The Missing Man

WORLD OF RYNAGA TRAVELOGUE

Phaedra, Veratar

Every where I go here I'm hailed as "The Human." "Hail Human! Where are you off to today? What news of your world? Where have you been?" The questions are never-ending. I tell them of our struggles on Earth. The beauty of our planet. The horrors mankind exact upon each other. They listen with concerned faces.

"Yes, dark days seem to be a theme on your world and ours," says a Sidrani man as he washes the caryn fruit I'm purchasing at his small store. "Humanity sound as aggressive and internally divided as these Sarion are," referring of course to the Sarion empire in the east. "They would run us all off these lands if they could. Thankfully they cannot. Yet."

The man is right. For now, the Sarion empire is no match for several thousand towering Kirzan fighters and the focused will of the Protectorate. Ahhh. Enough of that talk.

My journeys involve another concern. His name is Solan - also known around here as the "Missing Man." You might remember him from the events of Prelude. It's been about four years since he went missing in the Shrinking Depths. Vanished. Since then a handful of explorers have tried to find him. Three never came back. Another lost his mind before he could start the journey.

Regardless, the Missing Man story is now the number one subject of rumor and myth. (He'd be a "trending topic" here if the people of Rynaga used Twitter.) I have a list of people who traveled with or knew Solan personally. I've made plans to seek out each of these people and see how the events surrounding Solan's disappearance have affected them.

The first road I take is north to Featherune. I'm looking for a man named Arcan, a former aid to Solan on his travels. He's made quite a name for himself as a hunter and news of his adventures has reached the most popular taverns here in Phaedra. I hear he's a skilled Ruse player as well.

Hmmm. A worthy opponent perhaps?

-Eric