Time Elementals Visit Ashbury

The yearly celebration by the patrons of the Dragon’s Flagon was joined by three minor Time Elementals who rifted in and began throwing confetti and making noise. Not being nuisances, they were allowed to stay. . . until their master arrived and banished them away for wasting their time by playing with mortals when more important things needed to be done.

It was learned from this Lord of Time, known as Buukaaz, that another time elemental, Sknfft, had stolen the Rod of Passage from the Time Elemental of 597. He told the Ashbans gathered “If we don’t get that Rod back, we’ll be looking at 597 all over again. If the Rod goes uncovered by midnight, 597 will return again and Sknfft will remain the elemental for that year.” He also told the Ashbans that Sknfft was a powerful Time Lord up for the spot of Time Elemental of 598 until his downfall.

Sknfft had lost his mortal girlfriend to death this past year and wished to regain her by the only means he knew how. He asked the Council of Time if he could reverse one day in order to bring her back. They all agreed he could not. He forsaked his duties and his race and vowed to get even with them. Because of this, the Time Lords stripped away his powers and left him to wallow in his sadness.

Still a celestial caster of no small worth, he conjured many golems to do his dark bidding. He waited several months until time was on his side. Just two days before New Years’ Eve, he attacked the Time Elemental of 597 and stole the Rod of Passage knowing full well that if he could hide it until midnight on New Years Eve, he would be the elemental of 598 and he could redo the year and bring back his beloved.

The Ashbans gathered there didn’t know how they could help the elementals. Buukaaz instructed them that as the time drew closer to midnight, many more fluctuations would present themselves as time would begin to rewrite itself, and true to his word, just that happened.

In a wavy, semi-vertigo shimmer, several adventurers disappeared from the tavern only to return the worse for wear one hour later accompanied by Buukaaz the Time Lord. He found while there with them that time was indeed trying to rewrite itself and the adventurers found themselves trying to right the wrongs that were being written.

Another group disappeared in similar fashion and again returned with Buukazz who apparently gets summoned whenever a local rift in time occurs.

After the third group disappeared and returned it was learned that unlike the others, they had experienced a future time line. Buukaaz explained that because we had righted the wrongs of Sknfft’s new timeline before it took place, it would summon the Rod. This was quite confusing to many people, but Buukaaz explained that time isn’t linear.

Near midnight, Sknfft, in the form of a bone golem, rifted in with his summoned stone, iron, scarecrow, and homunculus golems. The battle was fierce but the Ashbans fought valiantly. The bodies were bloody and scattered everywhere at one point, with Baron Olin dead and others also in need of Life spells, but the Ashbans recovered with the help of Duke Aramis as Ta’wané and Natasha were able to Life those who were dying.

Baron Olin returned the rod to Buukaaz who then saluted everyone and rifted away. Something strange was left in everyone’s mind, however. Why did everyone suffer from Deja Vu immediately after the fight?


Maximus Dies Saving Children from Slavers

Recently, Brother Maximus the Healer was traveling with a group of merchants in the estate of Taija’s Ferry. The group stopped for a rest and some food beside a waterfall and after the meal Maximus, who had been trying to lose weight, decided to take a short walk through the forest.

About twenty minutes later, a terrified group of six small children with chains on their arms ran from the forest towards the group, screaming for help. They cried that the Big Man had destroyed the cart and freed them from the bad people and begged the merchants to help the Big Man. When the party retraced the path the children had taken, they found a provisions cart with a broken wheel. A secret compartment had been built into the cart and the door of the compartment had been Destroyed. There were signs of combat, a new cart wheel, empty clothes where three dead bodies had dissipated, and the permanently dead body of Brother Maximus.

The party included some trained trackers who followed a trail and came upon two more of the slavers whom they were able to capture. These prisoners are currently being questioned by the authorities.

The children explained that they had been at work herding the goats belonging to their village when they had been captured by five men who chained them, gagged them and imprisoned them in the secret compartment. They had taunted the children by saying that they would get good money for them in Niman. As the cart was being driven along the rough forest path, they had felt a lurch and then had heard the men discussing what to do about the cart wheel which had broken. They had finally decided to go to a nearby village to get a replacement wheel and then come back and repair the cart.

While the men were gone the children removed the gags and tried to think of a way to escape. Then they had heard a man’s gentle voice speaking to the cart horse and saying, “What happened here, fellow? Well it looks like a broken wheel, I guess your driver went after a replacement.” At that, the children began to scream for help. When they yelled that they had been captured as slaves and locked into cart they heard the man scream, “No!” Then they heard an incantation and the door was destroyed.

