A Bad Turn

Disaster / Destruction

Droughts bring dread.

A few months of poor weather and higher than normal Mist turned up a consistent low yield for phosphor seeds and crops. The fear of running out of supplies turned to panic, suspicion and in some places rash actions:
-Geret Courtland, acting leader of Frostmont, began to hoard resources he saw as necessary to secure his survival. He created a disparity in wealth and the majority of the town suffered for it. Geret was not particularly concerned with this, as long as he and his were rolling in food, warm clothes and booze.
His greed did not go unpunished. First he found his doors and windows were left open, when he was sure they were barred the night before. Then his heavily guarded storehouses were cracked open and spread through the town. This carried on for months and the rumors of some noble trickster gained popularity in Frostmont. It was dubbed The Black Cat, and while it was never determined exactly who it was (or if it was just one person, or many), the efforts of the rogue brought about the end of Courtland's stranglehold on Frostmont. From then on mayors were voted in, and it was popular practice for them to take the name of the town as their last name, as a reminder of who they worked for.
-Meanwhile in the east, Meras City was going through its own unrest. The pressure to come up with a solution weighed heavily on the council members. Anxiety turned to frustration, bickering, violence. It took a local priestess leaping between two sides of an argument and pointing to the Tree, spear still lodged in the trunk. "Let us not repeat the mistakes of the past!"