Barking Fool Lead-Up

**5 May 510 -** Many have commented in recent days that the docks have seen an increase in Dominian traffic, especially of private traders (as opposed to the large military ships which continue their activities as usual). Some are muttering that Kessid is becoming a Dominian province these days, though their coin keeps many merchants from complaining too loudly.

**9 May 510** - The city woke to an unnatural frost covering the streets and buildings.

**30 April 510 -** Just before midnight, some kind of disturbance rocked the northeastern corner of the Foreign Quarter (just against the city wall and across the river from the Mason's Quarter). For some reason, the lamps in that part of the city had yet to be lit. Those who were nearby report that as the middle night approached, a patrol of the City Guard was walking along the wall when suddenly shouts and cries were heard. Shadowy figures bolted in all directions, and the sound of blades clashing rang off the cobbles. Few are speaking of the altercation the next morning, though a heavier than usual Guard presence can be found in that section. Some say the Guard carried away at least one body in the dimness before dawn.

More than one part of the city seems to have had their lamps lit later than usual, or not at all on some nights. The Lamplighters Guild has made no official comment.

*Any who choose to keep a journal and were nearby may wish to include note of this in their records. If you wish to investigate these events in-character, email Michael S. and Devin P.*

**25 April 510 -** Handbills begin to circulate on the streets of Kessid; there are not many, and they can be hard to get hold of, but they pass from hand to hand, mainly among recent Lindoran refugees:

# Open Farmlands ✥ Newe Hamlets ✥ Make Thy Fortune

###### *To All which would wish to aide them in building a stronge Principality-*

*On the Backs and by Sinews of the True shall they prosper!*

# *Goode Positions pledged to All*

#### Guerdon given for skilled Craftsmen and Artisans in Especial

*Safe Passage plighted on sturdy Vessels of known Quality-*
*Reception upon landing in Kyrrathis assured*

##### Seek thy local Rynith Factotum for Advisement

✥

**12 April 510** - In a surprising violation of the understanding and etiquette

**07 April 510** - The following edicts begin to be posted on all roads and at all towns and villages throughout western Gallura:

A Proclamation

***Nerac, by the Grace of Regel, of the Land of Gallura and Her Territories, Sovereign***

***Declares this Edict***

WHEREAS, *many foreign conspirators and landless wanderers have passed within our sovereign borders without leave, and*

WHEREAS, *said aliens have caused unwarranted and unlawful harm to our citizenry by their thievery, loitering, and beggary, and*

WHEREAS, *our coinage has been devalued and our merchants’ wares plundered or damaged, and our peoples subjected to hunger and hardship thereby, and*

WHEREAS, *our byways are crowded with haggard cadgers and mendicants, such that lawful traffick is hindered, and*

WHEREAS, *these, and many other additional grievances may be laid at the feet of those not native to our country, nor caring to make of themselves useful citizens*

**NOW KNOW YE THAT**, *it is hereby made law that any itinerant within our borders who has not either gainful employment, or leave of an upstanding citizen who shall vouch for him, Or journeying along the highways with definite purpose and without loiter, or other lawful and rightful cause to be within the boundaries of our territories,*

**ANY SUCH TRESSPASSER AS IS WITHIN THE BORDERS OF GALLURA FOR LONGER THAN THREE DAYS, SUCH ITINERANT SHALL BE PUT OUT OF THE KINGDOM AND REFUSED ALL FUTURE PASSAGE THROUGH OUR TERRITORIES, UPON PAIN OF DEATH.**

**IN TESTIOMY WHEREOF** *we have caused these, Our Letters, to be made patent and the great seal of our kingdom to be hereunto affixed.*

**WITNESS**, *His Most Esteemed Grace, Cardinal Lionel X, in our Palace at Chalons, this first day of April, five hundred and seven, by Providence of the Most Holy Regel.*

