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<blockquote data-quote="RangerWickett" data-source="post: 4021533" data-attributes="member: 63"><p><strong><span style="font-size: 15px">SPECIAL REPORT! Reckless SIS Sting Endangers Sovereign Cathedral, Hundreds of Lives</span></strong></p><p>By ARTHUR KNIGHT, Senior Interfaith Correspondent</p><p>25 Lharvion, 998 YK</p><p></p><p>[align=right]http://www.enworld.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=32341&stc=1[/align]HIGH HOPE -- Only a day after the murder of beloved equestrian and racer Trace Noren during the Race of Eight Winds, the SIS, which had been trumpeted as the coming thing in Sharn law enforcement, undertook a daring sting operation that nearly resulted in the destruction of the new Cathedral of the Sovereign Host, but which has yet to provide any concrete answers on who killed Trace, or why.</p><p></p><p>Word has already spread through the city about Trace's death, and rumors abound, but we at the Inquisitive have spoken to our contacts in the city watch and on the racing board, and we encourage our grieving readers to consider what we have uncovered as they read on; it will be a long ride.</p><p></p><p>At roughly the seventeen mile marker of the Race of Eight Winds, fans were crowded about the so-called 'Ruined Way,' a course of crumbling arches and spraying fountains that provide a dazzling rainbow-like spectacle as racers, mounted atop their preferred steed -- pegasus, eagle, griffon, hippogriff, hawk, glidewing, and owl, as well as a gargoyle who flies by himself -- dive and roll through the hazards. This afternoon, however, there was a different danger, an assassin tasked specifically with ending the life of Last War veteran scout Trace Noren, a man who had become a hero to the Cyran refugees throughout the district of Dura.</p><p></p><p>Also present were the five members of the Sharn Interjurisdictional Specialists, tasked with keeping order in the sometimes rowdy crowds attending the race. It caught everyone by surprise, even these prominent law officers, when Trace's pegasus took the mandatory underpass beneath the arching Bolen Bridge and emerged on the far side without its rider.</p><p></p><p>We spoke with the pegasus, Mylil, for his insight. <em>(Our thanks to Crisentia Auren, priestess of Dol Arrah, for translating from celestial. -- Ed.)</em></p><p></p><p>"We were well ahead by this point," Mylil claims, "and so I took the underpass casually. There was no way we were anywhere near the stone, but I felt a jerk, and when I looked back Trace had been knocked from my saddle. We were only a hundred feet over this fountain, and I had no chance to swing around and catch him before he hit."</p><p></p><p>Not that it would have made a difference. Several mages in the crowd used magic to <em>featherfall</em> Trace, but Veso d'Jorasco, serving as coroner for this investigation, reports that Trace suffered a devastating blow to his head, and was dying or dead by the time he gently reached the ground. </p><p></p><p>According to the watch report filed by SIS member Yue Tew, Trace landed in the foot-deep fountain, and as Tew and her brother Alexiaietano (an avowed follower of the Aereni religion of the Undying Court) rushed to his aid, the rest of the quintet set out on figuring out whether foul play had been involved. Until this point, the actions of the SIS were commendable. But then things took a distasteful turn.</p><p></p><p>[align=left]http://www.enworld.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=32344&stc=1[/align]Mylil explains, "[Alexi] the elf claimed that there might be others waiting to assassinate Trace, and that the best way to draw them out would be to make them think their first attempt had failed. I was incensed at the loss of my friend and not thinking clearly, so I agreed to his plan. He used magic to disguise himself as Trace, climbed into my saddle, and we rejoined the race."</p><p></p><p>And went on to win it, a fact that initially led to fervent joy in Highwater, with the greatest number of supporters of the pegasus. Along the way, Alexi managed to injure one other rider, and was spotted using unapproved magic against other racers to aid his flight to victory. This has left racing officials wondering if the elvish priest cared more about drawing out assassins, or winning the cup.</p><p></p><p>Race officials chose to pay the purse to Mylil and to Trace's estate, with none going to Alexi, but the man is already garnering some interest and a heavy heaping of controversy for his bold actions.