News - Turn 1

Those of note hear many things within the city. Rumours passed on from person to person, handsomely printed pamphlets distributed on street corners, prophecies of doom shouted from the rooftops: all of these things are noted, remarked upon and, eventually, find their way to your ears.

An extract from a lavishly printed pamphlet distributed by Garefale, Hendry and Bloomingworth, publishers to the wealthy, and noted mouthpiece for the Inheritors.

“…and while, of course, we do not propose to call into question the sincerity of Mistress Riette’s claim to have the best interests at heart, we find ourselves forced to express considerable alarm at the overall lack of…experience among those she has chosen to invite into her little circle. Perhaps, considering the admirable rapidity of her own rise to power, she has not yet developed an appreciation for the value of a well developed understanding of the society that already exists here. It would surprise us greatly if any great change or overhaul were to be achieved without the cooperation and involvement of the families who form the very cornerstone of the city today, and express sincere hope that, for the good of us all, Mistress Riette chooses to widen her circle of invitees in the near future.

Part of a sermon by Arch-Repenter Viaz, priest of the Remorseful Numen

“I say to you gathered here then that this so-called Goddess of the City is no more than a demonic temptress sent here to try our resolve. Remember, all of you, that we were banished to this place as punishment for our wickedness and hubris, and only through contrition and humility will we ever find liberation. Listen not to her fell cultists, who claim to have found paradise here - they seek only to forge yet more chains to hold your souls within this prison!

After dinner toast at the Feast of the Absent Moon, a highlight of the canopy social calendar, given by Marra Kyrina, Counciller of the Glorious Equation.

“…many have been the gods who come here (present company, of course, excluded), offering us nothing but servitude, expecting fawning appreciation as they had become accustomed to in their home planes, or sowing chaos and destruction in the name of causes that mean nothing to most who dwell here. Finally, however, there is one who understands us, who comprehends that in this of all places, you must give as well as take, and that only through true brilliance will a god find worship. So I ask all of you here to join me in a toast - to Elluvia, goddess for our times!

A pamphlet published by the White Lotus tea house.

A call is issued
To master the waterways
And Demonstrate skill

To all who would race
Graceful Dove will be your guide
Speak your interest.

The Route then revealed
The way must be passed swiftly
Great skill must be shown

Any may enter
And to the victor great spoils
Luck be with the brave!

Heard along the decks of the floating market
“…and there’ll be a prize for the fastest ship! Suen Tengfei has even said that he’s going to provide one of his treasures for the winner. Not sure about the route yet though, Graceful Dove has said nothing. Everyone is just waiting for her to say something. Thing is… they’re going to need to clear the waterways first. Have you seen the state of them? I swear things have got worse in the last few weeks but no one seems sure exactly what’s causing it…”

On notices pinned up around the city:

Are you the best at finding things?
Can you get into hard to get places?
Join the scavenger hunt.
To enter find as many of the red ribbons hidden in the city as you can that will appear one week hence and present them in person to Mordan at the back gate of the chapel of Caltano midnight two weeks hence.

Whispers heard in the local tavern:

“I’ve heard the prize is beyond imagination but the ribbons are impossible to find”

“I thought that this Caltano Chap was looking for someone for an important job and where the ribbons are will determine who is best suited”

“you know I owed you for stopping that guy tearing my life apart, well here’s some of the payback, one of the ribbons is to be placed in the security vault of the escapologists.”

Word on the street after the event:

“Did you hear? A bunch of masked fighters opened fire on one of the largest theatres in the city, burning it to the ground; I’ll bet the renaissant aren’t best pleased.”

“The men or (possibly women, I couldn’t tell) were all wearing masks and, worked together in some form of military formation, now who do we know that works like that…”

“There I was just waiting for the performance to start when masked minions started waving their hands and burning the stage. What? Well of course they were soon squashed, did they expect a crowd full of powerful people like us to just start screaming?

“How dare somebody interrupt the performance, I worked hard to get in here. At least the boulder conjured above them gave them a nasty shock, well done I say to the chap that did it”

“I was just having a cup of tea when someone ran in shouting about a fire next door at the theatre, when I went to look I noticed a masked man muttering something about how it wasn’t supposed to go down like this just before a lightning bolt hit him from one of the galleries. ”

Extract from a speech given by Niobe Riette after the atrocity:

“Honoured members of the renaissant, have no fear that this dastardly attack on one of the finest centres for the arts will go unpunished. As we speak our best people are researching what has happened and rest assured we will punish the perpetrators in the most creative way we can think of…”

From the newest edition of the Green Street Times, hot off the press.

Bucket chains were out in force last night as a fire swept through several blocks of the Glittering Quarter. Samovar Thett’s Hero Pits were apparently the source of the blaze, set alight during an attack from unidentified assailants.Thett’s security guards, a division of the Union’s Honourable Company of Associates, are tight-lipped about what went on, but sources inside the Union say there have been angry confrontations with some of the Liberator cells that lurk in their tower and under the city.

Samovar himself was too busy dealing with angry gamblers wanting a refund to give much time to our reporters, but he mentioned that whoever it was that attacked his establishment made off with both the next week’s stock of gladiators and the wagers made last night. He is willing to reward with favours and funds any who are able to recover these assets, or arrange for new entertainments.

