EFU:R Gossip, Major Events, and Rumors (IC Knowledge)

[Ladocicea]

::[ Flamerule 17th : Year 162 : 1384 DR ]::

A shudder rattled through the underdark on this day, announcing the arrival of a billowing red dust cloud, charged with an overwhelming concentration of arcane power. Caverns in which the red particulates either hung in the air or settled in a fine film upon surfaces experienced potentially lethal wild magic surges. Bizarre, glowing red lights of almost pure magical energy began to appear within the dust storm, lashing out at travellers with an dizzying assortment of spells, attracting countless magic eaters from across the region, making passage through the underdark vary between treacherous and impossible.

A further rumour has begun to spread, though not enough time has elapsed to confirm it: it is said that the sky of the surface world has returned once more to complete darkness.

[Ladocicea]

::[ Flamerule 18th : Year 162 : 1384 DR ]::

Cavern winds carry the dust cloud away after around a day, restoring everyone's ability to contact the weave in a controlled manner.

Nobody can say for sure what the cause of this strange phenomenon was, nor does anyone know for certain whether it was an isolated incident, or something that is likely to reoccur.

Interestingly, one or two adventurers returning from beyond The Shield have noted small amounts of baublium cropping in areas that were affected by the dust cloud.

[Ladocicea]

::[ Flamerule 20th : Year 162 : 1384 DR ]::

Surface reports confirm the rumours: the surface returned once more to darkness.

The latest refugee arrivals to Starag's Rest, however, have said it has begun once again to blush in places, a faint pink...

[Ladocicea]

::[ Flamerule 20th : Year 162 : 1384 DR ]::

Travellers return to Sanctuary with stories of mature baublium veins in the outlands. Gems of the weavestone appear to have cropped in the wake of the red dust cloud, attracting all kinds of opportunists to the wilds. Several altercations have been said to have broken out while various groups scrapped over this precious mineral.

[Ladocicea]

::[ Flamerule 22nd : Year 162 : 1384 DR ]::

Reports from the surface continue to confirm rumours that the surface sky has once again begun to brighten. In some regions it is said the sky has become stained a deep pink, and the Red Star has grown in luminosity.

Many have conjectured that this signals the arrival of a second red dust cloud, though having no means to predict such a phenomenon, and having only witnessed one instance of their mutual coincidence, no-one can say for sure.

EDIT: Click here for an OOC Countdown issued so you can log in for the event. You should not metagame this or profess any IC knowledge of when this event will occur.

[Ladocicea]

::[ Flamerule 22nd : Year 162 : 1384 DR ]::

A second red cloud billows through the underdark, pushing further across the land this time. The particulates float toward Dunwarren, over the Crossroads Caves and East, finally seeping into the cavern that houses Upper Sanctuary, and immediately it is apparent that something is very wrong.

The shimmering illusion that cloaks Upper Sanctuary crackles and fizzes as it interacts with the overwhelmingly powerful arcane energy contained within the cloud, and begins to flicker. A panicked Civil Service issues unconvincing calls for calm over the sending system, and the Serena Tower comes alive with activity, becoming a beacon of public address, firing instructions with a controlled sense of urgency, that all citizens have a duty to immediately increase baublium deposits at the refinery. A sinking feeling accompanies the realisation that strikes all those that possess a Ring of Sanctuary simultaneously...

The Shield Has Fallen.

Sanctuary trembles in the knowledge that its hitherto blissful complacency has in an instant become its greatest weakness: unmanned walls and no secure gate leaves it exposed to the myriad enemies.

Ysinode's marching thrall armies, the slavers and raiders of the underdark, monsters and horrors native to this harsh, inhospitable region, and not least the foe on Sanctuary's doorstep: the exiles and outcasts of Lower Dunwarren, who, waking up in their flea riddled hovels, are stoked by bitterness and anger, spurred on by the memory of a failed Revolution, of a cadre of mourning elves that sacrificed their lives for the cause of freedom, of all the Ascensionists and chainbreakers that tried in vain to liberate them from the yoke of Spellguard oppression, raise their heads, sharpen their knives, and draw their plans against those that dwell above...

