It's that time of year again: the Super Sync is here! For those who haven't experienced it before, it's basically a jump of just over two months to Jygust 30th, the Summer Solstice. The official announcement is here.
As of now, you may not start new threads or join existing ones before Jygust 30th except by agreement with a moderator. Existing threads may of course be played out. To jump to the new date, all you have to do is write a summary of what your character got up to during those two months. Here is a thread with some examples of summary posts.
In addition, you get 10 skill stars to spend. The simple rules for spending these stars can be found in this thread. Remember to justify the skills your character learned in the summary! You can post your summary here and I or one of the other Dort mods will approve it.
What follows is a quick rundown of what happened in Dort during those two months. See you all in Jygust!
[hr][/hr]
Dort Recess Summary
After the conclusion of certain recent events, the island of Dort could draw a collective breath. Things were looking up for the economy. Trade with Aveas via the Imperial Trade Guild had increased, and the Dort Rebuilding Society was giving out grants left, right and centre to promising young businesspeople. For merchants, entrepreneurs and followers of Pecunia it was a good time to be in Dort. As Jygust drew on, preparations started to be made for the Midsummer Festival. This promised to be a riotous event full of celebration and intoxication, particularly in the Midlands and Islay, where worship of the Mother was at its strongest, but also in the city itself, the Pecunian temple happily claiming the festival as their own.
In the Midlands this joyous exuberance hid a greater uncertainty. The depredations of the Storm Lord had already ensured that the yahren's harvest would be a poor one, which did not bode well for the agricultural region's future. Islay was affected, too, as the area's main export - whiskey - had also suffered under the poor conditions. This deficit caused some division among the clans. The O'Briens argued that any move toward independence should be postponed for at least a yahren while the region's economy hopefully stabilised itself. In other clans, such as the Donovans and MacDermots, perception of the problem led to rising tensions and an increased drive for rebellion. Milkhaire was no longer present to unite the clans under a single leader, so no consensus could be reached. For his part, Duke Erwin had his hands full with issues in Sierra, Nazareen and in Dort City itself and so was distracted from the Highlands. Islay thus remained a volatile, simmering cauldron of dissent in the south of the island.
During Jaym the Dwarven Question reared its ugly head again. The Thain of Nazareen traditionally held a vote on the Imperial Advisory Council, but whisperings had begun to arise - some say from the Viceroy of the West's representative Isis - casting doubt on this. Nazareen as a unified entity no longer existed, the subterranean city itself having been overrun by some nameless evil around the time of the War of the One. The remaining dwarves were living in refugee camps or as immigrants in Dort City. So, the suggestion went, why should the Thain retain his vote? In early Jygust, notices went up all over Dort, telling of recruitment for a new expedition. Its aim was to investigate Nazareen and hopefully solve the Dwarven Question once and for all by reclaiming the city. Rumour had it that the expedition was sponsored by none other than the Duke himself.
Captain Kragen had taken over the guard and had definitely shown he was in charge of the scene. The former officer of the Sunfire Brigade had taken reign over the Knot with an iron hand in the night of Chyril 27th and the four following days. There were casualties on both sides, but most of the Waterstreet Gang was rounded up. Among them were Jubal and his right hand Dirty Bill. Their arrest had given insight in the ruckus caused by the assassination attempt on the WSG's leader. Who sent her could only be guessed, but there were rumours within the ranks that Jubal was hiding a Citadelese citizen.
The remaining Gang members had either fled to the Highlands or dispersed through the city keeping their profile as low as they could, some even finding legit jobs. With the crime rates dropping the guard had an easier job and were expanding their jurisdiction to the area surrounding the city too. Meanwhile, business was thriving and loads of people were happy with that. However, forbidden substances were available on the streets if you knew where to look, which was the main concern of the guards these days.
The sightings of Dark Adhiel among the markets and streets became more and more common. These merchants were chosen for their skills in etiquette and diplomacy and slowly they were viewed less as old enemies that would turn on them and more as curiosities and exotic partners. Thus, when their population seemed to grow slowly no one though much of it. Similarly, their buying up old buildings in bad parts of town and refurbishing them was seen as a good thing. Trying out the taverns there became an exciting new outing for the jaded rich.
Then one day in early Jaym, a great stone dome appeared over the dark adhiel section of the city. Quietly, the dark adhiel had bought up entire blocks and raised this ceiling overnight to protect them from the sun. There was panic and concern as first but there was no hostility and the dark adhiel produced documents showing their legal right to do this. Darktown, as the locals named it, returned to being the curiosity it once was, but under the darkness it seemed less inviting than it once was. Especially since the influx of refugees from Gulanadur. The streets of Darktown are crowded now as the landowners of Dort refused to sell the dark adhiel any more land and the refugees still came in waves. Something had to give soon before Darktown spills over into the rest of Dort.
The dark adhiel population were not the only newcomers. For reasons unknown the Eastern Empire offered an envoy to Dort, independent of the envoy to the Citadel. The new arrivals, the booming economy and the settlement of old quarrels meant that, for the inhabitants of the capital at least, Jygust was a time of exciting opportunities. The questions of Islay and Nazareen still hung over the island like a dark cloud, but in the current spirit of exuberance it seemed as if no problem was too thorny to go unsolved for long if someone put their mind to it.
