Blackwood Gazette #116: Monteddorian Ruins Damaged While Rooting Out Bandits; New Discoveries Made in Aftermath

By Isairo Palantes, Monteddorian Correspondent

8/5-Julianos forces tracking a group of rebels recently attacked an encampment located in the ruins of Tarambor, an ancient Monteddorian burial vault. When the dust settled, it was discovered that the ruins had been heavily damaged. But while such damage would typically be considered an academic tragedy, it seems there is a bright spot to be found.

“An ammo cache ignited when a stray bullet hit it,” said Colonel Estevar Araines. “It was stacked against the wall in what I’m told is the ‘rear antechamber’ or some such. It blew a hole in the floor, revealing an undiscovered passage that led deeper into the ground.”

While archaeologists around the world are livid about the way the passage was discovered, their curiosity about what could be found within has somewhat quelled their anger.

“Tarambor, until this point, was considered to be of little significance,” said Professor Juan Nunez, of the University of Monteddor City. “Not that that excuses the damage, of course. In any case, the discovery of this new passage means we must re-evaluate our current understanding of the structure of Monteddor’s ancient burial vaults. I am petitioning to form a team to be the first inside.”

It appears that Professor Nunez will be waiting for a while, as five other Universities, two of them from Nor Easter, are also petitioning for excavation rights. At the moment, the ruins are under the guard of Julianos forces.

“I don’t know whether to laugh or cry about that,” Professor Nunez went on to say. “Hopefully Alejandro Julianos is not too preoccupied with his little war to blind himself to the importance of this site, not only in Monteddorian history, but the history of the Triumvirate as well.”

Blackwood Gazette #116: Monteddorian Ruins Damaged While Rooting Out Bandits; New Discoveries Made in Aftermath

Blackwood Gazette #106: Julianos’ Forces Issue Bounty on Bandit Responsible for Soldiers’ Death

by Chester Seaton, News

23/4- The investigation into the deaths of five Julianos soldiers in a small Monteddorian farming community has already borne fruit. A spokesperson for Julianos issued a statement today about the suspected assassin.

“We believe we are looking for a woman named Dougherty,” the spokesperson said. “She is the daughter of a Monteddorian woman and a Crowndonian expatriate named Alexander Dougherty, a deserter of the Air Corps who left the northern empire after the Minor Disagreement thirty five years ago.

“She is dark of hair, in her late twenties/early thirties, and said to favor her Monteddorian mother, which will allow her to blend in with the populace, except for a mess of scars and tattoos on her arms. It is reported that she keeps these covered with long sleeves.

“Though she is unremarkable in appearance, eye witnesses say she carries a revolver. Given the rarity of such weapons, and even rarer the possession of such weapons by Monteddorian women, we have faith that the bandit named Dougherty will be found soon.”

Julianos has issued a 200,000 tallo (roughly 20,000 gold pieces) bounty for Dougherty, dead or alive, and a 50,000 tallo reward for information leading to her capture or death. The statement also states that Dougherty is travelling with a platoon strength force of supporters. That force is slowly growing larger, as Dougherty is actively recruiting.

“We stress caution when trying to deal with Dougherty,” the spokesperson said. “Though most of the people supporting her are merely farmers, the numbers and fervor with which they are said to defend her have already become storied in the region.

“She’s become a hero among the folk. We must proceed with caution.”

The Bandit, "Dougherty"
copyright@blackwoodempire.com. Drawing by Ryan Pierce

 

Blackwood Gazette #106: Julianos’ Forces Issue Bounty on Bandit Responsible for Soldiers’ Death

Blackwood Gazette #102-Julianos Soldiers Found Slaughtered; Full Strength Garrison Moves In

by Isairo Palantes, Monteddorian Correspondent

16/4-The newly formed security forces of Alejandro Julianos are being tested this week as the tensions between the new regime and farmers in the region have reached fever pitch.
Earlier this week, five soldiers tasked with overseeing crop collection lines were found dead in a local brothel, their throats cut and their weapons stolen.

