Volume 1, Issue 3 - Nightal 1375

[Velaryon]

TMI Seeks New Office Location
Story by Morris Melville

Greetings, readers! We would like to welcome you to the third issue of the Tethyrian Monthly Inquirer! It is our hope that you will enjoy this issue, and also that we will help you become more informed on the events happening in the great nation of Tethyr as well as all of Faerun.

Before we start things off with this month's top news stories, TMI would like to announce that we are seeking new locations for our main office and central warehouse. Due to the urgent demands on our staff's time to keep our proverbial fingers on the pulse of Tethyr, we cannot shop around ourselves at the moment as would be the standard practice for most. It is this reporter's hope that interested landlords with office space available for rent can contact our central office with information including location, rental costs, and amenities. An office with modest living space attached would be ideal but is not required. Because of the nature of our business, our office must be located near a major city such as Zazesspur, Darromar, Myratma, or Riatavin.

Any interested parties can inquire by letter, courier, or in person at: 17B Darrom Lane, Market District, Zazesspur.

[Velaryon]

Have a News Tip to Share? An Advertisement to Place? Let Us Know!
Story by Morris Melville

In pursuit of our ongoing mission to bring the best and most up-to-date news items to the people of Tethyr, the Tethyrian Monthly Inquirer is always in need of a good news tip. If you have a lead on a good story, TMI wants to talk to you!

TMI pays top silver (or gold) for verifiable news tips. We are only interested in the truth, no rumors, libel, or lies!

In addition, we have lots of space for advertisements, ranging from individual postings in our classified section to quarter-page or half-page advertisements. TMI's editor-in-chief reserves the right to approve or reject all advertisements.

[Velaryon]

Profiles in Nobility: Count Thallatos
Story by Morris Melville

In this new featured column, we will profile a member of Tethyr's nobility every month. Here you'll learn the history, personality, and all the exciting stories about the people that govern our nation. This month's profile is on the newest and most talked-about member of the noble class, the new Count of Bardshyr. TMI has as yet been unable to procure an interview with the young Count, but we have compiled a profile based on public information and interviews with people who have met him.

There are a lot of rumors and mystery surrounding Count Thallatos. His surname, if he has one, is currently unknown to the general public. A source at the clerk's office in Darromar confirmed that the Count did sign a last name on his Writ-Nobila, but was unable to provide that name. So not much is known of the Count's early life, although he does appear to be native-born Tethyrian and as far as we know, fully human.

The Count is believed to be a practitioner of arcane magic, though it's not known whether his talent is learned or innate, nor whether he specializes in a particular school of magic. There have been reports from various sources that he has been seen to be accompanied by varied beasts and monsters, so he may be a summoner.

In 1372, Thallatos opened a shop with a business partner named Elysa in the Caravan Quarter of Darromar named Deals & Heals. Though the shop is closed now, a neighbor informed us that Deals & Heals sold assorted goods but was also a private investigation firm. Though the business has been closed since early this year, Count Thallatos still owns the building. The whereabouts of his business partner Elysa are unknown at this time.

(continued on next page)

[Velaryon]

Profiles in Nobility: Count Thallatos, continued from Page 1
Story by Morris Melville

Sometime after closing up his shop earlier this year, Thallatos joined the Silver Shield Mercenary Guild. While a Guild representative declined to offer specifics about what missions Thallatos performed for the Silver Shields, it is believed he primarily worked alone for several months, until joining forces with a party of adventurers around the beginning of Eleasis. This party, believed to include Tethyrian man Leon'ard Letum, a centaur named Tyrrox Zym, and a moon elf named Vanemuine Kuu (possibly among others), proceeded to escort a secret caravan of much-needed food supplies through the countryside to Darromar, fending off frequent attacks from demons (more on that later).

Upon reaching the capital, this intrepid party of adventurers were hailed as heroes, and also turned over a captured fugitive wanted in Myratma for two counts of murder. They were celebrated by Her Royal Highness Queen Zaranda Star Rhindaun and her court.

