Scribes and Swords
c. 100 ADW
The Adventurer's Guild tasks a party with investigating strange elemental signs in the Farmlands surrounding Kingdom Grand. Livestock and trees have been burned, and strange laughter is heard on the wind. The adventurers are paired with Sage Elbera, a researcher from the Arcane Conservatory, to investigate the matter.
Referenced In
This module is referenced by the following lore entries:
Factions and Organizations
- Adventurer's GuildAlso known as Spear of Elina or Spear of the Goddess. A hundred years after the Dead Wars, the Guild has grown into a global hub for missions, with adventurers flocking to it from all over the world. It is currently led by Guild Master Master Thalin Fernstride in Kingdom Grand, with branches overseen by Guildmaster Teyla Coalmaker in Kdor, Elrin Veymar in Evenfell, and Alyndor "Aly" Marvale in New Arcanum. The Guild uses a ranking system, with new recruits earning a rank of Tin, Copper, or Brass; higher known ranks include Colbot, Steel, and Diamond. When Holt threatens to awaken He Who Slumbers, the four guilds unite their forces beneath Kingdom Grand.
- Arcane ConservatoryA magic school located in Kingdom Grand, housed in the Scriptorium. It is a stunning structure of brilliant blues and purples, built in the shape of a five-pointed star with a large tower in the center. Researchers from the Conservatory, such as Sage Elbera, work with the Adventurer's Guild to investigate and handle magical threats.
- Arcane RegistryAlso known as A.R. A faction that registers mages, wizards, and sorcerers, founded by figures like Tyre. It is involved in collecting magical artifacts and hoarding knowledge about them. Led by the dragonborn Ty in the reent years following the Dead Wars, though it had other brilliant leaders like Merrick in its past. They pose as a historic museum collection, but have had tensions with other groups, such as the Adventurer's Guild, over claims to artifacts. In Dead Wars III, they were known to be drawing raw energy from the fabric of existence. In the century following the Dead Wars, the Arcane Registry established its own nation in the western wastes, centered in the city of New Arcanum.
- Nature's PathwayA faction made up of refugees from the wilderness, who cultivated a Tree of Life with roots spread across the continent in Dead Wars III. During that event, they allied with the Protectors of the Old Gods and the Unbound. Their medica in Development Square was struck during the world tremors when a Medusa turned healers to stone.
Legendary Characters
- Master Thalin FernstrideA towering Firbolg who serves as the Guild Master of the Adventurer's Guild in the century following the Dead Wars. He has long black hair braided down his back, piercing blue eyes, and dark green fur, and wears a forest green and white Gi. His personality is calm and measured, and he is known for giving inspiring speeches that relate adventuring to baking. He expects discipline and creativity from his guild members. As Holt's treachery unfolds, Thalin grows weary but resolute, coordinating the four great guilds against the threat beneath Kingdom Grand. After the tremors from the Elderdungeon crack the city's streets, he opens a fresh recruitment drive to replace the guild members lost in the fighting, and later leads the hunt for a saboteur hiding inside his own guild. Troubled by a caravan of strangely well-guarded stolen keepsakes bound west, he hand-picks a party and dispatches them across the Western Wastes to New Arcanum to work with his counterpart Alyndor "Aly" Marvale, convinced the thefts are somehow tied to Biscuit's fate.
- Sage ElberaA half-elf Elemental Researcher at the Arcane Conservatory. She wore a purple robe with a silver sash, had blue eyes, and wore her brown hair up in a bun. She was eager and direct, and loved to talk about elementals to the exclusion of all else. She hated Holt's attitude but admitted he knew a great deal about monsters and dungeons—until he murdered her in the dungeon beneath Kingdom Grand. Her final intelligence from beyond the grave led the guildmasters to Holt's Laboratory beneath the temple of Vitalia.
Locations
- FarmlandsThe farmlands surrounding the city of Grand. It contains wheat fields, stables, rivers, ponds, barns, and caves.
- Kingdom GrandAlso known as First City, New Kingdom Grand, or New Grand. Formerly the only major civilized city in the region as of ADW 0, it is now the bustling heart of a more interconnected world, linked to other nations via teleportation gates. Holds an annual Festival of Peace to celebrate Elina's sacrifice in Dead Wars I. The tremors from the battle beneath the city cracked streets and toppled buildings across Kingdom Grand, scattering loose magic and prompting a fresh wave of Adventurers Guild recruitment.
- ScriptoriumThe former home base for the Arcane Registry in Kingdom Grand. In the century following the Dead Wars, it was repurposed into the Arcane Conservatory, a school for magic.