Troubled Waters
Troubled Waters, Rescue at Sea is a pay to play quest that began in April 2014 and is scheduled regularly. Historically, the cost was $9.99 for standard accounts and access was purchased via the Box Office. Currently, the quest is accessed via the quest nexus with the use of a swirling nexus orb purchased from the Simucoin store.
With its advent, Troubled Waters introduced a new quest prize ticket system where players can accumulate tickets, or Blackscrip. In Troubled Waters teams of up to 10 characters raid a Krolvin ship to rescue prisoners, which must be escorted back to the schooner. From the website:
Sailing the Northern Waves of the Great Western Sea, krolvin warships raid the Elanthian coastline in the name of the Slavers Guild. The price for able men, women, and children keeps the Krol in business, as the slavery trade from Glaoveln to the Southern Waves of the Great Western Sea runs rampant. Brave volunteers are called upon to board a chartered schooner and join a rescue mission to save those taken captive. The schooners sail out to known slave-trading routes to intercept krolvin ships, which volunteers board to meet the enemy head on. Because of the high volume of krolvin traffic on the trade routes, schooner captains dare not stay longer than two hours, lest krolvin reinforces arrive and add the volunteers to their slave inventory. Up to 10 players can participate in the next GemStone IV Adventure, a small-scale quest starting at an introductory price of $14.99* that takes roughly two hours to complete. This is a combat-heavy quest, but is designed to accommodate a wide mix of professions and levels.
*Included custom siegery miniature at the end of the quest. This promotion ended after the first month and the price was lowered to $9.99.
Cost is in Blackscrip and items can be purchased in the Bait Shop in Wehnimer's Landing. The Bait Shop (room # 23181) is located in the shanty on the dock on the South Wharf, where the Glaesen Star docks.
Those completing the quest will typically get 50 to 150 Blackscrip. Prize lists and item descriptions are available on the Troubled Waters prize list.