Second Passage of the Melting Moon

The war in Jedda Felsuin persists as the Empress continues to defend her borders against the Emperor’s assaults. Reportedly, two more of the Emperor’s ships have been lost and hundreds of his Shai-kan warriors killed in attempts to break through the Empress’ defenses.

"She’s impressing everyone," says Iridai, a sage from the Library of Aranor who specializes in Jeddan politics and culture. "But she is also steadily losing numbers among the Yoru-ken, who now make up the bulk of her forces. Most of her Shai-kan have been lost, and the legendary Jotai Jo warriors, most of whom dwell on her island of Mymé, have not yet come to her aid."

The Empress has sent emissaries to appeal to Queen Lillian, who will probably make a decision this passage on whether to send aid.

Lord Kieran

Jalpa, which was hit with massive amounts of snow this year, is seeing a spectacular sight – the weirs above the city which divert water into valleys south of Jalpa have washed out, and melt from the highlands is running down the streets of Jalpa in small streams.

"It’s pretty amazing," says Janice, a citizen of Jalpa who came up to Aranor until the flooding is over. "Damage is being kept to a minimum by encouraging the streams to flow down the center of the roads and into the docks – they’ve set up logs and rocks to direct the water. Still, all sorts of strange things are being swept down into the roads – small trees, lots of debris – even a dead cow. I hear it’s washing out the cobbles, too, so we’ll have to do quite a bit of repair work on the streets."

For the most part the water is being guided straight down the sloped streets into the sea, but a few homes and businesses have had water indoors, especially along Tallridge Street, where the normal sloping terrain of Jalpa flattens out.

"A fair amount of water is collecting there," says Janice.

Barring any heavy rains, the citizens are hoping that the melt will soon be over, at which point the weirs can be repaired.

"And hopefully," Janice added, "made stronger this time."

Tania

The Emerald Dragon, one of Aranor’s finest jewelry stores, was robbed on An Sel. The establishment was guarded by magic, men, and dogs.

"This was a rough but successful robbery," says Kain, the guardsman in charge of researching the robbery. "The men shattered windows, climbed in, and killed the guardsman and his two dogs. The magical wards may or may not have taken effect. We suspect that there were twelve or thirteen robbers."

A similar robbery was reported in Selarum two moons ago, and another in Boroth, Moraithe, five moons past. It is suspected that the robbers are actually pirates, sailing in a large vessel known as The Spider. Who their leader is remains a mystery, but it’s said that the crew consists of at least fifty men and women pirates.

The Emerald Dragon was nearly cleaned out of jewels, as the robbers shattered the cases and swiftly scooped the jewelry into bags. More than six million silver’s worth of jewelry was lost.

Two separate ships reported seeing a large vessel anchored about a quarter league south of Aranor – it is probable that the ship waited there while part of the crew rowed ashore, robbed the shoppe, and then made their way back to their ship.

Various provinces are offering rewards for the capture of The Spider and its crew. Moraithe is offering half a million silver, Masalla two million, and the Old World a million. The Emerald Dragon is also offering three million silver for the safe return of the stolen merchandise.

Tirian

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