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William Derse invites you to the next Riette Convention to be held in his residence in the Quarter of Iron Bells. As a proponent of the anti darkness movement he would like to take this opportunity to invite all those who have a desire and duty to fight the encroaching shadows that plague this City. It is his hope that together such problems can be overcome.

OOC: The next session will be held at William Derse's residence on the edge of the Contrite district and quite close to the darkness.

Did you know I was just sailing my boat through the second turn of the river and what do you know my boat dissolved under me, the next thing I knew I was standing in a large pool of burning water – I got out of there quickly but my boat will take ages to repair.

Heard in a tavern from a disgruntled ship captain

I was just going about my normal business when all of my pet dogs died, when I tracked it down to the source it appears the river that they were fond of swimming in and drinking from was the place where they all visited before their untimely deaths. It was horrible they all started vomiting and had severe burns on their paws.

Also overheard in a tavern from a local

“Right before my eyes I tell you. The whole thing started twisting and whirling and then BAM. A flash of light and it's gone, that enormous black rose sitting in its place. Brother Gerald swore he saw some people running around on the roof just before it happened, but I think he'd been at the ceremonial wine again. I dunno what it was that did that, but I don't think anyone sensible would have been near it. Though they say it can only have been the ellusive Illusio, or whatever they're calling 'em”.

Overheard in a Pantheon District bar. The construction at the pinnacle of Architect's temple in the home of the gods has vanished, replaced by an enormous black rose

The water levels are at an all time low, some of the largest ships are struggling to pass certain sections of the river without damaging their keels. The water levels have varied slightly over the years but recently have begun dropping at what is now an alarming rate. If nothing is done about it we will not be able to use the rivers to travel around and the cost of fresh water will be at a premium leaving some people without water.

An article in the floating times

“Some substantial disruption to air travel in the north of the city occurred last week after the liftoff of an unusually large airship with a strange butterfly motif. While not as large as the floating edifice to the south, this new construction appears substantially better armed and armoured. Press releases from the Union suggest that this is some sort of project designed to ward against future intrusions from the like fo Emperor Zing.”

From Aviation Weekly

Many people about the city have reported, somewhat perplexed, to having encountered a large table made of petrified wood. Normally this would not spark mention other than to acquire such an item however amongst the many sightings it has been seen to juggle, with its hat out for donations; other times, masked and caped, it was spotted descending from a balcony in the glittering quarter. Occasionally, if approached, it was seen to flail out with all of its legs, pummelling the person in question before fleeing into the night with a noise like a stifled sob. No one has yet been killed by an encounter with the table however the public are warned that it is still on the loose. You are warned to approach it with extreme caution as it is believed to be unpredictable and dangerous. There is a reward for any information pertaining to its capture or about its origins if reported to this paper.

From the pages of Factor, a publication from the Glorious Equation

…People are fearful to go out! The Quarter of Iron Bells is like a ghost town. If you go out, you don't come back or your friends find you a bloody mess of a corpse and that's only if they're lucky! No… it's not Zing hunting - they did that. That would be, well, explainable or at least you could say 'look, that there is a Winterdel weapon and if you get in the way of it you're bound to end up a bloody mess'. No, it's much worse than that. It's the shadows that get you. The Night Walker is out there and all it wants is to rip the flesh from your bones and see your blood run in the gutter. I tell you it's true - I saw it with my own eyes. Barely got away myself. Poor Roger… we were heading back home and as we were passing an ally it struck, a creature of darkness and spite and hate, leapt out at us and dragged Roger back into the ally. The screams were terrible… I… I fled and there were all these shadow creatures around. They, they surrounded me but didn't try and stop me getting away, almost as if they were playing with me… I'll never forget the screams. We found his shredded body the next day…“

From an interview with Jack Sommers, a resident of the Quarter of Iron Bells - Printed in the Green Street Times

As we all know the sun at the top of the helix terrace in the academy’s garden was destroyed, in fact eaten a few weeks ago. I am happy to say that the sun has now been remade and is once again taking pride of place in the garden bringing light to all the plants that grow there. We here in the academy thank Lao Jin for all the work he has put in keeping the gardens looking nice and productive. I hope whoever it was who dared to steal or eat such a precious part of the gardens will be brought to justice and would ask the members of the academy to keep a look out for suspicious types to prevent this happening again.

Speech given by the Head Gardener at the Academy

Mad's Men have today announced the winners of the under 10's and under 16's category for their widely publicised novel writing competition. The winning teams were presented with printed copies of their novels which will be available for sale to the public from Mad's Men publications in coordination with Roland Jovic. Also available are copies of the popular story telling game Il Y Avait Une Fois. Announcement of the winner of the adults category has been delayed due to the high number of high quality of entries but publication of the final book should be within the next month.

Article published in Ember

“Dastolt Technologies presents a revolution in communications! Combining our new two way communication relays with a dedicated switching station manned every hour of the day by trained professionals, you can be connected in moments to any other user of the Dastolt Communications System! Bring your business and personal affairs into the new generation - contact Dastolt Technologies today.”

The Fettered District, fairly stable until now aside from the attack on the Union Tower, is spreading. It started yesterday when the pharmacy operator Dr Jim Williamson marched in with a giant flying plant thing that could spray some kind of liquid over many of the buildings. He seemed to be making good progress, removing the chains from several buildings, but this provoked some kind of reaction; several buildings melded together into an impenetrable wall and started becoming more animate, lashing out at anything that got within reach. This melding effect has spread, and now entire blocks have become impassable due to the chained mass of buildings blocking all travel. I urge all readers not to anger the Fettered District more; I fear what it will do next.

