Naturalists get violent to protect condors
By Jose Chavez
New Austin drew many visitors this week who were looking to seek their fame and fortune. Though this time it was not about gold, but about condor feathers. A wealthy collector issued a gold nugget bounty on condor feathers, wanting to expand their collection. New Austin was full of hunters looking into the sky to shoot down the large scavenger birds. Though hunting condors is not considered terribly dangerous, the usual dangers still apply. Desert heat, venomous snakes you may not see, and sudden cliffs that may result in death. And sometimes, other people.

It was not a gang of outlaws that attacked the condor hunters, though. It was a group of people known more for not killing than for killing: naturalists. Several naturalists banned together and began shooting hunters looking into the sky on sight. New Austin Rangers patrolling the area made several arrests, though reports of hunters being killed continued to come in. “Did I commit murder, I suppose I did,” one arrested naturalists said, “but they were about to commit murder themselves, I saved an innocent life!” Dead hunters were found for several days, baking in the sun. Across the state of New Austin, seven naturalists were arrested for murder.

Jury believes Mrs. Haven, finds her not guilty
By Jane Duran
The Executioner saga has come to an end, at least, this chapter of it. Mrs. Emmaline Haven was found not guilty this week. The prosecution added some drama to the case when it submitted Mrs. Haven’s journal as evidence. In the journal she discussed killing her husband and a belief that the unfaithful should be punished. The jury found this less convincing, however, as Mrs. Haven explained these were “ramblings of a frustrated woman.” The defense also pointed out that the journal did not actually link Mrs. Haven to any of the murdered victims. The prosecution was visibly frustrated.

Special Agent Rice Philips audibly sighed and slammed hands on the railing in front of him. The judge had to admonish Agent Philips’ outburst. Agent Philips is said to have left the courthouse in great haste. Mrs. Haven was released the same day. While this was good news for Mrs. Haven, it does mean the Executioner is still at large and always has been.

Blackwater roads turning to quicksand?
By Odell Clifton
Another bizarre story in the Five States: the second most modern town in the Five States has its roads turn to quicksand. Witnesses say that watched someone riding their horse sink into the ground. “I thought they were going to disappear into the ground,” one witness said, “but they stopped sinking and just kept walking, half buried in the ground!” Police were alerted by alarmed residents but when they arrived they quickly realized there was nothing that they could do to help. “We thought to throw a rope to him and pull him up,” one police officer said, “but that would leave the horse and honestly, the man seemed completely unbothered by the situation.”

The man eventually rose back out of the ground and went on his way. Strangely, nobody else sunk into the ground. In fact, several others walked nearby the sinking rider and remained on the road as expected. Thus, it is unlikely the road turned to quick sand. But what really happened is unknown and defies all known explanations. Experts have spoken to witnesses and investigated the area. Though they cannot explain the event, they are not too concerned as nobody seemed to be harmed.

Bounty hunters and wanted man found dead after train collision
By Donna Deshner
A pair of bounty hunters and their target were spotted traveling leisurely on train tracks. The problem is that it was the train engineer who spotted them and far to late to bring the train to a stop. He used the warning whistle and bell but the bounty hunters had nowhere to go. They attempted to outrun the train, but even as the train braked desperately, they could not outrun it. The train barreled into the the two mounted bounty hunters, sending gore flying all over the train. The engineer brought the train to a stop at the next station and sent a telegraph reporting what occurred. Lawmen investigated the scene and reported that there were no survivors found. Both horses were found dead, along with several body parts. The scene was described as grisly scene. “There were body parts everywhere and truth be told, we will probably never find them all,” said one of the lawmen, “but we found enough hands to know it was at least three people dead.”

The tracks were cleaned of debris and the trains were running again soon after the investigation was concluded. No crimes had been committed and the engineer was commended for their efforts and quick reporting of the incident.

Worlds combine, resulting in multiple rare animals appearing in Scarlett Meadows
By Emeline Vickroy
Hunters were shocked this week when the barrier between worlds became thin enough for animals to cross through. The the multiple worlds theory has not be accepted by a majority of scientists, it is a common explanation among fringe scientists, those questioning the accepted conclusions in the field. One such fringe scientists, and regular interviewee here, Dr. W. Bishop says the barrier between worlds fluctuates in thickness. “There are, at all times, experiments happening that affect the barrier in the various ways,” Dr. Bishop said, “sometimes making it thinner.” Moreover, Dr. Bishop explained that areas of significant trauma create anomalies that result in thinner barriers all of the time. “The battlefield in… Scarlett Meadows is it? is a place of great tragedy, yes?” Dr. Bishop said, “And so in some world, some mind, perhaps another version of me, is doing an experiment there and thinning the barrier further!”

The end result? An explosion of rare animals. Among the rare animals spotted were the Ozula elk and Tatanka bison, neither of which are native to the area. Other rare animals appeared suddenly as well, appearing out of thin air. The animals died just like any other animal, however, and hunters in the area took advantage of the situation and harvested several pelts before the phenomena ended.

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