EFU:R Gossip, Major Events, and Rumors (IC Knowledge)

[Wiggyboy]

Meanwhile, the Red Guild has issued the following:

The Red Guild shall always be a Guild of action and boldness. To this end:

In response to the Delgado Massacre, we offer more than empty platitudes. Director Gould personally sponsors:

3,000 gold to whomsoever locates the hidden forward camp of the Orog menace.

5,000 gold and a treasure from the fabled Serpent's Horde to whomsoever returns the Orog known as 'The Herald' to face justice for his crimes.

Sanctuary is not as weak as these Black cowards presume. Let us show these monsters that we will not be bowed.

Good hunting, Sanctuary

[Ladocicea]

::[ Marpenoth 23rd : Year 162 : 1384 DR ]::

Another long awaited 'Red Storm' struck today. Much of the citizenry had been awaiting, in trepidation, an massed incursion by the Khaganate, though what occurred was in some ways far worse.

A group of Khaganate raiders infiltrated the shield, bearing rings of Sanctuary that had had the names of their previous owners filed off. While adventurers, Watchers and Spellguard Animatrons massed to the walls, the refinery was struck. In the confusion, many rushed to the assistance of the Agents and Auxiliaries on duty there, only to realise that the strike had been a ruse: the flames rising from the House of Governance confirmed it as the real target.

A large group of adventurers rushed into the blaze and fought through the lobby to reach the upper floors where, it is rumoured, Director Rhiannon Kingsley was found, bleeding heavily, having been taken by surprise by half a dozen Khaganate raiders. Despite wearing nothing but her directorial toga, it is said the Director managed to incapacitate the orogs using nothing but a chair leg as an improvised sword, thereby rescuring Director Ma Murik who was in the process of being abducted, though not without being mortally wounded in the process.

Sendings were later issued by the Watch and Civil Service, noting the many dead from the raids, and insisting that, contrary to the rumours, both Directors were alive and well. Despite this, Director Ma Murik made only a brief appearance thereafter to thank adventurers and citizens for their bravery during the invasion, while Director Kingsley has not been seen nor heard from since: the Chapterhouse has yet to issue a statement regarding the status of their premier.

[Ladocicea]

::[ Marpenoth 29th : Year 162 : 1384 DR ]::

While Director Rhiannon Kingsley has still not yet made a public appearance or announcement regarding her health, increasingly rumours surrounding the Chapterhouse suggest that she is slowly recovering from her injuries.

A clerk of the House of Governance claims to have see a walking cane propped against her door in the Directorial offices, and has speculated that she will not allow herself to be seen in public while she has need of such rehabilitating aids.

[Caster13]

::[ Uktar 6th : Year 162 : 1384 DR ]::

The dark began in a bizarre manner: a Watcher was seemingly thrown from the High Apartment platform, his body crashing to the ground just outside the trade house. When Watchers and adventurers alike went up to investigate, they found a High Apartment was broken into. As a crowd formed from the neighbouring apartments, the sound of a fight could be heard within.

After a few minutes, a young man, his hands tied in rope, was seen escorted from the apartment. Numerous curious and inquisitive whispers were spoken as the man was brought to the Watch House but whatever was witnessed within the apartment was seemingly kept under wraps.

In time, however, a trial was called. Commoners flocked to the Watch House not just to witness the trial but also to perhaps puzzle together what happened in the High Apartment. And, sure enough, what was revealed shocked the court and quickly spread by word of mouth. The young man was Wellen Carisle and he proudly plead guilty to the murder of Mr. and Mrs. Miggsley--the parents of the notorious and most wanted bandit known as Mad Marge Miggsley--in an act of vengeance of his own family members killed in Marge's attacks upon Sanctuary.

The crowd in the court house sat in stunned silence. But then someone cried out in praise and support of the Wellen. While a minority, there were those e in the court house who were willing to blame Marge's parents for the sins of their daughter. Watchers removed rowdy elements in the court, allowing the trial to continue, but it did not take long for Prefect Hyram Sinclair to accept the guilty plea and to sentence Wellen to death. And all the while, those with sending stones had their minds pierced with the screeching sounds of unauthorized sendings made by a distraught Marge Miggsley from somewhere within the Machine...

After Wellen was lead outside and placed into the stocks, there was some confusion as to who would actually execute the man. Once a decision was made, however, and just as Wellen was asked if he had any last words, the illusion shimmered and Mad Marge Miggsley appeared alongside a number of cohorts.

