Mayor Quoyth's Messenger Hawk

Dear Rao,

I thought I would send you this so you can dispel any rumors that may fly about regarding an incident here. It is a copy of the speech given by the Lord Wizard.

People of Spira:

I wish to assure you that the threat that damaged our fair Queen's castle has been averted. But rather than have you guess what transpired, I will give all of you my personal account of the incident.

Her Majesty was in the process of trying a criminal for theft of property. He asked for time to consider his punishment, but instead he tried to cast a spell. His magical talents weren't up to the task.

The green grocer who sets up near the castle reported that a large funnel-shaped cloud appeared over the castle. It was black, and stars were shining out of it. All I saw was the roof of the castle vanish, along with the would-be magician. Then a black glove with white spots started moving toward me. I cast several spells at it before it faded into nothingness.

During that time, it caused major damage to the castle. We will rebuild, and we require all masons and stonecutters to provide their services to this task. Once we have rebuilt, we shall issue a decree of celebration.

At this time, I wish to also convey the orders of Her Majesty. She has decreed that any members of the race called Urlocs are to be considered criminals and are to be captured and brought to the castle for interrogation. Urlocs look like humans, but are blue.

In Loving Service,
Mateo, Lord Wizard of Cafren.

The last time you were here, I remember hearing something about an Urloc. Be careful

Janos Quoyth,
Mayor of Spira

Tips of the Day

Please check this every once in a while, as it will be updated. These are random bits of advice that can be purchased in shops throughout the lands.

1. Bliner, in the nation of Nagymer, is home to a set of six blade hilts (longsword, broadsword, rapier, bastard sword, dag and scimitar) mounted in the main temple of the Eight Gifts. This temple is dedicated to Valeta.
   
2. Keep a journal of world information, together with any questions, comments or guesses about hidden meanings, connections, etc. that may be related. Making an important connection can be helpful at a critical moment.
   
3. Finding a way to be useful where you are helps you train for more difficult tasks.
   
4. Sometimes, a critical piece of information is "disguised" through word tricks, such as puns or anagrams. For example, "islander" can be rearranged to form "rile sand".
   
5. The names of cities are often connected to the regions they inhabit in subtle and unusual ways.
   
6. All coins are 1/4 ounce in weight, and must be 99.5% pure metal to be considered genuine.
   
7. Sometimes, more than one source is taken for a single large production. A play, poem or other work may draw inspiration for each of its parts from a different area, with the combination being something that would not have come from any of the individual pieces.
   
8. Throughout your career, you will develop skills that you have not trained. Finding situations where you can use these skills may be rewarding!
   
9. The Adventurer's Guild Bank guarantees deposit up to five times your annual membership rate. If you need to store more than that, consider raising your membership level.
   