Shortly afterward, Thallatos and his new compatriots became embroiled in conflict with a deadly group of thieves, assassins, and worshippers of the demon goddess Lolth. This sinister organization, known as the Eyes of Night, operated from a covert location in Myratma and engaged in a brutal underworld contest with other local thieves' guilds for control of the port city. After fending off numerous attacks by the Eyes of Night, this group of brave heroes forged an alliance with a local gang known as the Red Lotus (see our exclusive interview with a Red Lotus lieutenant in last month's issue) to take down the guild, as well as another gang called the Bone Claws. Though the Red Lotus gang was also taken into legal custody, two young women formerly belonging to the gang have apparently attached themselves to the Count as bodyguards.

For these services, Thallatos was raised to the rank of Count by King Haedrak III, and sold the property formerly known as Castle Tethyr. He resplaces Lord Lhorik Sunspear as the head of County Bardshyr. Lord Sunspear, currently the Royal Trade Chancellor, has been changed from a Count to a Baron, which carries an equivalent rank but does not confer ownership of a county. Lord Sunspear, who retains ownership of his keep at Saharkhan, was approached for comment by TMI.

"I am quite content with the arrangement," said Baron Sunspear. "My duties to the Crown, particularly in these times, keep me far away from Bardshyr and I cannot say I miss the additional responsibilities. While I have not yet met the Count, I have utmost confidence in the judgment of His Majesty the King, and am sure that his new Count will do well by the people of Bardshyr."

Since moving into his new home, the Count has proven fairly reclusive and difficult to reach. Helena Letum, evidently a spokesperson for the Count, has informed TMI that he and his allies are hard at work trying to solve the mystery of why Tethyr has remained in drought for so many months.

The Count's manor has become a bustling hive of activity, as multiple construction crews have begun renovating the ruined castle and reviving the surrounding area. As of late Uktar, the population of the castle is estimated to be several hundred strong and growing. You can be sure that TMI will be keeping close tabs on further developments in this area.

[Velaryon]

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[Velaryon]

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[Velaryon]

TMI Opens the Eyes of Night
Story by Morris Melville

After the resounding success of last month's interview with Toshiro, a lieutenant of Myratma's Red Lotus gang, we here at TMI are proud to present a second interview with someone who has an insider's perspective on the Golden Days of Eleint, a period of several days in which a band of adventurers teamed up with King Haedrak to declare war on several thieves' guilds in Myratma. This month, we have an exclusive interview with Lualin Do'iryn, formerly a prominent member of the Eyes of Night gang.

To look at Lualin, the absolute last description that comes to mind is "dangerous killer." Although she is tall by drow standards, everything about Ms. Do'iryn (pronounced Doe-EAR-in, more or less), from her soft pink eyes to her earnest and sometimes downright bubbly demeanor makes this writer think more of a young girl selling flowers in the market, rather than the deadly sniper her reputation claims he to be. However, this is belied by the heavy manacles she wears and the ten armed guards present for the interview.

TMI:Thank you for granting us this interview. Our readers are excited to shine some more light on the events that happened in Myratma a few months ago.

Lualin: "Eww, shine some light? Do you really have to put it like that? You surface people are way too fond of all that light."

TMI: Actually, we didn't mean it that way. We just want to know what happened beneath the Efreetium that day.

Lualin: "Oh, I know. I'm just teasing you, silly. But really, what's with this "we" you keep saying? There's just one of you."

TMI: Um... it's a journalistic "we." I'm speaking on behalf of the newspaper, and by extension the people of Tethyr.

Lualin: "If you say so. What would you like to know?"

TMI: Let's begin at the beginning. How did you come to join the Eyes of Night?

Lualin: "My mom sort of roped me into it."

TMI: Your mother?

Lualin: "Yeah. She was the boss. Well, one of 'em anyway. She and Azir were pretty much equals, though I don't think either of them would say so. They each thought they were the one really pulling the strings, you know?"

TMI: That sounds confusing. So the guild had two factions?

Lualin: "Right. There was us and then there were the humans. Cashalite, is that the right name? People from the country to the south?"

TMI: Calishite. You were close. So how did these two groups unite into one guild?