Whispering a few words, Marge fired a crossbow bolt into Wellen's forehead before the Watch could execute the man. What followed was a mad melee as Marge and her cohorts were attacked by the crowd who. The battle was quick, chaotic, and over in a matter of minutes. Marge lay face first on the ground, groaning--either in pain or in defeat.

As shackles were placed onto Mad Marge's arms, however, a strange, rapid beeping sound could be heard coming from her body. Uttering one final curse upon the ringscabs of Sanctuary, Mad Marge was swallowed up in a massive explosion that also wounded and killed a number of others standing nearby around her.

When the dust settled, nothing remained of the notorious bandit woman that had plagued and terrorized Upper Sanctuary for the past two years...

[Caster13]

::[ Nightal 7th : Year 162 : 1384 DR ]::

Like a slow, creeping fog, a new faint sense of unease seems to have taken Sanctuary by surprise. For the past few days, rumours have been spreading of slavers becoming more active in the underground environs surrounding Dunwarren.

The people of Lower Sanctuary, ever wary of threats to free men, watch the streets and alleyways with paranoid eyes for any signs of would be slavers. This cautiousness proved warranted when a small band of slavers suddenly conducted a raid upon the Lower market. The Lower gangs quickly--if in a disorganized manner--repelled the attack but as the gangs took a count of their losses, it became apparent that the slavers came for the able-bodied as those in the ranks of the gangs themselves.

In Upper Sanctuary, the slaver rumours are treated more as curious gossip but more serious and worried words are brought from the traders and sailors arriving via the Lower Canal Ward docks. Traffic upon the Dark Lake, it seems, has increased and much of it going to and from Sorrowfeast Isle.

Though many questions are left unanswered, it seems labour is in great demand...

[ShadowCharlatan]

::[ Nightal 9th : Year 162 : 1384 DR ]::

Rumours in Upper Sanctuary swell with speculations on the coming of the next Great Games, and of long awaited Elections.

Rumours tell of crates and packages making way from the Workmill to the Society Chapterhouse, where it is said that preparations of some kind are underway...

Rumours speak of the completion of the Simms Memorial Orphanage and School... of the nearing opening of a great institution of charity and education.

And strangest of all... Rumours tell of a young man named Finn Mouldercrest, who has struck great fortune. It is said that Director Roaldhe Gould himself chanced to sample the beetle stew so often enjoyed by the common folk and stingy adventurers. Unlike these humble appreciators, Gould's powerful praises have created a sudden new fashion among Sanctuary's elite in a very short time... Everyone who is anyone wants to have tasted Mouldercrest's. Civil Servants, Prefects, Guild Officials, and fops from the High Apartments have all scurried out early to lunch to buy the beetle stew. Dry witticisms and sarcastic dismissals come from the lips of the cynical and uninitiated. But within the dark, lines have begun to extend all the way out of the House of Trade as the popularity of a nothing little store called "Mouldercrest's" has exploded beyond belief.

[Divine Intervention]

::[ Nightal 18th : Year 162 : 1384 DR ]::

Throughout Lower these past few months a series of developments have been underway.  With demise of the leader of the Silver Brands and the vast majority of its gang members in mysterious circumstances, the criminal economy of the slums has become a much more dispersed and disorganised affair.  Much of the smuggling and organised crime is now in the hands of the Varad-Azuul family in the Canal District or small independent actors in Lower.  The resulting power vacuum from the collapse of the Silver Brand's network of fiefdoms and petty gang captains gave way to a brief period of peace, which is now being disturbed by the makings of a new anarchy.  Free from fears of overbearing thugs and welcoming flocks of new desperate souls, the Church of Ascension has swollen in numbers of late, its preachers flooding the streets with the word of Frederick Bresley, often flanked by ragged looking fellows brandishing arms in the makings of a ramshackle militia.  

Whilst the teachings of "hope" appeal to many of the lost and abandoned souls of Lower, there are those who's lives are too bleak, to filled with misery and memories of horror to escape into the fantasies of idealism.  For the men and women mired in despair, the comforting embrace of quiet and darkness draws them to the Sacred Caverns of Ibrandul, where this ancient cult of the Underdark seems to be undergoing a resurgence.  Pale, skinny youths and old men with drawn faces beckon kindred spirits to join the faith and the call is slowly but surely being answered.

Meanwhile, something stirs in the fetid, murky shadows of the Sewers that run below the old ruins.  From the grates and canals a spreading slime can be seen marking walls, pavements and even living creatures.  Hushed whispers speak of slimed monsters crawling out from the hidden places of the earth to drag away unsuspecting folk to a fate unknown and doubtlessly horrifying...

