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Edited by Klaus Raüschenplatz
19th January 901
A happy New Year to all our readers, may it be a bountiful time for each and every one of you!
Good to see that the Order of the Mantis is wise enough to (eventually) spot traitorous idiocy when it raises its head - and that Galen has finally met his end...
Also nice to know the Guilds are doing their work to keep the city clear of infiltrating cults as well - keep up the fine work lads, and good luck with the temple.
And finally, our gratitude again to the Council of Aldermen for the new Outpost Post Fund - thanks to their generosity, I am sure that our humble paper shall soon become better than it has ever been before!
Klaus Raüschenplatz
The sun's rising was greeted this morning, not by the usual cock crows, but by the sounds of splintering wood and shouting voices.
In a rare cooperative effort between the four Adventuring Guilds and the Outpost City Watch, a synchronised strike was made against traitors to Outpost throughout the city, capturing all known agents of the cult known as the Servants of the Sacred Flame.
The adventurer Sali Yat, who was heading one of the arrest teams, told our reporters:
"We've been investigating this lot for a couple of months now, tracking their movements and tracing their sympathisers, and we are certain we have managed to get virtually all their treacherous allies within the city."
Most of those arrested were mid to low ranking members of the Elementalist's Guild and the Merchant's Guild. Alderman Matthew Carr declined to comment.
Alderman Corban Naresse, however, stated:
"Now that we have swept them from the city, it is time to strike at their heart. A small team of adventurers is being assembled even as we speak to find and destroy their temple. Soon that den of bigotry and deceit and its sorcerous minions shall be no more!"
For this reason, the Black Watch have clamped down on what little travel still passes through the Great Rift so that even if a lone cultist did manage to escape the net, they cannot get to the cult's temple within Nocturne to give warning. For the next few days, nobody will be allowed past the Twin Towers without a pass signed by the Guild Heads.
Sarand Gemral
The Council of Aldermen has announced that the Outpost Post is to be granted an additional fund, taken from the estates confiscated from the former Alderwoman, Lamorre Sint of the Iaché.
The OPP gave a formal statement earlier:
"We intend to use these additional funds to encourage more people to start writing articles for the paper, hopefully including some more of Outpost's higher Ranking adventurers - Aspen Greyve, Barnabus the Bard and Silas of Wittering often write stuff for us, but most of the others seem to be too busy adventuring to put pen to paper or talk to our scribes.
"Previously we were only able to pay between two and four hexa for each article, but now payments are to be increased to between five and twenty hexa per article, at the editor's discretion, dependent on the quality and interest of the piece and the Guild Rank of the author.
"Hopefully now that payments are not quite so negligible compared to the rewards of adventuring, people will spare some time from their heroic quests to tell our readers a little more about their glorious deeds.
"We will also be hiring a roaming scribe to wander the taverns of Outpost, collecting the tales of the people - please say hello to him, and tell him your news!"
We at the Outpost Post are all most grateful to the Aldermen for their generosity and wisdom. May their rule be long and prosperous!
Klaus Raüschenplatz
The cult known as the Servants of the Sacred Flame, since having their true nature and intentions revealed to the Lorewarden's Guild by the sterling work of Silas of Wittering and Barnabus the Bard, have discarded their benevolent facade and become a terror.
There is much less travel than usual in Nocturne anyway, due to the impassability of Lamorre, but what there is has been beset by cultists and the 'angels' who also appear to serve the cult. Now few within Nocturne can see a golden glow through the trees without a pang of fear clutching at their heart in anticipation of those pitiless blades of light.
Emile Mattsreich
Some of you may have heard of the Silmarils, the three magickal stones of ancient power which were used to banish Kaleth from this plane millennia since - now that Kaleth has returned, with his Knights of the Ariadæ Loren and his armies of darkness, the stones must be recovered so that he can be banished again.
In mid November, those who watched the skies observed a star fall to earth somewhere deep in the dark forests of Nocturne. Alderman Matthew Carr was able to divine through his researches that this was the second of the Silmarils - the first having already been recovered by a party including myself, Tharg and Rayvn Hauk over the summer.
Thus Alderman Carr fashioned a wand to locate this Silmaril, and asked myself, Tharg and the warrior Elise to accompany his apprentice Zargmaron and seek it out.
We were beset by nightmares and Shades, dæmons and Fire Elementals were sent to stop us, hordes of goblins and hobgoblins dogged our every step, a butchered village and a slaughtered troupe of Gypsies gave us cause for concern - but eventually the wand led us to the tomb of Dracus Rahl, the ancient Drow warrior who was brother and bane of Lucia, recently returned Drow High Priestess of War. Alas, he had given his loyalty to the Red Skull of Tyranny, like the Iaché of Lamorre, and gained the Silmaril before us. We attacked him in his tomb, and after a great battle he fled through a portal to the Shadow Plane.
Undaunted, we followed, fighting a Shadow-dragon and Elementals as we trekked for days through the dark wastelands, before finally reaching the shadow of Dracus Rahl's tomb on that Plane. There we fought our way through his Shadow-wolf allies and killed him, his body and weapon crumbling to black dust. I took the Silmaril from his ashes - i have now held two of these stones in my hand, and hope to soon hold the third.
Alas, no sooner had we returned to this Plane through another portal than we were beset by another pack of wolves, this one accompanying a group of powerful warriors and dark sorcerors sent from the North to recover the stone. On our last legs as we were, we fought on, and won, though the battle left us on the verge of collapse. Had it not been for the scroll given us by Alderman Matthew Carr, which returned us in an instant to the Elementalist's Guild, i doubt that we could have survived the journey back to Outpost to deliver the Silmaril into his safekeeping.
Yet thanks to The Lady's grace, and to the foresight and skill of Alderman Matthew Carr, we survived to battle evil another day, and the seeds of Kaleth's defeat have now been sown.
May The Lady's blessings be with you,
Aspen Greyve - First Prophet of the Lady
The Order of the Mantis hereby disowns the one known as Galen of the Mantis. His sinful proclamations shall be heard within your lands no more. His soul has been sanctified by I Matarra of the Mantis. Galen is no more.
May you all remember him for what he was and not what he tried to be. Enslaved by the Curse of the Shadow his mind was slowly eaten by the darkness - a darkness which welled beneath his soul. In the end his mind could no longer fight the darkness that lurked beneath him. Galen is free of that terror, free of the curse that ensnared his soul.
"I am the lord of the morning, I am the lord of the night," he said, "I am the lord of everything and you shall feel my might."
These are not the words of Galen of the Mantis - these are the words uttered by Kaleth of the Shadow many years ago. Galen's soul awaits to be reborn - perhaps in death he will be able to repay those whom in life he once harmed.
Blessings of life be upon thee,
Matarra of the Mantis
Information is being sought concerning the whereabouts and activities of the villain known as Tandor Nalaketh, who also goes by the aliases of 'Merton Masrik' and 'Duke Selwyn III of Tarnsville'.
A reward of 50 hexa is being offered for any information which leads to the successful capture or death of this criminal.
Contact Aspen Greyve at the Outpost Scout's Guild
More writers are still wanted to provide news, articles, commentary and gossip for Outpost's premiere news-sheet, the Post. Ability to read and write not required, our scribe Jenri can take articles by dictation. Excellent money paid !
Contact Klaus Raüschenplatz,
at the Outpost Post offices above the Frisky Ferret tavern
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