The
Ashbury Times
May 608
“All The News That Fits, We Print”
Queen Missing at Sea
A diplomatic trip by Queen Sidraste
to the Three Kingdoms has turned to tragedy.
As the scheduled date of arrival passed, scout ships from the
Since the discovery, royal sailors and marines
have begun resurrecting back in Icenia. It has been reported that Queen Sidraste along with her knights Sir Tyler Banoch and Dame Beatrice Wyndham were taken as
captives. All other sailors and marines
were sent to the bottom of the sea, along with several representatives of the Sarr nations.
Duke Broomis
Bouchard of Brittington, Duchess Jacelyn
Corellia of Evorra, Duke
Colin Hendry of Falkirk, Duke Frost Vardik of Ashbury along with the remaining Royal Knights have met and
determined Dame Sonia shall act as regent in this dark time. Our own Duke Frost and Duke Colin strongly
backed Dame Sonia, while others protested the decision. Duke Broomis was
especially vocal in pushing for himself as regent.
Vampire Apocalypse?
In 604, a strange
stone pedestal appeared on the outskirts of the
Phoebus Vitiate
shall rise throughout the land
and a new night shall dawn
Those forbidden
to walk in the sun
shall rejoice as eternal night
descends
The very power
that chains them to the dark
shall fuel their ascension
And the living
shall know fear
and their doom shall find them
The best attempts of learned scholars and
mages were of no use in destroying or containing the obelisk. The efforts of such notables as Aeon Nimbus, Guildmaster Aoysius, Symerille and Squire
Ignatius Vex were to no avail. Wards and
other containing magics proved of little worth.
The next day, the bestial vampires that have
come to be known as The Craven flocked to the obelisk, the sunlight seeming to
not affect them. The vampire General of Galanthia, Matros Lochaber was also seen in the vicinity and allegedly was
staking the creatures and talking to various adventurers. He claimed he has been hunting and destroying
them, but he cannot keep up with their rate of infection. He stated that the infection will turn a living
person in one to two months and there is no saving them. He also stated a person infected that dies
will almost immediately turn. Rumor has
it the destroyed dragon mage vampire Loscarnos de Morganna is responsible for these obelisks. Once the Craven attacks seemed to cease or at
least slow down, Dame Glorianna of Nordenn insisted Lochaber leave,
evidently not wanting to risk a fight with the powerful vampire after the
grueling battle. It seems a wise choice
was made, as attacks by the Craven have continued though in smaller groups.
Reports indicate the other objects of
necromantic power have led to similar but smaller attacks of the Craven and
other undead. Wraiths and ghosts and
other non-corporeal have been seen in the daylight in larger and larger areas
of Icenia, some as far as five miles from one of the
objects. The baronial and ducal armies
have set up large forces around each of these objects, as the creatures seem
drawn to them. Citizens that live in the
vicinity of any of these objects are encouraged to stay indoors, preferably in
a ward or circle of power…or preferably to evacuate to safer areas.
The day before the daylight attack, a sergeant
of the ducal rangers led a strike force of adventurers, including
Elementals Appear in
Apparently the Contested Lands are
not the only place to find angry elementals; on Tuesday, the sixth of the Hawk,
the guards were called to a strange disturbance inside of the city gates, where
what look like a rift had torn itself open in the middle of Ashbury city, and
began to pour out Ice Elementals. The rift soon closed behind them, and the Ice
elementals asked who had summoned them. When no one answered, they became
frustrated, and started demolishing some of the market place area. They were
vanquished by the City guardsmen, but there was no rhyme or reason to their
appearance.
City officials are still quiet, but
some of the rumors about town are circulating that it has to do with the
Barbarians of the Reclaim.
Dominion Surge in Bretton
After the loss of Bretton
during last month’s raid, the Ducal Army has pulled their forces back
after incurring huge losses from an attempt to flush out the Riedic Legion. It
would seem for now that Bretton is a lost cause; and
already the Dominion has been seen building a wall along its southern border
against Roderick’s Rest. A few Gryphons have
also been seen flying in and out of the area, but no further word was given by
the Ducal Army at this time. The number of Refugees leaving the Contested lands
and coming over the river into Fairdale seems to be a greater number as of
late, which has put a bit of a strain on Fairdale, where there is little to no
room to house them.
The Ducal Army has warned commoners to remain
cautious, and bear arms in the area of Fairdale in case of a Dominion attack.
Corner of Chivalry
By Baron Ivan Drake
Recently, there have been
several in-depth discussions regarding forgiveness. The Code of Chivalry
does not specifically comment on the concept of forgiveness, but it does
require that we be “everywhere and always the champion of the right and
the good against injustice and evil.” Therefore, in my opinion,
forgiving someone who is truly repentant is an act of righteousness.
The question then becomes
this: Is it possible to never forgive certain people? As a human, I am
short-lived, so for me, “never” is quite a long time. If an
elf has spent 10 years of their life making evil choices, does that differ from
a human making a month of mistakes? Bear in mind also that one evil act
does not make someone evil just as one good act does not make someone
good. People should be judged by how their character is presented over
time
But in truth, I’m not
sure that the amount of time nor even the depth of
evil character determines whether or not one deserves forgiveness. Is the
perpetrator genuinely remorseful? Have they accepted responsibility for
their actions and repented? Of course, one who has had a long history of
evil would find the path to redemption to be long and often difficult. I
don’t think you can expect people to immediately
forgive someone who has knowingly done wrong simply because they say
they have repented. It will take time for people to accept them.
But I believe that at some
point, the balance of one’s life choices can tip in favor of
righteousness. As a wise
man once said, “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute
of the strong.”
