An orator in the marketplace
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A man can be seen speaking to the crowd:
_"Friends, fellow citizens of the Jewel, I wonder if you are aware of the gift given you.
"An army bent on conquest is coming for our fair city. Yet they are not at the gates, not in the pass, and their dead are many. Why is this?
"It is because of the brave town of Jiyyd, and her soldiers, and the Troff Legion, and the good folk who have rallied to join them… including our brave Captain Neverith and his men.
"The invaders were coming for us. They had no quarrel with Jiyyd. Jiyyd could have let them pass and saved themselves.
"Had they done so, their vast army would now be at our gates, and this very market might now be a shattered ruin.
"But Jiyyd has stood firm! They have held the foe back, and given our army and our leaders time to prepare... to mobilize... to entrench. They have bled the foe! And they still hold!
"Citizens of the Jewel! Let us this day recognize the profound debt we we to the heroes of Jiyyd. And let us gird ourselves for the days ahead."_
The crowd greets this with murmurs and yells of approval. Many are heard to ask why the Defenders are not marching en masse to aid the town. Others seem to be of the opinion that keeping the army back is a wise move.
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Bards are found in every tavern in the city in the days leading up to, and after, the fall of Jiyyd. An unnamed benefactor has seemed to supplied them with gold or at least a large tab allowance, for they routinely are buying drinks for those that come and listen. They tell the tales of bravery of the stout men and women standing at the lines in Jiyyd. The bards speak of the debt those in Jiyyd have paid in hopes that the greater region of Narfell may have a chance. Their heroics of the day is oft repeated, and within a few days even when the bards are not spinning their tales the war and Narfell's defenders are on the lips of the common folk. The feeling that war is coming still hangs upon the air, but the stand in Jiyyd seems to have given many hope.
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::Mariston Addresses those gathered.::
Tis as thou hath heard, we owe our southern neighbours our deepest thanks for the time they hath bought us. Diplomacy twouldst seem hath failed in this matter, and I urge thee to yet hold the hope the peace may yet come. Never hath so many owed so much to so few, our brave friends in Jiyyd.
However be ready for the worst, our fine Defenders shall resist this foe, we shall fight them in the fields and on the beaches, we shall fight them in the streets and houses….We shall never surrender.
