The Arsonist Waterbearer

[ADashofHope]

Burn them all! A Priestess' Plea

The Luminous Body

You Voiced and Wealthy Ephians! Hear the pleas of the small mothers of B'aara! Once again we have come to an election in our fair city. And we begin another charity event. During the Illul Election, the Temple of B'aara will ask for your donations, tithes and charity.

The temples and almshouses of B'aara are ever in need of more generous donations from people like you. Help out your less off neighbors by donating to the Temple. And the hands of our most needy shall hold what you pour for them.

The Great Goddess smiles on those who give generously. The Weeping Mother asks us to love our children, our families and our extended community! We engrave in our hearts the love for peace and well-being of our nearest. And little is as pious as showing how wide your love is. To how far from your family it reaches.

Do your part today, and find me or the other priestesses, and donate to help with the upkeep and expansion of our temples and almshouses! Any of your contributions will be recorded and displayed in front of our Temple in the Souk.

As always, As a show of my dedication and to challenge our candidate, I shall vote exclusively to the candidate who donates the most to our temple. Let us weep into dry clay, and build a city of wonders everyone can live in.

Last night, Evarielle Nerdolwe of the Nerdolwe method, was robbed of 'a significant sum' within the Krak by the ever-giggling bounty hunter and murderer Valeria Princestabber. That much is common knowledge, and hardly worth the point of writing down, but as needs must, dear Reader. It provides some context for what happened next, which is much less known...

For as the Banda Rossa and caravaneers alike rallied to the scene of the crime, as the beleaguered Prelate was helped from the floor and began the labor of gathering herself, did she demand of the gathered crowd for their aid. Though the culprit was long gone by this time, the Prelate announced that 'they were burning down the Creep' and 'killing everyone there until she comes out.' A newcomer fresh from the wastes walked into the Krak, was pointed out by the Prelate as being an accomplice to the crime, and was swiftly thrashed and arrested by greencloaks. This arrest was inconsequential and unrelated of course, but the Prelate was in a state, and– it must be added– the newcomer made the mistake of publicly criticizing Nerdolwe for the great sin of withholding charity.

Legate Lhyrian was quick to address the misconceptions this morning:

Hello! I hear some very interesting things over the Bellows. Allow me to offer some clarity. The good Waterbearer has, to date, raised something to the tune of forty thousand dinar for charity, and seen the coin delivered to the Temple. This is a thing that is recorded quite plainly.

The rest? She has earned through her own earnest labor and toil. Doing many of the things you have. The slander is in poor taste, and false. Let this be an end to it. Now. I shall be making my rounds shortly, and securing information on recent events. Live and drink.

But you and I have grown adept at reading between the lines, at seeing what others would wish obscured, haven't we? Here is truth, Reader, for it was not forty thousand that Valeria Mist-blade seized from the Prelate's purse. It was not eighty thousand.

It was, at least, one hundred thousand dinari. Six figures.

One could, perhaps, forgive the Prelate for her rather sharp and destructive instincts coming out upon realizing that she was not yet dead, but instead penniless. The stress of the moment, the shock and adrenaline of nearly losing one's life can make people say some strange things. But I personally like to believe that such moments bring our truest selves to light. The lies fall away. The mask slips. The Moon's light shines brightest.

The Prelate, when shown mercy after giving such 'charity' to a killer (albeit at knifepoint) turned immediately to thoughts of vengeance and death on anyone connected even tangentially to the theft. Thoughts she acted upon, with the unjust imprisonment of a Voiceless. Thoughts she will continue to make a reality– as she and the Legate already meet with Sergeant Hanson of the IIllul Massacre to teach him how to better 'leverage our laws.' This is the woman who stands next in line to lead our Citadel, should the worst occur to Legate Lhyrian. A woman who called for burning beggars and children, Voiceless all, from the dark tunnels of the gutters.

The Great Mother sits upon our Stele at the moment. The call for charity that began this article is the closest I have ever seen Evarielle Nerdolwe come to delivering a sermon. She is more adept at collecting alms than nearly any other caravaneer I've seen, but the enormous sum stolen for her was clearly intended for other causes besides the Temple of B'aara. What could it be? The coming election, in which Legate Lhyrian's seat is up for the taking? Personal expenses– or debts to be paid off? Who can say?

But something tells me that we'll soon find out.



Vaskr Moontouched