Tavern Rumors of Peltarch
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Rumor has it that late last night there was a brilliant flash of wind and light from one of the rooms of the Bardic College, and when it was investigated it seemed to have come from the room of one Atel Vai'sini, one of the resident halfling troublemakers.
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Gossip around the Residential district may note House Hemway recieving a visit first by the city Herald, then bardess Isolde Garibaldi in the company of the well-known ranger - and some say lord - Rasuil Delagim. Both were finely dressed, and might be overheard mentioning tea and crumpets on their way over to the estate.
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Talk of House Hemway among the gossips and rumor-mongers reveals two trends. First, there are whispers of the fact that house Hemway provided funds to Talbot Anderson prior to his treason. Whispers calling the noble house "traitors" and "false" abound by much of the city's elite as well as its lower class. Many persons are seen loitering near the Hemway house, spitting on its porch, or throwing stones at its walls.
Second, there are those who mumble about house Hemway's recent acquisition of swords, armors, and shields. They say that the equipment was donated to the Defenders, who could have used the funds. Some claim this is just another example of house Hemway using its funds to try to buy their way into political favor. Others claim that the donation was well needed and welcome. The defenders have yet to issue a statement.
[DM Xanatos Gambit]
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_In the days following the most recent automaton assault on the city, Narfell's handsomest battlemage frequents the College to offer strength and haste spells to aid those in the cleanup efforts.
At one point, he takes aside Olil, Sprocket, and Vanoogle, disappearing with them for some time. What exactly his business is with them remains unclear._
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The rumor mill churns once again, this time spreading varied tales of a massive, shadowy form soaring briefly above the skies of the city. While some speculate the form was a bird larger than City Hall itself, one figure amidst the chatter claims to have met the creature face to face.
The old Wolf, Rasuil, confirms that the figure seen briefly above the city was that of a massive black dragon. His version claims that the creature landed near his home at the Crossroads of the Nars and, after a brief exchange of words, the dragon made a hasty northern exit.
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_Come the morning, a bloodied Kaitlyn returns from the swamps struggling from sword and arrow wounds while carrying a dead man in her arms. It is noticeable how despite her battle wounds, her own blade does not seem to have been brandished at all, as it remains free of bloodstains, gleaming against the dawning sunbeams.
A halfling seemed to be waiting around the commons, who is offered the dead man's body along with two smaller items brought by Whisper, who had just stepped out of the shadows. After a short exchange, all three individuals part in different directions, Whisper disappearing southwards, the halfling taking the body with him towards the Temple of the Triad, and Kaitlyn making her own way towards her home in the Residential District._
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A pair of attacks on the city gates by clockwork soldiers presaged an all out assault by a much larger force on the Bardic College itself. While the invaders were repulsed from the building, it seems that several students were killed in the onslaught…with only about half of that number being resurrected. In the aftermath, a large force of Defenders was seen entering the building to secure the premesis led by Captain Sally Williams.
For now, however, the building appears to be in complete disarray.
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_Dark days for Peltarch as alarm bells rang out from the western gates, heralding the arrival of the traitor Talbot Anderson's first assault upon the Jewel's walls. In wave after wave, the former Defender troops attacked, breaking the gates down with battering rams - yet none are said to have made it into the city proper, successfully bottlenecked and cut down by a mix of adventurers and loyal Defenders under Captain Sally William's leadership.
Sally Williams, the woman the traitor Anderson left in charge… rumour has it Carl Tusker attempted to sway Williams to her former loyalties, but instead the Captain took a fierce stand at the gates, cutting down countless of the city's enemies and almost paying with her life.
Lastly, there are horrified rumours and frightened whispers, all noting the strange mechanical implants of the fallen renegade soldiers. Black metal plates and red buzzing wires...
A reddish, murky gloom is said to have settled over the battle field itself, adding an omnious doomsday feel to the already grim scene._
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A reasonably-sized party of adventurers consisting of Elvadriel, Roslyn, Artemis, Nathen (the guard, not the bard!), and Shesarai were seen leaving the western gates of the city a day or so past.
Whatever they had planned, however, didn't last long. The group was seen returning perhaps an hour or so later, with Nathen carrying Shesarai's lifeless body. While reports are that she was returned to life, the party seemed eager to find other things to do afterwards.
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While the traitor Talbot Anderson is no doubt the talk of the town, Peltarch's sleuth of other problems continue unabated. The hauntingly melancholy notes of a violin filled the night air once again, this time as rumours have it, from the roof of the Bardic College. Is the notorious Ashald Park killer striking the College next - or is the killer one of the bards themselves? Have the vampires infiltrated the bardic institution, making thralls of them all?
