Quest Seeker
An adventuring party is nothing without quests to do. Nothing, I tell you!The Kartovian Exploration Society requires adventurers and explorers to assist in filling out the Codices of Istralar and Beyond, but to fund these explorations and adventures requires a truly stupendous amount of money - money that the Society does not have. Instead, exploratory voyages are drastically subsidised or entirely funded by quests. Adventuring parties select a quest they'd like to do, go off and complete the quest, and are rewarded with gold, experience, and treasure. They return to the Society with new information, and that information is added to the Codices. For external parties, these quests are ways to get difficult tasks done or to seek help when nobody else is willing to do so. Finding possible quests is a challenge, however. Not every individual with a particular problem knows to contact the Society or has the means to do so, and sometimes, potential quests might arise from simply talking to the right people. Thus, to ensure the Society continues to run smoothly and benefit general society as best it can, the Society has a number of respected Quest Seekers in its ranks. These Seekers do also double as questgivers for adventurers, sharing the details of the quests they themselves found. However, they do prefer to keep their role in finding the quest quiet - if tragedy strikes the party choosing it, they don't want to be the one blamed.
Qualifications
One cannot find quests if one does not know quests. We tried it once with a merchant. Guy got demoted to adventurer after the third time he accidentally got a group exploited. Think he's happier now, actually.One of the few qualifications to be nominated as one of the Society's quest seekers is for an individual to have quested for a significant enough period - typically a few years in an adventuring party will qualify them. They must also have a great wealth of personal knowledge, especially of diplomatic and bureaucratic processes - not to mention needing to have read the Codices of Istralar and Beyond cover to cover, with the memory to keep all of their monsters in mind!
Duties
Well, you see, we've had this awful problem with the livestock going missing...Quest seekers do not have easy jobs. Finding quests is not a simple task - they are required to travel the world in hot pursuit of rumours that will not already have adventures on their tale, sending back accounts of what they find as and when they manage to find something new. They often are forced to meet with the rich, for the rich have plenty to offer and reasons to protect their investments, which leads to the plights of the poor being ignored by the Society unless a more wealthy patron is made aware of the issue and chooses to assist. As former adventurers, it can be quite challenging for a quest seeker to not simply take a given quest themselves, particularly if it seems pressing. In some cases, it is easiest to requisition a teleport from headquarters for an adventuring party to be brought in with great haste, oftentimes with the quest seeker taking up the lead as the more senior member. The Shadows, as secretive affliates of the Society, often use this route as well, serving as pseudo-quest seekers or having their agents meet with a particular quest seeker - or even being the quest seeker in question. In these scenarios, where one senior member leads the others, it is seen as more of a mentorship and those assisting still receive their full reward. Questseeking is not always a peaceful excursion full of diplomacy and trade talks, either. Investigations into the local issues can be horrendously dangerous if the threat is more serious than it seems, and it is for this reason that the Society is currently debating a law to enforce seekers to remain in pairs at minimum - larger groups preferred. A string of disappearances into Eckehart Mansion in 5624 has recently brought up this discussion again; this time, it seems likely that the rule will be put in place.
Accoutrements & Equipment
The badges change constantly, but so long as we have them, you'll recognise us.There isn't much required in the way of clothing or equipment that isn't otherwise standard across Society staff. Access to weaponry, enchantments, and crafting services comes standard with any paid role at the Kartovian Exploration Society; the benefits are a major reason many adventurers are happy to retire in the role. However, quest seekers are provided with a golden badge. These can be personalised or varied regionally, with most quest seekers choosing to alter their badge in some way - gemstones are a common addition. Badges are registered with the Society's logs and a unique magical identifier (UMI) is inscribed on the back, allowing them to function as verified signatures and proof of their affliation to the Society to those far aseas. The badges of deceased quest seekers automatically tarnish into a deep bronze as a further defence mechanism. The same defence can be activated at Society HQ through the UMI, serving as both theft deterrant and a protection against the badges being used by hostile actors.
Quest Seeker Badge by Hanhula (via Midjourney)
Quest Seeker Badge by Hanhula (via Midjourney)
Quest Seeker Badge by Hanhula (via Midjourney)
Quest Board by Hanhula (via Midjourney)
Type
Professional
Form of Address
Questseeker, Questgiver
Equates to
Business analysts
Source of Authority
Authority over Explorers
Related Organizations
Quest Board by Hanhula (via Midjourney)
Excuse me! Are you looking for some help?
Quest Board by Hanhula (via Midjourney)
Congratulations on your victory with the Summercamp Title Prompt! I found your article through Hcraven's Summercamp Title Winners article. Your introduction got me hooked, and I like how it links to other important aspects of your world. Reading your article makes me feel like I want to go on an adventure myself - or perhaps write about one! I also feel that the images created via Midjourney are stunning. Excellent effort and work on this!