Scouts Missing [A Collaboration With Maps And Mimics]
Pinned to The notice board
A well-written but slightly dirtied parchment announces:
Scouts Missing.
Of the group sent to investigate the strange occurrences beyond the Wildmist Peaks, only one member has returned. Healers believe they will be fine with time and magic, however, right now their mind is scarred and their words come at a great strain.
From the few words the scout could speak, we at least know the others are still alive, but are being held captive at an unknown location, however, the notes on their map may be useful in their rescue. To that end, we are offering: 1500 gold reward for the safe return of the missing scouts.
Please see Councillor Vorn at the west barracks for a copy of their map and further information.
[The bottom of the page features a double line with an emblem in the middle depicting three bundled arrows flanked by a recent moon and a sun]
Handed To You
A rough-edged map labelled as ‘A Portion of The Southern Coast as mapped by the Royal Survey Corps’ depicts a bay likely formed by a comet strike. The ‘Twice Shattered Bay’ is surrounded immediately by ‘The Shifting Wood’ which stretches to and beyond mountains matching the curve of the bay and are labelled as ‘Wildmist Peaks’. Blood is spattered from the top left diagonally down across the middle of the map and obscuring some of the following handwritten notes:
“Six days travel from the city and our scouting party has made it past the Peaks and into the Wood. All clear so far. After an undetermined time lost in the shifting trees we found the coast of the Bay. We are proceeding southward as planned. Further resistance expected as we have found signs of aggressive inhabitants of the area. We have surprisingly yet to encounter any man or beast of threat. Trevor came back reporting an unmapped island in the Bay visible from the southeastern tip. We leave for it at first light. I pray we find sleep this night, we cannot shake the feeling of being watc-”. Here the writing abruptly cuts off.
Ways to approach
This week’s poster release comes as part of a spectacular 2 for 1! On top of the poster, I’ve been collaborating with Owen from Maps And Mimics who creates fantastic battle maps and region maps at an incredible rate, AND they are responsible for the amazing cartography here for you to use in tandem with the poster as part of one grand adventure. Speaking of adventure, we put our heads together and came up with some plot inspiration for you to use so you don’t have to spend as much time prepping and can spend more time gaming;
The unmapped island is of artificial construction as part of an ancient and ongoing ritual to wake and raise what an ancient order believes to be a deity that fell from the sky a thousand years ago and shattered the bay. Once the circle is complete, so too will the ritual be. The scouts could have been captured by this order, though to what end?
The island only seems to exist under the moonlight. When it appears, beings of another world cross over and attempt to plunder the area, usually attacking any ships that make the mistake of setting anchor within the bay. Ancient spell casters were never able to figure out how to stop this crossing, but they were able to enchant the forest to make it impossible to navigate through before they themselves were taken to the other side. Perhaps the key is on the island. Could the scouts still be alive there?
The mysterious island is less of an island and actually the back of a massive turtle-like creature. This sea animal is only seen on incredibly rare occasions and has been using this bay as a nesting area for the last 1000 years, instinctively aware of the natural magics infusing the trees and causing them to shift thereby protecting the bay from outsiders. Unfortunately, hunters are aware of its presence and lie in wait to capture whatever eggs or younglings are left here. The Royal Survey Corp scouts were mistaken for competition and captured for information.
If you like these collaborations, let me know and comment if there are any other creators out there you would like to see me working with! Don’t forget to check out Maps And Mimics on 'X' (Formerly Twitter) and we’d both love to hear what kind of antics you get up to if you use these.
Possible Repercussions
This area was designed to be entirely self-contained, allowing for players to approach this quest whenever they saw fit. That being said, it’s possible if they wait too long another group will beat them to the reward and whatever other prizes you had in mind for this quest.
