“It’s been raining for a month now. Some days are better than others, but even the drier days are still so overcast that I haven’t seen the sun in weeks. Floods are everywhere, and I genuinely wonder how much longer it’ll take before land truly does become sea and Ris’sunus wins. Maybe we should have joined The Tidewalker’s side after all when we had the chance…”
-
“I don’t mean to downplay how bad it is for pretty much everyone else, but I gotta admit, all this rain is making the cranberry harvest this year easier than ever. We didn’t even have to flood the bogs - they did it themselves!”
“I’m just disappointed that they decided to cancel the Queen Anne of Cranberry Land pageant this year due to all the bad weather! I was hoping it would be as eventful as that cheating scandal from last year!”
-
“YIKES! Lightning struck a Pale Navy ship this morning and it disintegrated everyone on board! That is some TERRIFYING lightning!”
“I’d say you were crazy, if it hadn’t already happened to two other ships yesterday. The tempest over the ocean is getting stronger and stronger, and if we start getting those strikes further inland instead of just out to sea… well, I don’t like to think about that.”
-
“Riots across Skain! Financial instability of the Golden Clank Conglomerate has had severe impacts on the rest of the Duchy. It’s not just debtors and employees of the Golden Clank that are feeling the hurt; the instability is being felt on every level of resources, logistics, and finance across the Duchy.”
“Reports say that riots are mostly concentrated in South Eastern Skain, but it’s probably for the best to take care when traveling in any region of the Duchy.”
-
“I thought Anivia Amberheart’s job was to stop the storm, but it’s just gotten worse! We should fire her from her Court Wizardry!”
“One, I don’t think that’s how it works, and two, cut her some slack! I heard she’s made some serious breakthroughs in the last few days and has an answer that’ll cut off the storm’s power that she’ll be putting into action as soon as she can.”
“Well hopefully she gets it going quick, before The Tidewalker drowns us all.”
-
“Sounds like a lot of people - commoner and noble alike - are planning to attend Duke Noktavich’s Spirit Farewell to pay their respects and hear what he’s got to say. Probably going to be the first time in a long while that Counts Tillbane and Tanno are going to be in the same room.”
“True that. You know, I just realized that Duke Noktavich has been gone for so long that I don’t think Count Tanno was even born when the Duke went missing. Huh.”
-
“Eliza Terwin is collecting the uuuuuugliest animals I’ve ever seen. Can’t help but wanna help her when she bats those pretty eyes at you, though.”
“Unrelatedly, but speaking of ugly things and eyes: I was taking a walk at night and heard that harp music, but once I saw that lady without eyes people have been talking about, I noped it right on outta there!”
-
“The Order of Brass says that they’re getting close to destroying the last remnants of The Lich Green so that there’s no chance he can ever come back! Huzzah!”
-
“Before the rain started, the circus was supposed to come to town. I hope that it still happens. The show must go on!”
-
“I noticed that adventurer Triska in Fluga; I wonder if they are going to help distribute food around for the Baroness. Between Triska and Tel’rendir, I’m glad to see the adventurers and nobility getting along so well.”
-
“I heard the Golden Clank is in some serious negotiations with Duke Alice. The Duke is calling for the Clank to release debtors and pay debts, while the Golden Clank is pushing Duke Alice to take responsibility for the fallout of criminal activities in the duchy. They want the Mauve Tiger’s head!”
-
“Sounds like the Days of Golden Harvest celebration is still going to happen, rain or shine!”
-
“I saw a lot of lights flashing in that ‘Delilah and DeSylvia’s Delightful Discoveries’ place. I hope it doesn’t explode… again.”
-
“That weird Biata with the orange hair has been spending a lot of time standing at the southernmost tip of Atupal, just staring blankly off into the distance to the south for some reason. What’s that guy’s deal?”
-
“Did you hear about the murders?”
“Yep, they all permed.”
“That’s terrifying. What horrors did they put those people through that none of them chose to go to the earth circle.”
“Heard it might be even more nefarious than that.”
“How?”
“Heard they didn’t get a chance to go to the circle.”
“Is that even possible? And who did you hear that from? Sounds like they had some insider info on what went down.”
-
“Those Langoso pirates are freakin’ creeps! I don’t care that they’ve supposedly turned over a new leaf or whatever, I don’t trust those crazy cannibals one bit!”
-
“I didn’t expect Atupal to have such a tall tree already. I’ve never seen a tree like it before. Kinda reminds you of the old stories about that bard Ashl planting trees; must be his spiritual successor.”
“Or it could have been that lady that’s been lingering around those woods.”
“She’s probably just trying to get dry. With all the flooding, under the canopy of a big tree atop a mountain is probably one of the driest spots in Gavaria at the moment.”
