The Oracle
Fourth Passage of the Ice Moon
Famous Poet to Speak in Selarum
Ranian D’Vrey, considered Lantrielle’s finest poet, has spent the last moon and a half on holiday in the Old World port of Selarum, touring the new houses magically created by Lord Cowan Faol and taking in the many historical sights. He has also come, it is said, hoping to gain audience with the famously beautiful ruler of the city – Queen Ennea. She has proven too busy to return his attentions thus far, which may be the reason Lord D’Vrey has announced that he will be giving an oration next An Meja. He will read from various collections of his poems and deliver commentary upon them. At the end of his oration he will read an original poem that he has created out of ‘inspiration delivered to me upon the first time the Queen entered my vision’.
Entrance to the presentation will cost seventy silver.
Lord D’Vrey’s poems contain an almost hypnotically lyrical quality and are often long, (in the Lantrielle style), encompassing epic tales. This is an unique chance to see, firsthand, an aspect of Lantrielle culture.
Tania
Liramelle Has Trouble With Trolls
Trolls or bandits? That’s the question plaguing Liramelle’s Outriders. The Outriders are the portion of the Liramelle guardforce charged with handling situations outside the city’s borders, and their range of enforcement covers hundreds of round leagues of plains and forestland where outlying villagers make their homes. Their task is to find four men who have been accused of numerous crimes, some as severe as banditry and kidnapping, and some as benign as stealing pies.
“The actions of these creatures are consistent with fae activity,” says Lei, the Captain in charge of finding the accused men. “These are definitely trolls.”
Every sage we spoke to, however, insists that there has never been a historical account of trolls working together. “They hate each other and are fiercely territorial,” one insisted.
Lei says that his Outriders are having great difficulty. “These trolls know the woods like no man alive. They leave almost no track, seem to disappear at will, and are rumored to be invincible in combat.”
He has narrowed his search to a scattering of ruins that lines the northern shore of the Old World.
The consensus among the sages I spoke to is that this is nothing but a group of bandits – probably Northerners, which would account for their woodskills and large size. With the rash of recent fae encounters being reported, many are suggesting (and not for the first time) that unscrupulous humans are using these reports to hide their own criminal activities. This, in turn, creates more reports of fae encounters. Whatever the case, Liramelle has offered a bounty for the capture of the ‘trolls’, dead or alive. It stands at 40,000 silver-- 10,000 silver a head.
Tirian
Winter is Hard on Latallan Beef
Auralay has reported one of its worst winters ever, with the usually calm Lasheth Ocean crashing against the western shores with a vengeful fury.
Reports say that the docks are coated with ice and massive drifts of snow have closed off Auralay’s streets. Quite a contrast to the gentle waves and soft flurries which characterize Auralay’s average winters.
While the small community settles in to wait for spring, the rest of the world misses Auralay’s most famous export – Latallan beef.
The Latallan cattle range over vast areas, and many have been trapped in small sections of woods where they are unable to move due to the snow, which has been reported as ‘chest deep’ in some places. The guards in charge of the cattle are camping out near them, doing their best to shelter them from the storms. Although only a few cows have died from the chill weather and heavy snows, export has been rendered impossible, and you’ll find Latallan beef missing from menus everywhere. Citizens in all realms are warned against purchasing any ‘Latallan beef’ until spring, since it will surely be inferior beef masquerading as the real thing.
Lord Kieran
To the Oracle Collection-- Third Year