EFUA Gossip, Major Events, and Rumors (IC Knowledge)

[Talir]

Residents of the Docks may note an increased tension between members of the Merchant Guild and Craftsmen, and members of the Fishmongers.

[Iron Oligarch]

Kythorn 10:

The Old Port, crown jewel of the Shrouded Archipelago, burns. While little is known of the specifics on Ymph, the crews of several ships that have sought safety in the Dominion's harbor speak of riots that began in the Grand Arena and spread throughout the comital seat, swiftly driving upholders of the Count's law from the streets despite the best efforts of House Senuspur's Rubies and Ojo, the Count's court mage.

Given rumors that the Old Port's civil strife was caused, in part, by the reappearance of Lord Agravain Blackhearth, it was of little surprise when, early the next morning, the Lord Blackhearth held a speech in the courtyard of his ancestral castle. Lord Blackhearth is said to have reaffirmed the Order's intentions to hold and maintain the land that his house had been granted in the days before the War of Succession, and have sharply criticized both Count Senuspur and Duke Trenada for their sins in governing their realms. As the speech was concluded, a single bonfire was lit atop the battlements of the castle, as if to indicate a beacon of hope to the beleaguered Old Port across the bay.

[DangerousDan]

Kythorn 12:

The Numinous Order were routed today, when a small convoy of militiamen and refugees fleeing Duke Trenada's rule were turned by the Stygian Armada, lead in the field by Infantryman Coronado. It is said that the plan to fall upon the few Knights and Militiamen was thrawted when a traitor delivered word of the attack to Castle Blackhearth. A large body of Order Militia lead by fresh Knights met the Armada in the Webbed Wood. The battle was short, and bloody. The Stygians emerged victorious, with more than thirty Ordersmen lying dead at their feet. Coronado and his men returned victorious to the Ziggurat.

Still, it is said that the vanguard of Lord Blackhearth's strength remains in-tact, and that the bloodiest engagements of the war are yet to come. Rumour of the butchery of women and children by the Stygians have been unable to be substantiated: shortly after the battle was ended, a thick unnatural mist descended upon the battlefield and appeared to swallow up the corpses of the fallen.

The cause of this Mist has been attributed variously to grave robbers working silently in the mists, to more outlandish tales of heretical practices from within the Order. Reports of a cowled man who was seen stalking the battlefield after the Armada withdrew and tending to the dead have been widely refuted as fiction.

[Nuclear Catastrophe]

The orcs, having attacked en masse for a few nights, slaughter a great many farmers, decimating the quiet peace and prosperity of the surrounding farmlands of the ziggurat; a stark reminder of the dangerous and unpredictable nature of Ymph.

The forests teem with remnants of a great orc host, though the main scourge appear to have retreated once more, perhaps in part due to the death of their leader.  Orcen politics being even more unpredictable than that of humanity ensures that determining their next attack is less a question of if, but when it will happen.

An ominous quiet has descended over the once prosperous Fahrel Farmlands

[Talir]

23rd of Kythorn

An announcement was held by Hyrsciator and Thayan Thrask Morv atop the Transcendant Conclave of the dissolution of the treaty. In this speech the Hyrsciator announced that the Conclave will revert back to how the truce was maintained earlier, now with the full experience of the treaty to assist them. This is met with varied response from the Dominion and the Docks, some fearing that this liberty may be taken advantage of and used for personal reasons. Others at last breathe more easier as the copies of the lengthy treaty gradually are removed from sight through all means possible.

[BrittanyPanthas]

Kythorn 21st.

While the details of the Order's battle with the Armada and the events that followed are still shrouded in mystery, rumors begin to circulate in the days following. It would appear that the siege began with both sides taking hostages from the opposition.  Famed Knight-Templar Jacques De Villiers was taken captive on a flanking sortie in the Tangled Woods, while Tetrarch Maria Sevar of the Armada was captured on an attempt to infiltrate Castle Blackhearth from the tunnels below.

