The rumors I gave the players at the beginning of the session, with my intended significance:
Widow Jones's cat got into a big fight last night. (Irrelevant; red herring)
Nelly Jordan has been seeing a new man lately. (Irrelevant)
The weather has been hot and humid lately. (Irrelevant)
There's a new merchant who's come into town. (Minor significance, referring to Colm.)
Farmer Welton's dog hasn't been seen for a few days. (I expect the PCs to find the dog's body mauled by rats.)
-- this comment was made public on September 21, 2001
Widow Jones's cat got into a big fight last night. (Irrelevant; red herring)
Nelly Jordan has been seeing a new man lately. (Irrelevant)
The weather has been hot and humid lately. (Irrelevant)
There's a new merchant who's come into town. (Minor significance, referring to Colm.)
Farmer Welton's dog hasn't been seen for a few days. (I expect the PCs to find the dog's body mauled by rats.)
-- this comment was made public on September 21, 2001