Dear readers, first of all as members of the Spirean Gazette we would like to apologize for the inevitable delays caused by the waves rippling across the continent. We were at the verge of publishing the fifth issue but suddenly our offices were swamped with words of the great Severn-capade which occurred within the City of Light. Swiftly our priorities changed and our professional team of reporters started to cut the wheat from the chaff. Thankfully this time no one fell into the Grand Flame or wound up with a different gender while strolling through the dazzling city! Now for our fifth issue we were able to arrange a very exclusive interview with Lady Zaila Vaelinos, the Minister of Cultural Affairs in the Ancient City and from now on she will be known as the woman whom inadvertently caused our editing team a couple of weeks worth extra work due to her stellar way of speaking. What this pouty redhead has in store for the folks in Bloodloch? If she fails to entertain the locals, will she get drained by hungry rabid vampires or will she find her untimely demise in the lava pools? Without further ado I present you the fifth issue of Spirean Gazette!

-Mr. Spires (Chief Editor)

DISCLAIMER: This publication IS NOT endorsed, funded or supported by Spinesreach in any official capacity. Readers are fully responsible for the mental disturbances they might experience while reading this gazette and the senile old man who delivered this issue to the distribution center should be considered exempt from any responsibility.

NEWCOMER? : Request older issues from the nearest clerk. Ask for public notices of #6068, #6075, #6099 and #6150!

1. FOR A FISTFUL OF COMMODITIES!

The departure of Atarah Sor'Tirivan from the City of Spires to the City of Light was generally thought to happen due to the failing body of Fezzix Sicarius. The late General of Syssin was known to be an avid smoker who especially enjoyed leaving flecks of ash on the dead bodies he created during the struggles across the continent. Another rumor indicated that the doe-eyed Atavian was mesmerized by the dashing fish-knight named Benedicto Silverain, whom built a reputation around showing the lasses the righteous path. Though every hypothesis available found their way into the belly of a mugyik when Enorian officials woke up a morning to see their commodity reserves depleted! This Severn-capade of the decade struck the citizenry like a wild lightning and caused a massive amount of panic.

Once upon a time Enorianites were known as capable witch-hunters and accomplished interrogators who could root out evil seeds before they had any chance to sprout within their blessed soil. But that seems to be no longer the case, dear readers. With the impending economical bankruptcy of the city, Gods of Life decided to abandon their posts and gave a hand to their inept followers by cursing the people of Spinesreach with terrible maladies! While Spinesreach could ride this through and stand tall, the involved Senate members got replaced and the commodities were returned back to Enorian. Whether this was done due to benevolence of the Senate or simply it was a statement that Spinesreach can make or break any city as she wishes so, that is still unclear. One comrade protested to us:

"We won this fair and square! We could get rid of those Southern swines and let them roll in the dirt for a good while but no...our Senators had to be nice! They only want occasional skirmishes at unimportant Ylem reserves and send our young to the battles with no particular objective at all! It is as if they simply wish to prolong this state rather then having a decisive victory for the Republic!"

At the wake of these events the City of Enorian descended into further madness. Gods of Light are now perceived as Gods of Economical Wellness, being steadfast protectors of the city coffers. They elected a woman whom literally had been everywhere in the world recited every possible undying oath to every organisation, as their Vanguard. And then they entrusted their Master Crystal to an impotent frog whose best accomplishment to date is exterminating fish. While we were thinking that no organisation could fail worse then Sciomancers, Enorian today taught us to be open-minded and one reporter gained three pair of boots from a bet on that.

2. RISE OF THE DRAGON!

"I am born of a time before man, when the world was raw. The brutality of the storm and the wisdom of the air is in My blood. I am the world of mist, beyond the reach of mortal man."

- Tanixalthas, the Sun-Drinker

The lands are trembling under the shadow of the mighty beast who ate the heart of Maghak with obvious gusto and gave a decent quivering to the followers of the Pantheon. While on the outset She might appear as an overgrown lizard with a penchant for hoarding and juicy meat, She has undoubtedly attracted attention from the many circles across the continent. Scholars come to Her to inspect this phenomenon hoping to get a glimpse of Dragon knowledge, supplicants leave their offerings in hopes that She will look favourably upon them and rumor is that there are even people who would offer their children if they displease Her ever.

"Do not underestimate Me, for I am the Dragon and I will eat you whole."

