Growing concern is mounting inside the city gates of Camorr. For a few weeks now the rumors of the Devil of Camorr have been growing and gaining steam. Mobs of angry citizens have hunted down any and all that they believed to be the beast in a fit of rage. They’ve taken to the streets claiming that they are doing these acts of madness for the safety of the city. They continued marching victims to the noose until the devil made a personal appearance in front of the town.

To make certain that hate crimes don’t continue to persist, I, Jancho, was in attendance at the event and, with a quick thought and a bit of magic, managed to capture an image of the creature.

It’s a troubling site, and I apologize for those with a weak disposition, but what’s more troubling is how the city guard reacted to the event of the Devil of Camorr surfacing. The town, worked up into their frenzy, was ready to deal with this beast on their own. The town guard however intervened taking up point between the beast and its warranted destruction.

What could those in charge be thinking? How could they take the side of such a foul creature? It’s rampant carnage can now be left unchecked. It appears that if anybody would seek to claim vengeance against this thing, they will be met with the force of the city.

I’m not here to incite anymore rioting, but the people must be able to defend themselves, otherwise they will have to perish in the flames started by this hellbeast’s furious whims. I instead propose that people raise a voice against corrupted city officials in peace in hopes that they catch the ear of the High King of the South.

It seems as if the most recent diplomatic mission to Falvindar has met with a very unfortunate fate and in a town that has already been seeing its fair share of hardships in the last few months. For those of you who have been unaware recently, Treefold, once home to those looking to connect more to a natural surrounding by living within the the town’s three major trees, has been swallowed by a wave after crashing wave of troubled waters.

First a it found itself the center of a turf war between two dragons that had no care for what happened to the town’s residents. A band of adventures happened through and managed to take care of the issue only to uncover the malcontent that the current leaders posed to not only the town but to areas still unknown. The mayor of the town and the captain of the town guard both turned out to be major players in the occult seeking to control the will of undead dragons. They managed to escape leaving a vacuum of leadership in the town that needed to recover from both their dealings and the destruction caused by the aforementioned dragon battles.

In the absence of power, the worst thing that could possibly happen took place, an ogre of great strength found his way to the town claiming leadership of the area and ownership of the people within it. Grug as this character called himself started forcing the inhabitants to start battling to the death for his own sick amusement. He was less ecstatic when Camorr came answering the call for this creature’s bloodlust. His last vision was of his kingdom as his head was lifted up on the tip of a pike.

After months of rebuilding and help from what Camorr could offer, Treefold finally found itself in a position of peace again even considering the growing unrest of the nation. It would appear that this peace was only temporary as again Treefold finds itself in the center of blood and destruction.

As the door of Falvindar are opening up to the Southern Kingdom for talks, diplomacy is on everybody’s mind including our High King Aethelhun Ryder so it’s only natural that he would want to send troops to speak on his behalf. And luck seemed in his favor when one of Falvindar’s daughters, Elefain Rhavaern of one of the great houses, offered her services to help aid in the talks. However this band was not fated to aid in these talks. The day after they reached Treefold to stop in for the night and replenish their wares in Lord Quentin’s new town found this troop in a horrid state along with many members of the town.

As they settled down in one of the major trees in the town and the moon reached it pinnacle in the sky, tortured screams could be heard coming from their rooms. The town guard came racing to deal with the commotion only to have to deal with a giant animal attack. This creature ripped through the entire party of diplomats and managed to overtake the guard of the town. It then found its way into the streets. Screams were heard for all hours of the night as people scrambled for safety from this beast that was prowling through the streets. Most that came upon it found their end the moment they met with it, however few managed to get away. Those that avoided this creature’s wrath claim that it was a giant boar of some sort.

As the hours of dawn came, the screams started to settle and be replaced with cries of sorrow as people picked themselves up out of the streets. The creature was nowhere to be found. It is assumed it made its way out of town in the the confusion of events. The biggest question is how it managed to get into town in the first place without anybody knowing.

As Treefold again picks up the pieces of this unwarranted aggression, a count of all those lost is being taken. While most have been found among the rubble, one very important face seems to be missing, that of Elefain Rhavaern. It’s too early to say what happened as she is not the only one that is still missing, but we are holding out that she may yet be found alive. Until that time another party has been sent out to continue talks between the two major cities of Camorr and Falvindar.

For those in Treefold, from this humble chronicler and all of his readers, we wish you a fast recovery and hope that this doesn’t become a continuing trend.

As many know, Ghattas has fallen victim to hard times. The island has never been the most hospitable place so it makes sense that it would take the followers of Kord to set up a human settlement there, but with roving bands of Rhakshasa and Bullettes burrowing through the sands, it has kept the place from growing much past what would be classified as a settlement.

