… Sparked by the von Korps murder of a House Verdun watchwoman, the two houses fought street to street with many deaths on both sides. House Verdun were driven into the security of their estate walls by the ferocity of the von Korps “enforcers”, in the morning the von Korps found they were trapped by an abstract painting of a lock across their mighty wooden gates, and paintings of sharp spikes along their high-city-facing walls. As yet unable to undo this art magic, they are reduced to entering and leaving by way of their back stairs into the Smoke.
House von Korps blames the murder on three burglars from the low city – a difficult-looking woman, a battered-looking veteran, and a wild-eyed man with an unkempt beard – although the reason for this charge is unclear. The von Korps have offered a bounty of 100 sp each for the apprehension of these ne’er-do-wells.
During the chaos, a cart being moved by von Korps soldiers overturned on the high city promenade, spilling half a dozen bodies. Witnesses were conflicted as to whether they were alive or dead. …
The Wrong Kind of Wax 