Citizens were shocked by the recent discovery that the Silent Partners, the clandestine group of unknown size that has been operating in the city for decades by means of blackmail and debt to recruit members, had disrupted the airship launch in Duhura Market by hiring the notorious beyonder assassin Eclipse and threatening to unleash the terrorist group known as the Men of Iron onto the area for further murder and mayhem.
Eclipse succeeded in murdering people in cold blood; Jordan Lambtree of the Parastin was poisoned, Henry Lucas, Gilded, and Sasha Roga, Bāhira, were found in their separate bedrooms by police, murdered from asphyxiation as they slept; Coulbourne emissary Andre Sullivan was stabbed to death. Each victim was found with a distinctive calling card of the Silent Partners. It is believed that many more were on a hit list provided to Eclipse by the Partners, including Elder Feba (Bāhira), Marguerite Valtara (Parastin), mayoral candidate Jacqueline Carmichael (Gilded), and Irregulars co-leader Celìo D’Amore, who all narrowly escaped assassination attempts by the killer, according to first hand accounts.
The Men of Iron allegedly formed an alliance with the Silent Partners shortly after their attempts to bomb the Janeway’s Firefly airship and Gilded Wyvern were thwarted. It is believed that with the last of the Men of Iron bombing materials being confiscated, the Men of Iron were manipulated into trusting the Partners out of desperation. Before they could make good on their threat to attack Duhura Market, the Men of Iron were betrayed by the Silent Partners and inexplicably turned over as a perverse gift to the Parastin Order.
Until the attacks in Duhura Market, the leader and goals of the Silent Partners had remained a mystery. The Silent Partners engage their members in various criminal activities, from forced recruitment to murder. In most cases, instructions were delivered by proxy to hide the true identity of their leader. A cryptic clue given by the subdued Men of Iron led to the discovery that Echo Guster, a pneumatic tube-a-gram worker, is the leader of the Silent Partners. A search of the tube-a-gram station left little doubt, as a parting message covered with the Partners’ eye symbol read, “Thank you for making our visit so special. We will be watching. Echo Guster.” Parastin detective Jean Du Bouchett was quick to note to reporters that Echo Guster may not only be an alias, but perhaps an anagram clue: The Scourge. This theory was initially dismissed by some, as The Scourge would have to be over two hundred years old. However, with the recent repeal of struck punishments, newly available records may shed light on this mystery and prove a connection, if any.
