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The Balican Crier, Issue 5
About the Crier The sun, high overhead, was hidden by a haze of silt over Balic. The crowd at the Common was thinner than usual because of the blowing dust, but a few sat out and enjoyed drinks, their hands covering the top of their glass. Through the haze walked a man dressed in the red and black livery of House Tomblador. His eyes ran over the crowd, and a look of consternation briefly flashed, but he suppressed it and began speaking. "My fellow Balicans, as an esteemed member of House Tomblador, it is my duty today to relay the news of the city of Balic. Thus, I proclaim:" "This is a final notice to those in the buildings immediately surrounding House Tomblador. Construction of the wall, which shall protect our great House, will continue exactly two weeks from today. Those of you who must vacate have been notified. Those still in said buildings on the day of demolition will be forcibly removed." "The destruction of several orange trees in the King's Grove has concerned the members of the Balican Council. Though the groves are no longer the possession of the sorcerer king, the fruit which the trees produce is important to the Balican economy, and such apparently random destruction hurts us all. If you have any information as to the cause of the damage, and who is responsible, please contact House Tomblador or any of the other Houses." "For a bit of news from the town of Alturak - several clusters of pyracantha thorn bushes have gone missing from the outer walls of the city. Though not a serious breach of security, the bushes have been disappearing at a rate of one a week, and the guards who patrol have not seen any hint of the thief." The man gave a terse bow to conclude his presentation, then walked back towards the grounds of his House. The vandalism in the citrus grove is a greater concern to the Balican Council than the Tomblador representative hinted at. The trees were not not destroyed by axe or beast, but were turned to ash, a sure sign of defiler magic. (There is also a large amount of dirt and dust around the area.) Though defilers were more common (if not well liked) in the reign of Andropinis, they are even rarer in Balic now, as the Houses do not look kindly to destroying their property. The defiler in question is named Ameena (NE hf Wiz10), who has lived in Alturak for several months and has just moved to Balic. She is researching a new spell, and one of the components is pyracatha thorns. The spell is consuming more thorns that she thought it would, and Ameena has had to make more trips to Alturak than she would have liked. She has been field testing her spell, a sort of dirt vortex that sucks the target into the ground. (Digging will reveal two slaves in the earth, dead.) |