</p><p></p><p>Alexi's watch report claims that snipers fired at him while he was in the race, and that a magically cloaked assassin teleported <em>(See our exposé about House Orien’s teleportation monopoly in next week’s issue -- Ed.)</em> onto the saddle with him, slipped a garrote over his head, and attempted to strangle him. Already rumors are spreading that these are merely fabrications to justify his actions, though his fellow SIS members corroborate his story. But while this event has provoked controversy and several vicious bar brawls, it pales in comparison to what happened next.</p><p></p><p>[align=right]http://www.enworld.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=32345&stc=1[/align]The investigation took the SIS to House Vadalis, sponsors of Trace and Mylil, but there the official watch records become sealed. A source that asked to remain anonymous, however, says that tracing the finances of the late Trace Noren to his next of kin revealed ties between the unfortunate racer and one Niro Graymalkin, bodyguard of Sharn councilman Doran Cantar. Cantar, as astute readers of this chronicle will recall, is the prime impetus behind the development of the SIS. </p><p></p><p>Through our own investigations, we discovered that not only Trace and Niro, but also Doran Cantar, were members of a mercenary company during the Last War, from roughly 995 to the destruction of Cyre. </p><p></p><p>As a brief aside, the ranks of the SIS were quietly shuffled the evening of the race, excising the loose canon Stephen Tyleat with pretty boy Myrrhin. See our report, “Daask Assassination Thwarted” on page 7, for more details.</p><p></p><p>The next morning, SIS members arranged a swift meeting with Councilman Cantar. We cannot pin down what was discussed in that meeting, but Cantar chose not to cancel his scheduled appearance at the new Cathedral of the Sovereign Host that evening. </p><p></p><p>The new Sovereign Tower, an elegant twelve-story stone structure capped with the Sovereign Cathedral and a graceful wooded park beside its skycab landings, floats thirty feet off the western edge of High Hope, not yet connected by bridges. Under the bottom of the tower, five air elementals were bound by Sharn skymages, and it was they who held the tower aloft. Access is only available via skycab, though visitors are now prohibited due to the perilous 20-degree listing of the tower.</p><p></p><p>This reporter was himself on site covering the opening of that cathedral, and though the SIS member Alexi did his best to deflect inquiries, it was clear that they were acting as bodyguard to Cantar, and that they were well aware something was primed to happen. We ask that you forgive the somewhat more personal account that follows, for it was a harrowing experience, and we seek to give you a true sense of the danger that faced all those who foolishly trusted their safety to the SIS.</p><p></p><p>Aereni elf Alexi, the hulking half-orc Nicolai “Ugly Nick” Obsidian, kalashtar telepath Shadoa, and human warlock Myrrhin stayed close to Cantar as the crowds gathered for the festivities, while Yue Tew remained out of sight of the cathedral interior. Alexi hovered near me, and much repartee was exchanged until he promised me a personal interview, apparently hoping that his silver tongue could convince a two-fisted reporter such as myself to treat him and his teammates with kid gloves, instead of reporting the abuses of their positions with clarity and honesty.</p><p></p><p>[align=left]http://www.enworld.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=32342&stc=1[/align]During our verbal sparring I witnessed newcomer Myrrhin speaking with a memorable, beautiful blond sorceress dressed as if she were about to set out on an adventure. Later identified as Ibix d’Lyrandar, this woman spoke with Councilor Cantar for a few minutes before taking a seat for the opening ceremony.</p><p></p><p>Then, somewhere between the eight-piece band’s act and the opening prayer, I noticed a slight swaying in the building. Looking out the high stained-glass windows lining the beauteous cathedral, I realized an intense wind was gusting through the branches of the park balcony. Later it was discovered that Ibix d’Lyrandar had conjured a minor tempest to blow the Sovereign Tower away from the safety of High Hope, leaving it hundreds of feet from the nearest solid ground. Meanwhile, assassins had snuck around the Cathedral, using magic to hold shut every door, trapping us within.