The Oracle
Third Passage of the Storm Moon
Huge Bat Found Dead
"It's the size of a coyote!" exclaimed Sarl, who found the thing. Well, when I saw the now-stinking corpse for myself, I wasn't so sure that was the best comparison, but it is, indeed, much larger than our native bats.
"This is the size of bat you see over in Moraithe," said Mariah, a sage from the Library of Aranor. "Our thought is that it is someone's pet that got away and died in the cool of night. But until we confirm what family of bat it is, we've got a mystery on our hands."
The corpse has been described as both 'cute' and 'horrific'. If one can imagine, it's actually sort of between those poles. It's gained most of its fame because it was found in a public place, by Sarl, who promptly held it above his head, shouting 'Look at this!'. After the commotion and panic died down, the animal was taken to the Library for study. Sages are not sure if it could have flown over the oceans by itself, but they wish to assure the citizens of Aranor that this size bat will not be encountered at night.
"It is definitely," I was told, "a freak."
Tirian
Storm Damages Docks
Last An Sel saw one of the largest sea-storms since the founding of Aranor. It began at noon, and by dinner had risen to a tempest of vicious proportions, with swells that smashed over the decks of boats and buried the docks under water. Hundreds of sailors stood by in agony, watching as their ships fought for life against the raging sea. Many prayers to Tynan were offered up.
As darkness fell, so did the winds, and as soon as the waves no longer threatened to sweep people from the docks, the sailors spilled out from taverns to survey the damage.
The prayers to Tynan must have worked. Although most ships suffered minor damages, none were deemed unseaworthy, and trade should resume as usual. Only Aranor's largest dock, the Pier, which holds numerous shoppes and is a favorite fishing area, was seriously damaged.
Waves lifted it from underneath and managed to separate some of the supports from the main body of the dock. The city has announced that the Pier still retains enough integrity to support its normal crowds, but people are warned to stay clear of repair workers, who will need their space in the immense undertaking of repairing the damages. The repairs are projected to take more than a moon to complete.
Lord Kieran
Iced Cream Celebration
By now most of us have had the luck to experience that new invention of a year past -- iced cream. The luscious, frozen cream is easy to make in the winter, and has become a staple on the dessert menus of many of the city's more upscale restaurants. But everyone's dream is to have it during the heat of summer. Now, thanks to some magical workings, that dream is coming true. Take yourself this An Meja up to the River District, bring a little gold, and you'll be in for a real treat.
The event is being undertaken by the Garnet, and the roadway in front of the inn will be lined with over thirty tables, each one offering a different flavoured iced cream. The area will be roped off, and for the price of a single gold coin, you can eat as much iced cream as you want. Yes, that was scribed correctly. The folks at the Garnet have predicted that this will be one of the most popular events the city has ever seen, so expect some pretty long lines.
Tania
