Report Excerpt No. 1
This is an urgent report from Lochagos Thespianos – garrison commander for the isle of Mynakos –addressed to Helias’ most honorable Scholae. It is with anger and pain in my soul that I must inform you of the following: this year’s dramaturgical festival has been unceremoniously delayed due to unforeseen obstacles. Seven moons ago, our island experienced a chain of devastating fires, scorching the eastern portion of our dearest Mynakos. While the main town has been spared from the devastation, the east portion of Mynakos contains most of our food supplies and the island’s precious water reservoir – we have lost many farms and much of this year’s harvest already. Considering the dry-season is still a few months away, and factoring in the selective nature of these flame-bound outbursts, I fully suspect that this is the work of arsonists; investigations have already begun to flush out the culprits.
Mynakos’ dramaturgical festival is an important celebration in its own right, for the most talented of the attending actors and writers will get the chance to perform within Helias’ radiant walls – showcasing their talents under the divine gaze of Dionikos, our godly patron and the master of all wealth and the high arts. Due to the important nature of this event, we expect a lot of artistically inclined visitors over the coming month; I kindly ask that you delay all boats leaving for Mynakos by one week, giving us enough time to investigate this urgent matter and to ensure safety can prevail!
Report Excerpt No. 2
Esteemed and most wise Scholae of Helias: I, the most unlucky and potentially cursed Lochagos Thespianos, must regretfully inform you that Mynakos is under attack – no doubt about this remains! Two moons ago, unknown brigands emerged from the very sea – or so do eye-witnesses claim – attacking our citizens and facilities in the dead of night. Almost all of our grain storage silos have been burned to cinders, farmhands have been deprived of their lives and subsequent utility, and several deceased animals have been dumped into the isle’s water reserve – poisoning it.
While I have not encountered these vile intruders myself, as the marauding cowards choose only to assault the weak and the unarmed, witnesses speak of walking corpses and airborne specters wreathed in sizzling ash. Furthermore, the inhabitants of the main town are growing dangerously uneasy: many claim that Mynakos is cursed, causing infighting and societal discordance. Madness has gripped the populace and its starting to spread amongst the troops that are stationed on the island; I fear a full-blown riot might erupt if we do not deal with these escalating raids.
Further adding to our ongoing calamities, our group of employed mercenaries from Tauria have broken their contract and fled the island. The dishonorable departure came after their attached Minotaurs whipped the waters, from which the attackers supposedly emerged from, for an entire night – trying to “scare the evil things away.” The retreat of those manure-brained, bovine-worshipping superstitious cowards has left us in an even more precarious position: our defenses are limited, our supplies are dwindling, and our assailants reek of sorcerous intervention.
Knowing full well of the gravity of my request, I ask that you dispatch a Primodynamic Globe and a supporting Mechanist to aid our island. From my understanding, the device is supposed to nullify magic in its vicinity, and the occurrences mentioned so far should justify the use of such a tool well enough.
Our enemy seeks to break our will before they reveal themselves for the killing blow – for that, I am certain. We must take away their magical tricks so the truth can be revealed!
Report Excerpt No. 3
This is Deputy Lochagos Loukianos – Thespianos’ lifeless body was found floating in the isle’s water reservoir. Being next in the chain of command, I have ordered for the immediate evacuation of all civilians and festival attendees to the main island of Helias. Assaults have occurred within the main town, although we have limited the spread of the fires to just the outskirts.
I regret to inform you that Clio, the Rhodean Mechanist you employed to aid us, and the Primodynamic Globe you dispatched have been compromised. The device and its handler were sent, along with a sizeable military escort, to combat the dreadful attackers during one of their latest raids and have since remained unaccounted for. We have dispatched a force to retrieve them and will inform you of the results in a subsequent report. In the meantime, I urgently request for more soldiers, rations, and a tanker ship with fresh water.
I have seen the enemy with my own eyes, and I fear my mind is failing me. I cannot tell if I am fighting mirages or real creatures; it all feels like an unending nightmare. All I see are corpses – wielding fire and spreading madness wherever they tread…
Dionikos help us during our greatest calamity!
OLD DOMINION FORCES HAVE ATTACKED THE ISLAND OF MYNAKOS – A PROTECTORATE OF THE CITY STATE OF HELIAS – TO FIND “THAT WHICH BENDS REALITY.” WHAT DO THEY BRING BACK?
