\--==Official Submission==-- FROM: Sergeant Major Alexander Rahl RE: MURDER!!!! The call came this morning; a panic button signal from Nicolai originating from his favorite mining spot near the Dragon's Lair. I rushed through the woods to the spot as fast as I could but I came too late. I found a horribly stabbed Nicolai laying in a pool of his own blood next to what appeared to be a landslide by the mountain. I notified the General and he said he was on his way. I knelt down beside the old coot and tried to stop the bleeding from the gashes in his chest to no avail. He opened his eyes and seemed to recognize me. He gurgled a bit, trying to speak through lungs flooded with blood, and after a brief struggle managed to spit out a mass of bloodied tissue and speak. "Damn...feller' jus walked righ up an poked me...." he mumbled. "Who?" I asked. It was then that I noticed the feet sticking out from under the landslide, several tiny trickles of blood running in rivulets past them out from under the rock. Nicolai chuckled and coughed up another mouthful of blood. "I dropped dat der mountin' atop 'im, " he said with a bloody grin, "Tew lay' I'm sure...bu' I finally bagged me a baddie." I heard the tell-tale sound of a Recall spell, and out from the Castle rushed my father in his bedclothes, leaning heavily upon a cane. He dropped and slid up beside his Cousin, face almost as pale as that of poor Nicloai. "Ah! M'lerd..." started Nicolai. "Hush," my father whispered, crushing reagents in his fingers and casting healing magics. Nicolai reached up and grabbed the Old Man's tunic and puled him close. "Dinnae bothah, Cousin...it's my time tis... Did..Did I dew gewd fer de family M'lord?" The Old Man let the regs drop from his fingers and let out a deep sigh. "Yes indeed Nicolai...Your craftsmanship will last as long as the rock itself. You have served the House of Turon well, and we are all proud." Nicolai smiled and seemed to relax. "Naugh as proud as I sir..." Nicolai released my father's tunic and offered a salute, which we both returned. His eyes went dark, his breathing stopped, and the pickaxe he was gripping tightly in his other hand fell to the ground. And thus, Nicolai Turon - last of the line of Gustav Turon and Senechal of the House of Turon, was gone. Several hours later, word arrived from Vesper that Holle Uchbdhan, easily the second oldest surviving member of the Society, wes killed by an unknown assailant while purchasing crystals for use in our communications system. Details of the murder and the whereabouts of the assilant are still unknown. And finally, less than an hour ago, a chest arrived via private courier for my father. Upon opening it, his scream of rage could be heard across all of Northwood. In the chest was the head of Xavierra Alexis, my mother, with a bloodied note attached saying more would follow. The Society is hereby placed on active alert. Restrain from traveling alone. Any information regarding these murders should be sent to myself or the General directly. More information will follow when available. This blow has struck our very heart, and the noticable lack of military targets in the list of the dead leaves the mastermind's motivations ambiguous. But all of you know this, when the individual who orchestrated the murders of my family is found, I want him brought to me. Alive, healthy, and fully aware of the horrors I will bestow upon him. Mstr. Sgt. Alexander Rahl Operations Commander The Storm Guard