Letter published in the City Times

“Case 120.4: Young Man, marked by chains, reporting strange symptoms. More details follow.

“Patient came to the clinic in the early hours of the morning, complaining of arm pains. Under investigation, the chain markings on his arm had gathered around nodes of tissue that were growing out from the surface of the skin. Probing the nodes caused a dramatic physiological reaction; the man doubled over in pain and the node of tissue swelled and somehow parted from the arm, leaving very little sign of its passing on the man's flesh. The tissue node then seemed to move of its own accord on miniature pseudopodia, out of the clinic door before the staff could react. Patient is now in containment, but is growing several other nodes across his body. Recommend delay in treating until more experienced medical practitioners can be consulted.”

From a doctor's journal in the Glorious Equation. Many people Marked by Chains have been experiencing strange physical symptoms recently.

“We note with satisfaction a wave of sudden, as of yet unexplained deaths among the murderers of this city. Their demises bear the hallmarks of divine draining, but the god responsible has not yet been identified. We are distressed, however, that the noted criminal Illusio continues to elude justice, and has even begun to generate something of a hero's following among the poor of the city, thanks to the collusion of dishonest publicity agencies seeking to profit from the proceeds of crime.

We also condemn in the highest possible terms those responsible for the attack upon the prison constructed by the god Attos, an honest and devoted supporter of law and order. The release of dangerous criminals onto the streets is a heinous crime in its own right.

Finally, any worshippers with information about those responsible for the string of petty thefts not associated with the black rose of Illusio should share it with the temple as a matter of urgency.”

Weekly scripture update from Yudex, God of Law

The cult of Iapetus is gone. He was a relatively minor god of the riverside that has been missing for several weeks now. according to some family members of his followers but several were still convinced of his existence. It has been found that all of his followers crumbled to dust five days ago at the same time. We have no knowledge at this time of what could have caused this and would encourage gods not to panic. I am sure that people are looking into this and will solve it shortly.

Article from the Theological Observer

After the appalling hardships suffered by the denizens of our fair district, many had given up hope that salvation would ever be found. However, the generosity and kindness of a few individuals has rekindled hope for many in the Quarter of Iron Bells. The work of the Red Cross, working with member of the Purpose has supported both a drive to treat those wounded in the recent atrocities and to rebuild the damage done to the fabric of the district. There has also been support via donations from the mysterious Illusio whose black rose has been found across the city along with donations. While many are still suffering, hope has been restored, and we, of all those in the city, understand the value of that.

Article from Eternity

After the first earthquake ever reported in City history a month ago, Geologists have been thrown into a frenzy of activity as a number of small localised tremors have been detected across the city moving from south to north. Theories abound that this is a direct result of the large earthquake felt before and that these aftershocks might be indicative of some fundamental change to the underside of the City. Others argue that perhaps the aftershocks are a precursor to something larger on the way while others believe that this shows that the City is entering an area of unprecedented geological activity and that a reopening and enlargement of the geology department in the Glorious Equation is required to study these phenomena.

From the pages of Factor - A Glorious Equation publication.

A mob marched through the Union district today calling for justice to be taken against the child snatchers of the city. Although the mob was unruly and mostly disorganised the general call for action to be taken against two individuals - McCain and Vansett - was clear. However details of what exactly they were supposed to have done was far from obvious. After the mob had been forcibly dispersed by local traders the few members who were questioned seemed confused and disorientated and were unable to remember what had driven them to begin protesting.

From the Crescent News

“We would like to thank Sylvios Brant and the operation headed by Number 71 for their work in removing the remnants of the eyesore that was Samovar Thett's arena. We wholeheartedly support this drawing of a line under the works of such a particularly grim stain upon our city's history, and applaud the choice of public amenities and performance areas to replace it. We are also pleased to see a diversification of the refreshment market as part of this - and wish the proprietors of the new coffee shop on the site the best of luck”

Press release from Niobe Riette's office

The Floating Market has stopped moving just outside the Circle district. Although the Market has been known to reside in one location for a day or two, it has now been five days since the Market moved and there is speculation that it is physically unable to progress.

There are known tensions between the Market and the Circle district with guards from the latter initially preventing entrance to the district until a toll was paid. The guards have now gone and yet the Market has neither progressed nor reversed its course. It is thought that Suen Tengfei is working to try and get the Market moving as swiftly as possible but as of yet there is no sign that he has been at all successful.

From the pages of the Crescent News

• Architect IS Illusio.
• SLUM TEA PLUS ONE: BOLD EDITION - This time it'll raise the dead for sure!
• Just who is Illusio?
• The mask will rule us all fear the mask.
• Did you see that? That was a wave! An actual wave on the actual river… just… passing through… I mean… what?
• Just one more! I'll pay double! Triple even! Just give me the damn cupcake! - Overheard at Pyramid Tea
• “11 of the clock and the gods have abandoned you!” - Shouted in the Pantheon district at 3AM
• Illusio, the mystery, the wonder, the glory. From a Mad's Men poster seen around the city
• I saw it, in the tunnels. A great beast breaking through the walls. Heard in conversation between two redcaps.
• the sharks - they're draining the rivers dry
• Black roses, black roses everywhere! I saw them falling from the sky like rain!
• There's poetry all over the place, I saw it floating down the river folded into little boats. Bit soggy mind, but when you unfolded the paper, it had some nice verse on it!

• It's not paranoia if they really are out to get you THIS MEANS YOU XANDROS
• The Glittering quarter will be first against the wall when the revolution comes!
• Just where does all the rain come from?
• Death to the Press!
• Are you afraid of the Dark? You should be!