Blackwood Gazette

Blackwood Gazette: Update

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Hello! I just thought I’d drop in and let what few regular readers I have know that I’m still alive, and the Blackwood Gazette is still a priority. I’ve got big plans for the Gazette this year; the Triumvirate faces some major changes in the form of shifting alliances and technological developments, not to mention this mysterious destabilizing force known only as the Cartographers. And with Adella Chatelaine back in the game, who knows what secrets may be uncovered? Expect mystery, intrigue, and high adventure on a semi daily basis!

So what have I been working on in the interim? That’s a bit of a secret, as I have no idea if it will ever happen and I don’t want to risk looking like an asshole by announcing some huge thing and not delivering…although, I suppose it might be too late for that, so who knows. Hopefully this project I’m writing works out.

Also, full confession time: I’m playing Fallout 4, and working retail during the holidays. Anyone who’s familiar with either should know what that means for productivity without me having to get too into it.

The Gazette will resume in January. In the meantime, you can play catch up, or check out my novel, Where, No One Knows, starring recurring characters such as the agent provocateur Pixie Sinclaire, the mad alchemist Rigel Rinkenbach, and the disgraced pirate captain Roderick La Pierre.

Blackwood Gazette: Update

Blackwood Gazette #201: Adella Chatelaine Resigns from the Blackwood Gazette; Plans to Pursue Career as Independent Journalist (Lelina Horror, Conclusion)

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By Adella Chatelaine, Investigative Reporter

10/11- It is with a heavy heart that I must announce that I will not be returning to the Blackwood Gazette as a full time correspondent. My time here has, mostly, been a great chapter of my life. However, there are things that I must turn my attention to now, that I would not be able to do under the auspices of such a well-regarded publication.

During my time in the colonies and subsequent captivity, I learned of forces at work in this world that most believe do not exist. These forces are protected by an almost institutionalized sense of denial, one that I can no longer be privy to. And because of that, I believe I am a target. I cannot in good conscience drag my fellow reporters and friends into such a mess.

So I will go on alone, as an independent journalist. I will search the dark corners of this earth to ferret out the secrets of this hidden cabal that I believe is pulling the strings of world industry and development. I know not what their plans are, these Cartographers. I have my doubts that many of them even know, and I cannot even begin to fathom the place in which the diabolical experiment that so many others and I were forced to endure fits into those machinations, but I vow to find out.

A lie, after all, is a construct. And like any construct it needs to be maintained. Given time, or the proper application of force, any lie will eventually crumble. And the truth therein revealed.

I would like to thank my fellow reporters at the Gazette for their support and guidance over the years, in particular Mister Maurice Merchant, who took a chance when he hired me on after the whole Bulloch award fiasco and never gave up hope that I would return home. I don’t know where I would be without you all and the Gazette.

Fare well.

 

 

Blackwood Gazette #201: Adella Chatelaine Resigns from the Blackwood Gazette; Plans to Pursue Career as Independent Journalist (Lelina Horror, Conclusion)

The Lelina Horror, Part 4

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PIXIE (II)
24th of 5th Month, 281st Year of the Triumvirate

“Sorry about the headache,” I said, when Professor Oates started to come to. “I had to act fast, and my little sleeping pills don’t differentiate between friend and foe.”

“W-who are you?” He looked around, and tried to move. “And why am I tied up?”

“Oh, yes. I feel I must apologize for that as well. I wasn’t sure how you’d react, seeing as how I just gassed you, so to keep you from running I restrained you.”

Listening to myself speak just then I realized how wrongheaded that was.

“What do you want?”

“Well, to be honest it isn’t very different from what these two wanted.” I opened the door on a nearby broom closet to reveal Bianca and the Monteddorian stashed inside, all trussed up and still sleeping. “Information on Lelina, to be precise. Information on Adella Chatelaine and Veronica Trenum’s whereabouts, to be even more precise.”

The professor squinted at me, and recognition sparked in his eyes.

“You’re that Nor Eastern agent. Pixie Sinclaire.”

“That is I. How did you know that?”

“I saw you in the paper. You caused quite a ruckus at Miss Chatelaine’s memorial.”

“That made the papers, huh?”

“Don’t be coy, Miss Sinclaire. Everything you do makes the papers. Seems rather unbecoming, for a spy to be as high profile as you are.”