As the man pulled them from the cart, they heard the slavers returning. The man told them to run for help and pointed them towards the waterfall where his companions were resting. He said, “I’ll do my best to stop them.” The children did their best to run down the path while they heard the sounds of spells being cast behind them. Apparently Brother Maximus had been able to Death three of the slavers before the remaining two were able to get to him with their weapons.

At the request of the parents of the children whom he had saved, Maximus’ body was returned to Mother Tyrra in the local graveyard. His headstone reads “Brother Maximus, born a slave in Niman, died a hero on December 25th, 597, saving six children from slavery.”


Colossal Black Maw Appears Over the Skies of Nordenn

A Black Maw, the largest yet seen, suddenly thundered into existence, looming over the barony of Nordenn by the end of 597. The Maw’s appeareance blacked out the sun and plunged the barony into an instant, lightless night, creating widespread panic across the barony and civil unrest in the troubled estate of Port Frederick.

However, Baron Olin Redbeard and his court were quick to meet this new disaster and restored order in Nordenn. Working in conjunction with the Armani Rangers, the court of Nordenn helped those citizens fleeing the barony into the Ash Forest to move in an orderly fashion.

Throughout the first month of the the new year, baronial scouts reported that the Black Maw was shrinking in size at an extremely slow rate. By the end of January, the Maw shrunk until it filled only the skies above the barbarian freehold in Nordenn, known as the Vansir Reclaim, where it presently looms.


Adventurers Close Some Maws

A large group of adventurers recently embarked on a strange journey that began in the village of Smallborough in the Vansir Reclaim. The group was comprised of Drakonios DarkTalon, Derek Dreamweaver, Rasq Darkmoon, Ator, Alexander the Wild Elf, Jaiden, Brighthawk, Jonah Purus, Solemn Judgement, Hawkwing, Templeton, Sammy the orc, Orion the half ogre, Talin Gildenlily, Calis, and Winter the dark elf.

The barbarians of Smallborough were afflicted back in June when a Black Maw appeared and spirit forged a large portion of the Fox Tribe into celestial spell casters.

Led by Ator (at times), the group drank a special wine and then proceeded to step into the Black Maw. Many hours later, they emerged, bloodied, battered and exhausted and the maw vanished behind them. The maw’s effect was reversed and the Barbarian people rejoiced. It is not certain how the group accomplished this feat.

The adventurers were then seen a few days later standing on the shores of Lake Hollym. A nearby fisherwoman gave this eyewitness account:

“They were all standing there, a pretty impressive collection of elves, a big barbarian fella, a weird rat-man, a big ogre, a curious orc, a quiet sarr, a human, and a grim fella dressed in colors of an overcast sky. Suddenly there looms this mist above the water, and then the water shapes itself like a hand and rises up, grabs the very sunlight piercing the clouds and makes this magical ship made of light and water!! They boarded it like it was a simple merchant’s vessel and off they went. . .not across the lake, mind you, but vanished!”

What occurred next is not known, but the adventurers were not seen for about a week or so, when they were spotted in the Ash Forest going towards yet another maw. Templeton was carrying with a massive wedge of cheese, muttering about an “Isle of Dreams.”

The weary adventurers bravely fought trees animated by the Maw in the Ash Forest. After the last of the trees were hacked down, they stepped into a maw and were not seen for hours.

The group emerged, more weary than before, but apparently victorious, for the maw vanished behind them and there was peace in the forest again. This unlikely group of adventurers are to be thanked by all Ashbans for their efforts in ridding our lands of some of the maws.


Fist in Trouble

The word on the streets is that the criminal organization known as the Fist, which has plagued the duchy for years is in terrible shape. Though the Fist apparently has ended its internal war, they are losing the external battle.

The Fist have lost their once solid grip on the crime-infested estate of Dockside to an unknown, unseen enemy. Assassinations, arrests of central figures and internal power struggles have contributed to the erosion of the Fist powerbase.

The blacking out of the barony of Nordenn by the Black Maw has cost the Fist their claim in another troubled estate, that of Port Fredrick. During the instant night that seized the estate, key Fist operatives disappeared, were murdered or found with their memory taken from them. Whatever secret force that has been at work in Ashbury over the past five months has now solidified its total dominance of Ashbury’s criminal underworld. On the streets, no one is talking.


