Team A - Party Assignments
From the Desk of Professor Paige Turner
Esteemed Adventurers,
As you know, it is based on the generosity of an anonymous guarantor that adventurer’s guild membership has been secured for each of your parties. Despite those that may consider it folly to sponsor newer groups such as yours, I urge you to take pride in the fact that your patron has hand selected each of your three parties based on the belief that your unique skills will be up to the various challenges they have in mind. I also trust that you will do your best to prove yourselves worthy of sponsorship.
Permit me to introduce myself as your official guild liaison. My name is Professor Turner, an expert in the artistic science of divination. Despite this initial formality, I expect the nature of our work together shall foster a fast familiarity, so I shall skip ahead and invite you to address me by my first name, Paige. Per your patron’s contract as one of the adventurer’s guild’s many anonymous sponsors, I have been entrusted by the guild to deliver communications to you in regards to tasks and opportunities your patron would request that you undertake.
In addition, I serve as the official guild archivist and maintain an ever-growing collection of knowledge. I do invite you to take interest in some of the lore and histories I safeguard on behalf of the guild, as they may prove exceedingly useful. Furthermore, in my capacity for spellcraft, I offer many services to those who require them, provided they fairly compensate me for my time and effort.
To begin with your first test of mettle, each of your parties must choose one of the three enclosed objectives to embark upon. Each of these objectives has its own unique dangers and rewards, so I encourage you to carefully review each as you consider which of these you wish to attempt. You must respond to me with your choices, ranked from most to least desirable before month end or I shall assign them for you - and like my students, I cannot guarantee you will enjoy my assignments.
Respectfully yours,
Professor Paige
P.S. Unlike some of my colleagues, I do not find it agreeable to accept outright bribes for favorable assignments, however, a short essay on why your team is the best for the job is more than welcome. Fees for essay submission and review apply.
Mission One:
Deep in the Hinkwoods lies a clearing where trees are reluctant to encroach, kept at bay by the unsure wavering of a planar border. It is in this spot that the fey settlement called Bozs-Tonne appears each sixth generation. Known colloquially as the Vanishing Village, it becomes anchored to the prime material plane for but a single lunar cycle, historically bringing with it a merry measure of fey mischief and delightful nonsense. This time, however, it brings only a sense of twisted foreboding. What were once joyful shenanigans and harmless pranks are now twisted with wickedness and imbued with malice. You must go, investigate the vanishing village, discover why mirth has become malevolent, and if possible, see the village restored to its former capricious disposition.
Mission Two:
The site of St. Edwin’s Hollow has long been a peaceful place to remember. Still and quiet for more than a century, the ruins now tremble, defiled by the claws of the awakened dead as they clamber out of the dirt. Clerics have already been dispatched from one of Ak’run’s most influential temples with a plan to quarantine the site and cleanse the ruins in holy fire. Meanwhile the nearby town of Lakemoor scrambles to discover the whereabouts of a woman who has reportedly gone missing after last being seen near these same ruins. Travel to the ruins, discover the cause of the rising dead, and learn if there is anything left of the missing woman to save. Be swift, lest the coming holy purge destroy evidence critical to solving both mysteries.
Mission Three:
Amidst damp timbers and between squelching marshlands, the quaint farming settlement of Mossgrove is steeped in superstition. Among the more well-known legends is a warning that a certain grave must remain untouched. There have been recent reports from outlying farms that describe the unsettling sound of strange whispers and claims that barely-seen shadows are shifting through the trees. Many residents believe these reports herald the start of a ritual described in their local lore whereby a long-forgotten coven of hags would be called forth from the muck and restored to the apex of their influence and power. Travel to Mossgrove, and determine the difference between superstition and something more sinister. If a ritual has begun, stop it, and learn of any dark power source behind it