Guardians Alert!

[Akroma]

Guardians it pains me to have my first announcement as Imperator be such horrifying news.

It seems as if the monks and holy men of our fair land have become the targets of an evil crime.Please read the following.Greetings to who gets this. I thought I should inform you, and perhaps the people, of a disturbing scene I came upon recently. I had wanted to make my way down to the shrine of Justice to do some light prayer and offering. I have often gone to this shrine to do just that as I have chosen this path as my own. On most eves when I go there is a kind man there, somewhat old, a monk I think, who has served that shrine for some years. So when I decided to attend tonight to the virtue I was expecting him to be there, but what I beheld was a sight that will haunt my mind for nights to come. Upon my arrival, a cold wind blew in the area; not typically unusual since we are close to the ocean here, but never the less it sent a chill up my spine. I walked past the tall marble statues who always seemed to stand proud and yet I must confess, tonight that vision was lost. I would soon come to see the reasoning.

As I entered the stone structure nothing could have prepared me for the sight I saw. Blood splattered the ground therein and across the symbol of the Scales of Justice, the trail led up the small steps and to the Ankh where to my horror I saw the source of the disgraceful blood shed; the elderly monk was outstretched, his arms bound by rope to the ends of the Ankh, kneeling, facing me, his head drooped down low. I raced over in hopes of saving him, but it was too late. The dishonorable and unholy act must have happened some time before as the wounds were not fresh. With welled up eyes and a low heart I untied the monk and carefully cleaned the wounds. Upon doing so I noticed that on his bare chest were carved words, depicted in blood they read "Justice Shall Be Served". I cleaned up the rest of the blood and, knowing that the order of monks for the virtues are strict in their brotherhood, I sent word to another of this act and immediately a monk with two guards arrived. After telling them my story I made my way out as they handled the rest.

I wanted to inform the people of Britannia of this and to watch for any suspicious people around the shrines and to report them to the local guards if seen. This act will not go unpunished and I shall make sure the man who committed this crime is found and brought to Justice.

-Davlamin Floshin

and

Dear Citizens,

I wished to inform you, the people, of the recent investigation of the murder of the monk of the shrine of Justice. After arriving at the scene with a fellow guardsman in arms and Brother Delroy, we promptly began to make notes of this heinous crime. What we found was the following: The Monk, who is known as Brother Horril, died hours before he was found. The primary reason for death was loss of blood due to a clean slit in the throat. Brother Horril was tied to the ankh prior to his death; this is known by the bruises the ropes created on his arms. The carvings on his chest were created by any fine sharpened blade, we suspect a dagger.

Brother Delroy handled the burial process with the others in his brotherhood. We found no evidence at the scene that would lead to who or what committed this act, though some revelations may have been lost due to the tampering of the scene before arrival. It is my wish to inform the people that this, in no way, should alter the good people of these lands from making their vigils at the shrines. We are on a watch for any suspicious people at these shrines and its area about.

Regards,

Vincent Rosencroth, Royal Guard of Britannia.

and

Citizens of Sosaria. There has been a second murder in our realm

I ask that you all read the report of this second slaying and travel the realm with caution.

Should you come upon anything you feel might be related. Please post it here.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I am sending this in because I have read the reports of the slain monk found recently and found my story has some similar traits. I write this report with a tearful eye, however, because this time the one slain was a dear friend and brother-in-arms to me. His name was Kyle DeVoul, a great warrior with a kind heart. We had fought together for many years; he has taught me many things about being in battle. We have stayed in the guard outpost now east of the desert of compassion and we normally do routine checks around the area, making sure the creatures from the swamp and desert do not venture too far. I was on my check to the swamp and when I had returned I found Kyle dead. Like the reports on the monk, he had a slit across his throat however there was no blood smear or so much as a drop on the floor. What may even be stranger is that I was only gone for a mere 5 minutes.

I know Kyle to be a great warrior and so to fall too quickly and easily is absurd. I searched the outpost all over and found nothing amiss. I do not know if this has anything to do with the slain monk. Kyle did not work for any specific virtue; rather he held them all within him, each on the same level as the next. No words were written on his body and his armor was in tact.

That is all from my report, but I wished to inform you in case any other news arrives. The other guards here have been put on double duty and we are now on a constant watch at this post.

and

Once again I come to you with sad news.

Yet another murder has taken place. A monk has been killed.

A member of the Royal Guard has come to me and requested that I not post details of what has happened. The Royal Guard is concerned that the killer or killers might learn of their plans.

The feeling I recieved from the Guard member is that they are all worried. The killings seem almost unnatural. Not as if they were done by any animal or human.

I fear for all of our safety. Especailly the safety of the monks that hold the virtue shrines sacred and will not avoid them, no matter what the risk.

Perhaps a group could come together to offer the monks escorts to these shrines? It would provide protection for the monks and possibly help us all discover who is behind these terrible crimes.

and finally

I returned from the GoL Halloween Festival last night to find a monk waiting at my door.

It would seem his brotherhood has heard of the two offers of escort and they are grateful. A monk will be in Trinsic/Fel Monday evening the 3rd of November. He will wait at the Trinsic Gardens for any that wish to join him on his journey. He must leave Trinsic no later than 8PM Eastern.

I asked which shrine he needed to visit and was told that "each brother travels to the shrine that calls to them." I do not know if that means the brotherhood has different monks for different shrines, or if the monks travel to the shrines in a more random order.

Perhaps more information may be obtained on this journey that will help us uncover who is behind these murders.

These are excerpts from the Traveller and I feel as Guardians we owe it to these Holy men to make sure their passage is safe to the best of our abilities . Lets attend this event tommorrow and show all of Sosaria what it means to be a Guardian of HONOR!!!!

Imperator Akroma

Edited November 3, 2003 by Akroma