There was outrage in Mythtropolis as an attempt was made on the life of King Pelops II. Shapeshifting mweltrem of the Opposition replaced the Royal Divan, killing them all in the process. One of their number also attempted to disguise itself as the king, but the plot was foiled by the mystic knight, Hector DuSabot. After uncovering the plot, Hector and the royal guards finished off the evil intruders.
The king is believed to be shaken, but unharmed. All the members of the Divan and their attendants were killed in the attack.
Little is known of Hector DuSabot, or his Order of Mystic Knights, but he is believed to be the same Hector who was an attendant of Count Olous Sabot I, a.k.a. The Hunter, ancestor of current Silver Knot member Ironthorn.
King Bud of Greenport, and all his Budling spawn, have been assassinated by a magical plant annihilation spell. This comes as devestating news to the Allied forces, as King Bud and his troops were among the most effective in dealing with the Opposition troops. The assassin's spell is believed to have originated from the Opposition.
King Bud was a human who had successfully overcome the taint of M'Wandah, which left his body as an amalgam of both plant and animal. He ws a member of the Silver Knot for a time, before destroying M'Wandah in druidical combat. He then became the ruler of Greenport in the Whispering Jungle.
Praise for King Bud has been pouring in. Piper, of the Knights Below had this to say: "Such grim news strikes at the heart of we who fight passionately for freedom and life. Though I knew him but a short while, Bud was e'er a companion of great wisdom and compassion. His struggle to liberate plantkind from the rotten yoke of M'Wandah's will was an inspiration to those who walked at his side. His strength and wisdom will be missed but his song will be sung once again when the taint of this latest enemy is scourged from our world forever."
News from Greenport is that succession was determined by druidical duels. The new Speaker or Palace Mayor is Foldorn of the Emerald Order.
Foldorn made the following statement: "Greenport declares its non-aligned status with respect to the kingdoms and realms of the world. We will maintain our independence. But we will need help against the pirates of Freeport..."
Dedite forces have been acting in concert with the Opposition troops of the evil Mogador. The Dedite lands, to the north-west of Haranlarche, have long been known to harbour expansionist ambitions. It appears that this alliance with the Opposition is part of their plans to annexe their neighbours.
Within the borders of the Dedite lands, the dwarven settlement of Iron City has been producing giant metal clad sky vesels, known as Iron Clouds, for the use of Opposition troops. At least one of these Iron Clouds has violated Haranlarche airspace, attacking an elven village in the Southshire.
The village elders apparently attempted to come to an arrangement with the Opposition troops, led by a female elder vampire and her werewolf offsider. They tried to hand over the team known as the Heirs of Skull Craig, who were visiting the village. The Heirs struck back, killing the Opposition leaders and destroying the Iron Cloud, whilst saving many of the villagers who had been captured. The surviving elves have abandoned their village in order to travel to the Sylvan Realms, whilst the collaborators were killed in the melee.
It is unknown how many more of these Iron Clouds are currently in use by Opposition forces.
The unknown attacker on both Allied and Opposition navies has been revealed to be an ancient underwater city known as Zagarond, located in the Dread Sea. It was believed to have been lost to antiquity, but evidence has been brought to light that the city is active, and playing itself against both sides of the current Zombie War. The Zagarond forces have accounted for 15% of all Allied shipping casualties, and 25% of Opposition naval casualties.
The leader of this city is a merman known as King Pel Carmordu, and it appears that one of his surface agents is his own daughter, a woman known as Princess Thierela. Agents of Zagarond are known to be active in the city of Seacamel.
Amongst their activities, the Zagarondians have been kidnapping sages. It is not known what the purpose of these abductions is, but there is a strong possibility that they are seeking information about the Heirs of Skull Craig.
Allied forces are now preparing to deal with the Zagarond threat.
Dr Zumid Nuttam, a.k.a. Dr Rook, has beome Mythtropolis' favourite medico, with the long hours he puts into healing the injured of the current war. Our reporter, Seth Gandir interviewed him recently to see what makes the good doctor tick.
Gazette: Doctor Rook, tell us a little about yourself.
Dr Rook: Well, there isn't really much to say. I grew up around Treekeep and in Mythropolis. I found myself apprenticed at a young age to a healer who taught me all she knew about medicine. Unfortunately, I ended up on the wrong side of a political cause she became involved in, and had to leave. At which point I ran away to join a circus...
G: A circus?
DR: (chuckling) Well hasn't everyone wanted to do that as a child? Anyway, my choice of circus turned out to be... ill-advised, so I ended up running away from the circus as well. Ended up joining a trading company as a ship's surgeon.
G: That would be the Royal Dreadsea Trading Company?
DR: That's what it's called now. At the time it was merely Throg's Shipping Company. My fellows and I ended up conducting a staff buyout after the fairly unsavoury Throg fell into some trouble. After a series of adventures on the high seas, we made some fairly shrewd investments and became quite wealthy. I decided to put my newfound riches to work by building a hospital on the dockside. I also made a few acquaintances during this time who helped me develop my medicinal skills, so when the war started, I volunteered my services to help the sick and injured. And here we are.
G: Can you shed any light on the events in the shipping company that lead to the downfall of Lord OGRE?
DR: Well, that was a terrible time. Lord OGRE had taken the reigns of the trading company after paying some outstanding debts. It turned out he'd fallen into some bad company, and he ended up being responsible for trying to destabilise the realm, using the trading company. A shame, he was such a great hero once upon a time. There's still some information there that I'm not at liberty to tell.
G:What do you consider to be your greatest medical triumph?
DR: I suppose finding a cure for the M'Wandah taint. So many people were affected by that, and to have been a small part of making sure it wasn't worse was amazingly gratifying. Similarly, I've just found a cure for a necromantic illness, Asmiak's soulwound, and I've managed to cure a couple of folk from that. It makes you feel good knowing that in your own way, you can combat evil, even if it isn't going toe-to-toe with a monster.
G: You're known for your charity work. What made you decide to commit so much of your time and resources to this work?
DR: I've always felt a strong moral obligation to use my abilities to help others. I consider myself to have lived a fortunate life, and I want to help those less fortunate to overcome their situation in life. Hmmm... that all sounds a bit too worthy, doesn't it? I'm really just an ordinary citizen with the means to help my fellow citizens. And if you look at the mighty war efforts taking place across Haranlarche, all by ordinary citizens, you'll see that I'm not alone.
G: And how's the social life?
DR: Gods, I wish I had the time. I think you can tell your readers that I'm safely unattached at this moment.
G: Is there anything you'd like to say to the people of Mythtropolis?
DR: Just that if there's anyone out there with even the most basic healing skills, we'd really appreciate you coming down to the triage barracks and helping out. Every little bit helps.
Regicide seems to be the flavour of the week for the Opposition forces. With an unsuccessful attempt on our king's life followed up by a successful attempt on the king of Greenport, the Opposition has proven itself again to be a deadly, if cowardly, foe.
Given the recent spate of assassination attempts, not only on the king, but also on Count Sabot, Chamberlain Parexus, the Royal Divan and other assorted functionaries, it appears that security around the king and his courtiers is practically non-existant. Certainly these assassins are shapeshifters, but given the number of mystic guards and defences available in this day and age, even a shapeshifter should be unable to get close enough to the king to nearly kill him.
Palace security needs to be improved, and improved immediately. If there are any more breaches, then heads will have to roll. We cannot have the leader of our realm exposed to danger in his own palace. Given the level of bravery and leadership he has shown on the battlefield, it would be truly unacceptable for him to be harmed within his own stronghold.
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