S1 - Briefing at Karland's Sawmill
Scene 1: Briefing at Karland's Sawmill
An Independent Contract to Investigate Reiver's Right
The thunderous, mechanical roar of Profit’s Flow rushing through massive timber piers reverberates through your boots long before you reach the yard. Karland’s Sawmill sprawls along the river's edge, a towering multi-level structure of heavy oak timbers and iron-reinforced scaffolding. Immense waterwheels churn the foam, driving towering iron gang-saws that shriek as they bite into fresh darkwood. The air is thick with damp river mist, burning gear-oil, and the sharp, piney scent of fresh sawdust—though beneath it lurks a faint, sulfurous stench of scorched resin. Dozens of millhands haul logs along grease-slick chutes, their shouting barely audible over the relentless rhythm of the saws.
Unease has settled over Old Macridi. In recent days, a small batch of blighted darkwood logs has drifted into the processing bays—their grain unnaturally stained with an oily, foul-smelling sap that gums up the heavy saws. Worse still, reports from isolated work sites throughout the Palakar have become irregular, and scattered pockets of the wilderness show signs of the same strange corruption. Official couriers were dispatched to consult the three fey courts, but all three have failed to respond, leaving the town without answers.
While the Guildmasters upriver in New Macridi have assigned official Blackjacket squads to patrol their own primary commercial channels, the bureaucratic elites completely dismiss any connection to Reiver's Right downriver. Because Reiver's Right lies furthest downriver—past both New Macridi and Old Macridi—the elites insist that a downriver camp going dark cannot possibly be causing or signaling a timber issue coming from the upriver forest. Danum Karland, owner of the local mill in Old Macridi, sees it differently. He knows the forest is connected by roots, soil, groundwater, and old magic. If Reiver's Right is showing the same symptoms as places elsewhere in the Palakar, river direction does not make the coincidence meaningless; it may be another expression of the same underground problem. Refusing to wait for New Macridi to wake up, Karland is personally hiring an independent group of adventurers to investigate.
Reiver's Right is a historic logging encampment perched on the river bluffs. Named after an ancient Macridi Blade warlord, the site has a dark history tied to brutal timber extraction and an infamous past incident where a previous workforce vanished overnight due to unknown events and a blight was discovered the next day. Because Reiver's Right sits downriver of all the main settlements, no one in New Macridi believes its silence is relevant to the upriver supply chain. But Karland insists it is all connected.
Equipping for the River Journey
Before launching their investigation downriver along Profit's Flow, the party is advised to spend time exploring Old Macridi to gather intelligence, transport, and supplies:
- The Gilded Ledger Tavern: Seek out Captain Sella Varn to secure the only available riverboat passage downriver, or prepare for an arduous overland journey along the North Road.
- The Iron-Root Apothecary: Stock up on antitoxins, protective poultices, and other supplies that can reduce harm from exposure to the black sap. Morwenna warns that ordinary anti-blight treatments are only partly effective against whatever is affecting the Palakar.
- Fanciful Inquiries: Consult Sorzmig Koob for detailed riverway maps, fey court etiquette, and wilderness navigation advice.
- Primary Objective: Navigate downriver to Reiver's Right, investigate the silent logging camp, look for signs of the same subterranean corruption affecting the Palakar, and report directly back to Danum Karland.
Contracted Party: Bearers of this notice
Destination: Reiver's Right, downriver from Old Macridi
Advance: 30 gp upon acceptance
Completion Bounty: 200 gp upon successful completion
Purpose: Determine the condition of the camp, locate its workforce, and investigate any connection to the blighted timber recently reaching Old Macridi.
1. History of the Outpost
Perched upon the bluffs along Profit's Flow, Reiver's Right is a historic logging settlement named for an ancient Macridi Blade warlord associated with the river bluffs. During normal operation, the camp supports roughly fifty workers harvesting and staging timber from the surrounding Palakar. Its chutes and landing move cut timber farther along Profit's Flow, while supplies, records, personnel, and valuable cargo travel between the camp and Old Macridi by road and river.
Reiver's Right also carries a darker history. Seven years ago (YR 4719), the settlement was struck by a severe forest blight that spread through the surrounding woods and transformed some badly affected creatures and residents. The outbreak eventually became serious enough that the people of Old Macridi and the local fey fought it together, and the camp was closed.
Healers, herbalists, woodsfolk, and fey allies eventually developed effective treatments, broke the outbreak, and eliminated all known active traces of the blight. Reiver's Right was afterward declared unsafe and placed under quarantine while the surrounding forest recovered. The settlement remained closed for several years as authorities watched for any sign that the blight had survived or returned.