“Former spy,” I corrected, somewhat incorrectly. Truth of the matter was my status as an agent for the Nor Eastern Subterfuge Society was on-again, off-again, not unlike an unhealthy relationship. An area I had much experience in those days.

“You seemed to be adamant that Miss Chatelaine was alive,” the professor said. “Do you really think that?”

“I hope so. Especially if Veronica is with her. I figure you can attest to that, yourself.”

The Professor smiled. It was a sad smile, nostalgic. He wanted to believe it. I’m just not sure he did, and that worried me.

“What is your stake in all of this?” he asked.

“Adella is a dear friend, and Veronica a dear rival. Both are important, I feel. And, if I’m being completely honest, the tug of mystery and promise of renown should I find them appeals to me as well. Those are a distant third and far more distant fourth, I assure you. It isn’t lost on me that lives are at stake.”

“Alright, then. I’ll tell you what I know. Untie me.”

I pulled the dagger I keep in a sheath at my back and stepped forward to cut his ropes. I made it through the first one when I heard a thump from within the closet.

“Do you think you can untie your other hand?” I asked. The professor said that he could, and I excused myself.

I walked over to the closet, priming another of my sleeping bombs as I went. I stepped up to the closet door, and cracked it open. Bianca’s wild eyes peered at me from within. Even half lidded from the sleeping compound, those eyes made me feel like mouse that’s just realized it’s looking at a snake.

“Yyyooouu bi—“ I didn’t let her finish as I chucked the bomb inside and shut the door. I heard coughing and then silence. I turned back to the doctor. His mouth was agape.

“Those aren’t dangerous, are they?”

“I’d imagine they could be. Haven’t had the opportunity to test long term effects, nor do I really want to. Now, professor, let us start.”

He told me about the expedition, and who went with them. I was familiar with Mister Mackay, and his presence was a cause for concern. The Professor also told me where Adella and Veronica had gone next: a southern river port called Docryville, where they are said to have caused a bit of a scene.

“Thank you, Professor.” I turned to leave, then remembered the two hooligans stashed in the closet. They’d been interested in Lelina, as well. I figured it might be important to ask about. “One other thing…who were those two?”

“Them? They’re no one. Just a couple of leg breakers sent to collect a debt.”

“Leg breakers, you say? Dressed in matching uniforms and bearing six-shooters? My Man, you must have pissed off someone very wealthy indeed.”

“You might say that.”

“Come now, professor. I thought we were in agreement? I heard your conversation with them while I was creeping around in the hall. Who are they, really?”

The Professor, if he wasn’t frightened before, seemed to be so now. His eyes darted around the room, and his mouth worked silently, as though unable to find words.

“They…they’re Cartrographers. I think.”

“Cartographers? Map makers?”

“Not really. Ephemeral Cartographers, they’re called.”

I drew back, unsure whether to laugh or be irritated.

“The Ephemeral Cartographers? The super-secret society that supposedly pulls the strings of world events from the shadows, charting and controlling the flow of resources and guiding the development of civilization? They’re a myth.”

“If only that were so. In case you hadn’t noticed, you just gassed two of them and stuck them in a closet—“

“Where, if they’re as secretive as you say, they should be quite comfortable.”

“Except they’re working out in the open, now. This isn’t the first time I’ve had a run in with them, nor am I the only one. They’re not hiding, anymore. Something has chased them from the shadows. And that frightens me beyond belief.”

The Lelina Horror, Part 4

Blackwood Gazette #200- Adella Chatelaine, 13 Others Found Alive In Wilderness Around Point Hammond

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By Maurice Merchant, Editor in Chief

8/10- It is with a great sense of both personal and professional relief that I am able to announce the nearly year-long search for a member of the Gazette family has come to an end. Adella Chatelaine, who traveled to the colony of Lelina along with the famed archaeologist Veronica Trenum and several other acclaimed New Crowndon academics to study a recently discovered ruin in the swamp has been found, alive and relatively well, after mysteriously disappearing last year.

Details of the events leading up to her rescue are scarce at the moment, but we have been told that Miss Chatelaine, along with several others, were found trapped within the decaying remains of a large building in the woods 60 miles south of Point Hammond. Not much is known about the abandoned structure, or how Miss Chatelaine and the others came to be there.

We have no word on what happened to the rest of Miss Chatelaine’s team, though none of them were found. Miss Chatelaine herself is said to be, understandably, shaken by the experience, and local law enforcement has restricted the amount of information released to the public until a proper investigation can be made.