“We swear, we have no idea who did this,” said the owner of the brothel, one Serita Ines Dionisio. “It certainly wasn’t any of mine; the men who were killed had just arrived, and I sent them upstairs to wait. They were already dead when I sent the girls up.”

In response to the death, Alejandro Julianos himself ordered a full battalion to move in and reinforce the soldiers already in the town. The local residents aren’t happy.

“These upstarts don’t get it,” said one man, who asked to remain anonymous. “They get mad, they stop thinking. I don’t like all these men either, or these new tithes. But you kill five, you get ten more for each one, standing on every corner, watching every move you make and just looking for an excuse. Yes, part of me wants to give these glorified goons the boot, but part of me also wants this assassin found, because until he, or they, are identified, these men see us all as a threat. Even then, who knows?”

Blackwood Gazette #102-Julianos Soldiers Found Slaughtered; Full Strength Garrison Moves In

Blackwood Gazette #92- Protests Flare Up in Southern Monteddor Over New Taxation Policies

By Chester Seaton, News

9/3-The recent shift of power in Monteddor has led to civil unrest in the southern Empire this week, as several agricultural collectives gathered at farmers markets along Monteddor’s Llopesquo River to protest the new trade taxes being implemented on their goods.

“They call them a ‘security tax’, to pay for increased protection along the river,” said Saldivar Nnavante, a fruit farmer from a small village near the river. “But they are nothing more than extortion monies. Which is nothing new around here, but at least before we knew who we were paying, and those people never took more than we could afford. Now it’s some boss in a ministry somewhere, putting a flat rate on everything. I don’t even have to go very far, just five miles, but I’m expected to pay the same as a man who must go all the way to the coast? Don’t even get me started on the crop tributes.”

It is these crop tributes that most of the protestors seem to take an issue with. Alejandro Julianos, now the ruling military authority within Monteddor’s borders, has demanded that food growers and ranchers ‘donate’ 30% of their goods to feed soldiers in the area. Similar requests have been made of hotels, brothels, and other services in the region.

“Change is always difficult,” a Julianos spokesperson wrote in an official press release. “Often, it is quite painful, and there is no doubt that many enterprises will fall or be absorbed by the state when all is said and done. But the new High King, together with Admiral Julianos, believe that this change will make for a stronger Monteddor, one that will rival even Crowndon in its military and industrial might. I think everyone will agree that it’s high time those pasty, haggis eating bullies in the north get taken down a notch.

“I mean, they call themselves ‘The Crown’, and yet they don’t even have a monarch. Who the hell do they think they are?”

Crowndon official have yet to address the spokesperson’s comments.

Blackwood Gazette #92- Protests Flare Up in Southern Monteddor Over New Taxation Policies

Blackwood Gazette #88-Raphael Valiente Dethroned as Marco Desantana Surrenders

By Chester Seaton, New

2/2- The siege of Monteddor’s capitol continues to wind down this week. With the Julianos/Crowndon alliance officially recognized by the Crown, High King Raphael Valiente came to terms with the forces at his doorstep.

Valiente met with both Julianos and Fleet Admiral Winston Johannes this weekend, where he surrendered Blackwood magnate Marco Desantana. As of the most recent reports, Desantana was taken, alive, into the custody of Julianos’ forces, and his daughter Yolanda was officially appointed head of the family company.

Valiente was forced to surrender the crown as well. Many expected Julianos to assume the throne, but instead the position was given to Lord Mario Adallantes. Adallantes is rumored to be a paramour of the High Queen Romana Valiente who, despite the removal of her husband, has been allowed to remain on her seat. Julianos has been granted several governorships and several industrial and military contracts that all but make him the most powerful man in Monteddor.

As for the alliance, Crowndon has been granted first favors on several contracts within the Blackwood industry, including patrolling shipping routes and preference in allotment queues. This has caused an uproar in Nor Easter, who has not yet seen a lift in blockades. Yolanda Desantana claims the blockades have been lifted, but it will take ‘some time’ for some shipping schedules to return to normal.

