Honored Councillors,
I am Council Candidate and Talontar Gibbon Meldren, and I have spoken with a number of the citizens of Lower, as well as acclaimed Lower Councillor Delain Jarbey. You will assuredly know of him as the one who has posted a declaration stating that there is now an open season on any and all watchmen or spellguard who enter Lower Sanctuary.
I have spoken with the man at some brief length, as well have I followed his campaign for the Lower Council to some extent.
He is a priest of Tempus, and is unfortunately very stubborn and closed-minded. He holds the opinion that the Watch and Spellguard are corrupt. He, like nearly all citizens of Lower, now views Lower as its own city, a new Sanctuary entirely. In all but word, he is actively seeking a war with Upper, on the pretext that Lower will only go to war if Upper attacks.
I have spoken with many citizens of this 'New Sanctuary' and they share the same sentiment. They are preparing for war - but by and large do not intend to make the first move. Naturally, they still seem to desire to provoke an attack.
Delain Jarbey openly claimed to me that in the event that an alliance was forged between the Upper and Lower cities, that he will grant asylum to criminals who flee Upper, and would actively resist any investigations on their part. That he might consider allowing the Footmen to take over in the "unlikely event" the Watch or Spellguard have a legitimate concern.
I have no desire to see Sanctuary torn apart from the inside, as any such civil war could only possibly result in outside threats cleaning up the leftover scraps of the city. When presented with this prospect, Lower Councillor Delain Jarbey expressed little concern, dismissing it entirely.
Councillors, Lower Sanctuary is once again a powder keg. I do not presume to tell you what course of action to take, I write this letter to you for the sake of allowing you to make the most informed decision possible. But know, that if any military action is taken against Lower Sanctuary, the inevitable result will almost certainly be a civil war that will leave the entire city dead to drow, or worse.
I thank you for your time, and I look forward to working more closely with you all on the Council. It is my hope Sanctuary will get through the next few weeks and months peacefully, there are greater concerns in the Underdark than petty squabbles.
Council Candidate Talontar Gibbon Meldren