A Note From the Editor
Fellow People of Brightshore,
I have let you down.
When I wrote the first hundred copies of the Voice by hand and stood at the Crossroads passing them out from dawn to dusk, I promised you I’d do everything in my power to bring you the truth of what was happening inside our walls. You put your trust in me. And I betrayed that trust.
As more and more adventure-seekers stepped onto our docks, it seemed each new day brought a new expedition, disaster, or scandal. I could tell you that, as the days grew too short to pen all the stories and deliver them to The Creased Page in time to print, it became necessary to rely on the contributions of other writers, and to pass those contributions on unchecked and unedited.
But that would be an excuse. And there is no excusing the skewed, derogatory, and inflammatory letters I have blindly accepted, printed, and distributed alongside the real news of our town.
I regret that this comes perhaps too late, but I ask that you put your trust in me once more as I renew my original promise. This is not the Voice of the Elite or the Voice of the Agitators. This is the Voice of Brightshore.
And if there are others like me out there who seek the truth and wish to share it, perhaps it’s also time I admit that this job is turning out to be more than one tiefling can handle.
You know where to find me—standing at the Crossroads.
A Response to a Very Concerned Citizen
There are factual matters that are incorrect in the article “Council Overreach at the Citadel!” that must be corrected.
First, the workers were not dismissed due to Arbiter Zdenko’s manner. A dwarf foreman got the wrong idea about the techniques being used to close passages to the Drow regions and foolishly sent the workers home without verifying the techniques would be dangerous. Sir Gost did indeed pay them for the rest of the workday.
Second, the work was able to resume the very next day as Arbiter Zdenko confirmed that there was no danger to the workers. The schedule for the Citadel’s completion should not be adversely affected. This is important to note.
Third, a reason for the actions were given by the Arbiter. There was no instruction that they not be made public. The actions were twofold – to seal the Drow away from the Citadel and seal the Citadel away from the Drow. Certain events over the past months had lead to the impression of provocation on either side and the Arbiter’s decision was to limit interaction.
-A Witness to the Events
Tower Lights Up The Sky In Unprecedented Lightshow
Late at night on the 3rd of the month, the Kintsugi Tower lit up the sky and shook the foundations of the town with thunderous peals. The entire tower was encompassed by a white, glowing nimbus, and the jeweled scar was lit with a rainbow of oscillating colors. Periodic booms from deep inside the tower shook windows throughout the city, and as onlookers gathered outside to watch the spectacle, a beam of light shot from the top of the tower into the heavens. After several minutes, the incredible light show stopped.
The council has made no explanation as to what happened, or what might have caused the Tower to behave in this way.
A Miracle from a Tragedy
All of Brightshore was shaken by the eldritch explosion that leveled the beloved Nicked Rock tavern recently. Eye-witness accounts vary, but the general consensus is that the proprietors were again engaging in the time-honored tradition of encouraging patrons to strike at the mysterious namesake rock the tavern was built around with their mightiest blows, when Galvan Gost unleashed a magical smite which caused a resonate shockwave. The bar was completely leveled, and many patrons were maimed, while seven were outright slain in the incident.
Many ran away, but a few brave heroes ran towards the explosion and sounds of calamity. Among them was Harriet Dartan, daughter of the Dartan noble family and apprentice priestess in the temple of Olteus. Although she had never manifested any magical potential previously, the young woman claims she felt the spirit of her god flowing through her that night, and thus she miraculously was able to restore all of the deceased bar patrons to life, and heal the many grievous injuries of those present. No one has been able to explain this miracle, but this hasn’t stopped Harriet from throwing herself into aiding the community, as citizens suffering from injuries and maladies that have long resisted both mundane and magical healing are flocking to be touched by her curative hands at the temple of Olteus.
As for the Nicked Rock, it has been sold to the local hero and well regarded patron, Errol Twice-Blessed. Reconstruction work is already underway, and the Twice-Blessed has promised to restore it just as it was.
Though many citizens are clamoring for the perpetrator to pay damages and distribute money to the victims of the incident, those affected found some satisfaction when Galvan was jailed for his crimes.
Galvan has announced plans to open a “safer, friendlier” competing establishment in the near future, but the famous rock that survived the disaster remains at what is now a crater of rubble, still unscathed as construction begins around it once more.
River District Rises from the Ruins
The River District, once stomped to rubble by a giant construct, is again a bustling hub of activity. Due to wise management decisions from the council, many faces new and old have set up their homes in the district, and rebuilding efforts are either underway or completed.
This offers some much needed relief to Brightshore’s growing housing shortage. As more people continue to arrive in town, citizens have increasingly begun to request permission to clear out the western ruins and secure the rest of the ancient city.
Tower District Terror
The murderer truly responsible for the series of murders around town has finally been brought to justice. Lady Luna Drumlin, an aged and respected member of Brightshore’s upper class was found to be the mastermind behind a halfling assassin. Guards brought on to protect her discovered a hidden basement where Lady Drumlin was illegally imprisoning innocents, encasing them in stone, and then killing them. The adventurers rescued several, and Lady Drumlin was killed when the adventurers confronted her about her misdeeds, but her halfling catspaw escaped.
Further investigation determined that Lord Drumlin had also been murdered by his Lady, as was the husband of their daughter, Leslie Drumlin. After extensive investigation, Leslie was cleared of all wrongdoing, and is now the sole inheritor of the massive Drumlin fortune and estate, and rumors are that some uncouth suitors are ignoring mourning protocols and already knocking on her door.
Galvin Gost Arrested
Galvan Gost, who has had increasingly common run-ins with town authorities, was arrested late in the month for defying council orders to hand over an evil flesh eating manticore. He was apparently trying to raise the foul creature on his property. During the arrest, Gost attempted to smuggle the beast out of the city, but the Rangers told townsfolk they had nothing to fear and that the problem had been taken care of, and assured citizens that the events of two decades ago would not be repeated.
Abigail Farnsworth was not convinced, and had this to say, “I told everyone these adventurer types were no good. Only thing worse than an eccentric rich fool is an eccentric rich fool that regularly seeks their own death for a few more coins they don’t even need! Look at me, I just sell my oysters and I get by, don’t see me wanting to raise evil beasts do you?”