While it was struggling, it was still managing to thrive as many who would make pilgrimage to visit the “Jagged Crown” ring of Kord would set up and stay within the small town. Recently, about a 6 or so months back, reports of a strange storm started circulating. It was said that the followers of Kord in their temple had incurred the wrath of other Gods as the storm seemed to only target the temple, sparing the rest of the town. Nobody within the temple managed to walk away.

What seemed to make matters worse was, as the rubble was cleared away, the artifact that had been the lifeline to maintaining the city was nowhere to be found. Many started to question why they would want to stay there at this point. Some didn’t stay around long enough to even ask the question. It seemed that Ghattas’s days were now numbered. Established only forty-five years ago, it seemed it wouldn’t last another five. That is, until recently.

We spoke with a general wares manager by the name of Rilouh, a young half-elf with raven black hair, who told us the town was in good hands. “This is my town,” she claimed. “It’s hard out there trying to find a place you fit in when you are a half breed of the races. The elves don’t respect you, the humans don’t fully trust you. But here? It’s not about what race you are, just that you are strong.”

Indeed, the philosophy of strength that seemed to resonate out of Kord’s followers was incredibly infectious within the town. However, without a fair amount of help, it didn’t matter how strong you are, this place is going to die. “No, we have fallen into the graces of an individual with financial capabilities,” she assures me. After asking some on who this person is, she refused to give a name. No matter how much I tried to persuade her, her lips stayed tight. I’ve never seen such a taciturn elf in all my days. She did, however let me in on how the town is going to prosper from this person’s generosity.

“Ghattas is to become a hub for trading. We are on the sea and have access to areas south of the island easier than the land access is currently set up. All we needed was proper docks and workers set up to get things going.” And workers a plenty they now have. The docks are still in the process of being put together properly, but that doesn’t stop the local ferrymen from working. By this time next month it appears that the docks will be fully operational and with a good amount of business being brought to the town, it’s only time before the draw to this place becomes stronger than it ever was. I think Kord would be in favor.

As if the current events happening within the gates of our own city aren’t enough, it appears more loss will be felt by the denizens of Camorr. A battalion of guards headed East toward Anarya took off longer than a fortnight ago. Word of their arrival, however, was never received. A small scouting party of four was sent to investigate what could have stopped them from making it to their destination. Only one of the scouts made it back. What she had to say was gruesome at best. For the weaker readers, I beg that you continue no farther. Just know all was lost for this group.

For those with a stronger constitution, here is the recounting of the event. “It was raining as we approached the lands outside of Lord Vorrick’s Castles,” claims Chao Bolin, a recent resident moved here from World’s End. “It made it hard to see anything. Because of that, we had to go in closer than what we normally find comfortable for a scouting.” She goes on to recount the details saying that when they made it up to the lands, all they saw were countless bodies everywhere. “It appeared that all the guards had been slaughtered. Whoever did it, found some grotesque humor in stacking the bodies on top of each other. Whatever had been rended from the corpses themselves were glued back to the top of the stack. It looked like trees had grown from the depths of the Nine Hells.”

Her and her team were left speechless. Before they could gather their senses from the smell of rot and death in the air, they were descended upon by large beasts. “I’m not certain what it was that had us surrounded. I was the farthest out from my group. As soon as I heard the sounds of battle, I fled. I didn’t look back. All I could hear was the bloodied screams of my companions as I fled back into the forests. I’m not proud of my actions that day, but it is the reason I am alive now.”

This kind of darkness is no stranger to Lord Vorrick’s land as death had once before been a problem in the region. It was found out then that Lord Vorrick had fallen to the curse of vampirism and was beat out by a group of sturdy paladins. These paladins themselves claimed that he got away, but they didn’t believe he would be back any time soon. Could they have been wrong? Could we be seeing the return of Vorrick’s blood lust upon that land? One thing is for certain, that area should be steered clear of by any traveller seeking to make it from one city to the next. May the Gods have mercy on the souls of those that find their way into that land.

Weeks have gone by and the people of this town have watched as their children have slowly disappeared from underneath their own collective noses. While they sat back not being able to do anything to help, a small group of adventures found the culprit and brought her to justice. A deranged woman known as Widow Midge was caught with her most recent victim, Lord Quentin’s own son. She was sentenced to hang for her crimes in the main square of the city to allow those who have lost their children a small bit of reprieve from their pain while they watched her swing. There were those there that claimed she was an innocent in the situation, but the evidence was overly damning.

