The Wayfarer’s Gazette | Volume I, Issue No. 2 | November 2026
By Nynkies “Nimblefingers”
Editor-in-Chief, Financial Visionary, and Entirely Respectable Goblin
Dear Readers, Adventurers, Guild Leaders, and Anyone Who Hasn’t Yet Paid Their Subscription Fees,
Well, would you look at that.
Our first issue is behind us, our second is underway, and against all reasonable expectations, we’re still here.
I realize our inaugural edition didn’t arrive until partway through October, but I see no reason to let a minor inconvenience like the calendar interfere with a perfectly good celebration.
The printing press hasn’t exploded. The creditors haven’t found me. Nobody has successfully challenged my qualifications as Editor-in-Chief, and Auntie Agro has already threatened to turn me into a decorative garden mushroom more times than I care to count.
I consider this an overwhelming success.
Of course, certain individuals have suggested that a newspaper’s success should be measured by the quality of its reporting, its service to the community, and the trust it earns from its readers.
Those individuals have clearly never operated a business.
A Gazette for the People (Terms and Conditions Apply)
When I founded this magnificent institution, I had a simple dream: to create a newspaper where the citizens of Eth-ur could gather, share their adventures, celebrate their guilds, and learn about the remarkable happenings throughout our world.
Also, I wanted a large office with a comfortable chair.
The chair hasn’t arrived.
But the newspaper has.
Our inaugural edition introduced readers to news from across Eth-ur, guild announcements, questionable advice, mysterious investigations, and an editorial staff whose employment records would not survive even the most casual inspection.
And while our first issue may have arrived fashionably late to October’s festivities, I’m pleased to report that we’ve already begun making ourselves known.
I’d like to extend my appreciation to everyone who has visited the Gazette, shared its articles, submitted material, or simply stopped by to see what nonsense we’ve gotten ourselves into.
Every reader helps keep this publication alive.
Unless you’re reading over someone else’s shoulder. In that case, kindly obtain your own copy. We have circulation figures to exaggerate.
The Great Artistic Reorganization
Some of you may have heard that the Gazette is undergoing a change in its artistic department.
Apparently, our original illustrations caused a bit of a stir.
After receiving feedback from the community, we decided that the Gazette should place greater emphasis on original artwork created by the talented artists of Eth-ur.
A perfectly reasonable decision, if you ask me.
Naturally, I immediately commissioned a magnificent portrait of myself standing atop a mountain of gold, surrounded by cheering admirers, with the words “Greatest Editor in the History of Journalism” engraved beneath my feet.
Auntie Agro rejected the proposal.
Something about artistic integrity, responsible spending, and my inability to distinguish the Gazette’s treasury from my personal coin purse.
Honestly, the woman has no appreciation for fine art.
Nevertheless, the Gazette is seeking artists interested in helping bring our publication to life. We have paid commission opportunities for our principal character portraits and welcome voluntary contributions of original illustrations, cartoons, and other creative works.
If you’ve got artistic talent and a fondness for Monsters & Memories, we’d love to hear from you.
Just don’t let Auntie Agro negotiate your contract. She’s frighteningly competent.
Trouble in the Editorial Offices
Speaking of Auntie Agro, I’m pleased to report that our esteemed advice columnist continues to receive the sorts of questions that make a sensible person question the future of civilization.
Her column, Dear Auntie Agro, remains available to anyone seeking wisdom, guidance, or a verbal beating administered by an elderly Goblin Enchanter.
I have personally suggested that she adopt a more welcoming approach.
She suggested I swallow a particularly unpleasant toad.
Negotiations remain ongoing.
Meanwhile, Shamboogie Spiritshuffler continues his investigations into the strange and unexplained.
Our resident Deep Gnome Shaman insists that there are mysteries throughout Eth-ur waiting to be uncovered.
I asked whether any of those mysteries involved the location of our missing office funds.
He stared at me with those unsettling golden eyes for several seconds before announcing that some spirits are best left undisturbed.
I’m choosing to interpret that as professional courtesy.
Your Stories Belong in These Pages
Now, beneath all the financial misunderstandings and staff disagreements, there is something I genuinely want our readers to understand.
The Wayfarer’s Gazette belongs to the community it serves.
We’re interested in your adventures, your guilds, your discoveries, your victories, and even your spectacular failures.
Did your guild accomplish something worth celebrating? Tell us.
Have you encountered something strange during your travels? Shamboogie would like to investigate.
Need advice about a particularly troublesome situation? Auntie Agro is waiting, although I cannot guarantee you’ll enjoy her answer.
Are you an artisan looking to advertise your creations? The Artisan’s Exchange has room for you.
And if you have an idea for improving the newspaper, our Suggestion Box is always open.
I personally review every suggestion.
Well, I review the envelopes.
Auntie Agro handles the reading.
Apparently, “Does this contain money?” is not an acceptable editorial screening process.
Looking Toward the Road Ahead
As we begin our second issue, my hope is that The Wayfarer’s Gazette continues to grow into something worth visiting, reading, and contributing to.
Not simply because I have ambitious plans for a larger office.
Although I do.
But because the best stories in Eth-ur don’t always come from grand battles or legendary treasures.
Sometimes they come from an unexpected friendship, a guild helping a stranger, an adventurer making a terrible decision, or a group of companions returning from a dungeon with fewer possessions than they started with.
Those are the stories that make our world interesting.
And those are the stories I want filling these pages.
So keep adventuring. Keep exploring. Keep sending us your news, your rumors, your artwork, and your letters.
We’ll keep the presses running.
Assuming someone remembers to pay the printer.
Which brings me to an entirely unrelated matter.
If anyone happens to know a reliable accountant who doesn’t ask too many questions, please contact the editorial office immediately.
Auntie Agro has begun using words like audit, receipts, and criminal negligence.
I fear our working relationship is entering a difficult period.
Until next month, dear readers, may your adventures be profitable, your enemies be generous, and your coin purses remain conveniently unattended.
Nynkies “Nimblefingers”
Editor-in-Chief
The Wayfarer’s Gazette
All the News That’s Fit to Print. And Quite a Bit That Isn’t.
P.S. Auntie Agro has informed me that the Gazette is not, in fact, a subscription-based publication and that readers are under no obligation to pay me anything.
I strongly disagree with this interpretation of our business model.
P.P.S. She has confiscated the subscription collection box.
P.P.P.S. If anyone sees a small wooden box marked “Voluntary Mandatory Donations,” please return it directly to my office.
Do not tell Auntie Agro.
P.P.P.P.S. Added by Auntie Agro:
I have the box.
And the receipts.
P.P.P.P.P.S. Added by Nynkies:
Auntie Agro seems awfully proud of finding those receipts.
I haven’t the heart to tell her they’re all made out in her name.
P.P.P.P.P.P.S. Crossed out by Auntie Agro:
YOU LITTLE
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