It began with a post produced by Scanlan Stormcrow (reproduced here):

------

A mystery is afoot, and it's one I dare to share,
For we can find a carriage, but we only find it bare
Be it once fast-moving, and rickety round the bend,
I never thought i'd be the one, to speak of -this- untimely end.

So I implore you Basin, with this caper as it stands,
To keep your eyes peeled, as you charge across the lands
The one we all remember, is now the one we all quite miss,
So seek out the one named Sako, and lets find closure to this.

Has the satire once told on the Stages of our lands come true
Do we truly have a disappearance of our beloved Sako Tleem...

WANTED: SAKO TLEEM - Carriage driver, Beloved giver of tasks

------

Was it true? Had the well-known owner of Tleem Transports disappeared
altogether? Of course, his presence had not been felt for many years
before that, and many adventurers and denizens alike blamed his absence
as a cruel trick of the Fates - knowing full and well that Sako Tleem
would eventually return to them.

But even after Scanlan's missive, Sako never returned. Years past,
months aplenty. No one was sure whether he would return, but many kept
hope. That is, until the commuters of Mister Tleem's esteemed carriage
service grumbled and scowled through the streets. Where was Sako?! they
questioned and demanded. How are we to get to work/home/friends/lovers?
Indeed, it would appear that Tleem Transports was a major method of
travel for the denizen population of the Basin of Life. Day in and day
out they rioted through the highways, persuaded to take a breather by a
handful of adventurers; they even remained when the Basin found itself
under the dark magics of the Goldenclaw Coven. They spat upon Sako's
name, upset that he would just leave them high and dry. Rather than let
her paramour's name be sullied, Maendwen Syllamn resolved to find Sako
herself.

Unfortunately for Maendwen, her quest was a hard one. Hearing rumor that
perhaps the very same commuters who raged about Sako's disappearance may
have had some idea of what had happened, she sought some out - only to
find none. It was there, on the Ackleberry Highway, that she chanced
upon Talan Ysav'rai. Talan, herself chasing down pilgrims and bards,
greeted the elfen woman, and after hearing what the woman heard, she
decided to take on the quest in Maendwen's stead. After calming down a
commuter, she discovered that he had, in fact, saw something. Sako Tleem
was last found near the waystation of Joric Blande! Talan raced there,
and after some questioning of Joric himself, Mother Olya, and more
commuters, identified a forced path that diverted away from the Southern
Highway into the Grey Moors. There, Miss Ysav'rai found a terrible
scene: the burnt-out husk of Sako's carriage.

After surveying the scene a little more, she called out for assistance
from those in Gaudiguch. To Talan's aid came Xeltha al-Saaoud, and
together, the two women sought out more clues riddled throughout the
Grey Moors. Recognizing that perhaps their skill in tracking was a bit
unfocused, they petitioned for Rolsand of Magnagora to assist them. The
three managed to scour the Grey Moors, the Gloriana River, and the
Southern Mountains (calling upon a helpful Synkarin Ysav'rai along the
way), discovering two sets of footprints: one, old and weathered, and
another, freshly-stamped. Tracking the new ones to a cave still within
the distant Southern Mountains, they were able to discover Sako Tleem,
alive but certainly not well. The four gathered the beaten dracnari and
returned him to Maendwen, who thank them with all her heart.

As the Gaudiguchians departed, Maendwen took Sako to her friend,
Yojimbo, an alchemist within Estelbar, to find some sort of curative to
aid in Sako's care. Yojimbo himself called upon a fellow healer from
Caoimhe Dell, and together, they spent many days in his apothecary
workshop. While they were able to heal Sako's wounds and broken body,
Yojimbo explained that his mind was fractured beyond repair. He asked
Maendwen what had happened, but Maendwen herself did not know: that fact
left unexplained by her Gaudiguchian saviors. Thanking Yojimbo, Maendwen
returned to her waystation and decided to care for Sako, even in his
mind-addled state.

The month passed, and Maendwen returned to her home - Sako in tow. She
reached out to Talan, who visited the two, and Maendwen recounted all
she could recall from Yojimbo. Talan suggested perhaps emotional trauma
was the culprit of Sako's current illness, hoping to restore him to good
cheer with drink and song. However, while appreciative, neither song nor
drink restored the dracnari's state. Swearing that she will care for him
until he was better or their threads were cut, she told Miss Ysav'rai
that she had asked her brother, Galael, to take over Sako's carriage
service for the time being. So while Tleem Transports is up and running
again, the fate of Sako Tleem is dire indeed.



Penned by My hand on the 16th of Dvarsh, in the year 450 CE.