“Is it starting soon?” “Court is in session right now, it won’t be long.” “Oh, I hope it's good news…” The air was filled with murmurs and gossip. Grass Sea City had ground to a stop as its populace gathered around the Announcement Pillars. The great formation that the Azure Heroes had repaired allowed announcements to ring out across the entire city, making them quite convenient. The Acting Lord Magistrate used them to tell the citizens of events he had planned, progress on the reconstruction of the city, or sometimes just to warn them of inclement weather, reported from outlying towns. His ‘dinner time chats’, as they were called by the people, were a much-beloved institution of the Acting Lord Magistrate’s tenure. But today, instead of people eating meals while listening with half an ear, all of them were focused. Word had got around that there was an official decision from Pale Moon Lake City about the status of the Lord Magistrate position. Every official had been called into the palace—even Boss Tanhui of Underbridge was there—to witness whatever was taking place. Everyone in Grass Sea City knew of Pale Moon Lake City—their distant, disinterested overlords that their own leaders constantly quarreled with. There were always speakers on street corners, declaring those of Pale Moon Lake to be jealous of Grass Sea—weak, aging overlords who were pushing down on them to keep them from growing too strong and taking their rightful place as the true capital of the Azure Hills. The words often found fertile (...)