<div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">Be it so known that the bearer of this charter, <strong>Claudia Medvyed</strong>, has been charged by the Swordlords of Restov, acting upon the greater good and authority vested within them by the office of the Regent of the Dragonscale Throne, has granted the right of exploration and travel within the wilderness region known as the Greenbelt. Exploration should be limited to an area no further than thirty-six miles sourtheast and northwest, and sixty miles southwest of Oleg’s Trading Post. The carrier of this charter should also strive against banditry and other unlawful behavior to be encountered. The punishment for unrepentant banditry remains, as always, execution by sword or rope. So witnessed on this 24th day of Calistril, under watchful eye of the Lordship of Restov and authority granted by Lord Noleski Surtova, current Regent of the Dragonscale Throne.</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br/>"Oleg's trading post - 10 miles", so read the signpost, pointing to the last bastion of civilization before the wild stretches of the Stolen Lands. The expanse of wilderness which went by the moniker of the "Stolen Lands" lay between the state of Brevoy to the north and the River Kingdoms to the south. Jungle, hill, swamp, and mountain denoted the natural boundaries between the farmed plains of civilization and the untamed wilds. Rivers snaked through the Stolen Lands, but none formed the single, continuous, and most importantly, navigable route needed for a viable trade route. Uncharted paths, natural dangers of the wild, and last but certainly not least the threat of banditry made the overland route a matter of such poor odds that even the most desperate gambler would shy away from. Hence the name; lands which could not be settled, considered stolen from the kingdoms with rightful claims to them. Histories and legends told of many attempts at carving a kingdom out of the Stolen Lands over the centuries, all of which had obviously come to naught.<br/><br/>The closest piece of the Stolen Lands was the Greenbelt, a strip of land which was reckoned to begin the moment one stepped foot south of Oleg's, geographically divided into the forested Narlmarches and the hilly Kamelands. The charters borne by a chosen few to map the Greenbelt and remove the bandit presence were not public knowledge, but even then there were official reasons for them to be granted. Brevoy had long had a claim, if unacted upon, upon the Greenbelt as part of the Stolen Lands. If made safe once more, not only would the southern border be secured against bandit incursions, but also profitable trade routes could be opened with the River Kingdoms. Or at least, that was how the official story went.<br/><br/><hr/><br/>Travelling with Claudia on the South Rostland Road from Restov to Oleg's trading post were her fellow expedition members to scout the Greenbelt ahead of the settlers. They goals were to map the region, bring the local banditry to justice, and find suitable locations for settlement.<br/><br/>Jhod Kavken was a cleric of Erastil from one of the villages in House Medvyed's lands. He left his hometown because he received a divine vision directing him to seek out and restore a ruined temple of Erastil lost somewhere in the forests of the Narlmarches, or so he claimed.<br/>(https://imgur.com/msYvSIM.png)<br/><br/>Kristen Garess was ostracized from her own House Garess, rather like Claudia, for reasons she kept tight-lipped about. She served as a captain in Restov's city watch for a time, before accepting this assignment into the Greenlands.<br/>(https://imgur.com/BoEBQT0.png)<br/><br/>Lisa Telier was also from Restov, a trainee alchemist seeking out a hermit to apprentice under, who was said to live somewhere tucked away in the rolling hills of the Kamelands.<br/>(https://imgur.com/c4KdqZ8.png)