PROCLAMATION OF BURGLARY AND FIRE AT THE CANDLEMAKER’S KEEP

HEAR YE. HEAR YE.
BY ORDER OF SHERIFF KELSTER OF THE CITY WATCH
AND BY COMPLAINT OF MASTER ROFT OF THE CANDLEMAKER’S KEEP,
LET THIS BE MADE KNOWN, POSTED, AND REMEMBERED.

On the night last past, when honest folk were abed, and lamps burned low, there was committed near FLITCHER’S BEND—hard by the canal—an outrage of BURGLARY AND FIRE such as threatens not only private purse, but the peace and common safety of the city.

For the CANDLEMAKER’S KEEP, being the shop and storehouse of MASTER ROFT, supplier of wax and lamp oil to households of means and modest alike, was UNLAWFULLY ENTERED in the dead hours by thieves of practiced hand. The rear way was found forced and turned by craft, and the culprits moved within as shadows among hanging tapers and kettles, seeking coin and quick escape.

In the course of this felony, a GREAT SUM OF COIN was stolen from the premises. Though some portion was recovered upon the stones amid the scramble, Master Roft does attest that a missing sum of gold remains unaccounted for—coin set aside not for luxury, but for the wages of his workers, honest men and women whose hands keep the city’s lanterns fed and its windows warm with light.

Let all understand the cruelty of this: when thieves steal a merchant’s hoard, they rob one man; but when they steal wage-gold, they rob every family that waits on that coin for bread.

Worse still, the thieves did not flee with coin alone. When met and pressed, they chose not to surrender, but MALICE—overturning hot wax and casting it into fire, so that flame took hold and smoke roared up to the rafters. Shelves were toppled, stock was ruined, and a great deal of wax—costly and slow-made—was lost to heat and ash.

Thus is it warned: with Roft’s shop damaged and his stores diminished, the price of candles and wax will surely rise, and those who cannot pay shall know earlier darkness. If this wickedness continues, Grafton Notch risks a season of dim halls and shuttered hearths—a dark time, where honest folk must grope by moonlight, and thieves will find the streets all the kinder to their work.

It is further reported that in the flight from the scene, the culprits did shed coin upon the ground and were seen fleeing as hooded girl-thieves, small and swift, darting into the alleys before firm hands could seize them. A brief struggle was had in the rear way, and though the Watch will not repeat tavern tales as fact, there are whispers of a common utensil turned weapon in the scuffle—an emblem oft spoken of in recent days.

NOW THERE IS CAUSE FOR GREATER ALARM.

For it is suggested—by pattern, by method, and by the boldness of the act—that these thieves may be the same rapscallions who lately robbed DARN THE BUTCHER of his life savings, and who have stirred further nuisance and thievery about AMICUS SQUARE; and some even murmur—though this is not yet proven—that they may be linked to the disturbance at RUBY’s ROOST this month past, wherein blood was raised and order broken.

Moreover, locals do report the sudden appearance of a FORK-SHAPED MARK painted upon the back wall of the chandler’s shop near Hitcher’s Row—fresh-set, brazen, and placed as if to boast. Whether this be a child’s crude prank or the sign of an organized knot, the Watch takes the matter in earnest.

For if a new gang is forming—bold, vicious, and hungry for notoriety—then the city must be warned before the streets are taught to fear.

LET IT THEREFORE BE PROCLAIMED:

That any citizen with knowledge of this burglary—any who saw suspicious figures near Flitcher’s Bend, or who hears sudden spending of gold not honestly earned—shall report at once to the Watchhouse, and shall be met with reward and the Sheriff’s favor.

That all shopkeepers are urged to bar rear-ways with iron and chain, to keep lanterns high and doors watched, and to speak no “secret keepings” in alehouses, for drunken tongues are lanterns to thieves.

That any found bearing the fork-mark, painting it, boasting of it, or sheltering those who do, shall be questioned closely, for the Watch will not wait until the next shop burns.

And let it be stated plainly: should this prove the work of a pack, then the pack shall answer as one, for an oath in crime becomes a binding in punishment.

POSTED THIS DAY,
beneath lamp and nail,
for the warning of the streets,
and the discouragement of wickedness.

*If you like this tale, you will surely enjoy Jezelle: Thief of Forks, available for pre-order now, releasing April 4, 2026. Below you can find the other “notices” in this series:

THE EASTERN BUTCHER STALL ROBBED CLEAN

NOTICE OF VAGRANT WHELPS AND MARKET MISCHIEF AT AMICUS SQUARE

NOTICE OF A WICKED AFFRAY AT RUBY’S ROOST