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[Thrax]

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In the gloomy hardwood forest less than a league west of Thraxstadt, a group of cloaked figures huddled closely together, ignoring the cold, light, rain that fell around them. They listened to the voice of one of their number who stood apart from the rest, whose breathing as he spoke sent puffs of vapor into the air. "Your task is very simple. When you run out of supplies, contact me. If you are captured, lie. If they kill you anyway, die knowing that your families will be compensated handsomely and protected for life. But know this: If you betray information about the cause, consequences will be dire. The Order has a long reach. There is no place they cannot find those they seek! And there are none they will spare, be it wives or children of traitors. Now, do you have any last questions?"

"Who is this Order we work for?" one dared to inquire.

The leader snorted. "In what cave have you been living these past few months?? Have you not heard of what happened in Minoc and Vesper? You do not need to know who they are. You only need to know what they will do!"

The questioner nodded. "Oh, *that* Order."

"Aye, now get to it!"

In twos and threes the figures melted away into the shadows of the forest in the direction of Yew.

* * *

Not long after, leaflets could be found strewn daily on the ground in the township of Yew, having been dropped overnight. Many were picked up and thrown away. Others were left unread and were trampled in the mud and dirt. A few were picked up and read. Some Yewians snorted with derision and tossed them back onto the ground; others nodded in agreement; still others merely laughed, or sighed, or shook their heads, or remained ambivalent to the politically-charged message they contained:

"Citizens of Yew!

It is time to throw off the yoke of tyranny forced upon us!
The day of liberation approaches! Prepare yourselves!
Look eastward for salvation! It is coming!"