"Independence" Magazine

"Have you ever dreamed of becoming a baron? It's not that hard. All you have to do is go to the Stolen Lands – a tiny region located between Brevoy and the River Kingdoms, and a source of dispute for those two for many years. Miles and miles of woods, swamps and infertile clay soils infested with monsters and bandits. It's something like a white elephant: one can't hold it but also can't give up on it and let the neighbor have it. For many years, the Restov Swordlords have been promising a title to anyone who manages to bring some resemblance of order to this gods-forsaken land. This is just the usual way rulers solve their problems: there are plenty of adventure-seekers, and you can always find another naïve brave soul who'd gladly risk his or her life without prepayment. There were many who took the bait — their sun-bleached bones still litter the banks of muddy lakes and lie in piles under crooked trees. You can imagine how astonished I was, then, when someone managed the feat — breaking the antlers of a local kingpin called the Stag Lord and turning the bandit's fort into the capital of a new barony. Of course, I departed for these lands immediately, to witness with my own eyes the one who managed to install control over the Stolen Lands. Let's be honest: the achievements of the new baroness are still quite moderate. My letter didn't get there in time (I hope the courier who had to deliver it is alive and well). Since no one could meet me, I decided to get to the capital on my own, which was a strategic mistake, for the road-building in the barony functions even worse than its mailing service. I barely made my way through the mud and wind-fallen trees, just to narrowly escape drowning at the river ford — the only thing that kept me going was the anticipation of the joy the baroness would express when I told him about the marvelous scientific novelty called a "bridge". Furthermore, a horde of hungry kobolds jumped out from the underbrush. But just when I was getting ready to kiss my life goodbye, the baroness himself emerged from the woods, fought off all the pests, and helped me to get to firm ground. As it turned out, the baroness has a strong justification for neglecting roads and bridges: while his capital is under construction, she lives on the road and with the help of his companions patrols the realm, dealing significant damage to the local, ever-hungry fauna (may the plague take it). Trolls, boggards, will-o'-wisps and giant spiders really impede the improvement of public services. I've offered the baroness my advice and my active help – you can spit in the faces of those who claim Jubilost can only criticize. You can try out your luck as well: though the title of the ruler is already taken, the young barony offers plenty of vacancies both for laborers and for sellswords. Just don't repeat the mistakes of your predecessors: demand payment in advance! As for those of you who prefer to learn about wild lands and dangerous adventures from the magazine pages, we'll meet in the next issue."