- Tanixalthas, the Sun Drinker

Of course meanwhile the liars, those who cannot keep their promises and foolishly give oaths they cannot abide by are giving a wide berth to Her presence and shrines. For the Sun Drinker your word is your bond and She will not hesitate eating those miscreants whole with one fell swoop from the heavens. Already the lands are covered with Her shrines and we encourage our readers to leave a morsel upon them once in a while in order to be on the safe side!

3. WHERE EVERYBODY KNOWS YOUR NAME?

The Burly Chest Tavern started as a place where everyone from all walks of life could gather up and share a drink without a worry about the world. But last few years this changed dramatically as the violence started erupt within the very confines of the tavern and bouncers seem to be rather interested in keeping the Atavian wench alive instead of keeping the place safe. Our reporters noted several incidents: One of them is that Annabeth Sicarius promptly ate her sister Istela Sicarius despite she was not on the menu at all! The hulking proprietess of the tavern, Lady Rasani Morrog, stated that was rude indeed when asked about the incident. Another incident is that two late Enorianites named Sarisa and Akara tried to squash a mantis and lop the head of a drunken bald man sipping his Decadent Faun. Though later on Sarisa was found murdered in the library of Enorian under mysterious circumstances. Seems like someone made them a favor for soon enough both Sarisa and Akara defected to the other side. And after the heist in Enorian, the tavern started to offer Syvelium's Sword to the members of Syssins which was obviously a threat rather then a geniune offer to sit and drink. All in all dear readers, we suggest you to be armed to teeth if you wish to drink in The Burly Chest Tavern for that is no longer the place where everybody knows your name.

4. STARS ABOVE WILL TELL YOUR FUTURE!

There is nothing more exciting then spread of the informative practices in Sapience because that way we can ensure that more people will hear the truth about the past, present and now even the future! Madame Mariena, the enchanting seeress of the Esterport spearheaded a new venture named 'Stars Above!' which will appeal to those who are lazy to drag themselves to her exquisite parlor to learn about whether they will get rich, get the girl or boy of their dreams or will they ever conquer the continent. On top of learning about your future, you can also get informed about the marriages and births occurring at your vicinity and perhaps that will make you remember to pack a quick gift for the involved parties! Make sure to ask your local clerks about 'Stars Above!' if you are not sure what fate awaits you and we strongly encourage those who would like to hear more about their future to visit the parlor of Madame Mariena in Esterport.

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- A rumor indicated that a terrible trickster started to pick upon the washerwomen and maids of Esterport causing their washed socks disappear day by day. This apparently turned friend against friend while they were all trying to find the culprit and turned a very quiet part of the city into a loud chicken pen. Eventually the thievings stopped, as another rumor hinted that an individual of sanguine nature took care of this issue. Whether the whole commotion disturbed its rest or it simply took an interest in the matter that is still unclear.

TOP 5 UPCOMING SEEDY PUBLICATIONS

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WEATHER REPORT

The weather will be rather oppressive and charged with ylem related anomalies in the upcoming days. Those who travel north are advised to wear warm clothes and bring some vodka.

-----Advertisements, Commercials and Stuff-----

***SPIREAN GAZETTE: EXCLUSIVE***

[A red haired woman with brown eyes surveying the surroundings with a rather pouty expression leaning to a desert wyvern is depicted here]

Reported by Valentine:

Esterport. It has been a long time since I set foot in this den of iniquity, but when Mr. Spires asks something, one has to set personal preferences aside... Walking through the streets of this wealthy city I could do nothing but fantasize about the sorrows caused by backstabbing merchant lords and ladies who do not flinch from using everything at their disposal to keep their piece of the cake. But once a wise man told me that the cake itself is a lie.

Quickly I found my way to the smoking den to meet with my contact since 'The Eye' assured me that she would be there and even gave me a damnable phrase to say to the proprietess. Why all this cloak and dagger measures are necessary I will never understand...but I think the smiling Dwarven wench at the corner could be a Syssin spy. Being careful is better then being sorry I suppose.

The target is none other then Lady Zaila Vaelinos, a minister within the city of dead and decadent. 'The Eye' said that she was in the charge of throwing parties in the place and implored me to be careful about his tyrannical husband as well. Who in her right mind would marry a bald magician deformed beyond recognition, that is one thing I will never understand. He must be such an unpleasant fellow in balls and ceremonies...assuming he gets invited to begin with.

