Rarely do we hear news from the remote desert town of Zischlas, where more than 200,000 Lizardmen live.
All the more shocking are the reports that have reached us about serious unrest among the Lizardmen in the desert empire’s capital.
It was probably due to the increased price of cactus fruits, the primary food of the Lizardmen. Following three consecutive years where the cactus fruit harvest lagged far behind expectations, Farohif VII freed price controls to take the financial pressure off the fruit gatherers, whose income has plummeted since the beginning of the harvest crisis.
Emaciated Lizardmen have been an increasingly common sight in the streets of Zischlas in the past two years.
Our local news source, the half-elf Altea of Severen, sent us by magical pigeon a harrowing account of hundreds of deaths and cases of cannibalism. This is even more astonishing given that the Lizardmen have always been considered a peaceful and friendly people.
After the sudden outbreak of violence, King Farohif VII took back the liberalization of prices for cactus fruits.
A contract was awarded to the Mages Guild of Zischlas to develop a spell for the magical creation of cactus fruits, similar to spells for creation of bread and milk and creation of honey and butter. A research contract has also been awarded to work on the transformation of apples into cactus fruit or something similar.
The Mages Guild is keeping this secret until they can develop a spell in this direction. Reports from informed circles think the research and testing period will be at least two years, which is much too long for the current situation.
Well-informed sources from behind closed doors say that these research projects are only a diversionary maneuver and appeasement on the part of the Lizard King to reduce the pressure of the current tense situation.