Dissolution News - 17th of Growth, 721

Tarsis Threatened by Barbarian Horde

Excerpt from The Ptolus Herald, a widely circulated paper largely considered factual but with a clear anti-Empire bias.

by Piper Wyndon

In yet another sign of inability of the Empire to maintain order, eyewitnesses in Saar report that tribes of warriors have crossed the Grey Mountains and are swiftly marching westward towards Tarsis. Unlike the traditional captial's previous sackings, only one of the three "Emperors" now remains to defend the city, former imperial advisor Segaci Fellisti. With the forces of Addares XXXIV in Dohrinthas and "Holy Emperor" Rehoboth here in Ptolus, Fellisti seems unlikely to get help.

Dragon Adds to Landmark's Curious History

Excerpt from The Courier, the largest and most reputable paper in Ptolus, albeit one with a slight pro-Empire slant.

by Cassandra Birinj

An "eighty foot long" bronze dragon electrocuted nearly a dozen people to death outside an abandoned house in Oldtown in the early hours of the morning today, according to several eyewitnesses to the event. Neither those killed nor the dragon have been identified. The location of the attack, Pythoness House, has been abandoned since a raid was executed three years ago by the Knights of the Pale, reportedly to eliminate a chaos cult known as the Crimson Coil.

The Knights of the Pale, headquartered only a few doors down from the site of the dragon's appearance, had no comment. Both the Commissar's office and the City Watch issued similar statements stating "the incident is under investigation".

The house itself has a checkered history dating back to its construction over 250 years ago by Darma Kollotis, hosting bandit attacks, Dragonscales masters, prostitution and the aforementioned cults.

"Un-openable" Chest Conquered by Iron Monks

Excerpt from The Guilder, a newspaper covering local guilds, currently under the control of the Ironworker's Guild.

by Cartain Pront

A supposedly "unopenable" iron chest, long a feature of local rumors and folklore, was finally unlocked by the monastic order called the Path of Iron. The "iron monks" of the order, after several years of studying the box in conjunction with priests of the Iron God and select members of the Ironworker's Guild, managed to open the chest yesterday afternoon on the grounds of their monastery on Two Horses St. in the Guildman's District.

Though all of those in the room at the opening of the chest, including this reporter, waited with anticipation to see, at long last, what the mysterious chest contained, most were disappointed. Whatever calamity scorched the chest long ago also clearly burned most of the chest's contents to ash. A few misshapen slags of metal were also retrieved from the box, obviously melted by very high heat. "It was disheartening, to say the least," claimed Iron God cleric Daprahne Ulnis after the opening. "After so much work, we were hoping for a more interesting end to the chest's colorful story."

Not all were so downcast. Head monk of the Path of Iron, Brother Arnyn Nash said "we are pleased that the Iron God saw fit to grant us the wisdom to open the chest. For to long, this chest has caused unnecessarily strife and distraction, so we are also pleased to be able to put an end to that."

The chest, indeed, has a bloody history. Over the last fifty years, over 50 people have been killed responding to rumors of its existence of location. While no one is really sure who created the box, many who follow it's story claim that it was sealed in a freak magical accident when a fire-based experiment by Faraban Kagestos, a cleric of Niveral, and sorcerer Alestia Fornol raged out of control, killing both of them.

Until recently, some thought the chest to be in the hands of Ealistar Fallingeye, a member of the Mason's Guild who does business in South Market. Fallingeye himself claimed as much a few days ago, but this now appears to be yet another fabrication of the Mason's Guild. Both Fallingeye and another Mason, Kellisan Faymar, are presently under investigation for the deaths of two ogres in an alleyway in South Market.