Somewhere in a dark, dingy room in the Northern Border district, John Jr. was meeting with one of his bosses, a fact he was not happy about. “Can’t we talk later? I need to make sure-”

Scer’Pi’Kines cut him off. “No. This is urgent. Read this.” The elderly gnome said, shoving a newspaper towards the injured man. While wondering in the back of his mind how Scer could read while blind, the younger John did as he was told.

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[i]Thorn City Army Crushes Gangs[/i], by Walden Rose, [i]Thorn City Times Special Edition[/i]:

Thanks to the new anti-gang law passed by our wise City Council and the efforts of our great army, the thugs that have populated Thorn City have been wiped out. The foot soldiers of these criminals have been almost decimated and of all the major leaders, only the one known as “the Hunter” remains at large. Please note, he is considered to be extremely dangerous. If you see him, notify the army immediately.

“It is good that these gangs are no more. Now they and anyone who idealizes them know what fate awaits them if they resort to criminality again,” General Gordon Rose was quoted as saying from his hospital bed in Rose Hospital. The General bravely fought and killed the leader of the Oceanside Gang earlier today, and though he is now quite injured, he is expected to make a full recovery.

In related news, the Thorn City Army is celebrating its victory over the gangs by offering an unprecedented sign-up bonus for new recruits. They are hoping to get at least 2,000 new patriots signed up to defend our great city in the next week. Please see your local recruiting station for more details.

Also, Darmae Rose has called a special meeting of the Thorn City Council. They will meet early tomorrow morning in order to plan the city’s next steps. As always, the meeting will be closed to the public, but this writer can say that our leaders will undoubtedly be hard at work to capitalize on the opportunity the gang removal has created for our great city.

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John took a moment to mentally digest the article and its implications before asking Scer “so it’s happening, then?”

“Of course,” Scer’Pi’Kines responded, “and you’ll have a part in the coup. What I need you to do is...”

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[i]“Please note, he is considered to be extremely dangerous.”[/i]

Byures chuckled when he re-read that part of the paper. Of course, the decimation of the Smugglers wasn’t funny, but at least he was being taken seriously. And that wasn’t even the funniest part; what was hilarious was how short-staffed the army was. When did they ever offer sign-up bonuses? Gordon was not only famous for his anti-corruption stance, but also for being a miser. The Hunter knew that the Army was weak, so now it was time to go hunting.

He got up from where he was sitting; it was a nice spot, by a pool of water that he had previously shown to a young boy and hippocampus. Tonight, Byures would swim to the water plant using the aqueduct, then walk to the Army base and avenge his men.