[Ladocicea]

::[ Flamerule 22nd : Year 162 : 1384 DR ]::

This day was the first day in a long time the streets of Sanctuary were set ablaze. Slaver ogres, opportunistic goblins and desperate bandits pillaged the homes of those that dwell here, and Sanctuary was one again exposed to the horrors of the underdark. It is said that even Mad Marge Miggsley did not miss this opportunity to make an appearance.

By order of the Serena Tower, adventurers were despatched to retrieve the baublium deposits that were brought in with the red dust, and return a huge quantity of it to the refinery, that The Shield might have a chance at being restored.

While a group of adventurers stayed behind fight fires and clear the streets of monsters, an expeditionary force collected and returned a sufficient amount of baublium for The Shield to be returned to an operational state.

The last of the fires have yet to be stamped out, yet already tensions have begun to arise: whereas the Red Guild are stressing the renewed importance of understanding and harnessing the power of this red dust and its capacity to produce baublium, today's events have served as proof enough of its fickle and capricious nature for the Black Guild, who, having seen The Shield fall as a result of this wild magical interference, warn that the cause of this phenomenon must be found and destroyed.

[Ladocicea]

::[ Flamerule 24th : Year 162 : 1384 DR ]::

Reports from the surface suggest that, once again, the sky is beginning to stain with a faint pink. Nobody can know for certain when a red dust cloud will appear, though many have, after recent events, assumed that one is well on its way.

The debate surrounding this issue has intensified between members of the Red and Black guilds. With tensions running high, a particularly heated debate between guildsmen descended into a brawl in the Grotto. It is rumoured that amongst those involved were an off duty Watcher who wore a Raven pin upon his lapel, a Junior Engineer of the Auxiliary whose nose was bloodied by an Elven Mourner, and a Society Ordinant who was arrested for affray but later released without charge.

[Ladocicea]

::[ Flamerule 28th : Year 162 : 1384 DR ]::

Many had predicted, by way of extrapolating the time gap between the last two dust clouds, that the next one would be due to arrive on Flamerule 27th. The day, however, passed without incident, suggesting that such simplistic calculations are no accurate means of anticipating when a wild magic storm might strike.

While the quarreling between the Red and Blacks continues, Sanctuarians of all stripes are agreed upon one thing at least: the sudden surprise of a falling Shield was both a blessing and a curse, for while it took Sanctuary by surprise, neither were its enemies poised to capitalise on such an opportunity. This time, however, things may be different, especially if the creatures that skulk in the darkness have found a means to predict the storm's arrival...

[Ladocicea]

::[ Midsummer, Flamerule : Year 162 : 1384 DR ]::

Midsummer, an extremely auspicious day in the calendar of most religions, marking the middle of the year, normally blessed by clement weather, a high sun and feasting.

Now, a bitter day for most that dwell in Sanctuary. Many remark in sour tones that the ultimate irony and insult would be if the pseudo-sun of the Red Star were to send a blizzard of red dust to take the lives of innocent folk on this day...

[Ladocicea]

::[ Midsummer, Flamerule : Year 162 : 1384 DR ]::

The Shield fell again today.

In summary, the following is widely known by all citizens of Sanctuary:

The undead svirfneblin spilled out of the In Between Ruins and into the Watchers and citizens posted to defend the plateau that leads to Upper Sanctuary, and were repelled. A tribe of goblins also tried their luck in a raid and were pushed back.

A defense force organised by the Watch were sent to hold the Old Gate above Upper Sanctuary to prevent a repeat of Flamerule 22nd, though their lines were bypassed by tunneling formians, leading to heavy civilian casualties in the housing vaults of Upper Sanctuary, with at least a dozen citizens carried off by the formian workers. This tactical blindspot has cost Sanctuary dearly, and what would otherwise have been a stalwart and commendable defense effort, has now come under bitter criticism for the lives that were lost today.

It is widely rumoured that this same defense force paid off a giant that threatened to attack the city if his ransome was not met: a move that is met with approval by some.