</p><p></p><p>I tried to warn the SIS, but then the first of several jolts shook the cathedral, and the entire tower began to list to one side. The Lyrandar mage fled, dimensionally jaunting through a window onto the balcony as chaos broke out inside. The SIS officers smashed open the window and pursued, while the tower shuddered a second and then a third time, until it was leaning at a perilous angle that made evacuation difficult.</p><p></p><p>Watchman Myrrhin stayed within the cathedral, guiding the guests to safety while the rest of the SIS engaged in a battle outside with a band of crossbow-sniper assassins striking from a swift skyboat. They handily left Cantar practically unguarded inside, however, so it was fortunate no assassins remained within the crowd.</p><p></p><p>Eventually the magically-barred doors were shattered and the crowd began to flee, but the cathedral shook a fourth time, and the tower began not only to list, but to spin slowly like a top wobbling at the end of its run. Above the park, magic and weaponry filled the air as officer Obsidian subdued the archers in the back of the skycab while officer Alexi unleashed freezing webs upon them. Eventually the skycab, grappled by some magical device, smashed into the park trees and came to a stop.</p><p></p><p>Aided with magical flight, Shadoa and Myrrhin dove down to defend the elementals at the bottom of the tower, while I at the head of the crowd guided the way to the skycabs, so other innocent bystanders could get to safety. The skyboat snipers were defeated, and a final murderous skycabbie -- who we assume was also an assassin -- attempted to knock Councilor Cantar off the edge of the tower. Cantar himself beat that cabbie into unconsciousness, perhaps demonstrating the same military techniques he wielded as a mercenary in the Last War.</p><p></p><p>Roughly a minute later, the two flying SIS members returned with a captive. His identity is currently unknown, but later, during the madhouse that was the police response, I overheard a watchman ask another if the assassins were “working for Hawkins.” Just before going to press, we discovered that the watch has been asking questions regarding one Hawkins d’Orien, son of Gehn d’Orien, patriarch of the Sharn branch of House Orien.</p><p></p><p>So, the SIS captured who we suspect are the assassins responsible for Trace Noren’s death. They thwarted an attempt to murder their employer, and hundreds of other people. Indeed, not a single person died in the evening’s mayhem, not even any of the assassins. <em>(Quite an improvement from last week’s execution of a troll witness! -- Ed.)</em> But are the SIS heroes? Or were they almost as culpable as the criminals they captured?</p><p></p><p>In the opinion of this witness to the evening’s events, their actions were foolhardy, and should not be praised in the least. They sought to put Cantar in an enticing position to lure out the assassins, but they could easily have done this somewhere without hundreds of innocents in the line of fire. It is unclear how many lawsuits will be filed against the Sharn Watch for their involvement in the near-catastrophe.</p><p></p><p>Even with the capture of the assassins, it remains undiscovered why they murdered Trace Noren, or why they desired the death of Doran Cantar. Cantar’s bodyguard as well remains at large, raising suspicions that he may be involved in the conspiracy. And what of this connection to House Orien? We will report on these mysteries as soon as we get more information.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center"><img src="http://www.enworld.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=32623" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p> <p style="text-align: center">(Sovereign Cathedral, safe for now.)</p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 15px">Daask Assassination Thwarted, Watch Retaliates in Stake-out Turned Violent</span></strong></p><p>By Clementine Lardi, Junior Police File Reporter</p><p>25 Lharvion, 998 YK </p><p></p><p>[align=right]http://www.enworld.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=32622&stc=1[/align]In an attack not publicly disclosed by the watch, SIS member Stephen Tyleat was attacked in his Little Barrington home in Middle Tavick’s Landing. A betentacled aberration referred to as a ‘choker’ was captured at the scene, thanks to the clever intervention of master inquisitive Victor St. Demain. </p><p></p><p>St. Demain, who humbly declined to comment in a case involving a fellow crime-fighter, had broken the pattern of the serial cop-killer known as ‘The Rasping Strangler.’ According to the report he filed with the watch in order to claim his sizeable commission, St. Demain waited for the murderer -- who has so far claimed the lives of six officers -- to appear at its next likely strike point. Instead of an attack, however, he witnessed a monetary transaction between an ‘ogre-like creature’ and the choker.</p><p></p><p>The two monsters parted ways, and St. Demain followed the choker, suspecting events would turn ill. His hunch proved correct when the Rasping Strangler snuck into the Tyleat home, where the SIS member lives with his younger sister. St. Demain was not fast enough to stop the attack, but when the choker fled the scene he was able to disable the monster with a blow from his cane, and keep it alive for later interrogation <em>(A trick Tyleat himself apparently was not able to master; see the “Is Stopping Petty Crimes . . .” report in our Lharvion 23 issue -- Ed.). </em></p><p></p><p>Thankfully Tyleat himself awoke to the sounds of his sister’s struggles and managed to drive the choker away. According to an anonymous source Tyleat himself was unharmed, and his sister was in fair condition after her injuries were treated. </p><p></p><p>The Watch suspects the attack was retaliation for Tyleat dispatching a troll who was suspected to be working for Daask, two nights earlier. In reaction to the attack, Watchman Tyleat chose to immediately withdraw from the SIS and the Watch entirely, moving out of the city with his sister to protect her from further retaliation from the monster-controlled crime syndicate.</p><p></p><p>Tyleat’s position in the SIS was quickly filled by veteran watchman, Sergeant Myrrhin. We have been unable to reach Sergeant Myrrhin for comment, and other members of the SIS declined to respond to our inquiries.</p><p></p><p>The next afternoon, a group of watchmen were involved in a stake-out at the residence of an artificer informant in an ongoing Daask investigation. Witnessed reported the presence of at least two of the newly reconstituted SIS -- Yue Tew and Myrrhin -- who, after a running battle across the rooftops in Copper Arch that resounded with eldritch bolts and twanging arrows, delivered a large cadre of monstrous captives into custody.</p><p></p><p>Danny Retjo, Copper Arch resident, saw “them cart off five things that desperately needed stabbing. There was a dead bug, like a roach, but the size of a man and dressed in the skin of . . . I think it was Derek Conwatter, who lived above me. It was good and butchered. They had two more beaten up bugs too [. . .] and a man with a cow head who’d had his face smashed in. And the last one looked like a gargoyle, but he was moving. He had an arrow stuck in his skin, and he kept leaving flakes of white stone as he moved.”</p><p></p><p>It is unclear whether the skin condition of the gargoyle was the result of the watchmen, or a preexisting condition. <em>(He’d better hope it was new, or Daask’s House Jorasco insurance won’t cover it! -- Ed.)</em> Either way, the monsters have yet to be interrogated. We will report more when there’s more to know.</p><p></p><p></p><p>© 998, The Sharn Inquisitive</p><p><img src="http://www.enworld.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=31672&stc=1" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 15px">Tales in Blood</span></strong></p><p>By an unknown contributor</p><p></p><p>(<em>The mysterious writer continues to delight with his macabre sensibilities. Due to heightened readership since the inclusion of this mysterious story, we are offering a grand compensation of 5 copper crowns a word if the author comes forward. -- Ed.</em>)</p><p></p><p><strong>Part Three</strong></p><p>Ravens call like the strings of a winter dirge, carrying the dying judge down into the clanking cogs of the fiery desert that is the heart of Shaarat. Moons gasp between towers to light his fall, and though he goes to his death, the life in this shadowed night chariot is more than he imagined in thirteen years of dry judging chambers. Heaving breasts and clenching thighs pull him down, and the orchestra of wings and gears climaxes with screams.