The Chronicle

of the month of Jasmarill in the year 144

The City is slowly recovering from the Great Fire, with many parts of the recovery plan devised by Sheriff Dixon and the Crisis Committee now in place. The scale of the damage to the city is becoming apparent; the rebuilding costs are estimated at many thousands of pounds. With the serious budget crisis caused by the devastation of a large area of the city, many of the services to which we have become accustomed are under threat and it is unclear which rebuilding projects, if any, will gain priority this year.

The Crisis Committee has so far concentrated its efforts on housing and feeding the refugees. Following the destruction of many of the city bakeries in the fire emergency bread ovens have been constructed. Alderman Derwent has toured the surrounding lands and has already secured much of the food the city will need in the immediate future. However this years very late winter is likely to mean a poor harvest and her efforts may only have postponed a food crisis. Housing has been a more serious problem. Although the guilds, relatives and friends were able to house most of the refugees, there still remain many hundreds of homeless. All the vacant land and property left over form the plague has been occupied and even the prisons have been pressed into service as temporary accommodation.

The repercussions of the fire on the city's finances are still being worked out. Lady Cox has announced the recalling of the Witanmoot for the purposes of setting a budget. The committee chairs are expected to come forward with their final proposals in the near future. The members of the crisis committee have caused much disruption as they attempt to get their various schemes funded through the appropriate committee. The committee chairs are believed to be resisting the additional expenditure in the light of the severe cuts they are already imposing on their own budgets. Likely things to feel the axe this year are the civic balls, the port and bridge maintenance, Guild examinations (to be abandoned) and the Emissaries. Even the donations to the Temples are rumoured to be under threat.

The newly combined Wharf and Witanmoot guard have defied rumours of an impending disaster following their merger and fought together to defeat a large band of mercenaries. The mercenaries had slain a number of Witanmoot guard and then fled down river on stolen boat pursued by the Wharf Guard. The Guard managed to disable the boat but were fought off by the enemies superior numbers. The Wharf guard continued the pursuit across land and were joined by a large body of mounted Witanmoot Guard. This combined force then fought the mercenaries at a manor house that had taken over and defeated them. The battle was fierce and the Wharf Guard in particular suffered serious losses, the entire force including their Captain being killed. It is believed that a number of very valuable looted goods were recovered from the mercenaries.

Crime remains a major concern following the fire. Despite marshal law and a merciless approach from the Sheriffs, much theft and mugging is being perpetrated. Impostors claiming to be refugees are now becoming a problem. Much of the Athionic section of the floating market has been vacated as these disreputable people move into the city to exploit the unfortunate and prey on the weak.

A number of incidents have occurred in Dowgate following the arrest of Cllr Barns. Some protest meetings have been held by her supporters and on one occasion the Dow entrance was blocked by an angry mob. Fortunately so far the protesters have dispersed before the arrival of the Witanmoot Guard but it is only a matter of time before a confrontation occurs. Whether Lady Cox is prepared to kill citizens in order to maintain her absolute control of the city remains to be seen. A spokesman for the guard told the Chronicle, "We have orders to maintain the rule of Law in this city. These troublemakers in Dowgate can not be tolerated, and we will do whatever we have to to deal with them".

Finally, just to show that the Gods do have a sense of humour, many citizens will no doubt be amused to learn that whilst most of the city has been worrying about the Great Fire, the offices of the Chroniclers have been subjected to flooding.