OVER THE PAST day and a half, SIGIS has received
reports from the Outland burgs in the realm of
Thoth of a large army marching spireward from the
gate-town of Rigus. These reports describe a
soldiery composed primarily of Acheron hobgoblins
and Rigus freebooters who are apparently commanded
by a small force of Baatezu. Sources say a Pit
Fiend is calling the shots but this chant has yet
to be confirmed. The estimated strength of the
military force ranges between five and ten thousand
seasoned warriors all of whom are marching towards
the small villages along the river Ma'at.
The sudden approach of these unexpected
marauders precipitated a mass exodus from many of
the villages. Cutters were abandoning their cases
and kips in an addle-coved frenzy and word of the
battalion sent a flood of refugees streaming
towards the protective walls of Thebestys. Few of
the bashers SIGIS spoke with believed that all the
villagers, or even the majority of them, would
escape in time to safety.
"It is dry season and Ma'at is too low to afford
all the vessels that are trying to flee," said
Banedjedet, mayor of the river village Majtet.
"Families are fleeing their homes on foot for the
protection of our Lord [Thoth] leaving
behind all their possessions but still they may be
too late. The army is moving swiftly and marches
directly into the path of the villagers. I fear
that by evening my people will be overwhelmed and
slaughtered."
Banedjedet had no clues as to the dark purpose
of this invasion and said that his village and all
the burgs on the river were caught completely off
guard. "We are not a war-like people; we have few
defences for such an attack. I do not understand
what quarrel the town of Rigus might have with the
followers of Thoth. I can only pray that blessed
Thoth will spare us from this evil fate."
Thoth may have answered Banedjedet's prayers:
not long after we spoke with Banedjedet, cullers in
Thebestys informed SIGIS that a police force of
five hundred soldiers had left the city in an
attempt to protect the refugees. More amazingly,
the water level in the river Ma'at leaped up by ten
feet in less than three hours allowing many more
vessels to give the fiends the laugh. But the
situation still looks grim for the hundreds of
refugees that continue towards Thebestys by foot or
mounted on camels and many may be lost before
morning.
[Author:
Scott
Kelley]
THE STRUCTURE being erected by Xaositects near
the Great Foundry continues to gain height today.
The ramshackle construction of steel beams and
girders now exceeds 60 feet in height and there's
no signs of slowing down. There is now some fear as
to the "building"'s structural safety, and already
one Xaosman has died and three have been seriously
injured as a result of falling off it.
"A structure like this is difficult enough to
construct safely when experts are on the job; left
to 'amateurs', it's quite literally a disaster
waiting to happen," said Humbert Edd, a Guvner mage
with thirty years of engineering experience.
Meanwhile, some of the Xaositects have broken
away from the main force and have started dragging
materials away from the site to another part of the
city. At last report, they seemed to be headed in
the general direction of the Hall of Records.
[Author:
Teresa
Angelucci]
THE FESTIVAL held by the Society of Sensation
last week at their Civic Festhall Headquarters to
usher in the New Cycle ended in tragedy and
recriminations when a bubbed-up spell key merchant
accidentally opened several portals to Arborea and
Sylvania.
According to eyewitnesses, a mob of six dozen
bacchae sniffed out the party and poured into Sigil
from Out-of-Town. Apparently incensed by the
Harmonium's presence at the celebration, the mob
was rapidly whipped up into a blood frenzy and
proceeded to demolish fifteen buildings on Hull
Road, near to the Festhall.
Factor Tarony Whitewine of the Sensates told
SIGIS: "It was like a scene from the battlefields
of Carceri! The sodding bacchae ignored all pleas
for calm and just smashed up three taverns. I'm all
for a bit of a knees-up, but they just went too
far. They'd have attacked the Civic Festhall too,
if we hadn't fought fire with fire."
Guvner high-ups are investigating whether the
combined response of the Sensate and Harmonium was
justified. Survivors reported a series of
explosions as fireballs and cones of
cold were used to repel the bacchae horde from
the Festhall. It is unlikely any action will be
taken against the mages responsible, despite angry
recriminations from the priesthoods of Pan and
Dionysis.
In related news, violent scuffles broke out in
the Abyssal Roulette room as Zurfil, a pit fiend
notorious for heavy drinking, and J'laxx, a balor
in the legions of Graz'zt, played for Azzagrat and
Avernus respectively. Both claimed to have won the
other's home plane, but it was later revealed that
both baatezu and tanar'ri were actually cheating.
As their lesser companions fought tooth and claw,
the two high-ups teleported away, and have not been
seen since.
All baatezu approached by SIGIS cullers
subsequently declined to comment upon Zurfil's
erratic behaviour, or whether it is likely he will
be punished by the Dark Eight for turning the
fiends into a laughing stock.
[Author:
Jon
Winter]
|
TONAT SHAR, Officer of Public Relations for the
Harmonium, told cullers at a news conference
yesterday that Hardhead patrols scragged members of
the original Anarchist cell of the infamous Omar.
