I see men of great faith, vying to rule us. I see dwarfs, elves, and gnomes all vying for your coveted council seats. From the religious zealot, bluster and promises shaped by their respective doctrine. From the myriad other candidates, I see only self interest, and a lust for power. Each one only a shade different from the next. Where is the common man, where is the Sancturian? After reading many fiery campaign notices, and listening to speech after speech, I ask myself this question. Who represents you? The imperial YOU. We are a society of survivors. Most of us make our living as mercenary this or that, or tradesmen in some fashion. Few are on an outright crusade, and fewer still can say they have not been held in chains among the myriad of other races found across the under dark, But yet, where is our voice? It is this question that I come to answer.

I Valeric Simmien, humble swordsmen, and trader, put my name forward to fill the vacuum of power left by the ineptitudes of our former councilors. I will make no grand speeches, such is not my calling. I will answer any and all questions put to me, to the best of my ability. I will make myself always available to do so. I make only one promise.

To represent you. To see that your day to day life improves. Not the life of only the elven, the gnome, or the religious zealot. Not only human, or those of mixed blood, but all of you. To make your pockets heavier with coin, your bellies full and your families well protected. To look after your best interest.

I guarantee honesty. To prove this, I offer up what some will claim my darkest secret. I am a follower of Loviatar.

I do not hide it, and any who have defended our cherished city alongside me will hear my battle crys to the Maiden. Life in the underdark, is full of suffering and pain. I have learned to embrace it, rather then run from it, and it has made me stronger. And to my enemies, I met out ten times to them what they attempt to afford me on the battlefield. In this too, I welcome your questions.

Seek me out, tell me your wants, your needs, ask me your questions. Let me be your voice in our government.

My name is Valeric Simmien, my only wish, is to serve you.

///Valeric after posting his own announcement, is seen speaking with any and all who approach him, and approaching the lesser citizens of upper and lower, inquiring how he could better see them served, if elected to a council seat.

(Valeric is seen checking the announcements, and answering as well as asking as many questions of the citizenry as he can, usually right after an opposing candidates speech.)

*New posters appear in upper and lower*

I have spent the past days, listening to speeches. I have heard how fire will save us all. I have heard how great the works of the past council have been. I have heard how eloquently an elven tongue can state generalities. Not once, have I heard even one specific need addressed. What needs you ask? Listen to your own voices- I did.

Reunification of the separatists.- We are all Sancturians. The simple adage united we stand, divided we fall applies. It is not the people of these settlements that keep us apart, but the incompetence of our elected officials to find compromise and bring us all back under one banner, that of freedom!

Security of our families, and our town- I was privileged to be taken on a brief tour of the battlements todark. How many of you know the condition our brave Watchmen and women labour under. We ask them to shed their blood, give there lives even, but what do they have to work with. One siege engine. That is it. One. Only there resolve and training, their selfless sacrifice and courage, keep us safe. Where there should be a dozen, there are only smashed pieces of old equipment. And yet, Kobolds gleefully waste time, and resources building a statue. And our Watchmen have one siege engine. This cannot stand! What other deplorable sacrifice have our men and women been asked to endure while our council dances and plots the night away?

More trade! More metal!- As of now, there is only one place to buy metal good of any quality in our city, and it is in lower, another conundrum in itself. We are surrounded by earth, on every side, and have ample hands willing to work to find a stable and reliable source of metal, yet I see citizens starving in the streets of lower, our common people sorting trash to feed there families. Mycopolis is an example of what a community can accomplish when they work together. We, as a city need to do this, to harvest the natural resources that surround us, send our scouts, our seekers out, find the peaceful deep gnomes that have sent us an envoy, and develop safe, sound and trustworthy alliances so our city can prosper. Not every settlement in the underdark is a slaving town, not every race out to destroy us. I heard rumors of a councilors chamber, having a bathe, 5 grown adults could sit in. Perhaps our treasury should be in more responsible hands. I see many an entrepreneur in our bazaar, selling wares. This type of trade stimulates our economy, and should be encouraged at every turn! Laws should be passed to address the specific needs of our merchants, to make it even safer and more prosperous for them to continue their practices.

And what of Lower?- Some say ignore them. Other's call for armed action to restore order. Neither of these will change the fact our closest neighboring settlement, indeed part of our city, suffers more then any other. Crime runs rampant in the streets, and no one cares. Children turn to petty theft, to keep from starving. And no one cares. The Beacon tries to stem the flow. Winston and his Angles do what they can to provide at least one respite from the desperate crawl to survive. Lower is a free town. To be sure. And it should remain so, but we must reach out to our brothers, our sisters , in lower, and share our prosperity, without demanding they cast off there precious freedoms. There is a place between ignoring them and storming them, a place of compromise, that would provide the citizens of lower a secure and safe place to dwell, without having the Watch en mass marching on the streets in a river of blood. The Horans, The Crone, and even now, a new Inn, the Dancing Minotaur, have carved out bastions of safety and freedom. A league of merchants, in charge of there own security, and the security of the surrounding area providing elected representatives from said league to deal with Upper, Mycopolis and beyond. This is the path forward, the path to the future.

Listen to your voices!- These are not my ideas. They are yours. Gathered over days of walking and talking to you, the citizens of Sanctuary. Allow me to be your Voice on the council. Together, we will restore the city and take it into a bold new future, where even the Bankers in Tranasyr will tremble in fear when the town of Sanctuary, city of free peoples, is mentioned!

VOTE VALERIC SIMMIEN FOR COUNCIL!! YOUR VOICE IN OUR GOVERNMENT!!!

My fellow citizens, while you make your way to the polls over the next few days, I urge you to consider heavily the field of candidates. Do you truly wish to turn your city over to a religious theocracy, one that will place their tenets before your interests, their dogma ahead of our fair city's prevailing issues? Do you wish your morality, and your freedom of religion, to worship as you choose, taken and replaced with a cabal of religious zealots who would see you burned on a pyre, or summarily executed for having a differing faith? With the fiercest determination, I ask you to consider this before you fall victim to a populist decision. I am today, not asking for your vote, but asking you too consider the full implications of that vote. Your future in these unsettled times rides on your decision. Vote responsibly, for yourself, and for the city.

"This message brought to you by the Voice of the People, Valeric Simmien. For those inclined, he is found on the second page of the candidates list."