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 southern Palakar. Named after an ancient Macridi Blade warlord who originally claimed the river bluffs, the site harvested and staged timber from the surrounding forest for regional trade. Its chutes and landing moved cut timber farther down Profit's Flow, while supplies, records, personnel, and high-value cargo moved between the camp and Macridi by road and river barge.
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 Palakar Blight
Recent timber deliveries from several cutting areas elsewhere in the southern Palakar have brought unsettling signs to Old Macridi. A small number of otherwise healthy darkwood logs contain an oily, foul-smelling black sap that gums heavy gang-saws and ruins timber blades. Local herbalists confirm that the substance formed while the trees were alive and does not behave like ordinary rot or storage contamination.
Similar oily residue has been reported in isolated groundwater and runoff elsewhere in the region. Reiver's Right lies downriver of Old Macridi, so the camp cannot be the source of timber floating into Karland's mill. Its sudden silence is concerning for a different reason: rivermen passing the bluffs report that animal life around the camp has gone quiet and all normal traffic from the site has stopped, suggesting that Reiver's Right may be suffering from the same wider disturbance.
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 at Reiver's Right: Examine affected roots, soil, water, and timber for evidence that the camp is experiencing the same corruption found elsewhere in the Palakar.
- Report to Karland's Sawmill: Return to Old Macridi with definitive proof of conditions downriver to claim the contract bounty.