Though the adventurers were ambushed by the P.R.A.N.K.S.T.E.R.S. before, they manage to track down where the highly valued contraband is and this time the PCs get the drop on the criminal cabal! Within some barrels in a safehouse, their auras hidden by cunning devices, are several pounds of Shlyappa ore. After returning to Jesker with the mendacious materials in hand, the party have some more time for investigation in the capital of the Klavek Kingdom; hopefully they’ve been paying attention and the strange dream the adventurers share sheds some light on their situation (and forays into noble homes continue to be dubious, so trespassing PCs best be wary).

The great old mage keeps himself busy preparing a ritual to deal with the blood thralls (a leftover from the notorious Cultus Sanguineus), but things go awry and the adventurers have to flee from Mohkba, chased by Mohkba guards trained to deal with spellcasters! PCs that are unfortunate enough to get caught are fitted with special shackles and tried in the courts of the Sanctioned Arcane Practitioners. As long as the party isn’t extraordinarily stubborn, however, they should make it out of the metropolis and on to the Underworld without too much trouble. Once they get there it’s a different story altogether—provided the PCs can reach the true Amber Road that leads to the Shlyappa Enclave, they’ll need to be careful of false planar pathways. [Full details on the Shlyappa Amber Road area are in tomorrow’s Sidequest Saturday! -MM]

As the PCs crossed the Mohkba River in the end of Strange Salve some thugs waylaid them on the water. On their persons the party finds a damning note related to the P.R.A.N.K.S.T.ER.S. and shortly after reaching the docks of the Klavek Kingdom’s capital, an address appears on the parchment. Following it to an abandoned theater on 531 Ripkorski Way, the adventurers become pawns in *the game of a powerful, strange old mage, made to do battle against an *opsjena! After proving their worth, he introduces himself as Jesker the Great, a member of an obscure arcane order (the Sideribus Volunt). The nefarious criminal cabal targeting the PCs are his adversaries, and the mage needs the party to act when and where he cannot.

To cement his noble intentions and as a show of good will, the old wizard gives the adventurers several magical curatives, including the incredibly potent sideribus sanabit salve. Jesker knows of a P.R.A.N.K.S.T.E.R.S. shipment coming into Mohkba and *the PCs manage to ambush the criminals—or so it seems! Blood thralls*, horrible mangled creatures mutated by unknown means, burst from casks in the wagon and attack as more of the ne’er-do-wells appear to flank the adventurers! [Tomorrow in Mendacious Materials the party gets another crack at the real resource being carted around by their enemies, though astute readers may have figured that out already! -MM]

As the PCs travel throughout the Mariner’s Quarter of Mohkba, there are ample means to line their pockets but just as many reasons to be wary; a snatch and grab from one of the local religious groups can turn out to be quite painful. What more, the metropolis is experiencing a religious resurgence after truly troubling events with some of the nobles last year, and the remnants of the bloody Cultus Sanguineus still haunt the city (though not all of the lingering spirits have to do with the settlement’s corrupted elite).

[Hyperlinks marked with * have both Pathfinder and 5E D&D Rules. -MM]