Our story takes place on the world of Nyvon, a small world that has been sliding slowly in to darkness. Once a place filled with fanciful creatures, strange magics and bountiful resources, the many races of Nyvon have found themselves living in a world seemingly coming apart at the seams.
The main continent of Nyvon is comprised of seven kingdoms that currently form the Grand United Aestrin Kingdom. It is ruled by a council with two members representing the individual nations of the alliance from the capital of Bellcea. The alliance was brought about after the world began a darkening that has slowly been changing Nyvon.
The darkening began roughly two hundred years ago, though it is impossible to say with certainty exactly when or where it began. Nyvon had been a magical place, with arcane and divine magics being a daily part of life. When the darkening began, users of the divine found themselves separated from their deities by what appeared to be a veil. A slow fading in the connection between gods and the mortal races as something seemed to be separating this world from the other planes of reality. The gods themselves have been unable to explain or reverse this process, much to their frustration. Over the last century, magic has become unpredictable and weak. As magic has faded, the alliance has worked to find ways to fill the void leading to many new technologies.
The event that brought the alliance in to being was the destruction of the city of Qanias, in the largest kingdom of Malum, by a force that still has yet to be named. Twenty five years after the first effects of the darkening had been noticed the city of twenty thousand people was seemingly scooped up from the land and erased from reality. On that bright spring morning, travelers heading into the city reported seeing arcs of green and pink arcane energy erupting from a random building and sweeping across the city. The energy cut through everything in its path, apparently without targets or purpose. A horrible screaming noise was heard immediately before a blinding flash left a crater where the city once stood. No survivors were found on site.
This event pushed the creation of the alliance as well as the creation of the Bureau of Balance. The bureau is an organization whose purpose is to find and reverse the cause of the darkening as well as prevent events like Qanias from happening again. While it is well funded by the seven kingdoms, it is still currently very over extended while trying to follow every possible happening in the Grand United Aestrin Kingdom. The bureau is located in the capital Bellcea, which is also in Dreman not far from the site of Qanias.
The bureau is in need of investigators and regulators to follow up on leads from agents in the field. The pay is high, but most who take work from the Bureau of Balance are not seen or heard from again. Those that return, are different, hollow, or broken.
This is where you come in.
The Bureau of Balance. Its headquarters are contained in a group of buildings taking up almost an entire section of Bellcea, all connected by a series of underground tunnels.
In the last few years, the Bureau has put out calls for “Contract Agents”, mercenaries willing to take on the work of regular agents without the training and full backing of the Bureau. This has become necessary due to the continued troubles throughout the GUAK, leading to both major agent losses and reluctance for new recruits to join.
Contract Agents join for various reasons; a desire to do good, hopes for a quick payday, a chance to take Bureau credentials and abuse them for personal gain. Regardless of the reasons, you now find yourself sitting at a table in a Bureau meeting room, surrounded by a small group of fellow mercenaries. To call this collection strange would do a disservice to the term. As everyone sideeyes one another, the main door of the room opens. A broad Dwarfish woman enters with a stack of papers in her hands and look that says she isn’t really interested in taking any shit. She sits down at the table, her on one side and your group collected on the other.
“My name is Dessa Dimbreaker and I will be your case manager for as long as you are in the employ of the Bureau of Balance. I’ve seen a lot of you come and go, most I never see again. I don’t waste time so don’t give me any of the fuckaround and we’ll get along just fine. Otherwise, you are best to pack your shit and leave now.” She stares hard across the table and seems happy with what she sees.
“Now, I know that most of you are new to the Bureau, although one of you…” she glances over at the rogue and shakes her head “…has been a part of a few, let’s say ‘unsuccessful’ missions so far. Let’s hope more of your party survives this one than just you.” She laughs and gathers her papers. As she looks down at them, her expression changes to one of concern.
“Down to business, your assignment will be to follow up and assist an agent in the field. He has been investigating some kind of activity in the small backwater of Istust. It is a fishing village located in Ulyiax, the smallest kingdom of the GUAK, a three day train ride plus a one day carriage ride from here.” She pulls a small map from the pile of papers in front of her and pushes it across the table. “This is what we have from our field agent, it’s not much to go on but hopefully he is still alive when you arrive. His reports have been disturbing but stopped before he was able to give us real details on what is happening in this town. He believed that time was short to stop whatever it is, and we haven’t received word from him in eight days. We hope he has just gone in to hiding but we aren’t optimistic.” She sighs and pulls a large envelope from the pile as well as a small wooden box. “Here is your mission report, you will have plenty of time to review it on your trip out there as well as time to get to know one another. The items in the box should be of use, hopefully you won’t need them.”
With that she rises from the table and heads back to the door. Looking back to you she speaks
“May Shelyns blessings be upon you, what little that may bring these days.”
Settling on the wooden benches that make up the seating of the coach train car, you take the envelope given to you by Dessa back at the briefing. You pop the wax seal, marked with the symbol of the Bureau of Balance, and slide out the paper inside. As you do this, you watch one of your new compatriots undo the latch on the wooden box and open its lid.
The paper reads:
Briefing Istust
Fishing town of approximately 2500 located on a small bay on the Eastern Sea. Local fishermen and a small cannery are the only industry of note in the area. There is very little information on this backwater hellhole in Bureau records.
Half elf agent David Jones was sent three weeks ago to investigate reports of strange mutilations and possible planer disturbances. His few reports speak of a town that appears to be under attack from the inside. Villagers disappearing in the night, strange creatures attacking livestock and seeming no local authorities to help with any kind of investigation. He wrote that his full report would show a need to send a full task force to deal with the goings on in Istust but his hasn’t been heard from in over a week.
He was staying at the Cods Tail inn, seek him out there and review his findings. Assist him in every way possible and neutralize any threats found in Istust.
In the box you find five identification cards with your information as supplied to the Bureau as well as five leather badge wallets. There are four Regulator badges and one Investigator badge. I will leave it to your group to decide who takes the lead role. Vote on it, whoever grabs it first, I don’t care. Bureau procedure states the Investigator is in charge. Once you’ve sorted that, put your ID card in with your badge. Agent Jones was working undercover but his disappearance leads us to think he may have been found out by hostile forces. Your Bureau credentials may be more of a hindrance than a help in this situation but they are yours to use.
The box also contains five vials of Quinine (restores 1D6 plus ½ level of sanity when consumed) and five potions of Cure Light Wounds. Distribute these among yourselves as you see fit.
Don’t fuck this up
Looking up from the letter, you see the others sorting through the box contents. You ponder how to handle the badge situation, rocking gently as the train passes through the rainy countryside.
What have you gotten yourself in to?
Early Frost Warning 