A Little Birdie Told Me

by Sue D’Onym

Hello, dearies! Here’s the latest News They Don’t Want You To Know.

It would appear the wild elf Brighthawk is not dead after all. She has been seen recently traveling with several of the local Kiergani—however, she claims she does not remember the past several years.

Speaking of “wild” elves, Jonah was seen rubbing Brighthawk’s shoulders, saying “I am sooooo horny.” Perhaps he is considering a change to Mystic Wood Elf.

Azura has found a new love—Daniel Grimsby. The two were seen behaving like long lost lovers in the Dragon’s Flagon not too long ago. Seems Tavernier dumped the pretty MWE in his quest for glory.

On this same subject, Talin Gildenlily has been attracting much attention lately from the boys in town. There’s a line around the corner of sarr, barbarians, humans, elves and scavengers trying to attract her attention. But be warned—this flower seems to have thorns. She couldn’t even be wooed by Templeton the rat scavenger’s best lines, including “Your nose is pretty bulbous” and “You smell like the sewers, baby.”

At the annual New Year’s party, our beloved Duke Aramis Llyrr received a visitor from Niman. The stranger, who identified himself as Sir Frost Vardik, received a welcome colder than the snow outside after he offered the Duke a gift of Nimani wine. . . made by slaves. Kaylin was seen talking to Sir Frost for quite some timelater.

Zatarina meanwhile attacked a man who came into the tavern, waylaying him mightily. Corbin and Squire Jonathan assisted, but the man escaped. He apparently has decided to press charges and Sir Eros and Sir Larson have agreed to meet with him in April.

A game led by the Candyman that evening had everyone in stitches—especially when Ator climbed on Salvator’s lap and gave him a big kiss. Don’t ask, don’t tell.

Speaking of Ator, the barbarian has been keeping company with celestial casters, which is a big “no no” in his type of society. Word has also come that his own people are forming a council to try to remove him as Chieftan.

The rumor going around is that Lady Azrael has a tendency to take more than what’s hers. I always thought the saying was “steal from the rich, and give to the poor,” not the other way around?

A number of successful raids have recently been carried out against military supply caravans of the baronies of Trellheim and Nordenn. These raids were carried out by bandits, at least one of which was the infamous Luvo Piper and his Quickhand Bandits. Soldiers of the barony of Trellheim managed to capture six bandits in a botched raid. Baron Radric had interrogated the six criminals and then instituted an aggressive and admirable rehabilitation program for the bandits.

Konrad Alfenwen, the former Baron of the Ash Forest who resigned his title and moved to Avendale, was recently knighted there. During the ceremony, when he swore to be true to his oaths to Avendale until his final death, a whisper was heard from the back of the room: “Isn’t that the same wording he used when he swore fealty to the Duke of Ashbury?”

Drak was seen in the Flagon recently, drinking a bit heavily and grumbling about being turned into an orc. (He got better.) He blamed a certain barbarian for his woes.

That’s all for this month. Remember—If you can’t say something nice about someone, come sit by me.


Public Notices

YOUR MOST HONORED GRACE Duke Aramis Lyrr: I apologize if I have offended you in any way. I look forward to bettering relations between our duchies in the future. Long live King Mykel. Sir Frost Vardik of Niman.

CELESTIAL RITUAL CASTING at a reasonable price. Also, information bought and sold. See Dame Alyx at the Sage’s Guild.

IF ANYONE HAS INFORMATION on the Black Maws that they could share, it would be greatly appreciated. I will be compilling all the data I can from people and want to share with everybody what I learn so that we can destroy them before they destroy us. I should be in or around Ashbury proper for those that wish to help. Please contact Shaman Kainon Andrews, of the Sand Tiger Barbarians. On a personal note, any information on the story tellers that could be shared is also greatly appreciated. Thank you.

MITHRIL WANTED. See Gilwing the dwarf.

THE ASHBURY MAGES' GUILD would like to congratulate the following new Apprentices: Dooron Malfor von Capulus, Barony of Trellheim; Enrek Winterhawk, Barony of Trellheim; Devin Yazaren; and the following promotion to Guildsman: Devin Yazaren; and the following promotion to Senior Guildsman: Dugal McEwan, Barony of Nordenn. The Ashbury Mage’s Guild would also like to recognize the following Guild Members for their successful completion of Tasks in preparation for advancement to the next Rank: Guildsman Zachary Blane, Barony of Nordenn; Senior Guildsman Modi Ioki, Barony of Trellheim