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OUTLAWED BARON REMAINS DEFIANT
Dateline: 24-
Uryen d’Agrillac, the de facto Baron of the Falcone estate in western Moonward, has been declared an Outlaw by the Royal Courts and a Traitor by the Regent.
The Royal Court’s decision followed reports in the Bereny Bugle that the Baron had been responsible for the deaths of a number of Derwentian’s who had trespassed on Falcone lands. In response to a formal summons from the Courts, the Baron justified his actions as doing his duty to Bereny by protecting it from the Derwentians, and accused the Regent of failing in his duty to protect the people of Bereny.
The Baron’s response to the courts confirmed the Bugle’s claims that he and his estate troops had been involved in conflict with the Derwentians, and revealed the true scale of the battle which took place. According to Baron Uryen, the Falcone Estate was invaded by approximately 500 House Ossuary troops, over 400 of whom were killed in the ensuing battle.
The Baron also repeated his claims that the Regent had failed to take any action over accusations that Duke Raven had committed an act of Demonology, and further accused the Regent of culpability in the death of his son Lord Gwalcumai, killed recently while on a Crown mission in the Southern Glaciers. He went on to proclaiming Western Moonward an autonomous province, “pending the appointment of a true heir of King Mark”.
In an immediate response from the Royal Courts, he was stripped of his title and declared to be an outlaw. The Courts ordered that he immediately surrender control of the Falcone Estate to a new Baron, or face the Royal Army being sent in to relieve him of the position. “Your statement is clearly a confession of your guilt,” said Lord Stark, the Court spokesperson.
In addition to being declared an outlaw, Baron Uryen was then subsequently declared a traitor by direct order of the Regent. ”Whilst I try to be tolerant towards criticisms of my rule, your systematic attempts to start a war with Derwent, and your attempt to instigate a rebellion in Moonward, certainly cannot be tolerated,” declared the Regent in his statement.
However Uryen remains defiant, and seems determined to make a fight of it, and has demanded the withdrawal of the Royal Army encamped north of Torlia. “You are required to withdraw the army back into garrison, or south of the road, within two days. Any movement northwards will result in the execution of hostages,” the rebel Baron announced.
CRUSADERS DEFEAT FOUNDER OF THE ANTITHETICAL CHURCH
Dateline: 26-
The Crusading Order forces in the Antithetical Cathedral report that they have destroyed what they believe to be one of the four most senior members of the Antithetical Church. They also believe that they may have finally found a way out of what is now known to be an elaborate trap.
The breakthrough was made by the Crusader of Selador contingent, under the leadership of Crusader Adamant Lord Ralph Devorance, which discovered a series of large bronze sewer pipes leading out of the sewers beneath the Cathedral. Although these are blocked by grilles, the crusaders and their allies were able to squeeze through. This lead them into a network of crumbling tunnels deep beneath the Cathedral, and it was here that they encountered a creature which called itself ‘The Warden’.
According to Crusading Order tradition, the Antithetical Church was founded by two men and two women in the distant past, and thanks to the accursed powers which they serve, these four individuals continue to survive in undead form, and continue to control the evil organisation which they founded. Lord Ralph believes that ‘The Warden’ is one of these four, and if he is right then the four Founders now number only three, as he and his crusaders have slain the monster.
Lord Ralph has described how the Warden was first encountered by two scouts from their force, Astin and Crusader squire Bobin. He described how Bobin courageously held the undead fiend at bay while Astin managed to open the locked door into the creature’s lair, to allow the main crusader contingent to enter and engage it. After a desperate struggle the Warden was vanquished at the hands of Hosogaya Moshiro, an experienced monk accompanying the crusaders.
Despite their victory, the crusaders are uncertain whether any of the warren of tunnels that radiate out from the Warden’s lair, some of which are little more than crumbling earthen crawlspaces, will truly lead them out of the Cathedral. It was hoped by Lord Ralph that there might be some power inherent in the Warden’s robe of office that might reveal the answer, and he sought permission from his Lord Crusader and from the Regent to don it for experimental purposes (as wearing such an item, which blatantly displays the symbols of the six gods of the antithesis, would be a clear breach of the Regent’s recent edict). Unfortunately no insights were granted to him by it.
KINGDOM REACTS TO LORD URYEN’S REBELLION
Dateline: 28-
The declaration of Lord Uryen d’Agrillac to be an outlaw and a traitor, and his announcement that he will not recognise the authority of the Regent and that western Moonward is ‘an autonomous province’, has caused widespread consternation in the Kingdom. At Torlia, the Royal Army was placed on high alert pending a possible attempt to seize the Falcone estate by the Crown.
The d'Agrillac family has always maintained that it holds its lands around Kerak Falcone by right of inheritance rather than by right of Royal appointment, as is the case with all other estates in the Kingdom. They claim that their forebearers held western Moonward as an independent enclave throughout the Time of Thunder, and cite an ancient charter with King Lionel I in proof of their right to an independent succession within their family. Although the Crown has never formally accepted this claim in modern times, it has always confirmed a d'Agrillac as Baron of the Falcone Estate.
However there was contention following the death of the last Baron, Garanhon, when the Crown confirmed his niece Sofia as Baroness over the competing claims of his son Argon. Thus ‘Baron’ Uryen has never been formerly appointed as such by the Royal Courts. Baroness Sofia has claimed that she left the estate in the care of Uryen, her uncle and Baron Garanhon’s cousin, when she left to serve the Kingdom in the war against King Slime, taking her personal retinue with her. Uryen, she claims, then seized control of the estate in his own name and started styling himself 14th Baron d’Agrillac.
Some voices have suggested that Lord Uryen’s treasonous declaration is caused by grief over the death of his son Gwalcumai while serving the Crown in the Southern Glaciers. “I believe that Uryen d'Agrillac's actions are driven by grief and pain; he knows not what he does. He is deserving of sympathy and understanding, not anger, for his words,” declared Abbott Christian DeBarbarac of Lichtenstein Abbey, who has offered the outlaw baron sanctuary in his abbey if he will give up his rebellion.
Some however applauded Uryen’s actions. “You have rather nicely pointed out that there truly is one law for us mere poor commoners and another for you nobles,” declared Brother Alfie, the leader of the Red Scarf.
The Regent however has rejected Abbott Christian’s appeal. “However grief befuddled he may be, I'll not explain myself to a man willing to murder innocent hostages to achieve his ends. Great gods man, have you no honour at all!”
Uryen has claimed that if the Royal Army attacks the Falcone Estate he will ‘execute’
hostages. These hostages are believed to be people from the Estate loyal to Baroness
Sofia whom he had incarcerated on his self-
Both the Regent and Duchess Juliette of Torlia have expressed their desire to see Baroness Sofia restored to the Falcone estate. “I certainly will not allow the First Baroness D'Agrillac to have her title stolen away,” said the Duchess, on old friend of Sofia’s, who has offered military aid from her own retinue to support the Royal Army.