Lualin: "To be honest I don't know. I mean, I was there, when they made their pact, but I wasn't really paying attention."

TMI: Seriously? Not paying attention? Don't you think that's a little hard to believe?

Lualin: "Look, you never met my mother. She was all 'glory to Lolth this,' and 'kill the surface-dwellers that,' and 'you're a disgrace to your House and your goddess.' All. The. Time. Can you blame me for tuning that out?"

TMI: I, uh... I guess not. So you're not a follower of the Spider Queen?

Lualin: "I don't know. She seems like kind of a buzzkill. Oh my gosh, can you believe I just called a major goddess a buzzkill? I am so not going to drow heaven, or wherever it is we'e supposed to go when we die. I mean, don't get me wrong. I'm no friend of the Seldarine, and I don't follow Eilistraee or anything. I guess I'm just out for me, never mind what the gods want."

TMI: Isn't that a bit unusual for the daughter of a priestess of Lolth?

Lualin: "Oh, you bet. That's what I meant by the whole 'disgrace to your House' bit. I never paid attention in my theology classes. But I still had a lot of fun - you wouldn't believe some of the stuff I pulled on Mistress Melarn. I think I must have let her spiders loose at least ten times. Swapped all her chalk for grubworms. Stole the key to her written tests and sold the answers to my classmates. The best one was when I let a baby rothé loose during the ordination ceremony. It got me expelled and it was funny as hell. Win-win, I say."

TMI: Why didn't you want to become a priestess? Aren't they the most powerful and respected people in drow society?

Lualin: "Sure, and the most feared. But they're so dull! And I don't have the head for spellcasting anyway. Like, I'm no dummy but I just don't do the spell thing. I'm lucky sometimes if I remember how to do a simple faerie fire."

TMI: So why stay with your House at all? You don't seem to like the structure of drow society.

Lualin: "This coming to the surface thing sounded interesting. New places to see, people to kill, you know. I mean, I'm proud of who I am. I'm no Drizzt. He's a traitor to his people, if you haven't hear of him. Came to the surface up north somewhere, lives with humans and dwarves and such I think. Pretty infamous guy in the Underdark, you could say. I'm not like that, I just like doing my own thing. Go out on the town made up all drab, find a convenient rooftop or alleyway or something, put a crossbow bolt through a guy's eye at ninety paces, that kind of thing."

TMI :Uh... right. So, what were your mother's goals in teaming up with a Calishite gang?

Lualin: "Well, we were new to the world above. We needed contacts, information, people besides me who could go out into the world without being obvious. They needed magic. I guess it seemed like a good fit. And they weren't so bad for the most part. Except that Yoren guy, he was a creep."

TMI: Who is Yoren?

Lualin: "Was. He's dead now. One of the Cashalites. Biggest coward you ever met, as long as you were looking at him. But as soon as he thought your back was turned, he'd put a sword through it. I'm also pretty sure he tried to watch me while I was changing a few times. But even that was nothing like poor Erisha."

TMI: Erisha?

Lualin: "Nice girl. Would have been nice if she put some clothes on once in awhile though, instead of parading her girls around practically hanging out of that dancer's outfit. I ask you, who fights half naked like that? It's ridiculous. She was pretty I guess, for a human anyway, but way too... oh god, I sound like such a prude, don't I?"

TMI: We're getting a little off track here. How did the Eyes of Night cross paths with Count Thallatos and his companions?

Lualin: "Well, the first time was that dance contest fiasco back in Flamerule, I think it was. There was a nice prize up for grabs, and Erisha was a dancer, so we entered her in to win it. Even bribed one of the judges. Only problem is that apparently every other guild in the city had the same idea. So many people showed up there ready to steal, intimidate, or kill whoever they had to just for a flying carpet. I don't remember seeing your Count there, but some of the others he ran with, they were there. You can't miss those guys. Huge centaur covered hooves to head in plate. The one guy, I think he's human but I'm no sure, maybe some kind of demon or devil. He's got wings, some magic but mom said she didn't think he was a wizard. There was even a dragonborn with them. You don't see those every day. When everything went south and all the blades came out, those guys swiped the prize right out from under our noses and ran off with it. I saw that pale guy from the Red Lotus (Editor's Note: she's referring to Toshiro, whom we interviewed last issue) jump onto the flying carpet and try to stop them, but he got knocked off."

