The Rumor Mill - Week 20

Adventure hooks fill week 20 of The Rumor Mill, enticing the bored adventurer into actively trying to fix things that don't involve them as a misguided attempt to be "the good guys" and make up for all the chaos and death they cause while doing favors for the rich and powerful. Fellport contains mysteries aplenty, mostly mundane disappearances, thefts, and vandalism, but teasing the truth from rumor can turn the entire situation into one big misunderstanding.

So let's get into some of the unsolved mysteries that an adventuring party can trip over while walking the streets of the city.

1d8	Rumor	True?
1	Sacred cargo on board the Honu Koa disappeared while guarded by the Minders.	Yes1
2	Someone chopped a limb off the Penny Chestnut. That's some powerful wood.	Maybe2
3	Silverware keeps disappearing from The Philosopher's Stone. Is it magic-related?	No3
4	Someone keeps posting riddles on the Screed Door. Do they lead to treasure?	Maybe4
5	Zaelin's on Greenmarket needs help exterminating vermin in the basement.	Yes5
6	The Shadewalker of Highgarden haunts the foliage, punishing would-be vandals.	Maybe6
7	All the mast-worthy timber at Eventide Keelworks has warped. Ionian spies?	No7
8	Aurelia has asked for help investigating disappearances at Highwater House.	Yes8

1 - "Honu Koa" means "Joyful Turtle" in Tow'ani. Did the Minders take it? Did it escape on its own? Maybe a scavenger hunt?
2 - Will it be used for a magical staff, or just firewood? Or will shards of the Penny Chestnut be sold as prosperity charms?
3 - Poor students liberating silverware for use in their own homes is a tale as old as higher education. No magic required.
4 - The Screed Door is the Divinity Sanctum door facing the Harbor, where anyone can post any idea, religious or otherwise.
5 - Zaelin the alchemist dumps failed concoctions into his basement. Blatant hook for The Absent-Minded Alchemist (Affiliate).
6 - Some say the Shadewalker is Wyatt the elven caretaker, or a shapeshifted fox druid (Yana?), or maybe an undead wood spirit.
7 - Ionians tend not to use nature magic, relying more on Hermetic ley lines. Ruining masts has limited short-term war benefits.
8 - Three people have disappeared in the night over the past two weeks, leaving an immaculately clean room. That's not normal.

Part of T.W.Wombat's Lore 24 project, detailing the world around Fellport.
For all city posts, see the Fellport Index. For posts about the wider world, see the Beneterra Index.