Hello, I’m Branwyn Two-Moon of Clan Lightridge and these are the Ersatz Echoes of Eastfjord Harbor for the week of Gnome Dusting, 2019.

Usually, the mood after a gather is light and airy, if not outright jovial.

That is not the case this time.

At the town council meeting, Bryce Wayfinder and the researchers he and his allies had worked with and safeguarded presented the news and supporting evidence that the magic that misdirected the Hisenwatch Merchant Caravan was deliberately set. In particular, it was revealed that the team felt that only a group of Gnome-casters working together, or one with enough power and skill to pass Gnome’s trials, would have been capable of enacting the spell.

Bandits are a potential problem on any road in the kingdom, with varying levels of threat. Bandits, however, do not usually count among their number casters of marketable skill. The question Bryce himself brought forth as the next to be answered weighs heavily on everyone’s minds:

Was the ultimate purpose of the spell to ensnare a single merchant caravan or is this a prelude of an attack of the economy of the Pinecrest region?

The newly-arrived Royal Guards to both training camp and city report no strange magic save the efforts of the researchers themselves.  The departing contingent has agreed to lean a more mindful eye to the route home and report anything they come across to all that have a reason to be concerned.

As if the valley itself knows the moods of its residents, Sylph-casters offer warnings of freezing fog and rain across the entire region next week, lasting until mid-day some days. More so than even the threat of bandits suggests, travel in groups is encouraged.

Watchful and vigilant is not the purview of guards and fog-walkers alone. The Lightkeepers Guild hold this as their motto and with the announcement that Gerant Farseer of the White Mountain Clan is ready to retire, they are seeking another to take his place.

At this time, none of the other members of the guild have expressed a strong interest in taking up the lonely outpost at Ocean’s Watch themselves. As such, they have indicated they are looking for two to three new members of their guild and those with ideas of how to best establish a rotation of duties in additional to a willingness to learn and take on the responsibilities of lighthouse keepers are of great interest to them.

The Ocean’s Watch lighthouse may not be a lonely outpost for long, if one of the plans brought up at the council meeting comes to pass.

After a great deal of discussion, three solid plans to house immigrants to the region have been put forth for review.

One plan calls for the establishment of a miller’s village around Ocean’s Watch.  The lighthouse is in an area that receives a steady breeze to move windmills. This, combined with small field  that could support goats or sheep nearby, it is argued, would be enough to establish a home for those who want a slower life not in the depths of the valley.  Counter arguments are that winding path to such a village would place it far from the resources of Eastfjord Harbor.

A second plan also calls for a miller’s village, but this one would gain lumber in addition to grain.  The proposed location is the southeast side of Wickerby Pond where White Cliff Creek ends. Waterwheels would be used to power the mills, and the nearby Blue Moss Forest would supply the lumber.  There are two major counter arguments to this plan: the impact of mill runoff on on Wickerby Pond itself, and that such a village would potentially inhibit trade coming from the east to Eastfjord Harbor.

The third plan is by far the most ambitious, calling for the establishment of dwellings within the caves of the northern cliffs, as well as along the Black Mountain Road leading up those cliffs. Such a town would provide a waypoint for those coming in on longer trips from  the north, but the question becomes: what does the town do to support itself?

Questions, comments, and concerns should be directed to your regional and guild representatives.

The Ersatz Echoes of Eastfjord Harbor are brought to you by Red Wombat Tea Company, purveyors of fine and otherwordly teas. Red Wombat: We Dig Tea.

Also brought to you by the Nature’s Weavers guild, who would like to remind everyone that if you want a home worked with the wonders of the land itself, they are always open for more business.

These have been the Ersatz Echoes of Eastfjord Harbor for the week of Gnome Dusting, 2019. Take care, and stay warm.