Absent was any sense of premeditated, preplanned attack, which suggests those that would threaten Sanctuary have yet to find a means for predicting the arrival of these storms. Rather, these attacks still appeared to constitute opportunistic raids.

As before, though with considerably greater organisation, an expeditionary force was despatched to search for baublium deposits. Most agree the adventurers that formed this expeditionary force struggled to locate sufficient baublium within an acceptable time period, though there is little consensus on why this is: it is suggested by some that they struggled to meet the challenge of ranging in the wilderness under the inclement conditions of wild magic, where others say they are not well situated to take advantage of the baublium deposited by the dust storms, and are always doomed to be soundly beaten to the punch by other, more enterprising, more ruthless, more greedy actors in the region. Whatever the case may be, it is widely agreed that this method for gathering sufficient quantities of baublium to boost the shield to operational capacity is at once far too hazardous, and far too time consuming to be a practical response to this so called 'Shieldtremble'.

Indeed, some would wonder aloud whether the considerable strain of running the baublium refinery on sustained overdrive for the entire duration of the wild magic storm makes this approach unviable as a long term solution.

[Divine Intervention]

::[ Third of Eleasis : Year 162 : 1384 DR ]::

A strange tension has descended on Lower of late, with an increase in the number of murders amongst the gangs of the slums below.  Beginning with the mysterious deaths of a number of common thugs, in the last few darks rumours have surfaced that several prominent figures of the Silver Brand gang have perished in odd circumstances.  Whilst few are willing to speak openly for fear of retribution, it is commonly held that something unusually sinister is afoot in the ruins of Dunwarren...

[Caster13]

::[ Eleasis 12th : Year 162 : 1384 DR ]::

A quiet dark in Sanctuary was disturbed when the doors of the House of Governance suddenly burst open as civil servants and numerous other citizens fled into Freedom Square in a panic.

Within, it was said the room housing the sending system was obstructed by shadow as a mysterious woman made a sending:

People of this pitiful hole in the ground. It has been some time since I last spoke with you but I'm sure you all remember the voice of Cassandra Heartlight. I shall be brief: this dark, my most sacred of sanctum of shadows was burglarized by four fools who do not realize what they meddle in.

Algarn Granitesoul, Issachar Zakur, Rallick Dess, Saul Faerstine. These are the four thieves who dared violate my holy place and steal from me. I wish their heads. And the hammer-relic they stole from me. Whom ever accomplishes such a thing shall be greatly rewarded.

I know there are many among you who have the stomach to commit a few murders here or there for personal gain. Should you happen to acquire what I spoke of, merely whispering my name into the darkness of the caves shall gain my attention. I shall leave you now to the darkness.

After the woman finished, a citizen called forth fire elementals to push back the shadows. A brief melee broke out as fire elementals and adventurer citizens battled a small swarm of shadows, but it seemed the woman had disappeared in the confusion.

Throughout Upper Sanctuary, looks of concern and worry can be seen on the faces of common citizens, worry as to what machinations have been disturbed of these dark forces.

[Ladocicea]

::[ Eleasis 16th : Year 162 : 1384 DR ]::

Travelers report seeing columns of smoke rising in the territories beyond Traensyr, visible even from a great distance, swaying in the cavern breeze as they reach for the ceiling, indicating the presence of a massive army, camped somewhere in the outlands.

One or two particularly dedicated scouts remarked that the columns have been present for the last few days, and have moved steadily closer to the ruins of Dunwarren since their first sighting. though none have ventured sufficiently far out to offer more insight.

[Caster13]

::[ Eleasis 20th : Year 162 : 1384 DR ]::

Those mindful of the streets of Lower Sanctuary notice a curious change occurring. Seemingly, more and more Cultists of the Ascension have taken to the streets of Lower to preach and proselytize. Driven by some sudden inspiration, the Ascensionist take to the streets in such nuumbers so that their members can be seen on nearly every corner and thoroughway.

Though whispered words and conversations spread throughout Lower, it's not clear what exactly has motivated the Ascensionists to such renewed activity. Regardless, the hopeful optimism and ideals of the Ascensionists has definitely lead to more visitors and greater traffic to their Cathedral.