Finally in the wake of the disruption caused by the fall of the Silver Brands, a new drug seems to be hitting the streets.  Known colloquially as "Bloodshot", for its effect of reddening the eyes and veins of addicts, it is proving a potent and dangerous threat to both users and average citizens.  A habit largely confined to the desperate and powerless, the appeal of the supernatural strength and physical abilities the drug is said to bestow is enough to continue it's voracious spread, despite numerous horrible side effects.  More than one corpse has been found stiffened in a state of agonised convulsion, or reputedly with their heart burst from their chest.  Rampaging and paranoid users are a constant threat in the back alleys, exacting a bloody revenge on a world that has scorned them.  Despite the prevalence of the danger, no one quite seems to know exactly where the drug is coming from, and it is reported to only be supplied by silent dealers, covered head to toe in black leather and iron masks.

[Divine Intervention]

::[ Nightal 25th : Year 162 : 1384 DR ]::

Earlier this day an enormous explosion ripped it's way through the ground floor of the Sunset Flats.  Amidst billowing smoke and gouts of flame, a Watcher, Agent and unaffiliated individual mage of some sort were seen stumbling forth in a badly scorched state.  Onlookers repute that rather than deal with the fire which was building to a towering inferno, the Watcher present proceeded to speak angrily with the other two, whilst the Agent bellowed for assistance.  As time dragged on vital moments were lost and soon the entire apartment building was engulfed in fire, terrified residents were seen flinging themselves from the windows in the hopes that the fall would be less dangerous than the devouring flames.  By the time sufficient response was mustered the situation appeared hopeless and animatrons were deployed to demolish parts of the building to create fireblocks and prevent the spread to other housing blocks.  At last a catapult was brought up to collapse the tower, fired by the first attending Watcher.  Some have praised his tough action to quarrantine the fire, but many more condemn the collapsing of the building with citizens reputedly still alive inside and note it would not have been necessary if not for the earlier failures.

As the citizens mourn the loss of what conservative estimates claim to be at least five lives, serious questions are being asked about the ability of Upper Sanctuary's protectors to deal with emergent threats with the atrocity blamed on a drug cartel developing in Lower.  Sobbing relatives, officials and even members of the Directorate have been seen laying wreaths and flowers at the site of the blast whilst work is already underway to clear the rubble.  Some droll individuals note one bright spark amidst the misery is that the rising star Finn Mouldercrest was not caught in the terrible collapse as a former resident, having recently moved into finer accomodations with the newfound success of his stew business.

[ShadowCharlatan]

::[ Hammer 8th : Year 163 : 1385 DR ]::

Todark, an announcement was made within the House of Governance that an election season is begun.

The Guilds have begun to prepare their candidates and campaigns.

And it is said that the Great Game will occur in about a week. Already citizens speculate on who will join the teams of the Red and Black Guilds. Following that, full directorate election campaigns will be on... with all seats up for grabs, and the future of Sanctuary hanging in the balance.

Amidst the excitement surrounding the election season, some other good news filters through... That for the first time in many, many darks... the Baublium Meter is in the green.

[ShadowCharlatan]

::[ Hammer 10th : Year 163 : 1385 DR ]::

More good news comes to Sanctuary... It is said that the famous businessman Finn Mouldercrest is due to be married to one Alicia Gould, the niece of Director Roaldhe Gould.

The rumour goes that they fell in love at first sight, and after only weeks have decided to be bonded for life. The ceremony is expected to be a grand one indeed.

[ShadowCharlatan]

::[ Hammer 14th : Year 163 : 1385 DR ]::

Word quickly spreads of a Red Guild victory in the Great Game. The team, made up of participants Marco Valdal, Rallick Dess, Ving Swift, Henrik Welten, and Fifur Bouldershield... and captained by Dorissa Sennesse, brutalised the Black team. Although controversies linger over the Red Guild's provided uniforms giving an unfair advantage, and the Black Guild dabbling in illegal performance enhancing substances... ensuing riots were driven mostly by bitter and drunken Black Guild supporters.

Freedom Square and the House of Governance are the site of a glum cleanup by Clerks, Watchers, and Scriveners... as trash is carted away and battered revellers are peeled off the streets and sent home in bandages.

Word also spreads of the trial of the Red Team's captain, for capital crimes of treason for dealing with dark elves. Ordinant Dorissa Sennesse was to be delivered a painful guilty verdict, but chose to appeal the decision to whatever Directorate emerges from the Hammer Elections.

