Before departing on Feastday, 30 Lormesta, on a northbound scouting mission, Mayor Talliver Dabbings signed a number of emergency orders meant to provide for Icemule Trace's welfare and defense. Among them are authorizations for improved upkeep and defensive emplacements for the town walls, two issues of growing urgency given recent attacks upon the town by the restless dead. Mayor Dabbings also authorized the reactivation of a defunct Town Guard post on Stout Street in hopes of providing a centralized hub for town defenders and triage. Contract masons and smiths are expected to begin work on the derelict post immediately. In his order, Mayor Dabbings stressed the importance of preparation for the worst in the coming days. Other orders expanded funding to the Town Guard and instituted new procedures meant to improve the militia's readiness in cases of emergency.
The Feastday Orders, announced by Councillor Reiphe O'Mallory early in the morning of 3 Fashanos by letter to the Courier, were not limited to defense. In them, the Mayor also approved a sweeping repair and reconstruction plan for Clovertooth Hall, as well as the furlough of a number of positions across city government. Explained O'Mallory, "These orders may seem sudden, but they are the culmination of months of work at Clovertooth Hall. Mayor Dabbings insisted on seeing them signed before his departure." Numerous clerks, pages, and unelected officials from across the town government will be out of work by the month's end, a measure meant to cut an extensive and costly bureaucracy that had flourished in the hall in recent years.
The Town Guard's rangers have been charged with scouring the lands to the north for an ancient artifact known only as the Tablet of Life. Mayor Dabbings, a popular figure in Icemule Trace even before his election, abruptly announced that he would join the Guard on one such ranging. Icemule Trace Town Councillors seemed shocked by the decision, but members of the Town Guard who served with Dabbings called the decision "unsurprising." Burrdock Brandybell, a guardsman who was Dabbings's subordinate for three years, said, "The Captain leads from the front; always has. I'm surprised it took him this long to join the lads and lasses in the field. Woe betide any evil that stands in his way, let me tell you."
Others were less charitable in their characterizations of Dabbings's decision. Walesca Wineberry, one of the mayor's opponents during last year's close election, released a statement saying, "Mayor Dabbings needs to learn that he is not a soldier any longer. His place is in Clovertooth Hall, not in some frozen wasteland chasing after magical trinkets."
Given the dangerous nature of the expeditions northward, which have thus far resulted in four casualties, some townsfolk remain concerned that Dabbings's haste in releasing these orders mean that he does not expect to return from his journey. When reached for comment, Councillor O'Mallory described the speculation as "preposterous" and called a temporary moratorium on Clovertooth Hall's discussions with the Courier.
Yonder Fitzbrink
Coldwater Courier
Auchand