Nonetheless I approached to the dark-skinned woman who presented herself as 'Lyra' and I asked "Do you have any godstongue?" she quickly replied "I have some in the back." She walked through the door behind the counter and left it barely open, that was my sign to proceed. I could not take my eyes away from the beauty standing before me: A large sand-colored wyvern who promptly glanced at me and then returned back to its loud sleep. Soon enough I lit a cigar and then came eye to eye with my target.

- Spirean Gazette: "Thank you, Lady Zaila for allowing us an audience. Your person has been known as a very controversial figure whereever you are, and your departure from Enorian to Bloodloch finding a spot among the ministries of the ancient city took our notice. From the City of Life to the City of Death, how does this change feels, my lady?"

- Lady Zaila: "How does this change /feel/?"

She looked at me with an unsettling gaze and I could find naught but a mix of boredom and disinterest within those brown eyes.

- LZ: Empowering.

A woman of few words? If so this will be a very dull interview. But she dispelled my doubts. We were back in the business.

- LZ: "Bloodloch has been... Very enthusiastic. They really put heart-and-soul into everything they touch down there. It's been a welcome change from the boring planes of roguedom."

- SG: "Boring planes of roguedom, my lady? Ah, I suppose that you are at your element within the crowds and social constructs then, is that correct?"

- LZ: "I am a [redacted] useful woman, my talents are wasted on roguedom"

All of a sudden she was quite animated, like a volcano erupted upon the pouty face.

- LZ: "It is nice to have a community again, as well. I grew up thinking the cave dwellers down there would be nothing but a small mangy pack of blood-crazed leeches: but it turns out that not everyone is Rhyot after all."

- SG: "And you have ended up as the Minister of Cultural Affairs and it was not long ago that you presided over your first public event and as far as we are aware you had also a hand in renovations of the Bloodloch racetrack grounds. Should the citizens of ancient city expect more events in the future? Could you give us some glimpses of what is planned?"

- LZ: "The citizens of -the- ancient city,..."

She gave me another unsettling glance while leaning back to the armored desert wyvern. Now I was half expecting a grizzly end at the jaws of that magnificent beast.

- LZ: "...have quite a few events in store for them. Most of them are completely uncontroversial, so I can say that there is plans for some cyclical blood sports, collaboration with the North is intended for a tourney in the next year or two. There is also a planned literary event and games of skill and chance."

- SG: "Seems like it will be a very packed couple of years for the citizens of -the- ancient city. Of course, our readers will be also interested in your thoughts about the other cities as well, Lady Zaila."

- LZ: "Ah. Right. Well, Enorian..."

- SG: "Enorian?"

- LZ: "Enorian has been putting their legal ducks into a row since I was there, and that is good. Hopefully they have grown a bit of a sense of humor since I left, though. For their own sake..."

- SG: "What about Duiran and Spinesreach?"

- LZ: "Duiran is just a bunch of [redacted] tree-planters who don't know when to stop growing new [redacted] and Spinesreach is a bunch of drunken ice queens."

- SG: "Drunken ice queens? That is a rather interesting assessment my lady, can you elaborate upon that? After all the Republic has been rather benevolent lately, especially when they handed back the goods they have acquired from the City of Light. So do you think they were drunk while doing so?"

- LZ: "I sure hope so. [Redacted] should have kept SOME of it, for [redacted]' sake. But, all that [redacted] was practically a whole damned year ago at this point. Glad to see it blew all the godsdamned [redacted] over."

- SG: "Do you have anything special you would like to tell to our readers?"

- LZ: "My special message to Sapience: You're all bunch of [redacted] little [redacted] [more redacted] and I wouldn't change it for all the [obviously redacted] gold in the [redacted with gusto] world. And I love every last godsdamned one of you."

***Note of the Chief Editor: At this point we have lost some of our would-be editors due to starvation while they tried to figure out how to edit Lady Zaila's words.***

I thanked to the tempestous redhead and made my way out of the smoking den with haste because I noticed the Dwarven wench was approaching me slowly with a dirk barely concealed at her weaponbelt. There was nothing more important then to bring this report back to the headquarters.

--------------

Spirean Gazette is the leading source of information available to public and published irregularly(on management's whim) from time to time. Don't mix it with imitations which may come out in future. Spirean Gazette year 473. All rights reserved.


Penned by my hand on Tisday, the 8th of Severin, in the year 473 MA.