Omens in Krofburg

[Arawn]

Recently, those who travel to and return from Krofburg bear stories of quivering in the mountain, tremors that, while harmless, nevertheless make men clutch at trees and house walls, and send dust cascading up from the crevasses and cracks of the high Balinoks. It is unclear what is the cause of this strange seismic activity, and equally unclear whether it will stop, continue, or grow worse. Similarly, a two-headed raven was seen pecking out the eyes of a mink; a shooting star passed overhead under a red moon; a young boy, lost in the woods at night, returned with his hair shock white and could speak nothing but gibberish. What is for certain is that these omens foretell change, danger, a future of uncertainty. To the Barovians, anything is possible, and that terrifies them.

[Arawn]

New quakes rock Krofburg today. The peasants cower in their homes and the Garda themselves quail, frightened of a force which they cannot comprehend, let alone fight. Huge boulders are seen to tumble off the mountain, and a few outlying farms see their barns and buildings shaken down by the force of the eruptions. What is going on is uncertain, but it seems to be getting worse.

[Arawn]

Today, as the village settled to its rest after the day's commotion, a powerful shock threw down boulders from the mountain. A goatherd watching his flock saw them crushed in an instant in a spray of rock and blood. Many speak of the omens they have witnessed. They are frightened.

[Arawn]

Krofburg was shaken by a massive tremor that began low in the mountain. As the earth heaved and jumped stones flew from houses and boulders rolled down the mountainside. Many were injured, but fortunately, only a child lost his life in the disaster. The town continues to prepare for the fair, showing the mountain resilience that has so long kept its denizens from surrendering to the forces natural and supernatural that threaten their craggy, rocky domain.

Rumor says the Burgomaster's life was saved, during the cataclysm, by a mixed group of travelers. Now they see a new man wearing the uniform of the Krofburg Militia, an officer, a young man with fire in his eyes. The stories say he saved the Burgomaster's life himself, and thus he is now so empowered. And a new minstrel has taken up residence in Krofburg in the pay of the Burgomaster's, a young woman of Mordent. Are these the changes threatened by the omens? If so, what horrible evils might they bear with them? And, if not... what terrible fate might still lie in store for the beleaguered mountain village and its people?

[Arawn]

Tonight a red light gleams, deep and malevolent, in the sable-black Barovian sky, an eye tumbling slowly across the heavens. Those who see it ward themselves and shudder. To those who watch it keenly, it seems to pause, hanging in the sky at one fixed point, turning, before continuing onwards. The next day the whispers are that it gazed down upon Krofburg.