Blackwood Gazette #88-Raphael Valiente Dethroned as Marco Desantana Surrenders

Blackwood Gazette #87-DEVELOPING: Crowndon Joins Julianos in Apparent Military Alliance

By Chester Seaton, News

26/1- The situation in Monteddor has taken a surprising turn this weekend, after the Crowndon military force mobilized late last week. According to reports coming out of the Monteddorian captial and the surrounding townships, an Imperial envoy was seen docking with Alejandro Julianos’ flagship in the late afternoon last freisday.

Several hours later, the main body of the Crowndonian Royal Air Corps arrived in the skies above the capital. Witnesses say that expected a battle to break out between Crowndon and Julianos’ forces. However, they watched in silence as the Air Corps warships fell in ranks with Julianos’ ships.

As of this mursday morning, the Crowndon military leadership has yet to release an official statement on this apparent alliance. However, we have received reports that the blockades of Blackwood supply routes into Crowndon have been lifted, and ships loaded with Blackwood have begun arriving in Toring, Walsh, and other major centers of trade.

As for the situation on the ground in the Monteddorian capitol, solid reports have been difficult to come by. One source claims that Julianos and Crowndon military officers left their ships yesterday afternoon to discuss terms of surrender with High King Raphael Valiente. More reports of small arms fire in the streets of the city followed thereafter. Whether or not this gunfire can be attributed to conflict or celebration remains to be seen.

Blackwood Gazette #87-DEVELOPING: Crowndon Joins Julianos in Apparent Military Alliance

Blackwood Gazette #86-Julianos/Desantana Remain Steadfast as Crowndon Amasses for Invasion

By Chester Seaton

19/1- The Triumvirate holds its collective breath today as Crowndon’s military forces begin gathering along the northern Monteddorian coast in preparation for an invasion. The goal of the invasion is to break the siege of the Monteddorian capital by Alejandro Julianos and Yolanda Desantana.

Many have predicted, and hoped, that this show of force may persuade Julianos and Desantana to break their siege or, at the very least, loosen their hold on Blackwood supply routes to the north. Despite the largest military in the world knocking on their door, the duo has remained steadfast.

Reaction to the growing force continues to draw skepticism and downright ire, both from Nor Easter, and from within Crowndon itself. Many analysts argue that Crowndon lacks the resources for a drawn out fight with Monteddor so soon after losing a war with Nor Easter. And Nor Easter is understandably nervous as well, seeing its former adversary mobilizing so soon.

Crowndon military officials claim that they have extended the offer of Alliance with Nor Easter, both to ease their angst and to make use of their extensive talents in intelligence gathering and sabotage. Nor Easter has instead refused such entreaties, calling Crowndon’s decision to interfere in Monteddorian concerns under the guise of restoring Blackwood shipments a pretense for restoring world standing after their defeat.

Of even more concern to some is the involvement of several privateering and mercenary interests based in Libertine’s Roost throwing in with the Crowndon military, as ramshackle ships belonging to those most people would describe as pirates have been reported following in the wake of Naval and Air Corps flotillas.

Plans for the invasion beyond the current muster remain under wraps, though there are rumblings that it could be underway within the next week.

Blackwood Gazette #86-Julianos/Desantana Remain Steadfast as Crowndon Amasses for Invasion

Blackwood Gazette #80: Northern Crowndon Faces Harsh Winter

16/12- Things are looking increasingly bleak in Northern Crowndon, since the first snows began to fall mid last month.

As previously reported, the situation in Monteddor has led to severe rationing of Blackwood in the Crowndonian Empire. Measures were taken to keep the small settlements and townships of Northern Crowndon alight, but as the conflict has drawn out those meager allotments have stopped completely. With winter in full swing now, even Caldebeck Bay, the largest city in the north, has gone dark.

