GAHANIS: 9:00 a.m.—Captain of the Guard Mynorath the Peacekeeper was found dead in his home this morning, the victim of an apparent burglary. His home was ransacked, although it is not known at this time what was taken.
After the four dead guards were discovered in the Gahanis Jail, Sergeant Spector Carlsson, the officer in charge of the crime scene, attempted to locate Captain Mynorath for a report. When he failed to sign in for guard duty, a patrol was dispatched to his house and found his body. He appeared to have suffered wounds consistent with a fight, and the body was also badly burned. His weapons and armor were missing.
If anyone in the Sibbecai District heard or saw any suspicious activity at or around 3–5 this morning, Sergeant Carlsson has asked that they contact the Town Guard. The guard is also interested in questioning the following people, all of whom were present in the Gahanis Jail at the time of the guard murders:
Dillon Browne
Fonda Kulow
Mora Estavel
Lucretia Secondar
Adon Mortavos
Berth Cloakspinner
Ned Dark
Quentin Fallitos
GAHANIS: 7:00 a.m.—Early this morning, four guards stationed during the graveyard shift at the Gahanis Town Jail were found dead by the guards coming in to relieve them. Normally, a total of four guards watch the 12 cells of Gahanis' small jail. The Gazette has discovered that the jail held eight people last night, and they're all gone. Updates will be posted as new information is found.
MI-THERON: Angered by what he called the "laziness of that damned town council," Lord Kelvin Heros, father of the missing boy, has offered a reward of 1,000 gold crowns as a reward for the return of his son.
"Since Ne-Chardath and the rest of the personages in Gahanis don't appear to give a deuce about my son's life, I'm giving ten thousand deuces to the person who can find him and bring him back to me," Lord Heros said in a statement this morning. "The town of Gahanis is more concerned with attracting tourists and trade than they are with simple matters such as personal responsibility and ensuring the safety of their visitors! It's no wonder they've been attacked by those bandits, considering how sloppy their policies are—if I were running that pathetic mudhole, you could be sure there wouldn't be any incidents like this."
Jedrith Heros, heir to Lord Kelvin Heros' lucrative trade network, has been missing for eight days now. Gazette staff attempted to contact Ne-Chardath, Steward of Gahanis, Neril Sann, Gahanis' Steward, and Mynorath the Peacekeeper, Captain of the Guard, for comment on these developments, but they were unavailable.
LOTHIS: The great army led by Colonel Nye-Fedoran and the human spellslinger Iriana Truthspeaker is leaving today to reclaim Ebonring Keep. Although Ebonring Keep was once a key stonghold in the wars against the dramojh, it was lost to the rhodin warlord Gerex One-Horn in Common Year 1661, and it has remained in rhodin control ever since. The Gazette speaks for the entire population of the Great Plains when we say, "It's high time Ebonring Keep was back in giant control!"
Colonel Nye-Fedoran is a career soldier who has fought in many key battles against the chorrim threat in the west, as well as countless skirmishes against rhodin raiders. In gratitude for his help, the litorians of the western plains have given him some of their finest trackers to aid him in his current quest.
Iriana Truthspeaker is a sorcerer of no small skill. Colonel Nye-Fedoran most likely sought her out because of her knowledge of both the Ebonring itself and the Keep.
There will be a parade in the town square this afternoon as the heroes and their army leave for the Floating Forest. The Gazette would like to thank the Lothis Trade Council for sponsoring this event.
MILBOURNE: Well, our good friend Thorn Quatermain was sure booted out of town pretty quickly. I've heard tell of a secret meeting between Lord Michael and the high-ups of the Order of the Iron Gauntlet. While we weren't privy to the exact details, it appears he's joined Division VI and been sent straight out of the area.
After digging around in Thurmaster, we were able to gather a little information on Division VI. Apparently, they're all recent recruits, and they're led by two locals: Ai-Unia, a giantess from the Blessed Wood, and Stahl, a litorian warrior who has lived on his own just outside of Thurmaster for quite some time. We were unable to locate anyone with intimate knowledge about Stahl, and Ai-Unia's parents declined our repeated requests for interviews, so as yet, the Gazette is unable to determine just what manner of group this new Division VI is. Oddly, although the Order of the Iron Gauntlet is primarily a human organization, Mr. Quatermain is the only human in his division, which is primarily composed of giants and sibbecai, and one verrik. Perhaps the Order is diversifying.
We know Quatermain just came from De-Shamod, but we don't know why. And why did he head straight for Lord Michael? Michael was certainly eager to get rid of him, and he also seems eager to cover up his reasons—Darius Carman, his vassal, had Gazette staff removed from Milbourne while they were attempting to do background research for this story. Lord Michael has a dirty secret, and it's only a matter of time before we uncover it.
GAHANIS: The Gazette has just learned that Jedrith Heros, the son of powerful Mi-Theron nobleman Kelvin Heros, is missing in the Gahanis area. An anonymous source tells us that he was seen two days ago entering the Battlehome with an official permit. His verrik companion, Shema N'ralep, was with him. When contacted for comment, Lord Heros' spokesman stated, "Lord Heros finds it very disturbing that Jedrith was granted a permit in apparent secrecy. If the town council was responsible for Jedrith's disappearance, he is considering trade sanctions against Gahanis—he does not wish to have a business relationship with a town so willing to endanger an inexperienced youngster who should be carrying on the family business."
Lord Kelvin Heros runs several mercantile companies and has many valuable trade contacts throughout Dor-Erthenos. Although Jedrith Heros has a history of occasional disagreements with his distinguished father, it was understood that he would learn to restrain his youthful impulses and eventually take on his father's business of providing valuable trade goods throughout the realm. Rumors of a relationship between Jedrith and his bodyguard Shema are simply the imaginings of mean-spirited competitors who wish to undermine the fine Heros reputation, according to the family, and they are completely unsubstantiated.
(Proudly written by the Gahanis Editorial Staff)
Michael of the Lion, the ruler in all but name of our southern neighbor, Haranshire, should learn that his recent activities in Gahanis are not appreciated by our citizens.
The Gazette has recently learned that over the past six months Michael has been covertly visiting Gahanis and luring away its citizens, promising wealth in service to him. Gahanis is a clean, Giant-run city, and our people want no part of Michael's dubious scheme. He is obviously trying to consolidate his power in the region; everyone knows that Ka-Myrethus is an ineffective leader—why, the people of Haranshire fail even to pay him the proper respect.
In a council meeting that was obviously intended to be secret, Michael claimed that he was "compensating" victims. What victims? This is obviously a ploy to fool the town council into thinking his motives are honest. But what honest person would go around promising gold to our hardworking townspeople, taking nothing in return, or offering jobs in far-off Haranshire? He is attempting to curry favor and erode our fine Steward's base of power.
Gahanis will not stand for Michael's crass political maneuverings! If you find him at your door in the dead of night, show him your loyalty to Gahanis. Tell him, "Michael, take your dirty money and go back where you came from!"
