Meresk Delas, the Plagued Port

Meresk Delas

LE large city

Corruption +5, Crime +5, Economy +1, Law +3, Lore +0, Society -2

Qualities holy site, pious (Kirapeny), tourist attraction, plagued

Danger 10

Demographics

Government magical (High Solar)

Population 19,428 (13,016 dwarf; 3,691 human; 1,943 gnome; 582 halfling; 196 other)

Notable NPCs

Most High Solar Galan Sunbeard (LN dwarf cleric 13)

Black Baron (CG human vigilante 7)

Herald of the Dawn (NE half-elf bard 8)

Marketplace

Base Value 8,000 gp; Purchase Limit 50,000 gp; Spellcasting 7th

Minor Items 4d4; Medium Items 3d4; Major Items 2d4

Once a shining jewel of a city, visited by merchants and travelers from all corners of the Green Coast and beyond; the Meresk Delas of today is a city on the decline. The ranks of the Church of Solar Light are filled with priests and priestesses more interested in lining their pockets then serving their goddess. Streets are overrun by a plague, a cult has arisen dedicated to the end of the world, and in the last few years a masked individual has been stealing from the upper class.  

The Rising Dawn

Meresk Delas is ruled by the Most High Solar of the Illuminated Holy Faith of Kirapeny, the dwarven interpretation of Aelma, goddess of magic and the sun. Most of the clergy are made up of Rays, priests of any race or gender, while Solars and High Solars are exclusively dwarves, with all High Solars being dwarven men. On rare occasions, a group of Solars and High Solars will perform a ritual to briefly summon one of Kirapeny’s mightiest servants seeking answers to questions of faith: Solar Angels.

     In the last few years, a cult has been recruiting the homeless and the poor. Dedicated to a goddess they call Dawning Sun, what few scholars have heard of this cult believe it to be a perversion of the worship of Kirapeny. The cult believes that the plague proves that this world is reaching its end, that it is a punishment upon a world too corrupt to be permitted, and that when the final dawn rises, the world shall burn and a new paradise will rise from its ashes.

     Led by a half-elven man known only as Herald of the Dawn, the Rising Dawn cult has accumulated a large number of followers that engage in acts of arson, theft, and sabotage against any attempts to find a cure for the plague sweeping the streets. More than that, they also burn down government buildings, churches, manors, and on one occasion attempted to burn down the clock tower at the heart of the city.

Plagued Streets

In the last decade, criminals have been growing more and more brazen. The worst of which is a masked criminal that the lower class have taken to calling the Black Baron. Clothed in black garb, he has stolen a fortune from the nobility in gold and artifacts. His true identity remains unknown, but reports have confirmed that he has been seen utilizing a myriad of clockwork devices in his heists. From spring-loaded darts coated with a contact poison, to spheres that explode with light and sound, to devices like spiders that wrap its legs around ones torso. No one knows what the Black Baron does with the wealth that he steals; none of the artifacts have turned up on any of the black markets throughout the Green Coast.

     The streets of Meresk Delas are home to more than criminals. Over the last year, a plague has swept through the city. The cause and death toll are unknown, but trade with the rest of the Green Coast has grinded to a halt. The plague’s symptoms begin with a light cough, but within a few days the plague victim is covered in weeping, bloody sores, has a terrible fever, and is coughing up large amounts of mucus. Some people recover, their body forever scarred, but roughly three in four that are infected with the plague die.

Adventure Hooks

     You are told of a rally later that night as well as directions. The homeless man telling you about it says that Herald of the Dawn himself will be orating the event.

     A Solar has asked that you retrieve a reagent for an experimental cure. The problem is that it is deep within Rising Dawn territory.

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