Pixie Sinclaire, however, is less beholden to such things.

“I’m still trying to parse out everything I saw,” Miss Sinclaire wrote in a brief statement to me. “Still trying to process it…much of it defies any attempt at rationalization, as if the thoughts themselves are alive and fighting my efforts to interpret the events in a natural, earthly way. It may just be the exhaustion, the low that comes after a rush of adrenaline and the chilliness of the horrors I saw muddling my mind, interfering with my ability to think. Perhaps, with time, I will be able to explain things better. It could also be that I have no right to attempt to explain what I saw; the best source for answers will be those, Adella among them, who lived in that nightmare for who knows how long.

“I would advise not pressing the matter on them, however, until they are ready to speak. If you truly consider Adella your friend, do not force her to relive any events that may have transpired until she is ready and willing to divulge that information herself. In fact, perhaps in just this one case, some questions are best left unanswered.

“We should simply take solace in the fact that our mutual friend, and those others found with her, have…survived (I balk at using the word ‘alive’ and hate myself for it, but I fear it may be the wrong word to use). Our only desire now should be helping them find peace.”

***

CLIFFHANGER!!!

Today marks my first feeble attempt at introducing some horror elements into the Gazette, and the larger Blackwood Empire story line, just in time for the Halloween season. It’s also going to be the last Gazette this year. With any luck, however, the answers that Pixie suggests are best kept hidden may start coming next week. I’ve always wanted to try my hand at a good old Gothic style or Lovecraftian horror story, an itch that’s only gotten worse since I’m now waist deep watching that show Penny Dreadful, so that’s what I’ll be working on the next few weeks.

The idea I’m going with is that Adella didn’t stop writing after her last fateful missive to the Gazette…she kept on, but that writing never got sent. The narrative will consist of her lost articles, leap-frogging with journals kept by Pixie Sinclaire in her search for the missing expedition. Hopefully I’ll be pleased enough with the early results to post them.

Blackwood Gazette #200- Adella Chatelaine, 13 Others Found Alive In Wilderness Around Point Hammond

Blackwood Gazette #199- “Leviathan” Prison Ship Leaves Port Under Cover of Night; To Where? No One Knows

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By Chester Seaton, News

7/10- We’ve known for some time that the privately funded, Inter-Imperial maximum security prison ship codenamed “Leviathan” was nearing completion, but no one knew when it would be ready. We now have an answer, and apparently that answer was ‘yesterday’.

Reports out of the shipyards along the Toring coast claim that the massive superstructure, composed of three converted Crowndonian Naval Warships, left its mooring at some point during the early morning hours yesterday. The port authority was given no word when it left, nor were they given a bearing.

“We expected this,” the head of Toring Port Authority told us. “About a week or so ago, we were told to keep the lanes in front of dock 75 clear for the next week. That’s where the ship was located. It’s been a pain trying to divert every ship coming in, and the amount of security we’ve had to deal with for the past three years has been a major hassle, so I have to say I’m glad it’s gone.”

There were other indications that the ship might be setting off soon, as well.

“The last three months, we’ve been seeing all these black and yellow wagons coming through town,” said one resident, who lives nearby. “I’d imagine now they were prisoners being brought in for their new digs. I’d say the thought of criminals bad enough to be incarcerated on a monster like that living nearby for that long without us being told would bother me, but hey, this is Toring Port, after all. Half the people living here should probably be on that ship.”

As for where the ship might be headed?

“Where? No one knows,” said the PA Head. “But I suppose that’s the purpose of a water-borne prison; it can be anywhere, at any time. Finding it is a pain, and getting to it is a pain, and I’d imagine getting off of it might be a pain as well.”

***

This isn’t the end of the line for the notorious prison ship know only as ‘Where, No One Knows’. You can read all about it in the first full length ‘Blackwood Empire’ Novel, now available in paperback and Kindle formats! Just click the image below for a tale of Pixie Sinclaire and other major Blackwood characters, including Roderick La Pierre, Klaus Klaudhopper, and Sir Rigel Rinkenbach, making life extremely difficult for the status quo:

Book cover, concept art

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blackwood Gazette #199- “Leviathan” Prison Ship Leaves Port Under Cover of Night; To Where? No One Knows

Blackwood Gazette #198- Mysterious Group Absconds with Sir Rigel Rinkenbach in Broad Daylight

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By Basilio Mura, Nor Easter Correspondent

6/10- Sir Rigel Rinkenbach, who has certainly had a difficult year, has apparently been kidnapped, Nor Eastern officials say.

