Merchant Vex Quest Chain
“Everyone thinks they know what I am. A smuggler, a criminal, a profiteer. They’re not wrong—but they’re not entirely right either.”
Overview
Character: Merchant
Vex
Location: Skyport Eos, Murky Chasm, Floating
Market
Total Quests: 3
Themes: Moral ambiguity, hidden compassion, criminal
networks
Reputation Impact: Black Sky Cartel, Outland
Clans
Merchant Vex’s quest chain reveals the complex morality behind the Aetherium’s criminal underworld. What begins as simple smuggling evolves into a story of hidden charity and dangerous secrets.
Implementation Status
| Quest | Status | Stages | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Deal | ✅ Implemented | 3 | Medium |
| Vex’s Network | ✅ Implemented | 5 | Medium-High |
| Hidden Compassion | ✅ Implemented | 4 | High |
Quest 1: The Deal
File:
data/vignettes/eos/vex_the_deal.json
Trigger: Visit Skyport Eos
marketplace
Stages: 3
Synopsis
A mysterious note leads you to the Blue Anchor tavern, where Merchant Vex offers a lucrative but illegal proposition: smuggle a package to Murky Chasm, no questions asked.
Stage 1: The Approach
Location: Skyport Eos (Blue Anchor tavern)
Vex has heard of your capabilities and offers a high-risk, high-reward job. The payment is substantial, but the work is clearly illegal.
Choices: 1. Hear his proposition - Learn the details 2. Demand to know what’s in the package (Cunning DC 26) - Discover it’s medical supplies
Discovery: If you succeed at the Cunning check, Vex reveals the package contains medical supplies embargoed by the Guild. He frames it as “saving lives” rather than smuggling.
Stage 2: The Decision
Location: Skyport Eos
You must decide whether to accept Vex’s job.
Choices: 1. Accept the smuggling job - Begin the delivery (100 gold advance) 2. Refuse the job - Receive Vex’s marker for future contact 3. Report Vex to authorities - Gain +5 Sky-Guild reputation, make Vex an enemy
Consequences: - Accepting: Begins delivery stage,
sets accepted_vex_smuggling flag - Refusing: Sets
refused_vex_smuggling and has_vex_marker flags
- Reporting: Sets reported_vex and vex_enemy
flags
Stage 3: The Delivery
Location: Murky Chasm (Weeping Halls)
You travel to Murky Chasm and deliver the package to Sera, a healer at a makeshift hospital. The crate contains medicine, bandages, and surgical tools—supplies that will save lives.
Choices: 1. Collect payment and leave - 200 gold, quest complete 2. Ask Sera about Vex’s operations (Cunning DC 24) - Learn of Vex’s Cartel connections
Discovery: Success reveals that Vex has been supplying the Weeping Halls for years, using Cartel connections for charitable purposes.
Rewards Summary
| Outcome | Gold | Reputation | Flags |
|---|---|---|---|
| Complete delivery | 300 total | - | vex_the_deal_complete |
| Learn Cartel connection | 300 total | - | learned_vex_cartel_connection |
| Report Vex | 0 | +5 Sky-Guild | vex_enemy |
Quest 2: Vex’s Network
File:
data/vignettes/eos/vex_network.json
Trigger: Complete “The Deal”
Stages: 5
Synopsis
Impressed by your work, Vex offers membership in his information network—a web of smugglers, spies, and contacts across the Aetherium. But the network is threatened by a Guild investigation, and you must help protect it.
Stage 1: The Invitation
Location: Skyport Eos (marketplace)
Vex offers you a silver token—membership in his network. Access to information, contacts, and opportunities in exchange for occasional tasks.
Choices: 1. Accept the token - Join the network 2. Negotiate for better terms (Cunning DC 28) - Priority access and profit sharing 3. Refuse to join - Decline membership
Stage 2: Shade Contact
Location: Floating Market
Your first network contact is Shade, a woman with Cartel connections. She reveals that Factor Brennan is investigating Vex’s operations and gathering evidence for prosecution.
Choices: 1. Ask for more details - Learn about Brennan’s evidence 2. Question Shade’s motives (Cunning DC 26) - Confirm Cartel involvement
Stage 3: The Brennan Decision
Location: Floating Market
You must decide how to handle the threat to the network.
Choices: 1. Infiltrate Guild Hall and steal evidence - High-risk heist 2. Find a way to discredit Brennan - Subtler approach 3. Return to Vex and let him handle it - Hands-off (but Vex’s methods are “permanent”)
Stage 4: Resolution Paths
Heist Path (Ironhold Guild Hall): - Pick the lock (Cunning DC 30) - Steal documents - Bribe a guard (-150 gold) - Guaranteed success
Discredit Path (Ironhold): - Expose gambling debts - Anonymous tip to internal affairs - Blackmail Brennan directly - Use evidence of mistress
Stage 5: Aftermath
Location: Skyport Eos
Report back to Vex with results.
