The gentle forest calm was shattered suddenly by the vibrant cries of a
strange merchant claiming to sell herbs at quality prices. His name was
Harald, and a large group gathered to welcome him to Eleusis and see
what he was all about. Noticing his prices were well below the Oakstone
minimums, he was quickly ordered out of the village and killed when he
refused to leave.

More chaos ensued as cries from a hidden casino echoed in the village
for the next few months, while many Eleusians searched the village
frantically. Other individuals began to appear to partake in the crime
wave, extorting money from the shopkeepers and roughing up those who
refused to pay. Blackharp attempted to discover the nature of these men,
choosing to meet with Harald on the isle of Ulangi, but little
information was exchanged. Things remained quiet for many months, the
occasional thug or thief wandering into Eleusis and quickly being chased
away.

Conflict erupted between the village and the organization, as the group
attempted to set up a makeshift casino within the village. The thugs
also began kidnapping village loyals taking Elias, Tiah, and eventually
Cwincan hostage. Guarding their village ideals closely, the villagers
quickly assembled to kick the casino and its workers from the village
and regain control.

Many battles with groups of assassins ensued, and both sides suffered
many losses throughout the next few months. One particular thug
enlightened them to the dealings of Shandala Blackthorne, who they took
as an ally and eventually met up with. She passed a great deal of
information to them and eventually disappeared along with her daughter.
Grenden arrived to claim she was kidnapped by the thugs, and asked the
village to help him taking out the hideout.

At the direction of Grenden Blackthorne, the villagers assembled a
massive force for the final confrontation with the local group. Calling
upon their allies from other cities, they proceeded quickly into the
hideout and began a systematic sweep of the area, wiping out the evil
organization.

Under the leadership of Triak, they surged into the main room and came
face to face with the infamous Triel. After a quick questioning, the
true leaders of the organization revealed as the Blackthornes, emerged
to greet the group and congratulate them. Hostilities ended the raid
when Shandala called up a large group of guards to cover her escape from
the hideout, her family following quickly behind her.

Days later, a gentle sob alerted Aztecia to the bodies of Shandala and
her daughter Ishka as they lay near the gates of Eleusis. The young son,
Grenden, was sobbing over the corpses while expressing his remorse for
the deeds of his family. After a brief discussion with Elsp, Aztecia,
and a few other Eleusians, they allowed him to take refuge in the city
and to bury the bodies of his family to let them rest in peace. The days
of crime in Eleusis came to an end, but many villagers remained
mystified as to what main force was behind the Blackthornes reign.

A Hashan posting of events will be forthcoming within the next year.

Penned by my hand on the 7th of Chronos, in the year 363 AF.