Sir Rinkenbach was leaving the hospital where Empress Marcellette Bastian is making her recovery after being shot during the recent Arms Summit in the Divide. As he stepped out onto the walk, several unmarked motor carriages screeched onto the street in front of the hospital, and a group of unidentified men poured out.

The men, said to be wearing dark blue uniforms similar to those worn by the men who attacked the Summit, as well as the town of Point Hammond, and armed with revolvers, engaged the members of the Royal Guard appointed to protect Rinkenbach. While one of the guardsmen attempted to pull Rinkenbach into the hospital, he was shot in the back. The unidentified men then grabbed Rinkenbach, stuffed him into one of the carriages, and drove off.

The city guard attempted to give pursuit, but their own motor carriages were unable to keep pace with the attackers. This event only further re-enforces evidence that whoever this unidentified group is, they possess technology more advanced than anything currently employed by the governments of the Triumvirate.

Already, rumors and conspiracy theories are running amok through the political and scientific communities. Some have suggested the kidnapping, as well as the attack on the Summit, were orchestrated by Rinkenbach himself as a way of escaping the Nor Eastern government’s constant vigilance.

Others have pointed out that, as reported in the Gazette, the attackers attempted to assassinate Rinkenbach at the summit, while they merely kidnapped him outside the hospital, leading to all sorts of wild speculation. However, we have no way of knowing just what this group’s goals are, or what their methods in bringing those goals to fruition may be.

Nor Eastern officials are working with the Triumvirate authorities, as well as the individual militaries and law enforcement agencies of Crowndon and Monteddor to locate Sir Rigel Rinkenbach and the men responsible for his abduction.

Blackwood Gazette #198- Mysterious Group Absconds with Sir Rigel Rinkenbach in Broad Daylight

Blackwood Gazette #197- Mysterious Message Sent to Arms Summit About Impending Attack; Marcellete Bastian takes a bullet for Rigel Rinkenbach; Attacking Fleet Repelled by Alejandro Julianos and…Captain La Pierre?

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By Chester Seaton, News

2/10- The world went a little…crazy, this weekend. As the leaders of Crowndon, Nor Easter, Monteddor, and Sarnwain gathered at a secluded location in the Divide, a large fleet of unknown vessels gathered in the canyons below. The objective of this fleet remains a mystery, but if their actions are anything to go by, it was to eradicate the current power structure of the Imperial Triumvirate in one fell swoop.

Luckily, just a few short moments before the enemy fleet of airships rose up around the desert mesa where the summit was being held, security officials received a mysterious wire said to originate from the colonies. The wire warned of the attack, giving Alejandro Julianos, whose own forces were providing security, time to form a defensive perimeter.

Julianos’ ships engaged the unmarked enemy ships, which are said to have been unlike anything the world has yet seen; kept aloft not by balloons, but by complex rotor systems and armored with metal plating. Julianos did an admirable job of keep the ships at bay, despite being outnumbered, outgunned, and possessing what is, as of this weekend, severely outdated technology.

Perhaps it was this advantage on the side of the attackers that enabled them to put several boots on the ground, who stormed the central chamber of the summit building. Once again, Julianos’ ground forces put up a brave defense, cutting down all but one of the invaders.

The would-be assassin burst into the meeting chamber, where all the delegates save for one threw themselves to the ground. The assassin’s target? Presumably, it was one Rigel Rinkenbach, in attendance with Empress Marcellete Bastian. Seeing that the attacker had Rinkenbach in his sights, the Empress bravely threw herself in front of the shot, taking the bullet meant for Rinkenbach and saving the inventor’s life. The Empress is alive, but in critical condition.

Before the assassin could prepare another shot, Julianos’ soldiers entered the room and incapacitated the man. They tried to take him alive, but the attacker bit into a suicide pill.

Meanwhile, four ships remained in the skies above, the others having been destroyed or rendered inert. The attackers outnumbered Julianos’ flagship, Panther’s Reign, three to one.