**509 Event follows**

Link back to Game Cast List

ROSTER:
Example: Mike Antos (Samuel Walker, Hall of Travelers Board Tender in Kessid)
Constance Chamberlain (Lady Antillia Geoffrey; Tilly's Diary)
Dave Miner Jr (William Barkins, Owner of the Barking Fool Tavern)
Devin Parker (Prendergast; Prendergast's Journal)
Roxanne Quezada (Rose)
Rev. Joel Schonbrunn (Vartran Gregorian, Vartran's Journal, Sniffy Two-Tails, Travertine BrownBeard)
Dave Chamberlain (Reginald Farnsworth III)
Michael Slusser (Rambert Garnock; Rambert's Journal)
Jason Ryan (Penn)
Cassidy Cording (Dolena a Tavern Wench at the Barking Fool Tavern)

EVENTS:

07 May 509 - In the last hours of night, a powerful series of storms came rolling into Jannen's Bay from the south. WIth high winds, heavy warm rain, and thunder and lightning, everyone in Kessid is battening down the shutters, and checking the lines on moored ships. Its the kind of day where most stay home, fires stoked up, hoping the gods don't wash away the city. The Kessid Harbor is protected from the waves, but the water does get pretty high on days like this. Parts of the Wharf, and Low Town end up with about a foot of water on the streets. Old Town would be under as well if not for a seawall built thirty years ago.

Guardsmen hate days like this, especially those assigned to the Hedges, as though the houses behind the wall do just fine, standing on top of the wall looking out into the Harbor and Bay put you right in the brunt of the wind and water. Armorers will see an uptick of chain and sword needing some oil and repair in the coming days. (MA)

10 May 509 - Anyone who knows Kessid knows that every Sunday the dock masters send out their callers to hire on the extra laborers for the week. There are powerful guilds that control the docks, and the teamsters drive cargo out from the dock areas to the warehouses, or to the transfer points if the goods are heading straight out of the city. However, transferring cargo from dock to cart, and from cart to warehouse is normally handled by short-term crews, hired on only when there are large shipments due.

Today, however, the callers are curiously absent from the streets. The city still bustles, but the hole left in the background noise is noticeable. You know that Spring is normally a busy time for the harbor. Looking out at the water, you see plenty of ships, but also plenty of empty berths. Perhaps this is just a passing moment of pause for you, or perhaps sparks your curiosity...

*(Please keep your page up-to-date if you want, but also if you take any direct action to speak with or otherwise interact with an NPC, e-mail michael.antos@gmail.com directly.)*

10 May 509 - In the early evening a small skirmish occurred in the Mason's Quarter, near the Pick & Chisel Inn. It looked as though a dozen members of the Lamplighter's Guild attacked a small group from the Stone Mason's Guild. It appreared that no one was killed and no bodies have turned up so far. The City Watch has been asking questions and investigating. But residents of Kessid know that the Kessid City Watch is unlikely to figure out what really happened. Guilds tend to keep their business close to the vest.

12 May 509 - Hall of Travelers boards across Kessid receive two new, authorized postings:

#1 - paid for through 15 June, 509
Seeking Wizard in Kessid
With good Boots and Time to kill
Willing to work on Commission
And able to keep Secrets
Ask after William Baker
After supper every night
The Cocking Crow Tavern
Artisan's Quarter

#2 - paid for through 14 May, 509
Come one Come All!
Celebrate the news from Gesnor!
This Thursday night!
Elves drink for Free!
Hundred-year-old Elven spirits
Wine from Palrim
The Finest Dakkoran cuisine
The Totem Inn
Near Pier 32*(if you ask around, Pier 32 is on The Wharf,

nearly in the Fisherman's Quarter. This Inn

is in Low Town, in a pretty bad neighborhood)

(questions about "the news from Gesnor" should

be handled in e-mails to the GMs framed as a

conversation with an NPC of your creation).*

15 May 509 - A large cart carrying brass across "Traveler's Bridge" (spanning the Talrydam River and connecting the Foreign Quarter and the Mason's Quarter) overturned when the horses were spooked. The Panciking horses were cut from the reigns to get them under control and led off the bridge. The cart and its goods took a score of men hours to collect and upright. All other carts and people on foot were forced to find other routes across the city to avoid Traveler's Bridge.

