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.
