News in Opportunity

We're picking ACKS back up after a...  three week? hiatus this Sunday, and things in the world have not been idle.  Some of the headlines coming to the attention of my players recently include:

• A number of peculiar and vague scribblings have been found on the back of the Zaharan Fort map.  After being deciphered from elvish, they seem to suggest that there is (or was) an oracle of some sort at the fort.  Likewise, one part of the message appears to be garbled, beyond merely its language...
• The ankhegs which have been terrorizing the populace of Opportunity have been expanding their territory, since their primary competitors, a nest of giant scorpions, were eliminated last month by the Company.  Fortunately, they do not appear to have increased in number, but the length of their spawning cycle is anyone's guess...
• The Orphans, who are closely allied with Garwyn's Perfectly Legitimate Government, report curious black-clad figures snooping around the Guild district, but they're not recognized as guildies...  They seem to be fairly skilled, and the Orphans have been unable to determine just how many of them there are, though estimates tend to fall in the five to seven range.
• A bedraggled wizard arrives from the South and seeks an audience with Garwyn's court.  His demeanor suggests that he bears ill tidings.
• Garwyn's spy in Deal reports that Crowfeed fled from justice, but the direction of his flight is uncertain.  Freeport seems the most likely destination, but Crowfeed is a wily opponent, as the PCs have learned the hard way once before...
• Carcophan's tower of black basalt is erected deep in the swamps of the crocodile-men he now rules.  He takes his first apprentice, Garwyn's henchman Scrud, junior alchemist and survivor of opening the flask containing the Potion of Cloudkill.