“Many are still recovering from the Velociraptor’s reign of terror over the city. The Shards received the most amount of damage with thousands of denarii in property damages in total and eleven fatalities, including seven civilians and four watchmen. The masked terrorist was prevented from making good on his threat to poison the city with a weaponised plague. His body was found in an abandoned church on the east side of the Shards and was later identified by City Watch authorities as Sir Dorian Ambrose. Ambrose served as a knight errant for Sigismund Greenfire before being appointed personal bodyguard to his daughter, who has now ascended the throne. There were many reports of an Arkovian female suspect wearing an eyepatch that was commonly sighted near him during his attacks, however she has not been located, nor identified.

Meanwhile, half of the city mourns for Sigismund Greenfire, whilst the other half condemns him. Let us all hope that Queen Rosamund Greenfire can be everything her father wasn’t. She has promised to make reparations for the pain her father has caused. Her coronation took place a moon ago and was only attended by a small and private ceremony due to the current scandal.

Many citizens have wondered who might have been the one to slay Sir Dorian. Newly sworn in Sheriff Athena Marion declined to comment when I reached out to her. I posit my own theory of who could be responsible; The New Jade City vigilante who has been commonly sighted in the past months. An anonymous source from the Pax chapel located in the Shards claims to know the vigilante’s identity but would not reveal it. The source did say he commonly goes by the name ‘Titan Tiger,’ and that he is a defector from an unknown ninja clan.

Many New Jade citizens can’t conclude if this creature of the night is friend or foe. Many nobles in Stone Sparkles and White Raven loathe the vigilante, believing crime fighting falls to the state’s law enforcement. Interestingly, I noted a significant difference of opinions in the poorer boroughs, with many civilians believing he has made a positive impact, being able to operate apart from the City Watch’s bureaucracy and corruption. I eagerly await to see where the tide of judgement on this Titan Tiger will turn.”

Jackolyn Jacobs. The Jade Herald. 1311

Athena felt bile rumble through the insides of her body. Her skin felt cold, and her hands twitched. It might have been the alcohol withdrawal. She would rather it be that than admit that she was nervous. The rookeries of the Shards were remarkably quiet. Before she struggled to move an inch without brushing shoulders with a mud-smelling resident. This time, she alone trod through the mud. She noticed local peasants peaking at her from behind their shacks and overcrowded workhouses. Small wonder they watched her with caution. She wore the sheriff’s badge. The watchmen could hardly have been gentle around these ends before she managed to arrive with her own private squadron. Perhaps I shouldn’t have come here alone…

Tilly’s shack sat alone outside the back of a rowdy tavern. Even under the twilight sun, she could hear shouts and rabble erupting from the dirty walls. How Tilly and her mute sister managed to salvage any sleep was the true unsolvable mystery to the new Sheriff. Athena approached the rusty door and inhaled deeply. She had been held hostage, beaten, nearly stabbed by a mad scholar, nearly killed multiple times in general, yet this was going to be the worst part of the case.

Her knuckles reluctantly rapped on the door. The wait for a response felt like centuries. The girl that answered looked very different from the one that first put her on this case. Tilly’s clothes were more ragged, her hair stringy and thin. Her arms bore dark circular marks and her face was gaunt, with dark, heavy circles around the eyes. “You came back?” she said in a questioningly hollow voice.

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“May I come in?”

Without a word, the girl left the entrance open and walked into the shack to take a seat. The Sheriff sat on a chipped wooden chair. She observed the surroundings. The vegetables on the chopping board had deteriorated. No doubt the cheapest they could afford. The little sister Greta was sitting in the far corner, doodling on a stained parchment. All that broke the silence of the room was a buzzing fly hovering around in loops above them.

“You’ve looked better,” Athena said.

Tilly turned her eyes away from her hands and glowered. “It’s nothing. Why are you here, Deputy?”

“It’s Sheriff now,” Athena said, trying to sound more professional than boastful. There couldn’t be a worse moment to be boastful. “I have some news about your mother.”

Before she could further elaborate, Tilly snapped her neck back to her little sister. “Greta, go play outside.” Her words were icy enough for the mute child to obey and dash out the front door as if there were a mountain of ice cream outside. Tilly turned her attention back to the Sheriff, her countenance grave as a bottomless crypt. “Was she burned?”

Thanks to Dorian, the whole bloody city already knows. They should have known of course. Every person living in New Jade had a right to know. Just not like this. Not through a panicked mob and chaos in the streets. Athena gulped and pulled her chair in closer, speaking in a hushed tone. “I found a ledger belonging to Sigismund, containing a list of Violet Light’s victims.”

Tilly’s eyes were already streaming at this point. The girl knew where she was going with this. Better to pull the dagger out swiftly than slowly. “Gilda’s name was among them.” Athena had to speak over Tilly’s weeping. “You had mentioned that she dabbled in the occult and prayed to foreign gods. Someone from Sigismund’s clandestine order must have discovered this and ratted her out.”

Tilly snorted aggressively, some goo escaping from her nose before she wiped it. “It wouldn’t have been quick, would it?”

“Most likely no,” Athena said honestly after a painful silence. “I am truly sorry.”

The girl nodded meekly. “Thank you, Sheriff. For trying.”

“I’m sure she loved you very much.”

“Spare me the condolences, Sheriff.” Tilly arose from her seat and pried open the shack door, gesticulating for Athena to make her exit.

The Sheriff obliged. She could not blame Tilly for her curtness. The brutality that the City Watch exercised that night made most people in the Shards weary of anyone brandishing a badge. The Jade Herald had run the numbers and published statistics of the assaults, property damage, and fatalities during the night and found that the watchmen were responsible for a larger majority of it. Relations with the public in the northside of the city had plummeted. My, I do pick the best moments to get promoted…

“Do you want me to inform your sister?” Athena asked Tilly as she approached the door. “Explaining tidings like this is not easy.”

“No, I’ll do it-” she broke out into a pained coughing fit.

“How much is your medicine?” Athena asked.

Tilly raised an offended eyebrow. “What business is that of yours, Sheriff?”

“If you can’t afford the medicine, I’ll pay and send someone to drop it off.”

“I don’t need your charity, Sheriff.”

“I admire your stubbornness,” Athena said with a wan smile. If Athena had ever been pregnant, she might have wondered if Tilly was her lost daughter. “But don’t be a fool. Don’t conform to this city’s standards of struggling alone.” And ultimately dying alone.

Tilly gazed over at her little sister playing in the mud. She sighed in resignation. “It’s Sunsalt Fruit, and it’s three Gold Bears.”

“I’ll have it delivered tomorrow,” the Sheriff concluded in a tone that warranted no further argument.

Tilly disappeared back into the shack without further words. Athena began plodding through the deep mud when she felt a prod in the back of her leg. It was Greta looking up at her like a curious cat. She held up a drawing. It looked more like an oil painting than a doodle. There was no mistaking that this was of the new Sheriff. It was like staring into a reflection. A glowing reflection of a content and better self. Athena smiled and ruffled the girl’s hair. Perhaps they would grow up to be watchwomen. Better watchwomen, who would put community before authority.

She wouldn’t mind that one bit.