The Duke offered the Order a chance for unconditional surrender, when it was not taken, the Militia advanced.  Near catastrophic losses were taken by the Loyalist Militia, as the brave men attempted to take the battlements of the castle upon siege ladders.  All of this was apparently a ruse, as a Stygian Specialist used the time to unbar the gates, then jam them.  Only at this point, did the Stygian Infantry led by Infantryman Belalcazar and Loyalist adventurers advance.

At this point, the Order used the Stygian's own Alchemist Fire barrels, used from a daring raid upon the Piers to blow up a section of the stone span leading to Castle Blackhearth, the only method by which the castle could be entetered by the Dominion soldiers.

While entrapped, it did not seem to phase the Stygians and adventurers who calmly engaged the Numinous Order in the Courtyard. While the men of the Order, whose defense was led by Knight-Templar Ulric the Penitent, Templar Iodmyr York, and Templar Gregor Ostali attempted to repel the invaders, eventually they too were felled and taken hostage.

At this point, a man of the Order paraded out Tetrach Sevar at swordpoint, and the Stygian advance was halted by the prospect of such an important hostage being executed.

Negotiations were had, but fell through until Lord Agravain Blackhearth and his men arrived, for their intended assault upon the Armada's rear during the siege.  Derisively referring to the man as 'Antoine' and dismissing his title, Lord Blackhearth was swift to offer this deadly insult to force the Duke's hand in a challenge of honor.

As the Mists thickened terribly about the battlefield, a masked man stepped onto the battlefield, the Grandmaster of the Numinous Order, who revealed he would be serving as Lord Blackhearth's champion.  Upon removing his mask, all were shocked upon seeing his face.  The man was revealed to be Grimfael Corval, former Forgotten Templar of the Pallid Mask, who had been thought slain by vampires beneath the city.

As the two traded blows in the duel to follow, Master Ruby Vjasa Sumuri arrived onto the battlefield, and demanded that the duel cease.

As Sumuri read the proclamation of his grace, Count Zarono Senuspur, all participants of the battle were stunned to learn that he had recognized Lord Blackhearth's claim, and had granted him the surrounding lands as his fief.  Not only that, but he was declared to be direct retainers of the Senuspur family.  A title which would put him directly at odds with the Duke on Ymph, given that he would not be forced to swear fealty to him.

The reason given, was that Lord Blackhearth is tasked with using his lands to feed the Old City, which had been plagued by food riots for over a tenday prior to the battle.

While there are many other minutia to the proclamation which will be finally brought to the political forefront in the days to follow, one thing is clear.

The Numinous Order has returned.

[Iron Oligarch]

Kythorn 29:

While building fires are not unheard of in the Docks, today marked the first occasion that the home of a major gang in the district was destroyed by one. The Bozworks, a mysterious complex well-known for its (nebulous) connections to the district's drug trade, was engulfed in flames this last morning and collapsed under the weight of its roof before an impromptu bucket brigade put out the fire, taking a number of ramshackle shacks and shelters with it as it burned.

None of the Bozworks' inhabitants seem to have survived the tragedy, not even its reclusive gnomish owner, but the fire did not claim all of "The Boz's" men -- the corpse of one of the gnome's henchmen was found hacked apart on the steps of the Wanton Wastrel. While his body was quickly looted and forgotten, the event seems to indicate some measure of skullduggery from persons unknown.

In the meanwhile, the most desperately addicted men and women that call the Docks home have already begun to go into withdrawal in this sudden shortage of drugs, and Docksmen say that deaths are sure to follow if an alternative means of supply is not found.

[Talir]

Kythorn 30th,

Riots break out between the combined forces of the Craftsmen Guild and the Merchant Guild against the Lazare fisheries. After an ill-fated attempt on Johnny Lazare's life within the Wanton Wastrel, the streets were filled with the Merchant Guild Enforcers in an attempt to flush him out. Surprisingly, a good number of Docksmen aligned against the union and beat down the enforcers alongside Lazare's cutthroats, striking a terrible blow to the two other major gangs of the Docks.

[Howlando]

Flamerule 9

The Ziggurat is rocked with the sound of a large explosion as Son of Sabuth Walter Hodgeton and a number of unknown assailants detonated explosives in the Shrouded Syndicate Library. Several scribes are believed to have perished; however it's rumored that the scum labored for hours under cover of invisibility, taking hostage those who entered the library, to move all the books to an unknown location.

