Ochalea, smokepowder and trading
by Bruce HeardWelcome to Hong Kong. (Neat). What if a bunch of other commercial entreprises got a toe-hold as well on Ochalea? I could see Minrothad merchant guilds, some presence from Darokin, Karameikos, etc. They would all try to get their hands on the precious smokepowder, treating the news that smokepowder only works on the Savage Coast as a pitiful Ochalean scheme to cut them out. I'm assuming everyone would eventually discover the existence of smokepowder.
Perhaps Ochaleans have had a hand in the creation of smokepowder, but the main component (steel seed) still has to come from the Savage Coast. As a result of this, and perhaps as part of the 99 year-long lease, the LB Trading Co. acquired a monopoly to purchase all smokepowder manufactured in Ochalea. No doubt, paranoid nations of the Known World would truly hate to hear that. This could earn the LB Trading Co. many enemies in places faraway and cause unexpected trouble for Ochalea as well.