“ To become a warrior in a tribe. -no food, drink, or sleep for 4 days and nights. -change into special clothes and painted enter hut -slices of skin carved from their chest and shoulders -wooden skewers through the bleeding flesh behind the chest muscles -stout thongs, secured to rafters were tied to skewers -hoisted from floor by these and weights were attached to their feet -twirled around till fell unconscious -when recovered from this, given a hatchet to cut off their little finger -ropes then tied to wrists and force to run in circle like a horse until he passed out -if survive all this he can return to his family in honor knowing he is now a warrior.”
“ The Nomin gypsies have a fiddling competition every year, known as the Danse de Velose. Beaters hit out the rhythm on taut drums and the competitors start to play, slowly at first. Youngsters can compete, but are soon pulled away by worried mothers, before the competition becomes too dangerous. After two hours the haunting tune has become dazzlingly fast. You can resign at any time, but the moment you make a mistake you receive an arrow through the neck. Strings may snap, but the players must play on. The whole affair never lasts much longer than three hours, and the last fiddler playing is crowned king of the gypsies.”
“ Recently, agents of a necromancer's guild known as the Guild of Morticians have been seen slinking around the graveyards in the metropolis of Jeffsport. They have been seen with many small undead creatures, leading to speculation that someone may be digging up the corpses and selling them to the Guild of Morticians. The Jeffsport Civil Authorities Office and various splinter groups thereof, including the famous Blue Lampsmen (the Jeffsport city guard), have issued a bounty of 100 silver pieces for information leading to the capture of whoever is selling the corpses to the necromancers, and a 30 gold piece bounty on any member of the Guild of Morticians.”