Put in the dead-book fifty years ago by the Red
Death for the crime of espionage, Omar made himself
famous as a mole who slipped the blinds on the
Harmonium all the way to becoming the Factol.
Shortly after Omar ordered the Harmonium
disbanded, he was scragged for acting against the
rules of the organisation and subsequently executed
in the Prison. Largely because of this very public
embarrassment of the Harmonium, the Anarchists were
declared a "menace to the law-abiding population"
of the Cage and many member of the faction went
into hiding as a result.
Although Omar himself did not go unpunished, the
members of his Anarchist cell, who presumably
helped Omar enter the Harmonium and rise through
the ranks while inside, were never scragged. But
after 50 years the Harmonium has finally declared
that all 9 members of the notorious cell are in
custody at the Barracks and awaiting trial at the
City Court.
When questioned why the Harmonium were suddenly
able to get the dark on these cutters after so many
years, Shar stated that several members of the
Revolutionary League, currently incarcerated in the
Prison, had come forward with chant on the identity
and whereabouts of their fellow Anarchists.
"We [the Harmonium] offered to lighten
the sentences of these bashers with the cooperation
of the Mercykillers", Shar stated. " Their prison
time has been reduced and they've been awarded more
privileges. In fact, several of the berks who came
forward have been sent to the gate town of
Fortitude to serve out their sentences under the
watchful eye of those wholesome and law-abiding
folk." Shar refused to give out any of the names of
the informants for fear of retribution by
Anarchists or Indep sympathisers.
Shar had few comments to make when asked by
SIGIS if scragging Omar's cell had any connection
to recent chant concerning the Bastion of Last
Hope. In the past month, rumours have been
circulating that the mythical hideout of the
Revolutionary League, called the Bastion of Last
Hope, was not so mythical after all. Moreover, the
Bastion has supposedly been uncovered and reduced
to a pile of ashes. Shar told SIGIS that the chant
was probably "screed from Anarchists flappin' their
bone-boxes" tryin' to make the Harmonium look
bad.
In an attempt to uncover the chant on Omar's
cell from the Revolutionary League, SIGIS
interviewed a blood by the name of Fiery Polk a
known symp of the Anarchists working over Cup of
Freedom library in the Clerk's Ward. We asked Polk
what the thoughts of the Anarchist's might be to
this news of Omar's cell and how the faction
members might respond.
Polk: Such a story would be make the
Anarchist's pretty sore. Omar was was a real blood
in the eyes of the faction, a real hero and that
goes for the cutters in his cell as well. But I
really doubt that this cell's been busted at all.
Oh they may have scragged some Anarchists, but the
original cell probably was out of touch the moment
Omar was scragged. As for a response? Hard to
predict, but I would watch my backside if I were a
Hardhead.
SIGIS: Why do you think the Harmonium
would dredge this up after so many years if they
hadn't scragged the cell?
Polk: Lots of reasons, basher! Omar was a
real embarrassment [to the Harmonium] and
his cell has made that linger for fifty years.
There's been lots of chant floatin' around that the
Hardheads have spent a pile of jink tryin' to track
down these berks and have even gone so far as to
take loans from the fiends [Baatezu]. A
real fiasco. Guvners have even come out publicly
stating their doubts about the ability of the
Hardheads to keep order in the Cage because of
it.
SIGIS: Do you think there is any
connection between this latest 'victory' of the
Harmonium and the rumours of the destruction of the
Bastion of Last Hope?
Polk: The Hardheads have trouble finding
their way through the Hive much less getting the
dark on the supposed Bastion. But I don't doubt a
connection. Rumours of the Bastion falling are
probably all screed spread by the Hardheads - it's
so unbelievable! Hardhead sods getting the dark on
the Anarchists when a berk like Omar can ascend to
factol? Ha!
SIGIS: So if all of this is a load of
Harmonium propaganda, what do you think the
Hardheads hope to gain from it, and why now?
Polk: I think it's simple really. They
are trying to prove they are still masters of the
Cage and no matter how long they run a law-breaker
can't escape their clutches. What they don't
mention is that they have no right to oppress the
citizenry of the Cage like this and that their
laws, and those of Nilesia [Factol of the
Mercykillers] are extremely unjust.
Why now? All I can think is that they've been
feeling some heat within the faction - probably all
that chant of Baatezu running the Hardheads - and
some high-up sod figured this'd be the way to show
that the Hardheads were still as strong as ever. I
wouldn't believe a word of what Tonat Shar had to
say, but I'd take home the message that the
Hardheads are up to something big - watch out for
you freedoms!
Polk went on to say that his kip, the Cup of
Freedom is looking to be shut down at any moment by
the Hardheads but he said he'll fight to keep it
open as long as he can. "The only reason it's still
around is cause I can get stuff the Guvner's just
can't find", Polk said.
[Author:
Scott
Kelley]
|
