The Chronicle
The Chronicle is the primary newspaper of Avalon, published twice a week, with special coverage to foreign affairs once a month. It is published in four languages; Common, Giant, Sylvan, and Trade Tongue, with the Common version being by far the most highly printed.
Offices
The building housing The Chronicle is located in a poor section of the city, and would be completely indistinguishable from a large, factory-style workshop were it not for all the people entering and exiting the three buildings making up the complex. No sign marks its presence, and its outside is uncared for beyond the minimum for structural integrity. The inside, however, is a completely different scene. Most visitors only see the press room; the inside of which is kept clean of dirt, although not of clutter. The rooms are full of desks, pushed together and lined into rows, as well as shelves full of papers and books. It’s a flurry of activity at all hours of the day, with people writing, talking, papers being shuffled around, and heated debate filling the air. The bottom floor is entirely storage, printing, and doorless offices shared by multiple reporters. The second floor is home to several smaller offices, soundproof and with doors, separated from the chaos below, for the top staff to work in.
The other two buildings belonging to The Chronicle are flat warehouses. In one, blank papers, as well as the finished newspapers are stored. The other is the scribing room – a giant hall filled with long tables, where apprentice mages overlook quills of Amanuensis. Scribes from the offices bring the prototype papers to the scribing room, where the young mages set the quills to work copying page after page. Laborers take the finished papers, and supply the mages with more parchment to copy on. The scribes and laborers work in shifts, and papers are constantly being written during all hours of the day.
Recently, the paper has been experimenting with Capture Image and Capture Sound spells, attempting to produce papers that contain images, or come with crystals that produce different sounds, possibly even a “spoken” version for the illiterate. As of yet, these are still too expensive and difficult to mass produce.
Employees
Gustav Williams (Human? ???): Owner of The Chronicle, little facts are known about Gustav compared to the swirl of rumor that surrounds him. Gustav is a tall, imposing man who seems to dominate the situation whenever he makes his presence known, speaking with a stern, booming voice. Rarely seen outside of his office – and rarely letting people enter it – Gustav is a mystery even to his employees. While he appears as an aging human man, none know his past, or how he came to own The Chronicle.
Cadella Cornings (CG Gnome Rogue): Sweet Cadella is the face of The Chronicle to adventurers. Her kindly demeanor, big smile, and penchant for introducing herself as “Candy” tend to catch people off guard. Candy’s job is to cover big events, particularly those where adventurers are present, and garner big headlines, even if she has to stretch the truth a little. The gnome’s probing questions have a awy of making people slip up, and say things that are far too revealing, or will make for “if it bleeds it leads” stories. While she’s not a bad person, she enjoys preying on those she considers mercenary brutes, and embarrassing them for all to see. Cadella gets along well with her coworkers, although she enjoys teasing Kyril.
Garret Galacia (CN Human Ranger): An ex-military operative, Garret’s past life shows on the number of scars on his hands and face. In charge of the day-to-day operations of The Chronicle, Garret is one of the two faces responsible for handling visitors to the paper’s office. He makes good use of his dashing charm, and despite his selfish bent, it’s hard not to think of him as a likable rogue. Garret has access to a powerful web of information brokers and informants that he uses to make sure The Chronicle is up to date on all matters, even those hidden. It’s a poorly kept secret that Garret is openly willing to take bribes and to buy and sell information for whoever asks – however, his loyalty cannot be purchased. Many have tried to bribe Garret in order to gain a juicy bit of info or to keep an event off the front page of The Chronicle only to be screwed over by him in the end. Garret has an odd partnership with his other coworkers – he enjoys annoying them when things aren’t “focused”, and some have come to resent that. Rose hates his flirtatious attitude and his constant referral to her as “Rosie”, while he and Kyril have a mixed relationship.
Kyril (LG Tiefling Shadowcaster): Abandoned to the streets at a young age, Kyril eventually found his way to working at the newspaper when he was only 11. Moving up the ranks, Kyril now shares the day-to-day running of the paper with Garret. Like his older colleague, he has an extensive information network, and is known for letting things slip when it suits him. Unlike Garret, he cares more about “doing good” than money, and is known to help those whose cause is good with secrets from time to time. He gets along well with his coworkers, although many tend to treat him like a doormat, even though he’s high-ranking. Kyril and Garret have an odd partnership - the two often fight, and greatly differ in morals and philosophies. Visitors often leave thinking the two hate each other, but in truth they’re the best of partners; Gustav has chosen them in their roles, knowing they balance each other out.
Rose Sharpe (TN Halfling Beguiler): Rose is the top field agent of The Chronicle, and is rarely seen. A master of stealth, Rose spies on important events throughout the city; riots, arrests, fights, speeches, and so on, having a tendency to show up just as noteworthy events are happening. Rose tries her hardest to never be seen, and reports on events that none know a reporter were even at. Rose has an incredible work ethos, doing anything for The Chronicle without a complaint. Her coworkers know little of her: just that she prefers to be called “Sharpe”, and HATES being called “Rosie” (Garret’s personal nickname for her). It is said that only Gustav knows where she lives or what she does in her free time. She’s largely left on her own, having proved reliable in this manner.
The Paper
The Chronicle usually consists of the following sections.
Front Page: “If it bleeds, it leads” isn’t entirely true; it has to bleed interestingly or at least lead to the promise of future bloodshed. Shocking crimes, local political events, stories of corruption, and important foreign affairs usually make the front page.
Local Crimes: The Chronicle reports on as many noteworthy local crimes in Avalon City as It can fit into one page. Whenever possible, names of victims and the accused are included, as well as lurid details of the crimes themselves.
Local Events: A large section of upcoming local events, including rallies, meetings, new businesses opening, and similar.
Interviews: Whenever possible The Chronicle attempts to secure interviews with important politicians and adventurers who have been making big news. Often conducted by Cadella, these interviews sometimes greatly increase the fame of those participating; and sometimes greatly embarrass those involved.
Selling and Hiring: The most popular section of The Chronicle among adventurers, Selling and Hiring primarily includes information on patrons and merchants targeting their goods to those with a strong sword or spell arm. Tasks that need done, magic items to sell, and even adventurers looking for companions are all common.
Purchasing
The Chronicle is available in many locations. A variety of inns, pubs, and shops have special arrangements to get The Chronicle delivered to them, and unused papers picked up. In addition, The Chronicle hires young men and women to hawk the papers on busy street corners. While dealing with money would seem to put them at risk, those who have bothered the newsies tend to get a "personal" visit from Garret, making such thefts a one-time event. For those unable to pay or read, it's not an uncommon sight to find the literate reading The Chronicle to their illiterate friends, and discussing the news in bars, taverns, or in the park.