To make matters worse, no one has heard from small villages like Nostholm in nearly a month. Imperial officials claim that the final reports from the region indicated that several of the town’s citizens were planning on migrating south to Caldebeck Bay, but no one ever arrived. Bay officials claimed to send out search parties, but harsh weather conditions prevented them from crossing the mountains.

With its northern territories facing significant losses due to exposure and starvation, the Crowndon government is facing increased pressure to intervene in the Desantana conflict. Their stance as of this report, however, remains the same: out of concern for disrupting the balance of power created by the alliances of the Triumvirate, neither the Empire of Crowndon, nor the Empire of NorEaster, will intervene in Monteddorian affairs without the blessing of Monteddor’s government, who continue to insist they have control over the situation. Monteddor’s capital city, meanwhile, finds itself in the second month of a siege by forces led by Alejandro Julianos and Yolanda Desantana.

***

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Blackwood Gazette #80: Northern Crowndon Faces Harsh Winter

Blackwood Gazette #78: Monteddor City Under Siege!

By Chester Seaton

27/10- The ‘family dispute’ between Blackwood magnate Marco Desantana and his heir, Yolanda, is threatening to escalate into a full scale war. Imperial officials report this morning that Yolanda Desantana, in a joint maneuver with Alejandro Julianos, have surrounded the Monteddorian capital and are blocking all traffic in and out of the city.

So far, the siege has not led to any large scale skirmishes with the Monteddorian military, who have been stationed throughout the city. High King Raphael Valiente claims that the situation is completely under control, although Crowndon intelligence points to another situation entirely.

“The force controlled by Alejandro Julianos and Yolanda Desantana isn’t some crowd of riotous thugs,” said one intelligence officer. “They are armies in and of themselves, and combined they outnumber the military presence in Monteddor City four to one. High King Valiente’s only hope is to capitulate to the demands set forth by Julianos and Desantana and give her father up, or hope for the other royal families to intervene, which isn’t likely. They’re waiting for their own opportunities.”

Besides numbers, Julianos has another advantage: air superiority in the form of several squadrons of fighter planes. How he got a hold of these aircraft is still a mystery, and is being called one of the biggest intelligence failures in the history of the Triumvirate.

Blackwood Gazette #78: Monteddor City Under Siege!

Blackwood Gazette #47: Monteddorian Festival of Ancestry Ends Peacefully, Despite Hight Tensions

by Chester Seaton, News

28/7- Despite several situations which were ripe for violence, Festival of Ancestry in Monteddor has ended with no major bloodshed.

Tensions were highest over the De Santana family gathering. The recitation of Lineage was performed by Blackwood magnate Marco De Santana. After several raids on De Santana refineries the week before, authorities believed that violence at the event was inevitable. And even though De Santana’s daughter, Yolanda, is believed to be behind the attacks, they stood together during the recitation, and onlookers say they got along without animosity, even if Yolanda’s attitude toward her father was described as cold. She also left the ceremony before it ended, and has not been heard from since.

Another event that many believed would spark violence was the official induction of the Julianos name into the royal circle. Alejandro Julianos was viewed as merely an opportunistic upstart less than a decade ago, and as always, there are rumors surrounding plots against him. Even more, Julianos did not appear at the festival in person, opting to accept his position among the royal families in a letter.

What should have been viewed as an affront, we are told, has instead been downplayed in Monteddorian circles. And, as it has been for two centuries, the fifth Royal ancestral tree stands unpainted, a stark reminder of the massacre that occurred at the Festival so long ago. While some believe this was merely an oversight, others believe it is Julianos sending a clear signal to anyone who would threaten his new claim to power.

**Apologies to anyone who reads Blackwood Gazette regularly for not posting yesterday. My internet was down most of the day, and when it finally came back up it was so slow as to be unusable. Everything’s working properly, now, so…here’s yesterdays post, today! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I still need to write today’s post, ha ha.

Blackwood Gazette #47: Monteddorian Festival of Ancestry Ends Peacefully, Despite Hight Tensions