Called from the steps of the temple to Lumenor, and assorted brightly lit rooftops

”…And our lord, the burning one, brightest of the bright, has struck another crippling blow against to forces of evil. Once again the demon-goddess Jaheris struck against him in the treachery of darkest night but our lord called forth the dawn and stuck her back with his most glorious light. We will stand with him, we will rally the faithful and his light shall burn through the perpetual clouds of this dark city!…”

A well worn page from one of the many city news sheets - the Rain Street Rag, handed out to any that will take it.

…Blocking an entire street with rubble and ice, eye witnesses have claimed the ice had been formed into strange eerie shapes but refused to comment further and no artist would agree to replicate the work for this legitimate and well established paper to print. Rumors are also present of several badly burnt members of the innocent public being treated somewhere by a generous doctor after claiming to have been bathed in light.

Already those eager to rebuild have moved in past those displaced and are reopening shops. The gods may fight - Lumenor and Jaheris more than most, but the honest people of the City have other things to worry about.

An editorial published in the Crescent Angle, a Union printed newspaper.

We note with some concern the increasing difficulty newcomers to the city are finding in locating residences that are not interminably distant from the centres of commerce and entertainment to which all productive citizens require access. While the Union is, of course, doing its part to redevelop areas under our influence, we control lamentably little prime real estate. We call upon the other guilds to do their part to make better use of the City's central areas - it seems hardly fair that so many of the rich lounge in sprawling mansions left to them by their parents while the hard workers who actually make the city work scrape together abodes where even the canals become dregs.

From the evening edition of the City Chronicle

Noted airship pilots have today joined together to protest about the abundance of thunderstorms not only across the divine quarter but ranging out across the city over Union skies. In recent weeks no less than three airships have been struck by lightning while passing close to the Divine quarter - the latest of which led to the crash of the Ruritania in Gironomo Square and the deaths of 12 people including the pilot.

”It’s just got to stop! I can’t believe the Pantheon is willing to let its reputation be tarnished by such flagrant disregard for their neighbours! If the gods can’t keep themselves under control then something should be done about it!” This statement from Mme Hardbridge on behalf of the Union.

So far the airships have mostly been damaged over Union skies however some members of the Glorious Equation have begun to wonder when their skies will become dangerous. Lightning rods have begun appearing over the quarter and calls for an immediate cessation of all unregulated meteorological occurrences have gone out. The Pantheon has yet to officially comment on the incidents however an unnamed source has claimed that the storms are a result of a series of unfortunate accidents and are not a deliberate assault on the skies…

From the Proceedings of the National Committee on Geographic Anomalies, one of the Equation’s many journals.

The maverick explorer Carina von Stadt has returned from her expedition to the west with the shocking revelation that the Lake of Acid is actually alkaline. Her findings fly in the face of long-established wisdom about the City’s environs, and some in the Equation are going to great lengths to prove this blaggard wrong. In particular, Professor Albrecht Ranheid of the Equation’s duelling circle has spent most of his life exploring the philosophical ramifications of the lake’s acidity, and immediately challenged Carina to a duel to determine whose scientific methodology is superior. While preparations are being made for the duel, both parties have let it be known that they welcome all with enquiring minds to probe the true nature of the lake, and the hypothetical mysteries of its depth. Any who bring back interesting information will, they say, be greatly rewarded.

Excerpt from Factor - Daily news-sheet from the presses of the University.

Several buildings were damaged today when the headquarters of the noted inventor Jeremiah Tosche exploded in a shower of masonry and cogs. Its not known what caused the explosion however it is believed that the inventor of the Automatic Luggage, the Unwinding Pocket watch and the gentleman’s ever-ready pocket knife (complete with 1002 different functions but still fits in your pocket) had been experimenting with combining a large number of unstable elements.

It is thought he was attempting to combat the problem of overcrowding by creating a room that is bigger on the inside than the out. The explosion occurred at exactly 5.04 last night and has damaged a large number of buildings in the surrounding area. Mr Tosche has not been seen since the accident and his whereabouts are currently unknown. Due to the large number of highly unstable prototype devices known to have been in his laboratory, no one has yet entered the site to ascertain what exactly happened. The site is thought to be extremely dangerous and anyone willing to aid in the investigation is urged to proceed with extreme caution. A reward is on offer for the recovery of any of Mr. Tosche’s devices in part or in whole.

• The rivers is full of Sharks. Again. And the canals are infested with Hell-Gators.
• They aren't real Gods, them.
• We won't stand for this.
• Missing: one escaped snook, last seen rampaging through a banquet held by the Inheritors. If found, please contact N. Riette.
• The Glorious Equation would like to remind citizens that, despite our best efforts, accidents do happen. If you think you have encountered an escaped experiment, it's important not to panic. They're probably more frightened of you than you are of them.
• Have you ever contemplated the pure, unadulterated joy of watching the sky burn?
• She won't stand for this.
• There’s a beast under the city - you can see it’s hot breath coming up from the cracks in the ground. You just need to know where to look.
• Did you hear? That wizard's den on the street of forgotten coins went up. Literally. Then fell back down. There were no survivors. Why haven't I looted it? I'm not mad enough to go into an abandoned manse.
• “Praise be to the Lightbringer!” “Which one?”
• We're all upside down. This whole plane is inverted, but it's all been hushed up by the airsman's guild.
• The secret to eternal life is surprisingly simple.
• Me Hungry.
• The sky is falling!
• I swear to the gods he was eaten by a shadow.