the mountains around Turmish and assaulting Turmishan travelers and militias with storm magic, as they had done several times in the mid-1300s DR.