The Reign seemed to be on its last legs as one of the aggressors prepared for a killing blow, when a shot from a newly arrived fifth ship struck one of the enemy ship’s rotors. The attack left the rotor-ship listing. Julianos’ crew regained their bearing, loaded up their cannon, and opened fire. As the rotor ship drifted, in flames, to the desert floor, a lookout on Julianos’ ship got a good look at the mysterious third party.

“When the ship went down and the smoke and fire faded out, I couldn’t believe what I saw out there, on the horizon, silhouetted against the setting sun…but none other than the Pernicious Platitude, and at its helm, the pirate captain La Pierre.”

La Pierre began to circle the enemy formation, drawing their fire as the Reign reloaded. The Platitude then joined formation with the Reign, and engaged the remaining attackers. Witnesses on the ground described the situation as “completely bat-shit.”

Once the remaining attackers had gone down, the Reign turned to engage the Platitude. However, we are told that Julianos ordered his gun crews to hold their fire. The Platitude then descended into the canyons below, and has not been seen since.

The Triumvirate leadership owes their survival to the mysterious communique they received just before the attack, though no one seems to know who sent it. It ends simply, “PS”. Why a missive would end with notation of a post-script, yet not actually include one, has baffled many. But Rigel Rinkenbach has a theory.

“It isn’t so very hard to understand,” Rinkenbach told us. “PS doesn’t mean post-script! They’re initials, for Pixie Sinclaire! She must have uncovered the plot and, sensing that I was in danger, sent a message! She does still love me! I knew it!”

The Triumvirate authority has stated that they will launch a full scale investigation into these events, starting of course with the identity of the mysterious attackers, though the working theory is that the enemy force is the fountainhead of all the strange weapons that have been found on battlefields around the globe. It’s hard to say what, if anything, was accomplished by the summit, but many doubt the results will be what was hoped for.

***

Man, that’s pretty much the most insane headline I’ve ever written for the Gazette…

Today’s story marks a fairly important turning point for the Blackwood Empire, and the Gazette. It’s kind of the culmination of everything that’s been going on for the last few months, and sets the stage for what I’m calling “Volume II”.

I’ve decided that, after #200, I’ll be taking a bit of a break from the Gazette for a while to revise what I’ve already written and plan out what comes next. I think it’s also time for me to focus on some more long-form work for awhile.

Thanks for reading!

Blackwood Gazette #197- Mysterious Message Sent to Arms Summit About Impending Attack; Marcellete Bastian takes a bullet for Rigel Rinkenbach; Attacking Fleet Repelled by Alejandro Julianos and…Captain La Pierre?

Blackwood Gazette #196- Rebel Leader Dougherty Reported Killed During Attack on Julianos Estate

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By Isairo Palantes, Monteddorian Correspondent

29/9-We’ve learned new details about the ground assault on Alejandro Julianos’ estate that took place alongside the air assault over Monteddor City yesterday. While the majority of the city’s defense resources were engaged not only with the enemy aircraft, but several newly reported infantry incursions along the outskirts of the city as well, a small band of rebels infiltrated the estate.

Leading the rebels was none other than the enigmatic Dougherty herself. The rebel leaders’ plan had been to initiate the city wide attack in order pull resources away from Julianos’ defense, and while the distraction certainly thinned the ranks gathered around the military commander’s compound, Dougherty apparently didn’t plan for Julianos’ personal guard.

While Dougherty and her men are said to have made an admiral sprint for the estate’s main building, Julianos’ body guards were able to route the rebels into a small courtyard. Once inside, the body guards cut down the intruders with ease. To add insult to injury, Julianos wasn’t even present in the city, as his fleet prepares to aid in providing security for the Triumvirate Summit this week.

Included among the dead is the rebel leader Dougherty, along with most of her best lieutenants and a platoon sized force of rebel fighters. Upon hearing of her death, the rest of the attacking forces surrendered. Those who laid down their arms were arrested; anyone else was promptly shot.

The Monteddorian military believes that with Dougherty gone, the remnants of her farmer’s rebellion will be easily crushed as it descends into anarchy, an eventuality many intelligence analysts suggest was already on the verge of occurring. This impending collapse is likely the reason why Dougherty made such a large gamble in the first place.

“This is not a day for pride,” Julianos’ representative stated. “Both Julianos and the High King can express only relief that this conflict has reached its end. Perhaps now we may be able to turn our attentions outward and continue to expand Monteddor’s brilliant influence further across both the Triumvirate, and the world.”

***

This would seem to be the end for Dougherty, leader of the Monteddorian rebellion. Or is it?