10. The size and reward of jobs posted by the Adventurer's Guild goes up with your rank.
11. Quinaris (Fifth Tuesday) occurs every 4-5 years. It happens when the rising of Annos, the Year Star, fails to occur during Quinlunis. Regardless of which day Annos rises, the following day starts the new year, is called the Primalunis of Empesos, and officially starts the week.
12. There are five official seasons in Cafren: Birth (Empesos-Tertios), Growth (Quartos-Quintos), Swelter (Sextos-Octimos), Harvest (Novimos-Decimos) and Chill (Ektos-Domos).
13. Travel in a foreign country subjects you to hazards you would otherwise avoid in your home country, such as lack of familiarity with the culture, not knowing the safe paths, and so on. On the other hand, the experience gained from such travel is greater.
14. If you really want to do a job, work on it immediately, or someone else may beat you to it.
15. Pixie dust is the residue left after a pixie casts a spell. It leaves dust in an area equal to one square foot per spell level. The dust has a greenish tint of the spell is from the realm of Mentalism. Essence spells leave gold-colored dust.
16. It is rumored that there is another civilization that requires either traveling through the Dragon Mountains or the Orc kingdom of Gherek to reach.
17. There are humans who live in the Desert of Doom who speak a language that no Aropan has ever heard.
18. In any recipe where horse hooves are used, unicorn hooves work even better.
19. Because mithril requires potent magic to work, mithril coins are worth more than aluminum coins, even though there is more mithril available than aluminum.
20. Using magic too much (and in inappropriate settings) can lead to corruption of the soul.
21. Using the proper names for most things is a good idea. Also, coming up with a good, catchy nickname is often rewarding.
22. There is growing tension between the mariners of Tribnia and those of Panis.
23. The Ironbreaker Clan, former royal family of Switz, was rumored to have a magical sword and magical armor.
24. King Dustin of Tribnia has developed a complete line of succession throughout the entirety of the Tribnian nobility. For example, Marcus, Duke of Salisbury is 30th in line to the throne.
25. Questions have arisen as to the loyalty of the advisors to Arknos, the elf king.
26. Although Dwarven rune keys are often usable across clans, they are not completely interchangeable. Thirteen different key configurations are known to exist.
27. Fairie Dragons will occasionally attach themselves to noble humans of pure heart.
28. There is growing distrust of the Lay Healer profession, after a few noted incidents of animated limbs attacking their owners.
29. Some people have had their vision altered so they can see perfectly at night but are blind during the day.
30. Circus Imperatoris, the entertainment creation of Duke Marcel de Rabelais, has been playing to packed houses all throughout Cafren, especially in the Oleawood and Merasé regions.
31. An orc wizard has been seeking information on unicorns. His last known location was in the region of Campagna.
32. The underground passages that connect the various Dwarven cities are inhabited by unusual beasts.
33. Be kind to everyone you meet. You never know when a random beggar is a displaced princess in disguise.
34. The Aropan calendar is easy to translate when you realize that the week starts on Monday (i.e., Lunis) and each day name consists of two parts: the Ordinal and the Weekday. For example, Quaterveris is the fourth Friday of the month.
35. The standard Aropan day begins at sunrise (1:00 Day Cycle) and the minute before this is 12:59 N.C.
36. Rashes of unnatural animals and plants have been seen in the less habited areas of Aropa. It is rumored that they are being created to terrorize the populace.
37. There is an academy in Bern that specializes in teaching people the fine art of Alchemy.
38. Valerie Wesson is teaming up with Jean-Marc Smith to make a new type of weaponry.
39. Traders from Panis have started carrying a new drink that is made from steaming hard brown beans.
40. There have been increased dragon attacks against the people of Siraus.
41. Nur-oiolosse is a powerful clove that grows in the Northern Wastes. It can restore life to a body that has been dead for less than a day, but it has a toxin that kills a day later. Sorel Nuts can neutralize this toxin.
42. The Campagna region of Cafren makes some of the most intoxicating and addictive wine on the continent.
43. The region of Baradué is famous for combining stage production with orchestral music.
44. When an intelligent being becomes too far corrupted, it becomes a demon.
45. The Eightfold Path can be further subdivided into four pairs of opposing paths: Truth vs. Falsehood; Elements vs. Intangibles; Sun vs. Moon; and World vs. Æther.
46. The Dumar region of Gherek is the main overland connection between Gherek, Siraus, Lytia and Switz, although many other connections to Siraus and Lytia exist.
47. The main ways to travel east from Gherek are either by ocean or by travel through the pass at Ispasa.
48. Several names of Hessian regions have surfaced through contacts at Gherek: Ferres, K'Mir, Kor'Yan, Minoc, Mugal, N'Dif, Nihuna, Tailin, Xi An and Yychis.
49. The Eight Gifts are most often seen as the corners of a cube, each with a different color. A temple of the Eight Gifts displays the cube with its proper gift uppermost.
50. Each of the Eightfold Paths encompasses four Ideals, and the sum of these Ideals illustrates the Path.
51. The leader of the Eightfold Path is an Urloc known only as "His Holiness".
52. N'Dif language is heavily influenced by Mugal, and vice versa.
53. The regions of Xi An, Tailin and Kor'Yan were severely devastated after the Black vs. Blue War.
54. The most common term for a magician in the lands beyond Gherek is "canara". In most of these languages, the "c" is pronounced as "sh".
55. Urlocs, despite their wide bodies, are usually weaker than other races and prefer to use magic to achieve their ends.
56. Centaurs have no nation of their own, per se, but rather tend to exist in lands with like-minded races ruling them.
57. In N'Dif culture, the most common word used is "askiös", which has meanings that in other cultures fall under such words as yes, no, thank you, sorry, excuse me, or please.
58. There are rumors that the world is actually round, and that if you travel far enough to the west, you will reach the eastern shores of Yychis and/or Xi An.
59. Physical Science is divided into four main disciplines: Alchemy (fire), Astronomy (air), Geology (earth) and Hydrology (water).
60. Magicians have reported picking up mana-draining parasites on long teleports or after being hit by the residue of failed spells.
61. Winged humans have been sighted in recent months.
62. Hydrologists have been studying the tides, and they believe they have found a series of cycles and epicycles by which they can predict the high and low tides.
63. The rising of Annos, when it occurs during Night Cycle, is a wonder to behold, as it occurs at the point when the moon is darkest.
64. Legends speak of a Nilyan dynasty that ruled for nearly 25 centuries, but was overthrown in only one year.
65. The smartest creatures in the world live in its southernmost city.
66. Astrologically speaking, the moon is in one of eight phases. Each phase is believed to influence world affairs in a different way. These phases are, in the order of their appearance: New, Crescent Waxing, First Quarter, Gibbous Waxing, Full, Gibbous Waning, Last Quarter and Crescent Waning.
67. When the Bladehex starts growing, the world must get ready for its major test. It will happen on a year with a Quinaris that occurs five years after the previous Quinarial year.
68. A cave painting in the Switz foothills shows dwarves, elves and humans fighting a massive drake-like creature under the light of two moons.
69. Although there are many professions that are focused on one realm of magic exclusively, there are only six that are common to all parts of the world. These are: Animist and Cleric (Channeling), Illusionist and Magician (Essence), and Lay Healer and Mentalist (Mentalism).
70. Adventurer's Guild officials keep very close ties with the local temple leaders, and cities with large temples tend to attract Guild Headquarters.
71. The Adventurer's Guild has suspended cross-city bank exchanges. Any coins deposited before the start of the Aropan year have been recorded and 5% of that total is available at any single guild hall. Those deposited after that time are only available at the place deposited.
    
