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'Dragonslayer' Sniper Claims Sixth Victim
SHARN—The mysterious crossbow sniper known to the City Watch as the “Dragonslayer” shot and killed a high-ranking member of House Kundarak on Far night, then posted handbills taunting the inability of the authorities to stop the sniper attacks.
The attack, made at dusk as the victim left a restaurant on Bruneau Street in Korranath, bore the hallmarks of previous attacks: a single magic crossbow bolt shot from a great distance and a corona of fire around the victim that scorches the ground, leaving a black outline around the corpse.
The name of the victim, an elderly male dwarf, was unavailable at press time.
Watch Commander Belew Yorgan expressed confidence that the Dragonslayer would soon be brought to justice, either by the city watch or by House Deneith’s Sentinel Marshals.
“It’s easy to get caught up in the sensational details of these crimes and miss the important point: That this guy is a cold-blooded murderer too cowardly to face his victims,” he said. “We have a number of promising leads, and I think the next handbill you read will be the one announcing his execution date.”
The Dragonslayer has been touting his prowess with handbills and pamphlets that appear after each murder. Last night was no exception; handbills scattered across the Tradefair district criticized House Kundarak lending practices and taunted authorities.
“I am around every corner and atop every roof,” said one handbill acquired by the Sharn Inquisitive. “Neither the jackboot stooges of Sharn’s corpulent councilors nor the brutes-for-coin in the pay of the incestuous dragontainted houses will ever catch me.”
Harrina Thandalask, a sergeant in the watch’s Blackened Book division, said that the handbills are being posted along crowded thoroughfares by someone using an unseen servant spell. Such magic makes it difficult to apprehend whomever’s distributing the handbills, she said.
“People don’t notice the handbills going up right away, and when someone gets curious, the so-called Dragonslayer or a confederate just drops the spell and slips away,” she said.
The Dragonslayer’s victims have been spread across the city. They include:
- Ilya d’Cannith, killed Nymm 2 in Ashblack.
- Endari d’Tharashk, killed Dravago 20 in the Clifftop district.
- Lasca d’Ghallanda, killed Dravago 17 in the North Market district.
- Chenni d’Jorasco, killed Dravago 11 in Seventh Tower.
- Torlak d’Sivis, killed Dravago 4 in the Callestan district. While the crime scene bore many similarities to subsequent Dragonslayer attacks, no handbills have ever appeared claiming responsibility for the attack.
About the Author
David Noonan is a designer/developer for Wizards of the Coast. Before coming to Wizards, he was a daily newspaper reporter in Washington state. Apparently the city hall beat is good practice for an Eberron campaign.
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