“A tree that tall might risk getting struck by lightning, though. Hopefully it doesn’t catch fire or something.”
-
“The crops are drowning! We’re gonna staaaaaarve!”
“True, all this unending rain has caused water to overwhelm drainage systems, backing up backup systems and flooding fields. However, Duchess Akira Aoki has assured the kingdom that, even in the worst case scenario, the kingdom’s grain stores should be more than full enough to make up for a lost harvest, and Queen Pavia is already stationing soldiers to guard stores and setting up distribution stations should they be needed. Please do not listen to alarmists; The Queen and Duchess have everything well in hand.”
-
“Those darned gremlins have been holed up in their camp in the mountains making the road unsafe for too long! They’ve been there for seven months and the road is basically unusable. I swear, the only reason they haven’t been dealt with is because people are afraid of their explosives expert.”
-
“I heard some kind of weird construct was seen robbing a warehouse. Probably BetterThanU Labs showing off. They can’t help it. Only way of publishing their results.”
-
“Those adventurin’ folk sound like they’re gonna build a whole town on that floatin’ mountaintop. Foreman’s headed up there soon to finalize any construction they want to get done before winter.”
“Some of their merchants and healer types have been looking into making connections with us locals. Should we look into moving there? Might be worth sending a third child up there to give it a shot.”
-
“Heard some sailors saying that Ris’sunus’ control over the sea isn’t even just figurative anymore. Ris’sunus can apparently control the waves themselves directly now, from raising the tides, to creating monsters made of water, to forming giant maelstroms to drag whole ships to the depths, and more. If you’re in the water, you’re at Ris’sunus’ mercy.”
-
“With all the flooding, I sure hope that the Thornberry dam holds. Now that I think about it, I sure hope the Whistlebrook dam holds, too. Heck, I hope all the little dams in Cinem hold. You can do it, dams! I believe in you!”
-
“Did I miss Tiger Training?”
“Tiger’s keeping a pretty low profile these days. But don’t worry, I’m sure they’ll have another one soon.”
-
“Have you seen all of those weird dolls in the halls at the Almaran College?”
“They sure do give me the creeps, especially when you see the same doll in two different places.”
-
“It’s been quiet from Passwall since they brought back the Duke’s body… weren’t they supposed to fix Passwall once and for all? What happened?”
-
“Ya know, Queen Pavia hasn’t had an easy career, especially for someone of her age. First the assassination attempt, then the troll war, and now the ocean is trying to kill us. I don’t envy her, and at least she’s doing everything she can.”
-
“I don’t mean to downplay how bad it is for pretty much everyone else, but I gotta admit, all this rain is making the cranberry harvest this year easier than ever. We didn’t even have to flood the bogs - they did it themselves!”
“I’m just disappointed that they decided to cancel the Queen Anne of Cranberry Land pageant this year due to all the bad weather! I was hoping it would be as eventful as that cheating scandal from last year!”
-
“YIKES! Lightning struck a Pale Navy ship this morning and it disintegrated everyone on board! That is some TERRIFYING lightning!”
“I’d say you were crazy, if it hadn’t already happened to two other ships yesterday. The tempest over the ocean is getting stronger and stronger, and if we start getting those strikes further inland instead of just out to sea… well, I don’t like to think about that.”
-
“Riots across Skain! Financial instability of the Golden Clank Conglomerate has had severe impacts on the rest of the Duchy. It’s not just debtors and employees of the Golden Clank that are feeling the hurt; the instability is being felt on every level of resources, logistics, and finance across the Duchy.”
“Reports say that riots are mostly concentrated in South Eastern Skain, but it’s probably for the best to take care when traveling in any region of the Duchy.”
-
“I thought Anivia Amberheart’s job was to stop the storm, but it’s just gotten worse! We should fire her from her Court Wizardry!”
“One, I don’t think that’s how it works, and two, cut her some slack! I heard she’s made some serious breakthroughs in the last few days and has an answer that’ll cut off the storm’s power that she’ll be putting into action as soon as she can.”
“Well hopefully she gets it going quick, before The Tidewalker drowns us all.”
-
“Sounds like a lot of people - commoner and noble alike - are planning to attend Duke Noktavich’s Spirit Farewell to pay their respects and hear what he’s got to say. Probably going to be the first time in a long while that Counts Tillbane and Tanno are going to be in the same room.”
“True that. You know, I just realized that Duke Noktavich has been gone for so long that I don’t think Count Tanno was even born when the Duke went missing. Huh.”
-
“Eliza Terwin is collecting the uuuuuugliest animals I’ve ever seen. Can’t help but wanna help her when she bats those pretty eyes at you, though.”