[ShadowCharlatan]

::[ Hammer 22nd : Year 163 : 1385 DR ]::

Nervous scholars and desperate priests are united todark in warning of what bad fortune may come tomorrow, on another anniversary of H'bala the Maiden's release...

.. Hammer 23rd...

[ShadowCharlatan]

::[ Hammer 23nd : Year 163 : 1385 DR ]::

It began with a speech, over the sending system, from a familiar voice.

Hello Sanctuary... It has been some time.

I cannot bring myself to apologise for disrupting your farcical ritual of choosing what colour leaders you would prefer. But for what has been done this dark, I hold in my heart a glimmer of regret.

Yet despite the chaos that comes, the Order of the Spellguard's grasp upon the Machine, and their maintenance of the false world you inhabit... must drastically wane, if you are to see how hollow your dilemma is. If you are to Seek again.

In the battle for your hearts and minds, you have been given a choice between cowardice and avarice, between hiding and fighting, between the Spellguard black and red. Today, I extend to you a new choice...to Seek. Today, I have sent an Idea to the heart of their dominance...

Today, I have freed the Machine.

Upper Sanctuary, only beginning to decline from the height of its electoral season... was stunned into silence, and locked down as signs of panic rose.

A 'response team' was quickly gathered at Serena Tower, and - according to official announcements - "anomalies" in the Machine have been contained and destroyed. Rumours vary on what these are, but the most persistent tell of a contagion, or an infection, afflicting Animatrons in the Machine.

Commander Barkely himself was heard to make a short speech in the House of Governance, congratulating the defenders and warning that these renewed threats to Sanctuary were not truly defeated yet...

In the days left of the election, the Guilds are poised to claw some advantage from the crisis...

[ShadowCharlatan]

::[ Hammer 30th : Year 163 : 1385 DR ]::

In a stunning move on the eve of voting, Director Rhiannon Kingsley has withdrawn from the Hammer Elections. Citing her belief that the Crusade's best hope is the election of a Red Majority... Kingsley pledged her Society, its Oathsworn, and whatever support she still commands, to the three remaining Red Candidates.

Some of her supporters have reacted with bitterness at what they see as a betrayal and a retreat by the Director, but others see Kingsley's act as one of wisdom and personal sacrifice for the greater good. Noting the weakness of the Society's campaign, the gambit is that the support for the cause of the War against the Aberrant can bolster the Reds, whilst avoiding the Society's recent image problems. Yet the sudden the announcement comes as a rude shock to many, with some saying Kingsley should have made her intentions known long before today.

In any case... Voting has now begun, and citizens make way to the House of Governance to cast their single vote.

Most agree that the elections have proceeded without a clear winning Guild. This has made many folk nervous, and stimulated those with strong guild allegiances. Campaigners discerning enough to see this only became more ravenous for victory. The five available seats, the inexperience of new candidates, and the baggage of old Directors... have all made the race more desperate than any in memory.

Todark, none can say what the future holds for Sanctuary.

[ShadowCharlatan]

::[ Third of Alturiak : Year 163 : 1385 DR ]::

With voting ended, the results of the Hammer Election season were announced todark... and a new Directorate has risen to lead Sanctuary.

Roaldhe Gould - 1095 (PC votes: 4)
Austanias Glademore - 899 (PC votes: 5)
Ma Murik- 798 (PC votes: 1)
Szul Thrazaluun- 797 (PC votes: 11)
Finn Mouldercrest- 788 (PC votes: 4)
Edgin Crane - 611 (PC votes: 0)
Albrecht Vauclair - 573 (PC votes: 5)
Aelmaroth Calamir - 485 (PC votes: 5)
Paul Weston - 189 (PC votes: 6)

While a Red Majority Directorate has emerged, the Black Guild is quick to note that overall the most votes went to the five Black Guild candidates.

At celebrations, the Red Guild's tales of their victory are divided... Some hail Director Kingsley's self-sacrifice and the Black Guild's folly as the most credible source of the victory, while others triumphantly declare that Sanctuary has unequivocally endorsed a Greater Sanctuary. Arguments between anxious Ordinants and Oathsworn, and the supporters of the three ascendant Directors, can already be heard. There are many on the side of the Society who do not believe that the Red Guild's new Directors will truly pursue the War against the Dread with all the vigour and dedication required...

But however one makes sense of what happened, all agree that a new era has begun in the city of Sanctuary...