16 May, 509 - It was just after sunrise when the first of four ships sailed into the harbor. Too big to dock at any but a few of the piers in Kessid, one at a time they anchored out a ways along the Fisherman's Quarter. People in Kessid are accustomed to big ships, even the occasional warship from Akkoria. But, four huge Dominian Quadriremis were an unusual sight. Shortly after the four ships were settled against the current on their anchor chains, a smaller boat with three ranks of oars to a side was lowered over, and with a crew of twelve oarsman, three men came ashore at the Mage Quarter's docks. Their trip up the Talrydam River drew quite a crowd. Kessidians know there are Dominians garrisoned near the City Watch Stockade (been there for years), but the bright red clothing, with armor and weapons in such a strange ship...well, it turned in to quite a show. Two of the three men carried on the small ship were met by several of the more senior members of the Mages' Guild, and the group then walked to the Guild Hall, where they have been since.

Word begins to spread, and if you go to the Fisherman's Quarter docks you can see for yourself, these ships are obviously troop carriers, but are not carrying soldiers. Instead, each has four of the oared small boats and one single-masted small ship secured on their decks. Even the long-time sailors have never seen a rig like that, and will tell you its got to be tricky sailing with all that weight on your deck.

There are plenty of theories about this visit spreading around the city. Only someone with exceptionally good contacts might learn the truth...

17 & 18 May, 509 - in neighborhoods across the city, but primarily in the Foreign Quarter, the following messages were tacked to various buildings by uniformed Hall of Travelers Couriers

paid for through 29 June, 509

By Proclamation and Order of the Prince
Following the Law of the Land
This Property is Forfeit to the Crown
In Forty-Two Days Time

Those wishing to Protest this Action
Make Yourself known to the City Center Magistrate
posted 18 May, 509

18 May 509 - It was dusk when two mages in the Foreign Quarter held a magikal duel in the middle of the street. Traffic halted when amber lightning and green fire was cast back and forth between the wizards. Each mage deflected the other's spells, melting nearby lamps and setting small fires to the closer homes.

The City Watch rounded the corner bells ringing and racing to intervene. It appeared that neither mage was able to injure the other; one mage turned his back and ran, the other vanished into the air with a popping sound.

Nearby shop and home owners were overheard discussing the events leading up to the mage duel. The two wizards were arguing about the vacant Elfin building on this block.

The Watch has yet to locate or identify either of the magikal combatants.

21 May, 509 - With the morning high tide, the four Dominian ships set to on their oars, and moved north towards the mouth of the Kessid Harbor. With little fanfare, they slipped out of sight up the coast. For most in Kessid, this was simply background scenery in the life of a busy port.

22 May, 509 - At first light crews arrived at the Malar Gate, and began cleaning and servicing the doors. Other workers arrived throughout the morning, setting up chairs, some tables, and decorating the arch for a wedding. For Kessid residents, this is not that big a deal, as there are ten or twelve weddings at the Gate each year. People from out of town might enjoy watching what must be some pretty expensive preparations underway. A few City Watch members are around to watch over the scene.

26 May, 509 - The last weekend many restaurants and taverns were turning away patrons or were unable to serve large portions of their menus. Inquiring characters learn that shipments of supplies and foods did not arrive in the quantities ordered for the past weekend. The shortage of foods and supplies struck low town the hardest, where the least amount of supplies were sent. Some small fights took place in the streets and the streets remained dark tonight because the Lamplighters Guild refused to travel into Low Town.

30 May, 509 - The alarm bells began ringing just after lunch today. The five-bell cycle, so rarely struck, rallied the entire City Watch, and all members of the Mage's Guild to points around the city. Most residents also know this alarm, and quickly explain to anyone looking confused that the streets should be cleared. The Alarm of Five Bells means the city is under attack!

Though the streets cleared relatively quickly, it didn't take long for everyone to return to their windows and doorways. The word spread like wildfire, after someone first noticed:

**"Dragon! In the Eastern Sky!"**

Wherever you are in the city, you heard this shouted from house to building, from shop to ship, and everyone gazed above. As you shield your eyes against the sun and squint to the East, it takes you a few moments to accept what you see. Once distance, scale and speed all become clear, you are dumbstruck. The Dragon is huge, easily the size of a three-masted ship, and travels through the sky faster than a bird of prey as it hunts. You can't determine the color of its scales, as it is too far away. It circles some spot on the earth, at least half-a-day's walk to the East of Kessid.

