Baldur’s Mouth Eleint 18, 1494 Vol. 82, No. 1 Straight from the Mouth of Balduran 3 c.p. Nobody Likes the Elturgardian Refugees, But Slaughtering Them? By VIVIAN ROOK A grisly scene found at the Frolicking Nymph Sennday evening. Bathtubs stained red with blood, corpses strewn about the garden, and apparent cult activity. The Sennday began much as any, with the Frolicking Nymph opening its doors at sixth bell, and all was calm until they arrived shortly after eighth bell, armed and armored. Qurmilah Dashdance, doormaid and masseuse, took their fees much as any, warning them that weapons are not allowed, but she couldn’t help but notice their bent: trouble. They disappeared without apparently leaving the building, for the next several hours. When they emerged again, they were covered in blood, not all of it their own, accompanied by a monstrous giant scorpion equipped with saddlebags full of gold. As it turns out, the basement of the building has been retrofitted into a refugee shelter for the Elturgardians. The owner of the shelter asked to remain anonymous for their safety, and the staff at the Baldur’s Mouth would like to state for the record that they do not know anything about their identity. What we do know is that we were invited to explore the shelter after the Flaming Fist had finished their investigation, and were astounded at the charity that this anonymous benefactor had bestowed on these poor souls, and the callousness with which they were cut down. The scene had already been cleared, but our count of chalk lines says that the refugees numbered between two and three dozen, all cut down with a variety of murderous weapons. Flaming Fist Sergeant Darmin Soltus has confirmed that there is now a bounty on the perpetrators, whose descriptions have been given as follows: • Tiefling male, red skin, silver eyes, long horns, with prehensile tail and last seen wearing a leather harness • Drow female, white/blue/green hair, lavender skin, white eyes, last wearing a spiked cloak and bracelets • Forest gnome female, last seen wearing black leathers and accompanied by a mechanical ape • Halfing male, red beard, ruddy complected, maybe a wizard, last seen shapeshifting into a giant scorpion • Tall Aasimar male, pale, likely masquerading as an Elturgardian, as he was last seen wearing Hellrider leathers and chain. Information leading to any capture earns a reward of 200 g.p., but Sergeant Soltus has warned that they are considered armed, dangerous, and religious deviants, as evidence was found that links the perpetrators to the Cult of the Dragon. Grand Duke Vote Next Firstday Vanthampur Favored By JIM STEVENS With the disappearance of Elturel and the apparent death of Grand Duke Ulder Ravengard, the Parliament of Peers has announced that they will be voting for a new Grand Duke to replace him. Dukes Portyr and Stelmane have announced their candidacy, but their campaigns have been non-starters. The Flaming Fist has endorsed Portyr’s niece, Liara, currently a Major in the Flaming Fist serving our mercantile interests in Fort Belurian of Chult, but en route to Baldur’s Gate in the hopes of arriving in time to accept her new position. Currently, the Parliament of Peers’ spokesperson, Georges Rouletabille, has reported that they are still split on the decision, but our contacts in the High Hall inform us that the vote is currently 28-18-2, for Vanthampur, Liara Portyr, and Dillard Portyr, respectively. The Parliament will take the issue to a vote this coming Firstday, Eleint 21, 1494. Duke Vanthampur has been running on a platform that she calls “Baldur’s Gate First” , stating that the Elturgardians’ problem is their own. She has been seen outside her villa in Manorborn, along with her sons Thurstwell and Amrik, addressing passersby with talk of Baldurian oneness and self-sufficiency. She has been attracting strong crowds, and has gone so far as to lend her own private house guard to the Watch in their efforts to patrol the streets of the Upper City. Liara Portyr did not respond to a Sending, and at press time, it was unclear whether or not she is actually aware of her own candidacy; the Flaming Fist seems content to push her as the obvious choice for Grand Duke, and a spokesperson we reached out to stated that the Flaming Fist were handily dealing with the refugee crisis, and expected to reopen the Basilisk and Black Dragon Gates shortly early next tenday. Duke Dillard Portyr has been campaigning himself, as well. He has been notably absent from his duties as a member of the Council of Four, as, in a surprising turn of events, he has been spending all of his time, and a terrible amount of his money, campaigning on the streets of the Lower City, borderline- illegally imploring the townsfolk to influence the patriars to vote for him. Baldur’s Mouth maintains that the patriars’ votes are their own, and that our dear readers should not seek to influence due political process. Follow Baldur’s Mouth for all of your political updates, and don’t forget to buy our Firstday Special for the results of the election! Elturians Hunting on the Hill Dusthawk Nearly Extinct By BROOKE V ANDENBERG Baldurians, rangers, druids, and fans of nature are all dismayed at the Dusthawk Hill Ecological Society’s last count of the Baldurian Dusthawk population: a mere 43 specimens remain of the endangered species. When we reached out to the Society, our contact informed us that the recent crisis is the direct result of the Elturgardian refugees, as their desperate thrashing about the Outer City for food has taken them to the top of Dusthawk Hill to hunt, and they have not been contented to constrain themselves to the land-dwelling and significantly more populous Dusthill Prairie Dogs. When we reached out to Torimesh, famous druid of Insight Park for a quote, he was left speechless; he merely shook his head at us, clearly moved near to tears by the Dusthawks’ plight. Flaming Fist spokespeople have stated that they are doing all they can to protect Baldur’s Gate’s interests and history, but this reporter is forced to wonder if they could be doing more, and how much time we have left to see the beautiful animals wheeling about above Dusthawk Hill.