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!"
(by Arlis Whitefingers)
Well, folks, a new face recently appeared in Lord Michael's court and caused quite the stir. A certain Thorn Quatermain (I hear he's lately from De-Shamod, but get this, people: he's a Sormerean noble) came to Spire Keep yesterday, requested a private audience with Michael, and boy! The two came out together and Michael's face sure was red. What does this boy have on him? Is he an illegitimate child, perhaps? A little digging tells me his mother is the one and only Allison Callidar-Quatermain, the adventuring wife of Jason Quatermain. And we all know about them. But wouldn't it be interesting if . . . well, that would place her at about seventeen and Michael at fifteen. So tell us, Michael: what are you hiding about young Master Quatermain?
GAHANIS: Over dinner at the Braised Bull Tavern, local weaver Jundath told the Gazette that Merril Yanis worked for him as a security guard for several months prior to his exposure as a member of the bandit group that has been terrorizing Gahanis' traders.
"You know, I should have known there was something shifty about that guy," the sibeccai said between bites of his Gahanis steak. "Besides having a snake totem, you know. Those snake warriors are bad news. He worked with my other guard, Throm, keeping my wares safe. Even though business hasn't been good lately, a man still needs security, especially in these times."
After a sip of the tavern's best wine, he continued. "Throm used to tell me he made him nervous, what with some of his friends coming around. Now I think they were casing my shop, or maybe using it as a hiding place for stolen goods. Thank goodness he's been caught. I searched my shop carefully for anything that wasn't mine, and I assure you that only my wares and personal belongings are there now. He and that Den Rudiger character must have known something was up and cleared everything else out. You know what I heard about Rudiger? He was a forger, that's what. Old Dowmas, over there in the Verrik district, he told me that he'd had to fire him, because he was forging treasury notes! What a pair!
"Now, me and Throm, we're friends from way back, and you should know we're honest geezers. It's too bad there hasn't been much demand for rugs and blankets and such, though. It's a relief to know Yanis was a bandit—that explains so many of the odd things that were going on while he was here."
Jundath runs his shop in the Sibeccai District. Currently he's offering 10% off the marked price for any item in his inventory. If he's away from the shop, which he assures us happens only infrequently, Throm Kalsen, his assistant, is fully qualified to conduct business in his stead.
GAHANIS: After the most recent bandit attack, the single surviving member of a raided caravan positively identified two of the bandits as Gahanis residents.
Hilmer Dalathon, a professional guard, had been employed to protect a Jaren caravan bound to Gahanis bearing numerous valuable trade goods, including several antique items. The caravan never reached Gahanis, being attacked by bandits approximately ten miles from the city limits. They slaughtered all the merchants and guards, and Dalathon was grievously injured and left for dead.
In a statement made from his bed this morning, he identified the two bandits who injured him as Merril Yanis and Den Rudiger, two unemployed mercenaries who have been living in the city for the past year. Their contacts and personal associations are unknown at this time, though Guard Captain Mynorath the Peacekeeper has stated that an investigation is underway. Dalathon is in stable condition, but for security purposes, his location is not being disclosed.
In a conference this afternoon, a spokesperson for the Gahanis Jaren Guild said, "These bandit raids must be stopped immediately. The Jaren are pleased that two of the criminals responsible for our recent trade disruptions and financial losses have been identified, and they have contacted the city council to arrange a bounty on the two bandits. In order to promote free trade in this city, we must eliminate the criminals who have plagued us, and the Jaren will take every step within their power to ensure that this happens."
The city council has confirmed the existence of a bounty, but they are also pursuing other solutions to the problem. Mynorath, when asked about the bounty, dismissed it as "a dangerous decision that will put many would-be bounty hunters at risk. Please let the professionals handle this. I am confident that my guard force will capture Yanis and Rudiger—we're already pursuing several promising leads."
Little is known about Yanis and Rudiger at this time. The Gazette will post more details as they become available.
Today we received the first group of new recruits in several months. Although many of our divisions are quite successful, I've had bad luck to date with Division VI. In fact, the last Division VI was killed to the last man during what they apparently thought was a routine assignment—guarding a pair of akashics to the keep that the Council of Magisters closed down nearly a century ago. As it turns out (why this didn't occur to their captain, I'll never know), Havinar Balacos has an interest in the Pillars of Life and Death, and it was his men who killed them and the akashics they were supposed to be guarding. In fact, his servants' stupidity is the only reason disaster hasn't struck so far—they killed the two akashics before they could recite the two-part charm of opening that would have temporarily negated the Council's magical protections.
Their bodies were left in a most inconvenient place; it's fortunate that —— showed me how to retrieve their badges magically. It's interesting; the badges are not what they seem at all. I had taken mine at face value when I was first admitted to the order, but now, as its leader, I find myself taking mine off and examining it every so often. Normal means of seeing magic don't reveal the complexity of the spells that work within each badge. Through exhaustive research, I've been able to discover what could be done with them, but the means of doing it still elude me. Each one seems to bear a unique mark, but that mark changes as it gets assigned to someone, almost as though it attunes to them. The purposes of the attunement could be many-fold—but any thoughts about that can only be pure speculation at this point.
And now the badges are in other hands, doubtless attuning themselves to their new owners as I write. These new members—the new Division VI.
I think I'm going to send them to deal with the Gahanis issue. Probably undercover. That cursed city's town council is completely worthless, and when they came to me, cringing, offering too little pay for a job more complex than they understood, I almost turned them away. I didn't for only one reason: the Blue Knight. She's a destructive annoyance and an outlaw, but she's clever enough to avoid my territory, and to stay well away from any who might defeat her. She preys upon the weak, which is not a bad tactic in and of itself, but in her case, she preys upon the weak out of weakness. Her reputation for terror is overrated, given her choice of targets—defenseless merchants or poorly-guarded caravans, usually. Perhaps the new Division VI can be of immediate use to me. . .
GAHANIS: Over the past few weeks, there has been a sharp increase in bandit attacks. Bandits are a frequent nuisance to legitimate traders heading into or out of the city of Gahanis, but this increased activity has sparked concern among the city's most prominent traders.
"These raids have been costing us a fortune," Ilbrian Mossel, head of the local Trade Guild chapter, said yesterday. "Naturally, I have taken steps to increase security, but there is little I or any of the other traders can do about activities outside city borders. Many of my best contacts are refusing to deal with Gahanis because of the increased cost of hiring guards to accompany their caravans. I tell you, this will lead to higher prices."
Other traders are not so sure. Sandjas, owner of the Responsible and Beneficial Trade Organization, claims not to be concerned at all with the bandits. "It is a mark of weakness on the part of my colleagues that they worry about their caravans' safety. My caravans are well-protected, as are those of my business partners. If fear causes other guilds to raise their prices, why, I'll lower mine. It has been apparent for many years that R&B is the most efficient trade guild in Gahanis, and these recent events simply underscore this fact. Certainly, my people have had trouble with bandits, but we are not weak or foolish enough to allow this to affect the important services we bring to Gahanis in the form of trade and tax monies."
According to available data, bandit raids have doubled over the past month and a half, and losses claimed due to robberies or murder of trade officials have increased by 50%. Of more immediate concern to both the local traders and the townspeople are the three sapphire-hilted daggers—a known "calling card" of the infamous Blue Knight—that have been found at the site of some of the most vicious and destructive raids. Although Guard Captain Mynorath the Peacekeeper was contacted by this journalist, he declined to comment on this facet of the crime wave, citing insufficient evidence and a pending investigation.
