The Guides and The Mists

The Guides and The Mists:
there is an odd phenomenon in the world referred to as 'the mists'. on an occasional basis, for reasons no one really understands, certian areas will become enshrouded by mist. as one ventures into the mist the terrain will become dry, flat, rocky, and barren, the sky will go dark, and the only natural light to be found will be a dim glow in the mist along the ground. lights carried by travelers will seem as bright, but also have an unusually short range. wandering in the mists is quite dangerous without a guide, as they will often vanish as quickly as they came for similarly inexplicable reasons, leaving any who've wandered in trapped and unable to return. very few who've entered the mists without a guide have ever returned, but all who have have told a very similar story of a nearly endless place with no notable variations trapped in an endless misty night.

there are also people, who've become known as guides, who have the ability to summon the mists to any place they might naturally occur at any time. once within the mists they also have the ability to summon an exit at any other place the mists would naturally occur, giving them the ability to create massive short cuts in travel around the world, and even to travel to places where conventional travel would be all but impossible, such as the tops of mesas with vertical walls hundreds of feet high, or small islands in the middle of the remote seas. not all of these destinations are desirable, but many major cities have mists near by, and some have even grown because of the mists.

mist travel is often prohibitively, due to the small number of guides, hence traveling companies have formed. these companies will hire the guide, and procure wagons and horses, or other pack animals as needed, in order to bring travelers and cargo to remote locations. this is the way most people would travel if they had more than a few days ride, as with enough people or cargo, the price is distributed and becomes much more affordable. there are also bandits who prey on these companies in the hope of snatching valuable cargo, or kidnapping travelers for ransom, so many traveling companies will employ armed fighters to protect the company. while this is rarely a problem in the more developed areas of the world, it can be quite common in the more rural parts. in some places it is common for the company to prepare bribes for the bandits such that they'll be satisfied with the bribe, and leave the travelers and cargo alone. it is alleged that some companies are in fact in league with some of these bandits to shake down travelers for extra money or valuable items they may be carrying.