Third Passage of the Melting Moon

In a daring but foolhardy venture, a band of six bandits entered Aranor under the guise of travelers, and commenced to rob two jewelry stores in the River District last An Sel.

"They came in, brandished crossbows, and told us to empty the contents of our cases into a leather sack," said Elena, the shoppe owner. "Three of them were inside, while three stood just outside the door."

The bandits made off with over half of a million silver’s worth of jewelry, making it the largest attempted theft of a public shoppe Aranor has seen since its establishment as a city.

Soon after the thieves fled on horses, they were cornered by two guardsmen, who commanded them to throw down their weapons and surrender.

"It was vicious," said Saiden, a young man who was nearby. "The bandits rushed them, and I thought they’d go right down. But they made a mess of those bandits, I tell you. I’ve never seen such a good fight!"

The bandits surrendered after three of them fell in combat. One was slain, but the others are imprisoned. Only minor wounds were sustained by the guardsmen, who are being praised for their valiant actions.

Lord Kieran

Rhythm dancing, which appeared two years past in Aranor, is a blending of Moraithian and Shavay dance styles, and is characterized by free and energetic dancing to the beat of various drums.

"We’re going to have vendors of all kinds. Well, food and drink mostly, and the dancing will go on all night. We’re expecting over three hundred dancers."

Area residents are already voicing concerns about the possible noise of the event, as well as the influences it might bring with it.

"It’s true that there may be drug use, twylahs, and a lot of noise," said Kashaena Radelle, Administer of the Merchant District, where Highview Square lies. "But these people paid to rent the space, and gave quite a bit extra for the right to keep their festivities going all night. We’re going to see how it goes, and will not allow such a use more than once every two moons. If we get too many complaints, we’ll just have to say ‘nay’ to further gatherings."

Anna, one of the organizers, has a plan to combat those complaints.

"We’re planning on getting a lot of gold from this. Four gold coins are going to be given to every house within a certain distance of the square. We’re hoping this will stand as compensation for the night’s noise."

Tania

Huntsmen presented a strange artifact to the Museum of Aranor last passage. It came in the form of a badly decomposed jawbone, almost the length of a horse.

"It is the bottom right side of the jaw," said Katherine, head of Fauna Studies at the museum. "The bone is light for its size, and pitted with age. Furthermore, only part of it is there, and the front incisors or canines, if the creature had any, are lost."

The teeth were of a strange, clearish hue, and one sharp tooth was more than an arm long. As for what it is, no one has any answers.

"In truth," said Katherine, "it is far larger than any Mountain Dragon skull we have on record, and that is the largest animal known on Carador, if we discount those living in the seas. It was found far inland, and it’s anyone’s guess as to the animal that it belonged to.

"Many people are saying ‘Great Wyrm’," said Katherine, "but that wouldn’t make much sense in light of the lore we have concerning those creatures. It is not impossible that a large sea creature was washed up on shore and parts of it taken inland by a dragon or gryphon."

Not long ago, we also had news of a Kraken washing up on the shores of Staladin. I asked Katherine what this meant, that two large creatures had been found dead.

"I’m not sure what to say to that. Probably coincidence. But mages report that the tides of magic are rising in the world, and that creatures long forgotten might once again begin to roam the lands. Perhaps these two creatures are serving as harbingers. . ."

Tirian

A Note from Lord Kieran-

In regards to last passage’s article on the knights attacked by Sereg, all the fallen knights made their way back to Jalpa alive, though all three were badly injured.

"They’ll live to fight again," said Lanaea, their trainer.