After her crimes were read to her, she was permitted one chance to address the world before she was removed from it. Instead of using this time to make her final peace, she used it to incite a riot in crowd by claiming that the city was being lied to. She claimed her own innocence and said the real criminal was still at large. This statement was enough to frighten an elderly father standing close to the gallows. He was so startled, he dropped his child from his shoulders and fell back himself. As if this statement wasn’t enough to incite fear in the crowd, Asmodious himself seemed overly yearning to claim his prize of such a wretched soul. As soon as the rope was dropped, a fire ignited from the gallows and the spirit of Midge escaped her earthly vessel seeking even more destruction. She cast a judgmental stare across the crowd, pointing at the children that were brought out to witness the execution. However, before she was able to enact any of her supernatural destruction, the devil of Camorr, as I’ve become prone to calling him, rose from beneath the platform to steal the spirit away back to the Nine Hells.

A plague has struck the city of Camorr recently, though not in the form that many are used to. Camorr has fallen to rampant fire spreading. The city is no stranger to fire damage as history can attain to, but it has been ages since whole city blocks were put up in flames. The slums, it seems, hasn’t seen the last of its hard times as the most dangerous of the recent string seems to have sprung from an old temple of Olidammara.  During the late hours of the night, the church could be seen burning over the sulking apartments. Many came together to try and help keep the church and surrounding buildings from continuing to burn down, but it was to no avail. The entire block, with its wooden structures and cheaply made architecture, easily caught ablaze killing eight people in the fire.

Several weren’t awakened until the fire had reached a deafening roar from the blaze and shouts had filled the streets about the impending destruction of this area, however there was an eye witness to the account. An elderly woman by the name of Rhima claims that she was there the moment that the light from inside the church started to glow and says she say the whole thing happen. “T’was a fright, it was. Was mindin’ me own business, takin’ care of my rooftop garden when from below I saw the worst sight I done seen in me life.” Rhima went on to describe the situation as a demonic assault on the temple. “I saw me a group running from the church steps being chased by this beast covered in spines.” She couldn’t expand on the demon’s description blaming the dark and her own distance from the fire, but she did claim that as the flames started to lick out from the interior of the church and smoke bellowed from its windows, one last victim came running from the church’s steps.

As if this wasn’t enough, businesses in the district have started catching aflame as well. A local opiate salesman had left his shop unattended during a lunch break to return to his shop as hit was imploding in on itself. Billowing smoke filled the air affecting several of the residents in the area. “Wouldn’t surprise me,” adds Rhima as I was interviewing her, “If this demon that burned down the Olidammara wasn’t the same culprit in this situation.”

The whispering of a demon walking the streets doesn’t seem to originate from this one instance. Rumors have been spreading through the slummier regions of Camorr for about two weeks now of a devil burning its way out of the Nine Hells. People have been swapping stories at the Decapitated Unicorn and other watering holes around the city claiming to have seen the creature clawing its way into the material realm themselves. One individual, a street vendor by the name of Rhett, gave this description of the demon. “It was twelve feet tall, wrapped in flames. Its skin was a pitch black and I saw blood dripping from its fangs.” Another description claims that the creature had a pale white skin with eyes glowing red. The victim, who refused to give me her name claims that when she looked at the demon she felt oddly compelled by it. “I saw him in a back alley, his gaze met my own and, as scared as I was, I still found myself moving towards him. I don’t know what happened after that, just that I woke up a couple days later feeling completely drained.” She fears the return of this creature who is being seen by many walking our streets.

Be it big and dark, or small and pale, only time will tell if this demon is real. What is real is the rampant arson taking over the city. While this is generally a crime for the local guards, they are still spread thin from the territory disputes up North so they don’t have the ability to look into of their own accord. However, because a religious temple has been targeted by this string of crimes, the Atoka has deigned fit to send Paladin’s from Olidammara’s order to look into the damage. They are scheduled to arrive within the week.

The city guard is meant to serve as trusted protection, though recently there are many that complain that they are behaving more as brutes than guards.

Gilbert Gilbert, local resident of the slums, was assisting Artin Hammerbeard, son to the well known Corporal Hammerbeard, in an
investigation when that trust in these new city guards was betrayed.

Details are still sketchy but evidence indicates multiple assailants. One eyewitness claims to have seen an elderly man jump from a rooftop onto the victim followed by a pair of guards joining the assault. Mr. Gilbert is survived by a sizable extended family and his mother, Tilbert Gilbert. When asked how Mrs. Gilbert is handling these dark times for their family, one cousin, Dilbert Gilbert, replied, “She’ll bear, she’ll bear.”

