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Quest 025: Obsidian Roots

Classification: A-Class
Type: Sabotage
Status: Open

Contract Summary

Benefactor: Freed Slave Advocate (name withheld: "The Gardener")
Compensation: Poor (80 ceramic pieces + "the gratitude of the voiceless")
Stated Danger: Very Dangerous (6)
Location: Kalidnay's agricultural district and labor camps

Mission Briefing

The Job

A freed slave advocate known only as "The Gardener" seeks disruption of Kalidnay's slave-driven agriculture. Unlike Tyr, Kalidnay never abolished slavery—and Ka-Tet's city feeds itself through the labor of thousands in vast irrigation fields outside the walls.

The Gardener wants the guild to sabotage the Obsidian Aqueduct, a major water channel feeding Kalidnay's eastern fields. A strategic breach would cause temporary water shortages, forcing Ka-Tet to choose between field production and city needs—demonstrating the system's fragility.

Sabotage Objectives

  1. Primary: Create a significant breach in the Obsidian Aqueduct
  2. Secondary: Ensure the damage appears natural or accidental (earthquake, structural failure)
  3. Tertiary: Do NOT be captured or traced back to Tyr

Operational Parameters

  • Minimize slave casualties (they work near the aqueduct)
  • Avoid killing Kalidnayan citizens if possible
  • The breach should be repairable (this is meant to send a message, not cause famine)
  • Extraction route must be planned in advance

Client Terms

  • Payment is meager, but The Gardener offers underground railroad contacts throughout the region
  • The team must accept that this is an anti-slavery action, not a political attack on Ka-Tet
  • If captured, do not mention The Gardener or any abolition networks

Known Complications

  • The aqueduct is patrolled by templars and slave overseers
  • Working near the fields risks exposure to defiling magic residue
  • Kalidnay's response to sabotage is swift and brutal
  • This job violates Tyr's neutrality agreements with Kalidnay

Guild Assessment

Recommended Team Size: 3-4 members
Required Skills: Engineering/demolition, stealth, desert survival, ideological commitment
Estimated Duration: 14-21 days
Special Requirement: Guildmaster approval required; plausible deniability mandatory

DM Notes (Hidden)

Benefactor True Nature: Revolutionary sympathizer (genuine abolitionist, not aligned with any sorcerer-king)
Trustworthiness: Painfully honest (they're not hiding anything, just desperate)
Moral Axis: Helps the powerless / Poor pay
Actual Danger: +2 (Kalidnay's intelligence service has already intercepted rumors)