Maltheas’ sleep had been troubled of late. In his dreams he flew across icy vista, as if in search for something, but what? At first, he chose to believe it was just his tail telling him he needed to stop buying gnome-sized blankets for the cool cog designs on them. Yes, every tinker loves cogs, but every priest of Nife knows the importance of wrapping up snug and warm! However, even after investing in a rather more sensible dwarf-sized quilt (with hammers on, so bedtime tinker-cred was still assured) he awoke shivering and perplexed.
“Bahs!”, he squeaked, knowing full well that it was clearly a vision. Maltheas is no stranger to visions. Indeed, he owes his very sanity, if not life, to the one that brought him to Qeynos, where Seeress Ealaynya Ithis was waiting for him. This, though, was an altogether less useful sort of vision that just made his toes cold without giving him any sort of instructions. Still chilled to the bone, he decided to pop down to the kitchen for a hot drink. But he was not the first one there. There was a small meeting already in progress, and they were a sorry and miserable sight indeed. Zoltoon had somehow managed to put every single one of his robes on at once, and Muldoon the Lurikeen was sitting on top of a hot-water bottle almost as big as himself. As Maltheas entered they looked at him glumly, and handed him a steaming mug of cocoa.
“It won’t help much, me furry pal, but it’s better than nothing. We’ll be catching our deaths o’ cold if we don’t get this fixed! Be telling him yon theory, Zolt.”
“It would appear, after discussion with our colleagues, that rather than being a vision for a specific person, like all experienced adventurers are used to, it is in fact some sort of psychic leakage. I would surmise that a being of great power, probably a god, is looking for something, somewhere rather cold, and getting overly emotional about it. Quite inconsiderately, I might add. From what you’ve told us about your dealings with him, I believe the culpable entity to be Mithaniel Marr.”
“Oohs! I hopes he findings it soons!”
“If only we knew an expert on gods, and getting them to behave properly.”, Zoltoon remarked, giving Maltheas an extremely hard stare.
And so it was that Maltheas was sent out into the Qeynosian morning, with a heatstone in each pocket, and a determination to ensure that the toes of Norrath would be safe from overnight frosting.
You too can investigate this perilous event! From now until the launch of GU56 there is a special prelude quest, Vision of Valor, which you can pick up from a Priest of Marr at the Temple of Life in Qeynos, or any of these other locations. It is the continuation of the Marr plotline that has been going on for a couple of years now, and shouldn’t be missed by any lover of Norrathian lore.
Maltheas has been in the presence of Mithaniel Marr before, during the investigation into the vanishing of Erollisi Marr, but never his manifested avatar. He is one of the better behaved of the gods Maltheas has met, neither asking to be brought booze, or playing childish pranks.
Maltheas learns of the coming of New Halas from Mithaniel Marr
Though players have known it was coming for a while, this is the first that the folks of Norrath have heard about the coming of New Halas. Sales of warm clothing, already high from the chilly dreams, are likely to skyrocket as adventurers prepare to investigate this new land unveiled to us by Mithaniel Marr. Maltheas will meet you there!
Update: I forgot to show the quest rewards! You receive a book called “Journal of a Disciple of Marr” which recaps some of the Marr plotline, and a Valorian Bloom. The book is sitting on the table in front of Maltheas.
Maltheas likes sparkly things, and books.