An Extract from the drafts of the Evening Edition of The Times
At a quarter past midnight last night, St. Samson's Dock was engulfed in flame by a monstrous explosion.
The blast emanated from Brackenthwaite's Shipping Warehouse, a small concern that commonly dealt in timber and metals. The warehouse was utterly destroyed in the conflagration and there was significant damage to other property within a radius of five hundred metres. Local hospitals have received an unconfirmed number of casualties from the surrounding industrial buildings. Three barges exiting the dock were sunk along with seven moored ships. The total cost of the damage has been estimated at nine-hundred and sixty thousand crowns.
Members of the Capital Police Force are scouring the remains of the warehouse. A representative has blamed the explosion on a large shipment of flammable gas illegally stored within.
Witnesses from throughout the district attested to a tremendous flash of red light followed immediately by a thunderous roar. Our earliest reports indicate that the blast was heard as far as ninety miles away, with the force causing windows to break across this entire metropolis. A pillar of smoke rose several thousand feet above the scene and persisted until past dawn, when it cast much of the city in shadow.
[REDACTED] A significant number of witnesses have also attested to an indistinct shape leaving this cloud and moving northeast towards the sea in the moments immediately after the explosion. Police constables have scotched the rumours. [REDACTED].
The Prime Minister of His Imperial Majesty's Government has appealed for calm and pledged that the authorities will do everything in their power to uncover the truth behind the explosion and bring to justice those whose illegal practices have endangered the lives of thousands.
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Specimen #626
Short StoryFrom the letters of Dr. Vorheim, 22/07/56: My Dear Cossereau, I have it! I have it! Perhaps it is best that I write, for in speech I would hardly be able to contain myself. A Dragon! Vampires, werewolves, such monsters I have seen, but this overt...