Approximately three years ago (YR 4723), authorities concluded that the old danger had passed and permitted Reiver's Right to reopen. Since then, it has operated as a legitimate logging camp without any known recurrence of the historical outbreak.
2. Reports of the New Blight
During the past several weeks, a small but increasing number of otherwise healthy-looking logs arriving at Old Macridi have contained thick, oily black sap with a foul odor that gums heavy gang-saws, damages blades, and ruins usable timber.
Karland has not yet determined when the corruption entered the wood, what is causing it, or whether the affected timber shares a common source. Ordinary rot, insects, poor storage, and other familiar explanations do not readily account for what has been observed, but the evidence remains incomplete.
Reiver's Right therefore cannot simply be assumed to be responsible for the affected timber. Its sudden silence is concerning for a different reason: an established logging camp has stopped communicating at the same time that an unexplained problem is beginning to appear in the Palakar timber supply.
3. The Missing Workforce
No messages, timber tallies, workers, couriers, or shipments have emerged from Reiver's Right for four straight days. The camp's workforce—including Foreman Hendrick and approximately fifty ordinary loggers, craftsmen, teamsters, guards, and laborers—has failed to make contact with Old Macridi.
Reiver's Right has operated normally since its reopening, making a complete loss of communication highly unusual. No evacuation notice, request for assistance, or explanation has reached Karland's Sawmill.
Local officials and the Blackjackets have not yet committed forces to what they presently regard as an isolated interruption at a remote logging camp. Rather than wait for another shipment or messenger to fail to arrive, Danum Karland is contracting the party directly to investigate.
4. The Old Quarantine
The historical blight remains the most obvious reason to treat the disappearance cautiously. Reiver's Right remained closed after the outbreak even after all known active traces had been eliminated, allowing several years to determine whether the surrounding forest would recover without further incidents.
By the time the camp was reopened three years ago, the surrounding forest appeared healthy. Vegetation had returned, wildlife had reclaimed the abandoned ground, and no active blight had been identified during the intervening years. The reopened settlement subsequently operated without unusual incident.
Whether the present silence has anything to do with that old outbreak is unknown. Investigators should nevertheless treat unusual sap, diseased vegetation, blackened roots, sick animals, or altered living creatures as potentially significant evidence and avoid unnecessary exposure.
5. Travel and Investigation
Reiver's Right can be approached by the North Road or by river, depending on available transportation. Both routes pass through increasingly remote stretches of the Palakar where assistance may be difficult to obtain.
Investigators should enter the camp cautiously. The immediate priority is to determine whether any members of the workforce remain alive and whether the settlement was abandoned, attacked, or incapacitated by some other event.
Foreman Hendrick's camp ledger and other operational records may prove especially useful. Timber tallies, work assignments, supply records, and recent correspondence could establish what the workers were doing immediately before communications stopped.
6. Contract Objectives
- Locate the Workforce: Determine what happened to Foreman Hendrick and the approximately fifty workers stationed at Reiver's Right.
- Investigate the Camp: Search the bunkhouses, work areas, storehouses, logging facilities, and surrounding grounds for evidence explaining the sudden loss of communication.
- Recover Relevant Records: Secure Foreman Hendrick's ledger and any recent work orders, correspondence, supply records, or other documents that may explain the camp's final days.
- Look for Signs of Blight: Determine whether Reiver's Right shows symptoms resembling the black-sapped timber appearing elsewhere in the Palakar.
- Recover Evidence or Samples: If it can be done safely, return with samples, records, testimony, or other physical evidence that may help identify the cause of the disturbance.
- Return to Karland's Sawmill: Report directly to Danum Karland in Old Macridi with the party's findings and any recovered evidence.
Danum Karland has contracted the party to travel to Reiver's Right and determine why the logging camp has gone silent. No messages, workers, timber shipments, couriers, or production tallies have arrived from the camp for four straight days.
The disappearance comes while an increasing number of logs reaching Old Macridi are showing an unusual blight marked by thick, oily black sap. There is currently no proof that Reiver's Right is the source of the affected timber. Karland wants to know what happened at the camp and whether the two problems are connected.
Contract Terms
Reach & Assess Reiver's Right
Account for the Workforce
Investigate the Camp
Recover Records
Investigate the Blight
Optional Discoveries & Related Requests
These findings are not required to complete Karland's contract, but may help explain what happened at Reiver's Right or fulfill separate requests the party has received concerning the camp.