221 / 07 / 05 - Explosion Kills Most of Council

At Midday on the 4th Lomar, people on the west side of Chirin heard a large explosion. Those near the council nuilding heard it most clearly as glass exploded out from the upper story windows of that building. Flames errupted from the windows, setting nearby buildings ablaze. With no sign of Captain Vyken it was left to Lieutenant Beatrix to organise the patrollers, guiding citizens to safety and organising bucket chains to deal with the fires. The heat coming from the council building was incredible, but it quickly cooled leaving many to suspect magic was involved. A contingent of healers was summoned from the Mallory Centre to take care of the injured, and the clerics who came with them helped to extinguish the fires by creating large amounts of water.
Despite the explosion, most of the council building was intact, and with some trepedation, Lieutenant Beatrix ventured inside to discover if there were any survivors. The damage did not appear extensive on the ground floor and while many visitors and clerks had been knocked unconscious, there were few lasting injuries. The basement area was similarly unaffected.
The upper floor was another matter. Walls and furniture had been blasted into splinters, and much of the upper floor was burning. Lieutenant Beatrix sent out a call for those who could help deal with the flames, including clerics and other spellcasters. It took almost an hour to extinguish the flames and there was little left of the upper floor at the end of it. As the last of the fire was being extinguished, one person, Councillor Nyls of Westerfield, was found alive beneath the remains of a heavy table. Though unconscious, Councillor Nyls was still breathing and was rushed to the Mallory for treatment.
On checking the council records (which were fortunately kept downstairs) Lieutenant Beatrix discovered that the entire council had been meeting with Bowin Gableson, Captain Vyken Guardian, and Acceptor Kurt from the Crematorium. They were meeting to discuss a matter that Councillor Nyls had claimed was of the utmost importance. While Lieutenant Beatrix was reviewing these notes, another explosion rocked the west side of town. This second explosion came from Bowin Gableson's house, but unlike the first explision this was not confined to a single floor. Flames were seen emerging from every window and the whole house was consummed in fire.
With her first choice of magely consultant seemingly unavailable, Lieutenant Beatrix turned to Nyssa Daergul, a gnome wizard from the east side of Chirin. Wizard Daergul, who had been helping to deal with the fires, was asked to review the damage and see if she could determine a cause and likely starting point of the damage in the council building. Wizard Daergul confirmed what Beatrix feared, the explosion originated in the chamber used for council meetings. As this seemed like a direct attack on the council, the Lieutenant requested that Captain Arbalest Guardian take command of the situation since it appeared that this was an attack on the town. Captain Arbalest agreed to take command and summoned several units of the outer guard to assist the patrol. Lieutenant Beatrix was tasked with further investigating the cause of the explosion.
The lieutenant visited the crematorium to discover whether the other Acceptors knew why one of their number had been speaking with the council. The Acceptors informed Lieutenant Beatrix that Kurt had been there to reveal to the council that they had been manipulated by Bowin Gableson, who was really an undead spell caster. Kurt and Councillor Nyls had been presented with evidence of this the night before and they had left copies at the crematorium in case of mishap.
While this may seem a wild claim, Councillor Nyls confirmed this was the case some hours later when he regained consciousness. According to the councillor, Bowin had been invited to the meeting against Councillor Nyls’ wishes by Councillor Rose Factor. When Bowin heard of the charges, Councillor Nyls claims the mage summoned four spheres of fire which exploded in the middle of the council chamber. Councillor Nyls attributed his survival to the fact that he had been standing behind the table laying out documents when the explosion happened.
The evidence seems to support the Councillor’s claims and Captain Arbalest has indicated that they see no reason to doubt the Councillor’s claims. Bowin Gableson, or Oliver which we are told is his real name, has been declared an outlaw. All citizens are advised to avoid him and report any sightings to the guard. Councillor Nyls will be taking over as Head Councillor until new elections can be arranged and suitable candidates found. Head Councillor Nyls has vowed to ensure that Chirin will continue to function despite the tragic loss of the other councillors, and has promised that he will remove any traces of Bowin’s influence from Chirin.