72. The elven nation of Aropa is experiencing resistance to the rule of King Arknos, led by a shadowy figure known only as the Crimson Poppinjay.
    
73. A Brief History of Philem has been released in Nagymer to mixed reviews.
74. Just as tangible science is divided into four subsection, intangible science is broken into economics (change), statics (permanence), photology (light), and necrology (darkness).
75. A race of blue humanoids has been spotted in the mountains of Ferica, near Mt. Jaro in Babue. Unlike the Urlocs, these are shorter humanoids (height values are similar to gnomes and dwarves) who have yet to display any overt magic.
76. The greater moongates are controlled by a control panel created within Lunum Magnum; the lesser moongates by a similar control panel within Lunum Parvum. Each relies on a pair of batteries containing ten energized stones arranged in a pattern designed by Arbiter himself.
77. The initiative board is often hidden but never secret. Any player may examine the board at any time for any reason. This does not imply any obligation to explain items found there.
78. Time designation was altered in the early 3rd Century of the Aropan Calendar. Whereas days and nights ran from a 0:00 to 11:59 in the past, now they run from 1:00 to 12:59.
79. The Imperial Language underwent a consonant shift throughout the tenth Century of the Aropan Calendar. The "nasal consonant clusters", currently spelled with a leading "n", used to be spelled with a leading "g". Thus "angel" used to be "aggel", and "anxious" used to be "agxious". In addition, one use of the former "x", that of a lengthened "k", was dropped. In cases where the word needed to maintain its lengthened consonantal value, it was often spelled with "ch".
80. The Lord of Wurmeton Castle requests the presence of all citizens and guests of the K'Mir Empire who are not otherwise busy to attend the marriage of his son Veritas and the Lady Adele Worthington on the 34th day of Rice.
81. The Temple of Orana in Bern is decorated with diamonds, whereas the Temple of Erora in Aten uses local obsidian.
82. The Royal Observatory in Spira is the keeper of local time throughout Cafren. Even though the sunrise, "noontime", and sunsets occur at slightly different times across the nation, all of them use Observatory Time, also known as OBS.
83. East Merek begins its calendar when the sun has reached the northernmost part of its annual circuit.
    

The Scroll

This scroll was found in the Lair of the Snow Beast, past the Immortal Man. It was wrapped in the chains of an amulet whose markings resemble those of the full moon.