Last week Sigil saw the passing of a man that I personally made famous, but itÂ’s not until today that I pull myself from grief long enough to put this to print. Nero Urbane, detective and champion for the poor, cheese monger, and playboy has passed away. His death was an anticlimactic and unworthy end for a man who devoted his life to helping the needy without ever taking a single coin for himself. The only sparkle in this dark tragedy is that Nyrralah, the woman with whom Nero had grown closest during his months in Sigil, was with him during his last moments.
Scandal has followed in NeroÂ’s wake, with rumor and controversy surrounding the investigation and smearing NeroÂ’s reputation further, even after his demise. This reporter has confirmed that immediately following NeroÂ’s death one Factotum Green of the Fraternity of Order directly instructed all involved officers to conceal NeroÂ’s fate and report that he had merely gone missing.
When questioned, the Factotum replied, “It was not my preference to deceive Nero’s mourners, but for the sake of good relations I chose to acquiesce to the Sign of One’s request to do just that.” At the Hall of Speakers one Factor i was quoted, “I know the representative who made the request to Factotum Green, and while it was not a sanctioned petition, I fully endorse it in retrospect.” She also went on to assert that she would not in good conscious reveal the identity of the Signer who made the request.
In the days since NeroÂ’s death a small team of women has assembled and assigned it to themselves to unravel the mystery of the eladrinÂ’s passing. Their efforts in tandem with Factotum GreenÂ’s have indicated that Nero was murdered via contact with a deadly poison, yet none of these women, nor the Factotum will divulge the poisonÂ’s origin, or any hint of the murderer. Though it has been confirmed at this time that death-defying magics have proven ineffective to return Nero. However, the team is led by the dauntless Nyrralah herself and still pushes onward in determination to solve this dark mystery.
Meanwhile, Nero is survived by a legacy of serving justice for those whom justice typically ignores, and one ongoing cheese manufacturing operation. Dwayne, the current executive of Galore Cheeses Ltd, was quick to lament their former employer’s death, and said, “Nero was a good man who didn’t judge us for being a swarm of rats - a rare thing even in Sigil. We’ll miss him and aim for Galore Cheese’s success in his honor.” The lim lim cornerstone of Nero’s former cheese dairy were less composed, to Dwayne’s irritation.
So we now must wish our fondest to Nero on his latest journey, wherever he has passed. We knew him as brash, impulsive, arrogant, and righteous - but so too did we know him as a figure who stood for goodness, for no sake other than goodness.
~Lana Bright
Obituary: Nero Urbane