The Mage Guild musters along the walls of the Hedges, and sets to work readying a defense. Also, the City Watch begins to ask ships with weapons to ready their crews. City residents grab their buckets and get ready to fight fires, forming up in ad-hoc groups near the river banks. Anyone who owns a bow carries it into the streets. This activity proceeds for perhaps half of an hour, until, as quickly as the Dragon appeared, it begins a climb to higher altitude, and moves off to the North, away from the city.

It takes a few hours for the city to return to a semi-normal rhythm, as the ships that pulled out into the Bay return to their piers, and the Mage's Guild members and the Prince's Court meet on Palace Hill. The City Watch remains at a double watch for the rest of the day and night, but by tomorrow morning will be back to normal.

Suffice to say, this will be the topic of conversation around the city for days.

*Please make sure to journal your experiences, and reactions. Email Mike with questions. - your loving GMs.*

30 May 509 - Minutes after the Dragon was too far for the naked eye to see, a commotion is heard through the streets in low town. Citizens, City Watchmen and visitors alike part and take to the sides of the streets. Acolytes of Vorak, more than 30 strong, march from their Temple *(also called an Armory)*. The Acolytes are fully armored and heavily armed. In their wake, a old woman shouts after them, "Vorakians! Where do you march to?"

As one, the entire column stops. The last Acolyte, wearing a red matle adorned with the symbol of a plate-mailed fist, turns and answers her.

"Lady, we march to kill the Dragon. You must know that the foul creatures are the sworn foe of Vorak! We will not bear it's existence. We will return when it is destroyed. So, COMMANDS Vorak!"

With that, they resume their march and exit the city.

3 June, 509 - Just after noon today, under blustery grey skies, a small, fast Akkorian vessel sailed in to the Harbor, then up the Talrydam to the pier below Palace Hill. This is not terribly unusual, as foreign dignitaries often come to Kessid to meet with the Prince, or the Directorate, or even the Hall of Travelers. The strange part here was that, flying below the Akkorian colors on the mast of this vessel was the flag of Gesnor! Everyone knows, or can learn, that Akkoria often transports ambassadors for other nations, and the convention holds that the flag of that dignitary is flown below the flag of the ship's homeland. Last rumor of these two lands held that they were uneasy neighbors!

A group of people were escorted from the vessel to the Keep by a combined force of City Watch and Akkorian Marines. The ship is now guarded by marines onboard and on the pier. With nightfall, the group did not depart from the Keep, and the marines maintain their watch.

8 June, 509 - Today, just as a river barge full of stone arrived to get cross-loaded onto a ocean-going ship, the entire dock crew of the Mason's Quarter main pier walked off the job. It took the crew bosses almost five hours to drum up another crew, causing the tide to be missed, and at least a whole day lost from the process. The Dockworker's Union wasn't involved with either crew, and they are proudly crowing how their members would never leave in the middle of a contracted job.

"Seems like we might be worth the extra coin after all, hm?"

The rumor mill hasn't generated a good (or true) tale as to what actually happened.

12 June, 509 - After a three-day visit to the Palace Hill, the Gesni ambassador and the Akkorian transport ship he was riding on sailed out of port with the morning high tide. As far as anyone can say, this ambassador did not leave the Palace the entire time of his/her visit.

About one hour after the Akkorian vessal raised its tall sails and moved north through the Kessid Harbor, coming south were three of the large Dominian transport ships, once again carrying no troops. Rather, as before, they carried strapped to their decks three or four smaller boats each. Sailors will tell you these small craft are used for heading up rivers or for investigating coastal bogs and swamps. The three large ships anchor out in the Harbor, and thoughout the day small Kessid-based boats will ferry supplies out to the ships.

*If you want to ask around about what those supplies are, e-mail Mike.*

15 June, 509 - on all Hall of Travelers boards across the Citythe following messages were posted around dinner time, paid for through 29 June, 509.

Luther Canis, merchant and Kessid resident, was found dead today inside his office.
Reading of his Testament will occur at the City Center Magistrate's office
This Wednesday after the lunch hour.
Interested parties must produce Documents of identity, or subject themselves to
Magikal Questioning by members of the Mage Guild, as per Mr. Canis' wishes.
Representatives of the Halgudar government will be present to confirm family relations.
Questions may be directed to the Magistrate's clerk