“Unrelatedly, but speaking of ugly things and eyes: I was taking a walk at night and heard that harp music, but once I saw that lady without eyes people have been talking about, I noped it right on outta there!”
-
“The Order of Brass says that they’re getting close to destroying the last remnants of The Lich Green so that there’s no chance he can ever come back! Huzzah!”
-
“Before the rain started, the circus was supposed to come to town. I hope that it still happens. The show must go on!”
-
“I noticed that adventurer Triska in Fluga; I wonder if they are going to help distribute food around for the Baroness. Between Triska and Tel’rendir, I’m glad to see the adventurers and nobility getting along so well.”
-
“I heard the Golden Clank is in some serious negotiations with Duke Alice. The Duke is calling for the Clank to release debtors and pay debts, while the Golden Clank is pushing Duke Alice to take responsibility for the fallout of criminal activities in the duchy. They want the Mauve Tiger’s head!”
-
“Sounds like the Days of Golden Harvest celebration is still going to happen, rain or shine!”
-
“I saw a lot of lights flashing in that ‘Delilah and DeSylvia’s Delightful Discoveries’ place. I hope it doesn’t explode… again.”
-
“That weird Biata with the orange hair has been spending a lot of time standing at the southernmost tip of Atupal, just staring blankly off into the distance to the south for some reason. What’s that guy’s deal?”
-
“Did you hear about the murders?”
“Yep, they all permed.”
“That’s terrifying. What horrors did they put those people through that none of them chose to go to the earth circle.”
“Heard it might be even more nefarious than that.”
“How?”
“Heard they didn’t get a chance to go to the circle.”
“Is that even possible? And who did you hear that from? Sounds like they had some insider info on what went down.”
-
“Those Langoso pirates are freakin’ creeps! I don’t care that they’ve supposedly turned over a new leaf or whatever, I don’t trust those crazy cannibals one bit!”
-
“I didn’t expect Atupal to have such a tall tree already. I’ve never seen a tree like it before. Kinda reminds you of the old stories about that bard Ashl planting trees; must be his spiritual successor.”
“Or it could have been that lady that’s been lingering around those woods.”
“She’s probably just trying to get dry. With all the flooding, under the canopy of a big tree atop a mountain is probably one of the driest spots in Gavaria at the moment.”
“A tree that tall might risk getting struck by lightning, though. Hopefully it doesn’t catch fire or something.”
-
“The crops are drowning! We’re gonna staaaaaarve!”
“True, all this unending rain has caused water to overwhelm drainage systems, backing up backup systems and flooding fields. However, Duchess Akira Aoki has assured the kingdom that, even in the worst case scenario, the kingdom’s grain stores should be more than full enough to make up for a lost harvest, and Queen Pavia is already stationing soldiers to guard stores and setting up distribution stations should they be needed. Please do not listen to alarmists; The Queen and Duchess have everything well in hand.”
-
“Those darned gremlins have been holed up in their camp in the mountains making the road unsafe for too long! They’ve been there for seven months and the road is basically unusable. I swear, the only reason they haven’t been dealt with is because people are afraid of their explosives expert.”
-
“I heard some kind of weird construct was seen robbing a warehouse. Probably BetterThanU Labs showing off. They can’t help it. Only way of publishing their results.”
-
“Those adventurin’ folk sound like they’re gonna build a whole town on that floatin’ mountaintop. Foreman’s headed up there soon to finalize any construction they want to get done before winter.”
“Some of their merchants and healer types have been looking into making connections with us locals. Should we look into moving there? Might be worth sending a third child up there to give it a shot.”
-
“Heard some sailors saying that Ris’sunus’ control over the sea isn’t even just figurative anymore. Ris’sunus can apparently control the waves themselves directly now, from raising the tides, to creating monsters made of water, to forming giant maelstroms to drag whole ships to the depths, and more. If you’re in the water, you’re at Ris’sunus’ mercy.”
-
“With all the flooding, I sure hope that the Thornberry dam holds. Now that I think about it, I sure hope the Whistlebrook dam holds, too. Heck, I hope all the little dams in Cinem hold. You can do it, dams! I believe in you!”
-
“Did I miss Tiger Training?”
“Tiger’s keeping a pretty low profile these days. But don’t worry, I’m sure they’ll have another one soon.”
-
“Have you seen all of those weird dolls in the halls at the Almaran College?”
“They sure do give me the creeps, especially when you see the same doll in two different places.”
-
“It’s been quiet from Passwall since they brought back the Duke’s body… weren’t they supposed to fix Passwall once and for all? What happened?”
-
“Ya know, Queen Pavia hasn’t had an easy career, especially for someone of her age. First the assassination attempt, then the troll war, and now the ocean is trying to kill us. I don’t envy her, and at least she’s doing everything she can.”