Three Orcs Pass, the well known stop for many a weary traveler making their way up the main route to Fyr’s Shadow, has been less than hospitable to many in the past months. The upper camp sites have been inaccessible leaving many to speculate as to what the cause could be. With the closing of the upper sites, several travelers have had to find room to camp on the roadside at night leaving their caravans open to thieves and street ruffians. The questionable safety of the site has caused travel to become hard for many seeking to make pilgrimage to the holiest city on the planet.

Those looking to travel can now do so with ease as the upper sites have reopened as of late thanks to a band of intrepid adventurers. Remnants of the cutthroat group that infested the campgrounds surrounding the pass were witnessed scrambling away by one family that had fallen prey to them during their visit. “Just one feller came limping by looking like he’d been on the receivin’ end of one heck of a wallop,” one witness reported. He went on to add, “Tha’s not the only thing, either. Those kindhearted souls went outta their way to return valuables we thought long gone. They’ll forever have our thanks.”

Another witness described nearly unbelievable events. “Me girl and i, we was looking for a private-like place to set camp when we’s heard the loudest bird shrieks ever. I still see it when I close me eyes.” They talked of a giant bird blocking the bridge to the upper camp sites, flinging people off as the would try to pass. “When we finally saw the thing there was this elf and her daughter, I think it was, clingin’ on an’ stabbin’ at it. We didn’t see how the fight finished but I can say it went quiet real quick as we were leaving the area.”

It seemed a momentous event to say the least, but this band wasn’t as well received by everybody in the encampment. “Here I am trying to have meself a bloody bath, and next I know, in charges this group of rough riders looking to start trouble.” He and a few others claimed that the attitude of this brazen group was far from hospitable. “It was almost like they was just edgin’ for a fight. Let’s see, if I remember right, was a mostly naked half-orc fella, a walkin’ tree which I ain’t ever seen before, and couple others all being led by this angry looking paladin. You can always tell a paladin in a group.” This source went on to say that they then proceeded to kill several of the patrons in the hot springs before moving on to other campsites.

As strongly as I would like to keep bias out of a story, I too, Jancho, writer of this very journal, was saved by this group and would stake my life that these nay sayers did not keep their eyes open enough to catch all the details. It takes a strong, kindly heart for complete strangers to go out of their way to save somebody whom they have never met before. So allow me to just thank those wondering travelers and let me tell you how good it is to know that people like that are out there in the world.

As many are already aware, the city has recently been flooded to excess with city guard. Where guard can’t be found, mercenaries have taken up the town crest to fill their spots. This sudden lockdown of the city is all due to Lord Quentin’s son, Juiles, recent abduction. It is not unlike a noble’s child to run off on a hunting endeavor that could take weeks before a scheduled return, however concern grew upon the discovery of a letter claiming Juiles had been abducted from his home and held for ransom.

These concerns have been quelled as, not but half a week passed before the child was brought home to his worried father. “It was all I could do not to break down throughout the day,” said Lord Quentin. “To think he was taken from behind the safety of our own city walls even now astounds me.” Lord Quentin went on to throw suggestions as to whom the perpetrator would have been working with, initially considering Northern Rebels seeking to erode the faith between those from the Southern continent and the king that watches over them. It has yet to be proven that this could be the case.

We tracked down Jordon Thrush to gather his opinion on such an accusation. “It appears to me that could be a likely cause but upon interrogating the prisoner, it seems that she wasn’t working with Northern troops,” Thrush said. He went on to suggest that she may be behind, or even in charge of, a recent string of disappearances in the citizens’ region of the city. He said that he was currently looking into the matter, but refused to go into detail on what might have already been found. Seeking more information, we sought out Corporal Hammerbeard for any input he was willing to give, but he was unavailable for comment.

With the apprehension of the prisoner, who goes by Widow Midge, questions are now being raised as to what will happen with the influx of city guard patrolling through the streets. Many seem to be accepting of their presence, almost as if itís brought a surge of relief with armed men watching over them, though there are those that would see them gone claiming that their means of protection are far too excessive, patrolling the streets with a stab first ask questions second mentality.

We asked Lord Quentin what his plans are moving forward, “It seems to me that, with the peasant who did this act in custody, I no longer have need to fund the city guard.” It would seem that normality will soon return to the streets as guards are brought out of the alleys and returned to their ranks on the battlefield.

As for Midge’s fate, though we wait to hear the full extent of her dealings with the disappearing children throughout the city, her head will be set to the chopping block two weeks from today. It will be a full spectacle in the main city square, it has been said a custom executioner has been hired for the deed.