To all it concerns.

[Mephistopheles]

The rumors of violence and schemes are obviously greatly exaggerated. I shall explain the goings on right here and now to clarify House Stonescale's stance on all this foolery.

On our founding we had done our best to strengthen Galmairian relations, starting business deals and backing the very man who now threatens our safety. We also have recently shown our support to a current chancellor who shall not be named for their own safety from the vile heathens that seek to control and destroy. Mister Brawndara had all of our support in creating his current army for the better of Galmair as te his motivations against our house we have only assumptions.

I am grieved that my former comrades and even some who I admired are now caught up in this madness. Perhaps there are forces behind the scenes pulling the strings of these men who I had at one time admired. But these are unfortunately only assumptions and all that I and the members of my house can do is to fight or avert a war that will endanger our people.

The facts:

Recent news of Keva's attempt at poisoning the commander were as frustrating for us as for Galmair. Keva is obviously no longer a member of house Stonescale and never shall be again.

Lono had indeed threatened a, let me remind ye's, a temporary Galmairian citizen named Chaol who probably never even paid taxes. This man was given a specific request to not touch the woman Finley who lets also understand is a Cadomyrian citizen. So Yes Lono was wrong in threatening the man but the man was asked specifically yet he did it anyway. Some blame Mister Fooser simply because he was present for said situation, but Fooser did his best to deescalate the situation thus preventing violence. Lono was reprimanded here in Cadomyr by Mister Fooser, but tell me was Chaol reprimanded in Galmair for violating A cadomyrian? No instead they push the blame and attempt to wage a war on our House. War.. for such a stupid reason.

The Crimson Order has refused to investigate a blatant attack on our own home soil, they refuse to act according to their supposed duties and House Stonescale shall withdraw any support.

The supposed "attack" by myself against Brawndara is also exaggerated, I had indeed addressed him with a drawn bow however I specifically stated "I am cautious, this is fer my own safety and so do not rush me. walk toward me, or attack me in any way" We then proceeded te speak civilly, during said conversation I offered a meeting between House Stonescale and the army te settle such a small issue that should have been easily settled beforehand. However proceeded te say that the war between house Stonescale and the army would proceed no matter wot happened. He then suggested that I, Vern Burnhammer, move te Galmair so that I quote "Do not have to be lost in the rubble of my house" He told me te kill him there or face him tha battlefield I had then put away my bow and said I wos leaving. He told me either I fight or run and thus engaged me in combat. I had knocked him down twice before he had forced me te send him te cherga fer my own safety. That by Malachin, Irmorom, and Zhambra is tha truth.

So Cadomyr you now know tha facts, something else may have been omitted though not by my volition, it is merely because it was something I do not know. So here knowing these facts make yer decisions. If Gamairian forces engage us in a war on our soil you will not be safe, and with our forces then weakened who is to stop the force from turning their eye to the throne or the treasury? Think people. This is our land and we must protect it from the domestic threat of the controlling crimson order and from the foreign menace that is Brawndara's army.

Knight of her majesty and Champion of House Stonescale, Vern Burnhammer

[Annabeth]

Investigations of such matters are left to the guard, lead by commander Morelis, and by the ambassador to Galmair. Such "duties" are not included in the duties of the Crimson Order as her majesties army, as I have explained to you numerous times though it never seems to sink in. The guard and the army are two separate bodies of her majesties millitary force. Do not confuse their duties with the other. Think and get your facts straight before accusing groups of people of something. This is the last I will say on the matter as I grow tired of dealing with your insolence.

~Countess Annabeth

[Mephistopheles]

As the offensive force yer duty is te hunt down tha attackers who shed blood on our soil, not defend against them, I get it. To my understanding none of yer men did that either. Instead ye offer these very men a spot in our grand tournament tha day after the attack took place.

If yer fed up then do something productive and maybe everyone else can git a break from doing your job and we'd be a little happier. Or admit yer incompetant or in league wit these foreign attackers trying te git tha pests out of tha city ye think ye own. The queen's subjects and lands be in danger and all ye say is "thats not my duty". Due te yer incompetance and lack of motivation I wos ambushed in tha spider caves and after slaying two men i had fallen te tha last then attacked again on our own soil while i wos weak. Every man who faced me bears tha mark of my axe or hammer. And if i find a shred of solid evidence of your or your men's cooperation with the army you too shall bear tha mark of my axe.

