5 pm EST

With a muffled “clink”, the pickaxe broke through into the room beyond. An eye peered through the hole, and, seeing no reaction to the noise, leather gloved hands started to slowly work the edges of the hole. Once the hole was big enough for the shadowy miner to fit his upper body through, he reached up, and secured a large, black tapestry, bearing Lord Blackthorn’s symbol of chaos to the wall, covering his work. Reaching down, he retrieved all the debris that his efforts had created.

Next, the figure pulled himself out of the hole, stepped into the room, and surveyed his handiwork. Nobody would be likely to distinguish the tapestry from the others like it around what looked like a large library, and it was very unlikely that anyone would look behind it.

Buying the house at the other end of the tunnel had taken most of his gold. After all, it was prime real estate – housing was scarce on Serpents Hold, especially this close to the council chambers – it had cost a small fortune! But, it would all be worth it very soon. His fellow conspirators had given him all the information he needed to make get the tunnel exactly right.

Pulling off his miner’s headgear, Juxmani drew the tapestry aside, and gave a low whistle down the tunnel. Soon, large barrels were being passed through the hole to him, which he started to place around the room, and down the corridors beyond. One had leaked slightly, which worried him no end. He left that one behind a bookcase, its purple contents slowly seeping into the ground.

In the hours that followed, he wandered the halls of the Royal Archives, laying fine thread from each barrel to the hole that he had made, ever vigilant for the sounds of visitors, or worse, guards. But none came. Why should they? These halls contained records of every council meeting ever held, but that was only of value to historians and students. Once a decision was made, it was enshrined into law – and the legal libraries were beneath the courts in Yew, far from here. Besides, his man inside the Council had made sure that nobody would be here tonight – the fool had been so easily bribed, you’d think he’d never seen a bag of gold coins before.

Casting a lasting spell of invisibility on his fuses, and disguising the last of the barrels within a bookcase, Juxmani made his way back into the hole. Now, all he had to do was wait until the king and his lackeys next gathered. The barrels of refined explosives, carefully brewed by his best alchemists, would soon leave a smoking crater where the Council had stood, and the new order could begin in earnest. Blackthorn would be a smoking memory, hopefully one soon forgotten.

All that remained was to obtain a few dragons. They would be released as the council convened, and the devastation would be easily blamed on them. Then, he would step forwards from the shadows, accuse Blackthorn of forbidden experimentation on the hapless beasts, and draw all the people’s loyalties to him. What could possibly go wrong?

What you need to know:

• Yes, I am aware that Guy Fawkes Night is largely unknown in the USA. This isn’t it. Please ignore all similarities. They are purely coincidental. *cough*
• Gates will be available in the usual places. If you don’t know what “the usual places” are, click here.
• Most of this will take place outside of the guard zone. Dress accordingly.
• Will there be drops? I’m not telling you. Ever. Come along and find out!
• I will tell you that there will be some Crimson Dragons around Serpents’ Hold (some in the guard zone), which occasionally drop really nice items. They’ll start appearing some time before the event, if you’re feeling bored. Luck suits help with their loot, but don’t blame me if you are the one who gets looted.
• I do not advocate blowing up governments. If you want to do that, don’t drag me into it!