Letters
To the Adventuring
Community:
I seek an open
forum at the next gathering at the Black Stag Inn. There has been so much
dissention in our dreams, and our blood is running so hot that we lash out at
one another, instead of saving our fight for the enemy at hand. Let us
fight only in pursuit of peace... and not harm one another in deed, thought or
words.
My appreciation
and respect for you all.
In Service
Lady Knight Glorianna Wyndancer Nordenn
Friends,
It feels good to be home in Icenia. Five years is a long time to be gone, but my
time spent training with the Candyman was
unforgettable. I cannot thank him enough for everything he taught
me. It was good to come home and see so many familiar faces again.
It was also a pleasure to meet a great many new faces. There are a lot of
young, talented individuals holding up the lines in Fairdale.
I have some news I wanted to
share with you all. Some of it is good, some of it is bad. My first
order of business was to reopen my bakery in South Point, but my return was not
a happy one. I never anticipated being gone for so long, so I left nearly
everything behind. Some time in the past five years my home was robbed of
everything I have worked so hard to earn. My life
savings, my weapons (including an indestructible long sword given to me by Lady
Azura), my alchemy -- all gone. As you
can imagine I was a bit overwhelmed by this, but I came back from Candyland eager to work in my bakery. Not even this
setback would stop me.
This brings me to the good
news. I was able to raise enough money from my time in Fairdale to open a
new bakery. I enjoyed my time in South Point, but I was hoping to move
somewhere closer to Fairdale, yet still far from danger.
So I find myself back in
With things returning to
normal, I do not plan on traveling to Fairdale often. I do plan to send
up treats in my absence, so be on the look out. Running a business is a
great responsibility, but you will be seeing me here and there when I get the
urge to hang up the apron and pick up my gas globes. Hopefully I will be
in Fairdale for the tournament this summer.
One last thing! I am
in search of a race change scroll and catalyst. I have thought about it
for many years, and I have finally decided it's time to become a Hobling on the outside, not just in spirit. While hard
to explain, I feel like this is something that I have desired all my life,
and it finally needs to be done. I have also been told by many to
seek out the elders amongst the hoblings, so it looks
like I have some traveling to do.
Safe travels,
Perwin
Poppinfresh
I am glad that the people of Icenia can bond
together towards a common goal; that these cursed creatures will be brought to
an end. A word of caution, however, to each and every
adventurer willing to make the journey the Fairdale.
Be cautious; this is not some usual toil where the creatures we fight
will care about being hit; either by steel, stone, or Earth Magic. They will
come, and continue coming; as they are little more than rabid animals.
There is no cowardice in not coming; this is a battle where some of us
will not return, so for those of you who do not have the strength, stay and
live, so that you too may fight our fight someday, should we fail.
To those that come, I will bleed freely with you, and die beside you to
make sure this plague never infests the Earth, ever again.
I do, however have a request.
To any and all who have a tendency to fight recklessly: This will not be the place for it.
Understand that these creatures will draw and feed upon you without any
remorse, and should you separate yourself from your group and be taken down,
the only thing that will come of it is more lives lost from your recklessness.
Those of us who heal will have no choice but to leave you behind. Please
understand this, as it is very important; the potential of you running off
alone will not work for this coming
gather.
Please understand that in order to fight this force and succeed, the band of Adventurers MUST work together; else we
will all be doomed to this plague. That means taking commands and listening to
those in charge. That means making a tactical retreat if the front of the
battle is lost. We fight now for so much more than just Fairdale; we fight for
the survival of every man, woman, and child who calls Icenia
their home. Their lives are in your
hands.
To any and all who wish to help, please send missive to me with your
strengths, and I will make recommendations accordingly. My group and I have
fought undead for quite some time, and I have
researched these creatures for a while now.
The time for action has come.
Aislynn Ravenshire
A Little Birdie
Told Me
by Sue D’Onym
Hello, drearies. Here is the latest News They
Don’t Want You To Know!
Ithica came back from the bugbear “Kingdom”
sporting a new armband…Is he planning on adding monsters to his ragtag
mercenary army now?
Noted Prophet Aeoun Nimbus was seen sharing trollweed with Rackmaster General
Les’Grahk
of the Broken Spear bugbears. Topics discussed were the war against the Dur’Namarie, how to cure Lycanthropy and asking if he
could be whipped until he had a prophetic vision. And speaking of bugbears,
what is this I hear about His Grace Frost
Vardik inviting them to the Ducal
ball?
And of course, people are already talking about the Ball, held this year
in July. “Everybody loves the Duke’s balls!” says Dame Glorianna, who
is planning the event, and probably taking her newest trophy, Squire Trevor.
Great news for Baron Ivan Drake! He has managed to hold onto his crown for an
entire month. Kobolds asked about this turn of events declined to comment
except to grin. I heard that he is
taking a necromancer to the Ball. No,
really!
The adventurers are starting to worry whenever Dame Sonia comes to town. She came in to
investigate the release of the Dominion, then to announce the death of the
king, and now to tell us that Queen Sidraste is missing. Does she ever have anything good to say?
Perwin the baker visited Fairdale recently, visiting many
adventurers who had traveled with him long in the past, before he took time off
to work at his bakery or something else equally boring. Now he is searching to find a way to be race
changed to a hobling.
And you think his wares are expensive now!
That’s all for this month, because not very many people
contributed…So until next time, remember – If you can’t say
something nice about someone, come sit by me.
Public Notices
LOOKING TO BUY components to defeat the undead and the
bloodline for Morganna. Please seek Lady Knight Glorianna
Wyndancer Norden
THE
SAGE’S GUILD will be opening a chapter in Fairdale and taking interviews
for all those who wish to join the guild. Please contact me privately if you
wish to have an interview. I will holding interviews
on the last Saturday of this month in Fairdale at noon in the tavern. -- Aria