You are a member of an elite unit in the Brassicacean army, hand-picked by the charismatic captain. You’re a close-knit unit of specialists, usually assigned to ambassadorial missions or diplomatic protection, but now, mysteriously assigned to a tax collection detail. Apparently some hick town in Umbellifera (a province you’ve barely heard of on the western margin of the empire) is attracting the attention and jealousy of its neighbours by having a few more sheep than them or something. The imperial tax collectors want it checked out and the extra sheep extracted from the poor peasants of Ovis, and you’ve been sent to do the job.

There are weird rumours of the villagers trading for exotic goods, but that has to be a lie... the only resource in that region is sheep, and fairly straggly ones at that. In any case, the maps show nothing beyond Ovis but a great rift full of mist, stretching out in both directions to the mountains, and beyond.... not just the edge of the empire, but the edge of the world!