Generous bounties are offered by both the Stygians and surviving members of the library (including Aeliolia El`Soliu un`Ker`Eil) in exchange for bringing Hodgeton and his unknown aids to justice, as well as finding and recovering the books, wherever they may be...

[Howlando]

Flamerule 14

The Goblin Squatter's Den was devastated by a peculiar tsunami of tea, of unknown origin. The tsunami caused considerable damage until it flowed into the drainage system and gobsquat lake.

 It's believed most of the goblins survived, but that they have closed off access to their den due to widespread casualties.

[DeputyCool]

Flamerule 15

The Webbed Wood seems to the be location of strange happenings, the last few nights. Always near the darkest point of the night, loud bursts of lightning can be heard and to the strong eye, wisps of smoke. And always, a few faint cries of battle.

Whatever is going on, no trace of it is to be found during the day.

[Caddies]

Flamerule 17th : Year 155 : 1377 DR

As the dust settles on the bloody cobblestones of the Alleyways between the dank Gobsquat and the patrolled streets of the Ziggurat, rumors concerning a gigantic battle there spread like wildfire through the ruinous city. According to most rumors, the increasingly infamous "Crusader Shershall" and his nefarious companion "Oswald" engaged a large number of citizen-adventurers, as well as a Caliphar, in a violent struggle in the ruins, a running battle involving steel and sorcery of alarming power, resulting in the eventual defeat of the citizens and the execution of well-known local elven warrior Vallon Ecthelion at the hands of the outlaws.

While the exact details of the battle differ according to the locale they're spoken in, with most in the Dominion whispering fearfully of the bandits or decrying them as scum, and most in the Docks lauding them as heroes, one thing is certain; more violence is likely to follow in the following days, vengeance on the minds of some and more swag and greater glory on the minds of others...

[Talir]

Flamerule 23rd, 1377 DR

Yesterday night was one the Docks would not soon forget. At the onset of the night a call resonated through the Mythallar by the Armada, urging civilians to evacuate the streets of the northern district. In response to the destruction of the Dominion library several days ago, the Dominion under the heavy enchantments of the Conclave struck the Docks in force, breaking through the resistance put up to meet them. The battle became a rout, the rout became a defeat as the attackers tore their way to the Sons headquarters under the leadership of Consort Tendaji, Specialist Gavril and Bishop Coolidge.

With an immediate hold of the district acquired and the defenders nowhere in sight, Veteran Randolph Mengsk brought all the remaining Stygians with him and entered the Sons holdout, while Specialist Gavril and the other Dominion Loyalists held the streets against a last desperate strike by the Sons. Just as battle turned once more against the Sabuthans, an explosion rocked the Sons headquarters, throwing mortar, stone and rubble all around the vicinity; marking the end of the skirmish.

The loyalists left the district soon afterwards as the Docks residents crawled away from their hideouts to witness the desecration. With no signs of the Son leadership nor the men of the Armada entering the building, little but speculations remain to explain what happened within the ruins.

Despite the appearance of several Sons since the assault, the destruction of their headquarters have left its mark upon the Docks. Where the white and blue were once prominently displayed throughout the district now sits an empty seat of power. Civilians keep to the shadowy corners and out of sight as the Sons, Fishmongers, Longshoremen, Merchant's Guild, Crafter's Guild and Dominion all seek to claim a position on the top.

The dry and thirsty streets wait with anticipation for the gratification to come.

[Howlando]

Although of no great concern to most wealthy adventurers or skilled mercenaries, for the common people who dwell within the Dominion's Ziggurat warrens or the great throngs who live in squalor along the shore - the price of food is rising, sharply, and it's growing much more difficult to stay properly fed.

[Talir]

Flamerule 25th, Year 1377

Morale is decreasing among the destitute of the Docks. The increased presence of the Mist Raiders near the shore has taken its toll, as raids come quick and bloody with the Docks rarely able to fend off the invaders. Orphans have been dragged to their longboats, never to emerge again on Ymph.