On the heels of apocalyptic portents, a wild rumor suffuses through the core like wildfire. Purportedly originating from the threshold of the famed herbalist shop within Mordentshire, several witnesses swear that an uncannily youthful Doctor Rudolph van Richten was spotted frenetically clamoring into the shop and frantically inquiring for his nieces. He departed with haste, some odd, mystically illuminated orb held high, with two others, one male and one female, in tow. They reportedly plunged into the depth of a particularly thick, impenetrable mist and were swallowed up. The three have yet to return again, leading to skepticism, despite the numerous accounts, of the events and only further fueling the heated and polarizing debate of the legitimacy or lunacy of the famed Doctor van Richten.