</p><p></p><p>Passion and ecstasy hold no place in this pit of hell, sealed so that dust only breathes dust. Hooks tear the judge from his lover’s pleading flesh, and he dangles meat-like above the golden plinth that will render his judgment as he long did hapless judge. An audience of rooks dances ruin around the pit, and Aureon’s Shadow delights with a murder of his own. As truth opens the pen-critic’s eyes, ravens dive into his lover’s flesh, their beaks applauding as they feast on mead-blooded youth, dead in the fullness of life.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">-Quoth the Raven</p><p></p><p>(Apologies to Ocho Games for stealing their choker image. It’s awesome, inn’t?)</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="RangerWickett, post: 4021533, member: 63"] [b][size=4]SPECIAL REPORT! Reckless SIS Sting Endangers Sovereign Cathedral, Hundreds of Lives[/size][/b] By ARTHUR KNIGHT, Senior Interfaith Correspondent 25 Lharvion, 998 YK [align=right]http://www.enworld.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=32341&stc=1[/align]HIGH HOPE -- Only a day after the murder of beloved equestrian and racer Trace Noren during the Race of Eight Winds, the SIS, which had been trumpeted as the coming thing in Sharn law enforcement, undertook a daring sting operation that nearly resulted in the destruction of the new Cathedral of the Sovereign Host, but which has yet to provide any concrete answers on who killed Trace, or why. Word has already spread through the city about Trace's death, and rumors abound, but we at the Inquisitive have spoken to our contacts in the city watch and on the racing board, and we encourage our grieving readers to consider what we have uncovered as they read on; it will be a long ride. At roughly the seventeen mile marker of the Race of Eight Winds, fans were crowded about the so-called 'Ruined Way,' a course of crumbling arches and spraying fountains that provide a dazzling rainbow-like spectacle as racers, mounted atop their preferred steed -- pegasus, eagle, griffon, hippogriff, hawk, glidewing, and owl, as well as a gargoyle who flies by himself -- dive and roll through the hazards. This afternoon, however, there was a different danger, an assassin tasked specifically with ending the life of Last War veteran scout Trace Noren, a man who had become a hero to the Cyran refugees throughout the district of Dura. Also present were the five members of the Sharn Interjurisdictional Specialists, tasked with keeping order in the sometimes rowdy crowds attending the race. It caught everyone by surprise, even these prominent law officers, when Trace's pegasus took the mandatory underpass beneath the arching Bolen Bridge and emerged on the far side without its rider. We spoke with the pegasus, Mylil, for his insight. [i](Our thanks to Crisentia Auren, priestess of Dol Arrah, for translating from celestial. -- Ed.)[/i] "We were well ahead by this point," Mylil claims, "and so I took the underpass casually. There was no way we were anywhere near the stone, but I felt a jerk, and when I looked back Trace had been knocked from my saddle. We were only a hundred feet over this fountain, and I had no chance to swing around and catch him before he hit." Not that it would have made a difference. Several mages in the crowd used magic to [i]featherfall[/i] Trace, but Veso d'Jorasco, serving as coroner for this investigation, reports that Trace suffered a devastating blow to his head, and was dying or dead by the time he gently reached the ground. According to the watch report filed by SIS member Yue Tew, Trace landed in the foot-deep fountain, and as Tew and her brother Alexiaietano (an avowed follower of the Aereni religion of the Undying Court) rushed to his aid, the rest of the quintet set out on figuring out whether foul play had been involved. Until this point, the actions of the SIS were commendable. But then things took a distasteful turn. [align=left]http://www.enworld.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=32344&stc=1[/align]Mylil explains, "[Alexi] the elf claimed that there might be others waiting to assassinate Trace, and that the best way to draw them out would be to make them think their first attempt had failed. I was incensed at the loss of my friend and not thinking clearly, so I agreed to his plan. He used magic to disguise himself as Trace, climbed into my saddle, and we rejoined the race." And went on to win it, a fact that initially led to fervent joy in Highwater, with the greatest number of supporters of the pegasus. Along the way, Alexi managed to injure one other rider, and was spotted using unapproved magic against other racers to aid his flight to victory. This has left racing officials wondering if the elvish priest cared more about drawing out assassins, or winning the cup. Race officials chose to pay the purse to Mylil and to Trace's estate, with none going to Alexi, but the man is already garnering some interest and a heavy heaping of controversy for his bold actions. Alexi's watch report claims that snipers fired at him while he was in the race, and that a magically cloaked assassin teleported [i](See our exposé about House Orien’s teleportation monopoly in next week’s issue -- Ed.)