TMI: You said that was the first time. When did you encounter them again?

Lualin: "We had this sweet thing going where we were hitting Silver Shield gold shipments. Had a man inside the local guild outpost. He would supply me with times and travel routes, and we'd hit them, take the gold, and be gone before anyone knew what was up. This Count guy went undercover in the Silver Shields, while the guy with the wings followed our inside man straight back to me. That one made me mad. I had to kill Samir - that was his name... the guild guy I mean, not the one with the wings - for exposing us like that. No big loss, he wasn't one of us anyway. But thanks to him, your Count and his buddies stopped our attack on the gold shipments. They even killed Erisha, though we got her back eventually.

Well, mom and the Pasha, Azir I mean, they decided they had to go after these people. They'd made us look weak, so we had to take them out. We had just driven out the Shadow Thieves - you're welcome, by the way - and we had the Bone Claws on their heels, but the Red Lotus was playing spoiler and the Whisperknives were always lurking around, so we couldn't take any chances, according to mom anyway. Azir seemed to think the same, so we went after them. Demons conjured by my mom. Ambush parties led by Yoren, or Erisha. Not so much me, I kept it local because I had other things going. I guess that was a mistake, huh? (she laughs ruefully) Should have handled them myself, before they came at us in force. Anyway, they came back to town, this time with your Count definitely in the group. I don't know how they found us, but they blew right through the underground maze hiding our headquarters like it wasn't there."

TMI: This was beneath the Efreeteum?

Lualin: "Yeah. That was something Azir set up for us. I don't know if most of the restaurant staff knew what they had under their establishment, but it was great cover. Everyone was wearing masks there, so it was easy to come and go without attracting too much notice. Or that's what we thought anyway. Somehow they found us, probably struck a deal with one of the other gangs. The rest is history. They killed Erisha again, killed Yoren finally, killed dozens of our best men and women. And the Cashalites too. (Another laugh). They even killed my mom, which I have to say is pretty impressive. She was pretty high in Lolth's favor, threw around some really powerful mojo. Pretty much killed everybody but me, Azir, and my... um, never mind."

TMI: Your what?

Lualin: "Nobody. Drop it."

TMI: O...kay. So if you could say anything you wanted to those adventurers, what would you tell them?

Lualin: "Tentacles? Really? Talk about gross. Enjoy your fame and fortune while it lasts, boys. You all are some scary people, but we almost had you. Maybe someday it won't be almost."

[Velaryon]

International News: Uproar in Thay as Second Zulkir Killed
Story by Morris Melville

In the far-off land of Thay, political turmoil has taken after Aznar Thrul, Zulkir of Evocation, was found dead of apparent evisceration in his mage tower. The death is being attributed to Mari Agneh, a former Tharchion (similar to a regional governor or Count) who had later become Thrul's slave.

Given that Thay is many thousands of miles from Tethyr and the two nations have no diplomatic relations, readers may not be familiar with the land or its personages. Thankfully, TMI is able to acquire news from far-off lands in order to help its readers learn about lands from all corners of Faerun, nay, lands from all corners of Toril itself.

Thay is a magocracy, ruled by a council of eight mages, known as Zulkirs. Traditionally, each Zulkir represents one school of arcane magic, and is typically a wizard specialized in the study of that particular school.

Thrul is the second Zulkir to die this year; Druxus Rhym, Zulkir of Transmutation, was murdered by an unknown assassin in early Ches of this year. No replacement Zulkir has yet been named for either position, leaving Thay's ruling council at only six members for the moment. TMI was unable to learn the names of any likely successors for either Druxus Rhym or Aznar Thrul, but given the Thayans' far-reaching influence, readers may be assured that the whole continent is watching to see who fills these two positions of power.

And you thought Tethyr was the "land of intrigue!"