<dramatic pause>

Find out the truth in the first full-length Blackwood Empire novel, Where, No One Knows, available now on Kindle!

Blackwood Gazette #196- Rebel Leader Dougherty Reported Killed During Attack on Julianos Estate

Blackwood Gazette #195- Julianos’ Crack Pilots Engage Rebels in Epic Dogfight Over Monteddor City

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By Isairo Palantes, Monteddorian Correspondent

28/9- The skies above Monteddor’s capital erupted in a storm of flame and metal today, as the remaining number of Dragonfly Aircraft stolen by the rebel leader Dougherty attacked. Military commanders say that the fighters were targeting a number of Julianos warships stationed in Skydock above the city’s northern airbase.

The attack came just after dawn, as the airships in question began loading up on munitions for their next deployment. The newly loaded munitions, stored on the top deck of the ship before being moved down below, offered an enticing target to the rebels.

The stolen fighter planes managed to strike the payloads of two of the six warships, igniting the munitions and sending the ships crashing into the air yard below. One of the downed ships crushed a hangar where food and medical supplies were being stored.

The rogue aircraft were about to engage a third ship, when a squadron of Monteddorian fighters from a base on the west side were scrambled and moved to engage. This squadron was none other than the elite “Flying Panthers” fighter squadron, a group of elite pilots assembled for the sole purpose of hunting the rebel planes. At the head of the formation was none other than Captain Anassia Degadas herself.

Witnesses on the ground say that the fight between the Panthers, outnumbered two to one, and the rebel fighters was an astonishing sight to behold as the two groups swarmed around each other, trading shots and outmaneuvering one another until finally the Panthers were able to corral the attackers into a tightly packed, nearly wing to wing formation. Once this was accomplished, the fight was over in seconds.

We are told that the Panthers did not engage in the same ‘playful’ behavior as their last encounter with the rebels, going instead for quick kills. Only two of the rebel fighters were able to break away from the fighting, but Degadas and her wingman gave pursuit and shot both planes down.

In addition to the aerial attack on the air base, we are told that a small group of rebels engaged in a simultaneous attack on the personal compound of Alejandro Julianos. Details on this attack are scarce at the moment, but it is believed that all combatants were either captured or killed, and that they intended to target Julianos himself, who is said to have been in the city on personal business. More as it develops.

Blackwood Gazette #195- Julianos’ Crack Pilots Engage Rebels in Epic Dogfight Over Monteddor City

Blackwood Gazette #194- Second Julianos Expeditionary Arrives in the Colonies, Heads Directly Into the Deadlands

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By Chester Seaton, News

25/9- The second wave of Alejandro Julianos’ expeditionary force arrived in the colonies last week. Unlike the first wave, which landed in the Monteddorian colony of Sal Diello, the second wave headed directly over the mountains into the Deadlands.

Citizens of Sal Diello claim that a small team of scientists from the first wave have set up a workspace in an old warehouse on the shore, which they report maintains a twenty four hour work cycle. They also say that ships come up the coast bi-weekly to drop off and pick up supplies and personnel.

The Julianos scientists are said to come to town often for R&R, and while they have no qualms about mingling with the colony’s citizens, they are reticent about discussing their work. However, they tell us that one night a team member got deep into his cups and began describing an “impending event that will soon change the way the world works, that will rearrange the current structure of power and economic balance, and will completely change if not erase the current borders of the Empire.” Or something to that effect.

Said staff member has not been seen in town since.

In any case, Julianos’ interests in whatever lies south of the mountains and in the Deadlands remains a source of mystery and, for many, concern. This is the first report we have of an expedition entering the mysterious Deadlands and returning. Rumor has it that the Triumvirate Authority and ruling bodies of Crowndon, Nor Easter, and Monteddor are very concerned about what has been discovered.

Even Monteddorian High King Mario Adallantes, who many believe to be nothing more than a puppet for Julianos, has been reported as suggesting the possibility of reigning Julianos in and demanding an explanation for his activities.

As always, Alejandro Julianos himself could not be reached for comment, and even his spokesperson declined to make a statement, hinting very strongly that the Blackwood Gazette had been blacklisted by Julianos following our recent reports on the disappearance of Andoni Saldazar.

Blackwood Gazette #194- Second Julianos Expeditionary Arrives in the Colonies, Heads Directly Into the Deadlands