[/i] onto the saddle with him, slipped a garrote over his head, and attempted to strangle him. Already rumors are spreading that these are merely fabrications to justify his actions, though his fellow SIS members corroborate his story. But while this event has provoked controversy and several vicious bar brawls, it pales in comparison to what happened next. [align=right]http://www.enworld.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=32345&stc=1[/align]The investigation took the SIS to House Vadalis, sponsors of Trace and Mylil, but there the official watch records become sealed. A source that asked to remain anonymous, however, says that tracing the finances of the late Trace Noren to his next of kin revealed ties between the unfortunate racer and one Niro Graymalkin, bodyguard of Sharn councilman Doran Cantar. Cantar, as astute readers of this chronicle will recall, is the prime impetus behind the development of the SIS. Through our own investigations, we discovered that not only Trace and Niro, but also Doran Cantar, were members of a mercenary company during the Last War, from roughly 995 to the destruction of Cyre. As a brief aside, the ranks of the SIS were quietly shuffled the evening of the race, excising the loose canon Stephen Tyleat with pretty boy Myrrhin. See our report, “Daask Assassination Thwarted” on page 7, for more details. The next morning, SIS members arranged a swift meeting with Councilman Cantar. We cannot pin down what was discussed in that meeting, but Cantar chose not to cancel his scheduled appearance at the new Cathedral of the Sovereign Host that evening. The new Sovereign Tower, an elegant twelve-story stone structure capped with the Sovereign Cathedral and a graceful wooded park beside its skycab landings, floats thirty feet off the western edge of High Hope, not yet connected by bridges. Under the bottom of the tower, five air elementals were bound by Sharn skymages, and it was they who held the tower aloft. Access is only available via skycab, though visitors are now prohibited due to the perilous 20-degree listing of the tower. This reporter was himself on site covering the opening of that cathedral, and though the SIS member Alexi did his best to deflect inquiries, it was clear that they were acting as bodyguard to Cantar, and that they were well aware something was primed to happen. We ask that you forgive the somewhat more personal account that follows, for it was a harrowing experience, and we seek to give you a true sense of the danger that faced all those who foolishly trusted their safety to the SIS. Aereni elf Alexi, the hulking half-orc Nicolai “Ugly Nick” Obsidian, kalashtar telepath Shadoa, and human warlock Myrrhin stayed close to Cantar as the crowds gathered for the festivities, while Yue Tew remained out of sight of the cathedral interior. Alexi hovered near me, and much repartee was exchanged until he promised me a personal interview, apparently hoping that his silver tongue could convince a two-fisted reporter such as myself to treat him and his teammates with kid gloves, instead of reporting the abuses of their positions with clarity and honesty. [align=left]http://www.enworld.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=32342&stc=1[/align]During our verbal sparring I witnessed newcomer Myrrhin speaking with a memorable, beautiful blond sorceress dressed as if she were about to set out on an adventure. Later identified as Ibix d’Lyrandar, this woman spoke with Councilor Cantar for a few minutes before taking a seat for the opening ceremony. Then, somewhere between the eight-piece band’s act and the opening prayer, I noticed a slight swaying in the building. Looking out the high stained-glass windows lining the beauteous cathedral, I realized an intense wind was gusting through the branches of the park balcony. Later it was discovered that Ibix d’Lyrandar had conjured a minor tempest to blow the Sovereign Tower away from the safety of High Hope, leaving it hundreds of feet from the nearest solid