You already know who.

[Mephistopheles]

Cadomyr's silence on this issue is disturbing. Simply said.

Vern Burnhammer

[Mephistopheles]

No longer shall I fight for this city, seein as te a vast majority of tha ones in charge do not listen te me, work against me and or completly ignore me.

When I fought Kahramesz and Uhuru I wos put on house arrest for suspicion and nobody listened te a damn word I said, when I tried te build a collective force te combat Zaras ye's ignored me, as tha Galmairians attack on this very soil ye's accuse me of looking for trouble and do nothing, when our royal ranger wos in danger from the malicious experiments of Runewick mages and being driven mad by a drow none took me seriously at all and now he's dead, now during tha tournament Miss Reena saw fit te change tha rules of tha fight te better suit my opponent. Wotever, none of ye's deserve my help any longer for most of ye lack any spine and will do wot ye do best. I now refrain from fighting for anyone in Cadomyr again unless I deem them a comrade.

Honor is not valued by Cadomyr, but it is valued by me. I admire tha House of tha Sea serpent for remaining true to their principles and te House Stonescale fer persevering through this great hardship.

By Malachin, Zhambra, and Irmorom

Vern Burnhammer

[Rourke]

Personally I don't care your past gripes or problems, you however will not slander my mate and make false claims about her changing the rules to suit another when it was clear neither of you were fighting with honor at the time. Consider yourself challenged to a duel of honor. You are far more skilled than me yes I know, but there are some people worth fighting for and winning isn't everything. Name your second.

Lyrica Elmswood.

[S'rrt]

Mister Burnhammer,

Enemies are often gained through one's own actions and the subsequent lack of responsibility. It wouldn't be irrational to assume that the same could apply to your situation.

I think you'll also find that your claim about being ignored over your Zaras-efforts is not entirely true either, as there are examples of powerful allies agreeing to help you, with the Crimson Order included. I know this because I was the one telling you to contact us when the time comes.

The rule of one weapon during the tournament would easily occur to anyone running it who wants to avoid cheating. It's a standard in the process of deciding who is truly the most capable warrior. If one believes to be the most capable, they shouldn't have a problem agreeing to any and all reasonable rules.

I only hope that you won't find yourself in situations where you are required or directly told to cooperate with Cadomyrians who you don't deem your comrades, as that can easily turn inconvenient for everyone. As for your Galmair-related problems, they're not being ignored.

~~ S'rrt K'shire
Grandmaster in the Crimson Order, Ambassador to Galmair

[Fooser]

Vern is indeed incorrect, his concerns were not ignored, they were heard and the Crimson Order actively worked against those concerns. They heard the complaints about Kharamesz and Uhuru but Srrt and Annabeth were too busy running to Galmair to protect the accused while insulting Vern back home. That ended with the individual in question banned from the Queen's Realm, and then hiring someone to try to kill a Baroness.

Concerns about the Galmairian Army were ignored even when they began to actively work against the Queen. S'rrt was again more interested in running off to Galmair to protect his ally. That ended with said ally entering the gates and nearly lighting the entire market aflame including myself and Starling. He is now busy following the slanderous tongue of his former recruit, who has declared her loyalty to Brawndara, rather than doing anything remotely constructive.

S'rrt works for Galmair and his own ambition, little else. One does have to wonder how many more attempted murders we will be subjected to within the walls because of it.


F

[Mephistopheles]

Tha terms of tha tournament were no magical weapons. Nobody used magical weapons. Tha match wit lafadiel started wit me using an appropriate weapon, the other combatants also registered multiple weapons including lafadiel himself. The starting match ended too quickly with my battlestaff, so tha second match I decided te give him a chance using my two handed blade. He won easily in his appropriate armor. When the third match ensued i chose to resort back to the battlestaff, at which your commander Reena decided to change tha rules so that i could not use tha weapon most appropriate for tha fight. Let me remind ye she wos completly content with me switching to a weapon that gave my opponent an advantage but she objected to me switching back to my original weapon which i had won tha first match with.