"Cahoots!", cry the fearful, pointing shaking fingers of blame. Towards the College, towards the government, left and right in increasing panic…
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Rumors spread that the eccentric and strange-speaking Louis Auldreyyus has gone missing. Nobody has seen him or heard of him in some time. Many say he's skipped town or simply moved away from Peltarch. Some say that the odd information trader dealt with the wrong people and met an untimely end. Others scoff at the idea and say that he's probably simply away on business.
[DM Xanatos Gambit]
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_Rumours abound about Reyhenna Jorino, former Bardic College guard turned demonic arch-villainess, having not only been released from her imprisonment, but set to work for the city!
Some shocked murmurs suggest the nefarious blonde was sentenced to serve time in the city orphanage (gasp - didn't she KILL a child? Won't someone think about the children!). Others insist that Reyhenna Jorino, responsible for the loss of so many brave soldiers, is now a Defender herself!
Regardless of which, anyone living in or near the western gate will have noted a massive onslaught of orcs recently, attacking with vicious force, battering rams and several catapults raining fire down on and beyond the walls.
Said orcs, claims a certain crimson-haired bard, had a ~gargantuan~ leader, so large that he scaled the ramparts in a fit of rage at his hordes defeat by the hands of several brave adventurers and heroic Defenders - including, the bard notes imperatively, one Reyhenna Jorino…_
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A small confrontation occurred in the commons a few days previously, between a group of adventurers and a group of Defender soldiers. It seems the conversation started out friendly enough, however by the end of it a local druid who had been in the former group was being dragged off to gaol by the latter, much to the consternation of her companions.
She was confined for a few hours, before the three were seen leaving the gaol together. Whatever she was brought in on, apparently there just wasn't enough evidence to make the charges stick!
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Over the course of a few days, a small figure can sometimes be glimpsed moving around on the roof of the Bardic College. What she's doing up there and whether she's even allowed to be up there in the first place is difficult to say.
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(Void, please correct if wrong)
Rumor has it … that all hell broke loose in Peltarch, with elementals, a Vrock, succubi, Vampires, hellhounds, and a BALOR all terrorizing the area near Violetta's shop, with fireballs, other spells, and panicked armed people all over the place fighting things!
Near the end, there was some talk about how everyone was going to die or something, it was horrible! Horrible I tell you!
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_Rumours circulate about Cerulean Commander Lycka Zomasdottir engaged in a death match outside the Gaol with… Commander Lycka Zomasdottir. The losing party, some rumours claim, burst into flames and cinder - much like the vampire the winning Lycka later dragged outside to perish in the last of the afternoon's sunshine.
Even more frighteningly, some say the notorious vampire master Lidérc turned up at the scene, swooping down from the rooftop to do bloody battle with the Commander and her party. After one hell of a fight, a great burst of lightning saw the terrifying figure dissolve into mist..._
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_Murder in Ashald Park! Rumours abound about the death of a young woman in the park, shortly before dawn, the murder heralded by sweet and hauntingly melancholy violin music.
While fear of vampires keeps an increasing number of the populace indoors at night, dawnbreak saw an upset crowd gathered in the park, drawn by the music. The civilians are said to have been dispersed by the guards before the Ceruleans claimed the scene, a few even dragged off to jail._
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Rumors swirl around the city that an attempt was made on the life of one of the city's nobles! If such rumors are to be believed, it would seem that the assailants did manage to kill some of her bodyguards, but were thwarted by the timely intervention of a group of adventurers who had gathered at the tourney grounds to spar.
What's more, it seems that after the noblewoman was whisked away to safety, the assailants attacked the group of adventurers! Whether it was in revenge or because they believed they were still in the company of the noble in question, is hard to say.
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There are a few scattered reports around the city that a student went missing from the Bardic College a few days back. If rumors are to be believed, they'd somehow wound up imprisoned by orcs west of the city, until a party of intrepid adventurers extracted them from those perilous confines!
The question remains, however, as to just what they were even doing out there in the first place.
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A group of adventurers consisting of several local notables such as Isolde Garibaldi, Rasuil Delagim, Roslyn Underhill, Ginger Tealeaf, Gnarl Horst, and Nuwairah Zarah'kifa departed the city in search of missing nobleman Garric Hemway some days ago, leaving towards the Giantspires.
Though details are sketchy, it seems that he was found, and his captors were apprehended! The group reportedly spent some time after recovering him enjoying the hospitality of the Hemway estate, and were seen leaving it some hours after their return.