ground. Meanwhile, assassins had snuck around the Cathedral, using magic to hold shut every door, trapping us within. I tried to warn the SIS, but then the first of several jolts shook the cathedral, and the entire tower began to list to one side. The Lyrandar mage fled, dimensionally jaunting through a window onto the balcony as chaos broke out inside. The SIS officers smashed open the window and pursued, while the tower shuddered a second and then a third time, until it was leaning at a perilous angle that made evacuation difficult. Watchman Myrrhin stayed within the cathedral, guiding the guests to safety while the rest of the SIS engaged in a battle outside with a band of crossbow-sniper assassins striking from a swift skyboat. They handily left Cantar practically unguarded inside, however, so it was fortunate no assassins remained within the crowd. Eventually the magically-barred doors were shattered and the crowd began to flee, but the cathedral shook a fourth time, and the tower began not only to list, but to spin slowly like a top wobbling at the end of its run. Above the park, magic and weaponry filled the air as officer Obsidian subdued the archers in the back of the skycab while officer Alexi unleashed freezing webs upon them. Eventually the skycab, grappled by some magical device, smashed into the park trees and came to a stop. Aided with magical flight, Shadoa and Myrrhin dove down to defend the elementals at the bottom of the tower, while I at the head of the crowd guided the way to the skycabs, so other innocent bystanders could get to safety. The skyboat snipers were defeated, and a final murderous skycabbie -- who we assume was also an assassin -- attempted to knock Councilor Cantar off the edge of the tower. Cantar himself beat that cabbie into unconsciousness, perhaps demonstrating the same military techniques he wielded as a mercenary in the Last War. Roughly a minute later, the two flying SIS members returned with a captive. His identity is currently unknown, but later, during the madhouse that was the police response, I overheard a watchman ask another if the assassins were “working for Hawkins.” Just before going to press, we discovered that the watch has been asking questions regarding one Hawkins d’Orien, son of Gehn d’Orien, patriarch of the Sharn branch of House Orien. So, the SIS captured who we suspect are the assassins responsible for Trace Noren’s death. They thwarted an attempt to murder their employer, and hundreds of other people. Indeed, not a single person died in the evening’s mayhem, not even any of the assassins. [i](Quite an improvement from last week’s execution of a troll witness! -- Ed.)[/i] But are the SIS heroes? Or were they almost as culpable as the criminals they captured? In the opinion of this witness to the evening’s events, their actions were foolhardy, and should not be praised in the least. They sought to put Cantar in an enticing position to lure out the assassins, but they could easily have done this somewhere without hundreds of innocents in the line of fire. It is unclear how many lawsuits will be filed against the Sharn Watch for their involvement in the near-catastrophe. Even with the capture of the assassins, it remains undiscovered why they murdered Trace Noren, or why they desired the death of Doran Cantar. Cantar’s bodyguard as well remains at large, raising suspicions that he may be involved in the conspiracy. And what of this connection to House Orien? We will report on these mysteries as soon as we get more information. [center][img]http://www.enworld.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=32623[/img] (Sovereign Cathedral, safe for now.)[/center] [b][size=4]Daask Assassination Thwarted, Watch Retaliates in Stake-out Turned Violent[/size][/b] By Clementine Lardi, Junior Police File Reporter 25 Lharvion, 998 YK [align=right]http://www.enworld.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=32622&stc=1[/align]In an attack not publicly disclosed by the watch, SIS member Stephen Tyleat was attacked in his Little Barrington home in Middle Tavick’s Landing. A betentacled aberration referred to as a ‘choker’ was captured at the scene, thanks to the clever intervention of master inquisitive Victor St. Demain. St. Demain, who humbly declined to comment in a case involving a fellow crime-fighter, had broken the pattern of the serial cop-killer known as ‘The Rasping Strangler.’ According to the report he filed with the watch in order to claim his sizeable commission, St. Demain waited for the murderer -- who has so far claimed the lives of six officers -- to appear at its next likely strike point. Instead of an attack, however, he witnessed a monetary transaction between an ‘ogre-like creature’ and the choker. The two monsters parted ways, and St. Demain followed the choker, suspecting events would turn ill. His hunch proved correct when the Rasping Strangler snuck into the Tyleat home, where the SIS member lives with his younger sister. St. Demain was not fast enough to stop the attack, but when the choker fled the scene he was able to disable the monster with a blow from his cane, and keep it alive for later interrogation [i](A trick Tyleat himself apparently was not able to master; see the “Is Stopping Petty Crimes . . .” report in our Lharvion 23 issue -- Ed.). [/i] Thankfully Tyleat himself awoke to the sounds of his sister’s struggles and managed to drive the choker away. According to an anonymous source Tyleat himself was unharmed, and his sister was in fair condition after her injuries were treated. The Watch suspects the attack was retaliation for Tyleat dispatching a troll who was suspected to be working for Daask, two nights earlier. In reaction to the attack, Watchman Tyleat chose to immediately withdraw from the SIS and the Watch entirely, moving out of the city with his sister to protect her from further retaliation from the monster-controlled crime syndicate. Tyleat’s position in the SIS was quickly filled by veteran watchman, Sergeant Myrrhin. We have been unable to reach Sergeant Myrrhin for comment, and other members of the SIS declined to respond to our inquiries. The next afternoon, a group of watchmen were involved in a stake-out at the residence of an artificer informant in an ongoing Daask investigation. Witnessed reported the presence of at least two of the newly reconstituted SIS -- Yue Tew and Myrrhin -- who, after a running battle across the rooftops in Copper Arch that resounded with eldritch bolts and twanging arrows, delivered a large cadre of monstrous captives into custody. Danny Retjo, Copper Arch resident, saw “them cart off five things that desperately needed stabbing. There was a dead bug, like a roach, but the size of a man and dressed in the skin of . . . I think it was Derek Conwatter, who lived above me. It was good and butchered. They had two more beaten up bugs too [. . .] and a man with a cow head who’d had his face smashed in. And the last one looked like a gargoyle, but he was moving. He had an arrow stuck in his skin, and he kept leaving flakes of white stone as he moved.” It is unclear whether the skin condition of the gargoyle was the result of the watchmen, or a preexisting condition. [i](He’d better hope it was new, or Daask’s House Jorasco insurance won’t cover it! -- Ed.)[/i] Either way, the monsters have yet to be interrogated. We will report more when there’s more to know. © 998, The Sharn Inquisitive [img]http://www.enworld.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=31672&stc=1[/img] [b][size=4]Tales in Blood[/size][/b][size=4][/size] By an unknown contributor ([i]The mysterious writer continues to delight with his macabre sensibilities. Due to heightened readership since the inclusion of this mysterious story, we are offering a grand compensation of 5 copper crowns a word if the author comes forward. -- Ed.[/i]) [b]Part Three[/b] Ravens call like the strings of a winter dirge, carrying the dying judge down into the clanking cogs of the fiery desert that is the heart of Shaarat. Moons gasp between towers to light his fall, and though he goes to his death, the life in this shadowed night chariot is more than he imagined in thirteen years of dry judging chambers. Heaving breasts and clenching thighs pull him down, and the orchestra of wings and gears climaxes with screams. Passion and ecstasy hold no place in this pit of hell, sealed so that dust only breathes dust. Hooks tear the judge from his lover’s pleading flesh, and he dangles meat-like above the golden plinth that will render his judgment as he long did hapless judge. An audience of rooks dances ruin around the pit, and Aureon’s Shadow delights with a murder of his own. As truth opens the pen-critic’s eyes, ravens dive into his lover’s flesh, their beaks applauding as they feast on mead-blooded youth, dead in the fullness of life. [center]-Quoth the Raven[/center] (Apologies to Ocho Games for stealing their choker image. It’s awesome, inn’t?) [/QUOTE]
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