Mission Statement:
To endeavor to bring to all residents of the Five States the most current and important news from across the entire Five States region. Never yellow, the Five States Herald vows to serve only the people of the Five States, from New Austin to Lemoyne, free of charge now and forever.
Coal Killer’s shadow lengthens as lawmen tighten ranks
By Adam Parvey
Authorities across the Five States confirm that the figure long whispered of as the Coal Killer has not merely returned, but grown bolder in method and reach. In the days following last week’s revelations, deputies from distant jurisdictions have quietly exchanged notes, finding the same careful restraint at each scene: a single wound, no sign of theft, and the now-infamous coal placed as if to tell everyone the victim was on the naughty list. Officials in Saint Denis acknowledge renewed pressure from city councils and merchants alike.
New statements gathered from townsfolk suggest the killer may be lingering longer near his chosen marks, watching routines before striking. In Blackwater, a dockhand reported seeing a red-and-white-clad figure standing motionless atop a warehouse roof for nearly an hour, “like he was waiting on a bell to ring.” Though no violence followed that night, the sighting has deepened fears that the man moves with deliberation, guided by his own ledger of wrongs rather than opportunity. Lawmen caution that such accounts remain unverified, yet admit they align with the killer’s earlier pattern of patience.
Despite increased patrols and a rare sharing of information between offices often divided by pride and distance, officials concede they are no closer to predicting the next strike. What unsettles them most, according to one senior marshal speaking off record, is the absence of any public demand or message beyond the coal itself. “He ain’t asking to be heard,” the marshal said. “He’s passing sentence.” For now, citizens are urged to report suspicious movement and avoid solitary travel after dark, while the question hangs unanswered: whether the Coal Killer hunts by conscience, madness, or a colder design still unfolding.
Woman narrowly spared from death beneath dawn train
By Jose Chavez
A woman traveling alone in New Austin awoke this week to the shrill warning of a train whistle and found herself but moments from being crushed beneath iron wheels. According to her shaken account, she had made camp too near the tracks and stirred just in time to hear the engine bearing down. She scrambled clear of the rails, but in her haste stumbled, and the fast-moving train struck her a glancing blow, hurling her back into the dust with such force that witnesses feared her finished all the same. The train did not stop, its passage gone as quick as it came, leaving only smoke, noise, and a badly injured soul behind.
Ranch hands from nearby McFarlane Ranch came upon the scene shortly after and rendered what aid they could, lifting the woman onto a wagon and carrying her north to Blackwater for medical attention. The woman is said to be alive and under care, a living reminder that on the frontier, even sleep near the rails can turn deadly in the span of a single breath.
Naturalists bristle at bird hunt in the Grizzlies
By Jane Duran
Naturalists operating in Ambarino have raised sharp objections following a bird hunting event held near O’Creagh’s Run, where several participants were seen competing to fell as many birds as their rifles would allow. Those opposed to the event say the chosen ground is known not only for common species such as crows and blue jays, but also for hawks, eagles, and loons that nest and feed along the cold waters and surrounding slopes. They argue the gathering showed little regard for the balance of the region, which already strains under harsh weather and habitat loss.
While naturalists here have long stood against all violence toward animals, including hunting undertaken for food, they say competitive killing marks a darker turn. “This ain’t survival,” one spokesman said. “It’s sport built on waste.” The group is now pressing territory officials to consider laws barring organized animal-killing contests, warning that without restraint such events will spread and strip the high country of life faster than any winter. For now, the matter remains unsettled, but the anger stirred among Ambarino’s naturalists shows no sign of cooling.
Blackwater Police Chief turns away wanted man from New Hanover
By Odell Clifton
Tension flared in Blackwater this week when the city’s chief of police refused to take custody of a wanted man delivered by a bounty hunter from New Hanover. The suspect, carrying a lawful bounty issued east of the Dakota River, was brought to Blackwater rather than returned to the jurisdiction where the warrant was signed. According to witnesses at the jailhouse, the decision was met with sharp words and raised voices before being settled by authority rather than compromise.
Chief Oswald Dunbar stated plainly that Blackwater’s cells are already at capacity and that he would not accept what he described as another state’s “refuse.” He further noted that New Hanover lawmen were both capable and responsible for housing their own prisoners, and that Blackwater would not become a dumping ground for out-of-territory arrests. The bounty hunter ultimately departed with the prisoner still in tow, leaving the question of jurisdiction—and cooperation between neighboring authorities—uncomfortably unresolved.
Bodies and bitterness found at abandoned New Hanover farm
By Donna Deshner
Lawmen riding out on reports of gunfire in New Hanover this week found a grim scene, where violence had already spent itself. Several bodies lay scattered across the yard and outbuildings, some clearly cut down by gunshot, others showing no wounds at all. The scene bore signs of a fierce exchange—spent casings in the dirt, doors blasted open—but also of something quieter and more deliberate that unsettled even seasoned deputies.
“We found residue of a type of toxic gas some folks have been using the last few years,” one lawman told me, “we believe that accounts for the dead that have no wounds.” The source declined to specify the nature of the substance, but said it was not the first time such methods had been encountered, particularly among groups seeking an advantage without risking a straight fight. The mingling of bullets and poison suggests either desperation or careful planning, though which remains unclear.
What the gunfight was about, and who survived it, is still unknown. Tracks were found leading away from the farm, indicating at least one party departed under their own power, but the trail went cold once lawmen attempted pursuit. With no surviving witnesses and no clear motive, the abandoned homestead now stands as another quiet mark on New Hanover soil, where violence flared briefly and left more questions than answers.
Snow Hits Saint-Denis
By Sofia Kathleen Fairfax – Lead Correspondent
This morning, thousands of residents of Lemoyne’s largest city awoke to a city covered in ice and snow. Despite swamps and chronic heat, it seems this fair city has been engulfed in snow like no other. Other towns and cities in the Five States have reported similar results, but it appears Saint-Denis has experienced the worst of it.
Horses are not allowed to leave stables for fear of injury or death, transportation has ground to a halt. A few would-be coachmen attempted to leave, and soon after found themselves trapped in snow embankments or crashed due to ice on the pavement. Smoke rises from chimneys everywhere, kerosene is in hot demand. A few superstitious folks wonder if Cornwall somehow summoned this storm to make a little more profit. Police patrol the streets dressed in so many layers, one might suspect they were harry monsters from the bayou.
I write all this from my home, as I rest beside the fireplace. It is dark and dusty, but there is a faint beauty to it all. Forced to read or interact with one another until the temperature rises, it really brings out the festive spirit, whether we like it or not.
Cowpoke spooked by silent bones in the night
By Lucien Privitt
A wandering cowpoke swore this week that a quiet camp turned uncanny when the dead themselves appeared to take interest in a tethered horse. The rider claims to have woken from an afternoon nap, set about warming their bones with a simple meal, and stepped into the cold to check on their mount when two figures were spotted standing close by. “I tried to holler at them and shoo them away,” the cowpoke said, “then I got close enough to see they were skeletons!” According to the account, the figures did not lunge nor flee, but remained still, staring in a fashion that chilled the blood more than any threat.
The cowpoke states they called their horse away by voice alone and wasted no time mounting up, fleeing the camp at a gallop and abandoning supplies, cookware, and bedding to the silent watchers. Whether this encounter was the work of moonlight and nerves, a cruel trick of frontier fancy, or something darker wandering our territories, remains unsettled. What is certain is that the rider did not look back, and urges others traveling region wide to mind their camps, trust their instincts, and remember that not all dangers announce themselves with gunfire or growl.
The Five States Herald 