Investigate Reiver's Right
1. History of the Outpost
Perched upon the bluffs along Profit's Flow, Reiver's Right was long considered one of the most profitable timber operations in the Palakar region. Named after an ancient Macridi Blade warlord who originally claimed the river bluffs, the site historically supplied vast quantities of darkwood timber to Macridi. For decades, logging crews operated along its timber slides, relying on heavy river transport to float squared logs downriver.
The camp's history, however, is shadowed by recurring disaster. Operating on the far frontier edge of the forest, the outpost has frequently sat at the center of territorial disputes regarding boundary stones and timber rights. Despite historical pacts governing the forest floor, aggressive logging practices often placed the camp's leadership in direct friction with local woodland traditions.
Decades ago, a previous workforce at the camp vanished overnight following severe subterranean earth shifts, forcing the site to sit abandoned for years before being reclaimed and put back into service to house fifty timber workers.
2. Reports of the River Blight
Recent river transport from the direction of Reiver's Right has brought unsettling signs to Old Macridi. A small batch of darkwood logs drifting downriver arrived stained with an oily, foul-smelling sap that gums up heavy gang-saws and ruins timber blades. Local herbalists confirm the substance is unnatural, carrying an acrid odor of wet ash and stagnant earth.
Water runoff carrying this oily residue has begun seeping into the small tributaries feeding Profit's Flow. While upriver elites in New Macridi dismiss the downriver camp's silence as irrelevant to current operations, rivermen report that animal life near the bluffs has gone silent and river barges have ceased arriving from the site entirely.
3. The Missing Workforce
No messages or timber tallies have emerged from Reiver's Right for four straight days. The entire fifty-man crew—including the camp foreman, Hendrick—has failed to check in at the southern gate road or send couriers upriver.
While official Blackjacket squads remain stationed upriver guarding corporate interest channels, independent contractors are being dispatched to make the downriver journey, investigate the silent bunkhouses, and determine the condition of the crew.
4. Subterranean Geology & Ancient Ruins
The river bluffs beneath Reiver's Right sit directly atop ancient geological formations and pre-Earthfall structures associated with the Macridi Blade culture. Historical surveys from the Veridical Scriptorium note that early Kellid inhabitants constructed extensive clay barrows and stone vaults throughout the surrounding river bluffs.
Past earth tremors near the camp's quarry pits frequently exposed sealed clay walls and petroglyph boundary markers. Scholars warn that disturbing these deep subterranean channels risks uncovering unstable fault lines and ancient earth workings buried beneath the forest floor.
5. Iconography of the Pale Hand & Blackened Blade
Archaeological records note that boundary markers around the Reiver's Right bluffs often bear the ancient twin emblems of the Macridi Blade culture: the Pale Hand and the Blackened Blade. Historically symbolizing trade pacts and ancient land defense, these petroglyphs are carved directly into stone outcroppings along the river bend.
Recent travelers along the bluff trails report seeing fresh mud carvings and strange crimson lichen forming over these ancient boundary stones, suggesting that the subterranean tremors are stirring long-dormant features of the landscape.
6. Regional Objectives
- Investigate the Bunkhouses: Search the silent logging camp at Reiver's Right for clues regarding the missing crew.
- Recover the Camp Ledger: Secure Foreman Hendrick's official records to verify timber harvest tallies and missing personnel.
- Trace the Blight Source: Identify where the oily black sap is entering the intake bays along Profit's Flow.
- Report to Karland's Sawmill: Return to Old Macridi with definitive proof of conditions downriver to claim the contract bounty.