This is obvious, it is not slander and thus tha grounds fer yer duel are non-existant. Since ye's continue te blame me fer yer obvious faults then i wish te press charges against Reena Morelis for rigging the match in Lafadiel's favor. If she wishes te answer this with combat then she is within her right to do so and even name ye champion.

As fer the efforts against Zaras I admit te speaking out of turn, we were indeed offered assistance until the attack of the galmairians. As fer the other things i mentioned that wos all truth. In fact I believe it wos by the orders insistence that i be placed on house arrest fer tha kahramesz ordeal.

Again do not lecture me, i have made too many efforts fer this city and all in vain. I ask that her majesty look upon all that i have written and understand however I fear tha wieght of tha nobles influence is much greater than my own and so again I shall be ostracized by people who have considered me a threat te their positions since i arrived here.

Vern Burnhammer

[S'rrt]

Working as a diplomat tends to make one visit the designated town, sometimes for longer periods to do investigation. During that time there may be quite a few people to question. If you're making the accusation that my or Annabeth's actions caused what you said, I'd like you to prove the connection.

Vern, it was not my intention to start an argument about it but to give a perspective on the matter. I don't wish to have a back-and-forth fight as I have no quarrel with you. Actually I don't wish to have one with "F" either. I don't remember insisting on a house arrest so it must have been the previous Grandmistress, or many lower members. Whichever the case, just one of those shouldn't be enough to generalise the guild.

~ S'rrt

[Reena Morelis]

Vern,

I wish to offer my utmost apologies in the matter of the tournament. Because Countess Annabeth could not attend due to last minute circumstances, I had to take over. Therefore, I did not know the rules like the back of my hand like the countess would have, as was I also nervous to be handed such a project with little time. I did not change the rules to slight you in any way or to favor your opponent.

I do not believe that any charges should be pressed, as it was an honest mistake on my part as well as a miscommunication between myself and Countess Annabeth. There will be no duel, there will be no charges. If you have further concerns, you may discuss them with me instead of blasting my name on every wall of Cadomyr.

Commander Reena Morelis

[Mephistopheles]

Verywell, this response is appreciated. I be content te leave it as it is. As fer wot I has experienced from ye I believe ye in that it wos a miscommunication. Even if it wos not as ye say there is nothen te be done te change wot had happened.

As fer my overall stance on tha pathetic squabbles between Cadomyr and Galmair i have made it clear te tha aggressor Brawndara tha i refuse te continue fighting. I shall also refrain from engaging in these "negotiations" . I shall place my focus elsewhere.

Vern Burnhammer.

[Fooser]

That is interesting because no one in Cadomyr has been questioned by a Galmairian diplomat or investigator. They always get what they demand. It has even gotten to the point where Cadomyr was forced to pay Lono's debt, and a public apology had to be issued, to the people who protected a man who ended up essentially kidnapping one of our own, Finley, over her servitude contract:

Lono,

I don't have much time to write this. Chaol, or some of his business associates have ratted me out. His uncle knows about my contract being ripped up. He claims that you never bought me, but stole and freed me instead, saying that he is still the rightful owner of my contract. He says if I don't come back, I'll forfeit my contract, which means my parents need to serve the remainder of my time. I can't let this happen. I'm going back home with Chaol to Albar. But I'm not intending to comply or stay. I'll get my family into safety and then I'll fight my way back if I have to.

I'll be back. And then I'll be happy to listen to your 'I told you so'.

...I miss you...

Finley

Where is the restitution for this? Or for their army damaging the Queen's property and attacking her nobles? Or one of Galmair's most prominent families sending assassins? To this day you can't seem to believe they were capable of any of this, and to this day you still hold them amongst your allies even after these serious crimes. When the barbarians come it is our policy to lay down and let the pillaging continue. In the face of evil we send a naive doormat. And now there is so little confidence in you multiple parties have bypassed the usual diplomatic process and are trying to work out truces on their own.


F

[S'rrt]

I should have mentioned in my statement as the Grandmaster that I will soon address many of the current head-splitting issues. Try having patience and avoid making assumptions in the meantime, and that goes for everyone.

~ S'rrt

((been a bit less active because of two jobs and a dog, give me a break))