Outcomes: - Success: 350 gold, +15 Black Sky Cartel reputation - Failure (heist caught): 100 gold, Vex disappointed
Rewards Summary
| Path | Gold | Reputation | Flags |
|---|---|---|---|
| Successful heist | 350 | +15 Cartel | vex_network_proven |
| Successful discredit | 350 | +15 Cartel | vex_network_proven |
| Failed heist | 100 | - | vex_disappointed |
Quest 3: Hidden Compassion
File:
data/vignettes/eos/vex_hidden_compassion.json
Trigger: Complete “Vex’s Network”
Stages: 4
Synopsis
Working with Vex’s network reveals inconsistencies: shipments that don’t add up, resources that vanish, whispered thanks from refugees. The truth is shocking—Vex has been running a secret charity operation, using Cartel resources to help the desperate.
Stage 1: Discovery
Location: Skyport Eos (lower district)
Courier Tam leads you to a hidden warehouse filled with supplies and refugees. Vex has been using his Cartel connections to fund charitable work for years.
Stage 2: Confrontation
Location: Skyport Eos (warehouse)
You confront Vex about his secret. He reveals his past: orphan, street kid, someone helped him once. Now he balances the scales.
Choices: 1. Ask why he does this - Learn his backstory 2. Point out the risk - Acknowledge the danger
Revelation: Vex knows the risks—if the Cartel discovers his charity, they’ll kill him. If the Guild discovers his Cartel ties, they’ll arrest him. He accepts this.
Stage 3: The Threat
Location: Skyport Eos (warehouse)
Crisis: Cartel enforcers are asking questions about missing shipments. Someone talked. You have hours to evacuate refugees and supplies.
Choices: 1. Help evacuate - Exhausting work (-30 stamina) 2. Distract Cartel enforcers (Cunning DC 32) - Buy time with misdirection 3. Refuse to get involved - Abandon Vex
Stage 4: Aftermath
Location: Skyport Eos (Blue Anchor)
The crisis is resolved. Vex is grateful—and offers you a place in his “real network.”
Choices: 1. Offer to help with charitable work - Become partner (+10 Outland Clans, 200 gold) 2. Promise to keep his secret - Maintain distance (300 gold)
Rewards Summary
| Outcome | Gold | Reputation | Flags |
|---|---|---|---|
| Become charity partner | 200 | +10 Outland Clans | vex_charity_partner |
| Keep secret | 300 | - | knows_vex_secret |
| Abandon Vex | 0 | - | abandoned_vex |
Character Development Arc
Vex’s Journey
- The Deal: Vex appears as a typical criminal—smuggler, profiteer
- Vex’s Network: Deeper involvement reveals complexity—he protects his people
- Hidden Compassion: The truth emerges—he’s a complicated man doing good through questionable means
Player Relationship Paths
Criminal Partner: Accept smuggling, join network, help with Cartel threats - Rewards: Gold, Cartel reputation, network access - Cost: Moral compromise, legal risk
Charitable Ally: Discover his charity, help evacuate, become partner - Rewards: Outland Clans reputation, meaningful work - Cost: Cartel danger, less gold
Betrayer: Report him, refuse to help, abandon him - Rewards: Sky-Guild reputation - Cost: Lose access to network, make powerful enemy
Moral Complexity
Questions Raised
Is smuggling wrong if it saves lives? The medical supplies Vex smuggles go to people who would otherwise die.
Can criminals be good people? Vex uses Cartel resources for charity—does the good outweigh the bad?
What do we owe to those who help us? Vex was helped as a child; now he helps others. Is this debt or genuine compassion?
No Right Answer
- Helping Vex supports criminal networks but saves lives
- Reporting Vex upholds law but condemns refugees
- Ignoring the situation is morally neutral but practically harmful
Connections to Other Content
Related Quests
- The Blackmailer’s Price - Vex discovers Elder Mira’s corruption
- Black Market Deal - Chasm criminal economy
Related Characters
- Elder Mira Thornwell - Blackmail target
- Sera (Weeping Halls healer) - Charity recipient
- Shade (Floating Market contact) - Cartel intermediary
Related Locations
- Skyport Eos - Base of operations
- Murky Chasm - Delivery destination
- Weeping Halls - Charity hospital
Document Status: Complete
Last Updated: December 3, 2025
Implementation: All 3 quests fully implemented
“Everyone has to die sometime. Might as well do some good first.”