Second Passage of the Autumn Moon

We recently reported about the Courage, a Masallan exploration vessel captained by the famous Lord Tarvus, King’s Explorer. The ship recently returned to Masalla laden with dragon’s treasure – enough to make Masalla the wealthiest province in the world.

In the midst of celebrating the arrival of the treasure, a celebration that included the hanging of eighty pirates who had been involved in an attempted theft of the treasure, an extraordinary event occurred.

The official Masallan report reads thus –

Lady Sasha, a trusted personal friend of King Avorine, utilized sorcery and deceit to free the eighty pirates and to enchant both Lord Tarvus and Korvus Tell, the King’s Explorer and King’s Mage, respectively. With the band of loyal pirates, she stole the Courage and sailed from Masalla, destroying a Masallan warship in the bay.

As Masalla rises into its new power, the King is redoubling his promises for vengeance – he will recover the Courage, hang Lady Sasha, and sink every pirate ship on the seas.

"With Masalla’s new wealth and power," says King Avorine, "we are going to make the world safe for people who embrace the industrious and enlightened ideals of the Masallan rulership."

Lord Kieran

The puzzle that had tens of people gathering at district message boards lately has finally come to an end. The puzzle turned out to be a sort of treasure hunt devised, doubtlessly, by a wealthy and eccentric citizen of Aranor. The clues continued to become more and more difficult, and the final piece of the puzzle required knowledge of all the messages left before it.

The puzzle was unraveled by Jaraad, a young Shavay man who is taking his 90,000 silver and using it to invest in part of a shipping route. He has quit his job as a scribe and says he will be moving to Moraithe, a long-time dream of his.

The treasure was contained in a bound box, three paces under the water at low tide near the southern edge of the city. An underwater cave just off shore contains enough air so that a person can dive down and then walk about. Although its exact location hasn’t been described, many people have been swimming in the waters south of the city looking for it, for such a natural phenomenon is a treasure in itself.

Tirian

With winter approaching, people are preparing for the cold and chill. One group of enterprising folk is doing so in a method that could prove very dangerous to you or your loved ones.

Their concept is to offer carriage and sled-carriage services throughout the winter moons, and their carriages will be extremely comfortable – all because they are going to use illusions to create the feeling or impression of warmth. Such carriages will give welcome respite from the cold winds. But although the carriages will feel warm, they actually won’t be, and patrons of the service could easily suffer from cold-related injury or even death.

"You’ll feel warm as can be," says Cat, a captain of the city guard. "But in reality, you’ll be slowly freezing to death."

Fingers or limbs can be lost to freezing, and excessive cold can swiftly kill, especially if you shed clothes to enjoy the illusory warmth.

"We’re not officially outlawing this practice," says Cat, "but we disapprove highly. We recommend that people only utilize trusted carriage services, and avoid any carriages run by people or organizations you don’t recognize. We’re hoping that this dangerous ploy only lasts for the duration of this winter."

All the guardhouses of the city have been supplied with information describing the process your body will go through as it gets cold while feeling warm. Concerned citizens can go to any guardhouse and have such things described to them so that they can be safe throughout the winter.

Tania

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