Estela News

There should be a newspaper that’s published each week posted to the blog. Like clickbait titles that open up to more stuff maybe??? But the whole point is its only info for people who look into it. Not required reading.

Some of the articles can function as quest hooks!! Like a bulletin board section w/ requests for help

And murders/serial killers from different districts

Only comes out every 5th day (5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30th) day of the month. So, depending on the sessions, new newspaper editions may be published mid game.

These are mostly gonna be like weird occurrences and some like missing people shiz

## **Estawain**

### **5 Estawain**

#### **Articles:**

* EN001  In a large city, urchins are a regular problem. This trio of kidlets, however, has been luring travelers in to abandoned alleyways, where the deranged doppelganger among them eats the human and the other two children keep what was it his/her pockets.
* MP012986-91A traveling circus/faire comes to town
* H000031-2 Serial Killer to be released from prison (info on his MO & how the church paid for his release)

#### **Classifieds:**

* EN002 Wanted dead or alive: Bonecrusher, Orc Chieftain to the south! Warning: very heavily armed and dangerous. Has many henchmen. Reward: 1,000gp. For more details, or to deliver Bonecrusher’s head, visit Tel’Valar Headquarters in the 13th Precinct and ask for Gaelin Keywraek.

* EN003 Test Subjects Needed! We at Cambion Café are looking for subjects to test out our new magical breads. We infuse magic into the mixing process for a, hopefully, tasteful bread. You will need to taste each bread, and have our

scholar review the side effects. You will be paid per day. Come visit the Cambion Café in the 17th Precinct and ask for Reltas Klonnokrann.

* EN004 WANTED: Internship with seasoned adventurers. I’ve admired heroes all my life and want to try my hand at it! I’m hardworking, loyal, and a team player. My name is Gunther Herpetor, and you’ll find me washing dishes at Crow Bar in the 32nd Precinct.

* EN005 Need men to form a small honor garrison for the banquet I am holding in my manor. Important people are involved, so discretion is mandatory. 200GP per person, payed upfront. No

questions asked. Ask Vesrok Liussrogra for  at the Red Sky Inn in the 38th Precinct. (All the guests are vampires.)

* EN006 In Desperate need of help! All the local medicinal plants in the area have disappeared. All the groves and clearings appear to have been picked clean, and without them, I'm unable to provide the city with the drugs and elixirs they need to fend off the Sewer plague! Come to Every Day Elixirs in the 2nd Precinct and ask for Zarlo Firt. (even the owner’s secret garden is now empty. H had told no one of his hidden garden, and so has no idea who or what could have taken all of the plants in the brief period of time between his most recent check and his previous one.)
* EN007 Bouncers needed for annual all-you-can-drink QuaffFest Celebration tomorrow night. Usual bouncer called in sick and can’t make it. Will pay 5s/hr and after your hift that evening all your drinks are free! Come to The Bronze Battleaxe Bar in the 16th district by 2 PM tomorrow, 6 Estawain, and ask for Gaeleth Yllahana.

### **10 Estawain**

**Articles:**

* EN008 - Article about a murder - Report of a murder w/ same MO as released serial killer Back Alley Butcher
* RA000508Article about vigilante
* The court case of Dilya Eloris.
* Captain murdered
* MP012992 - 3 infant girls within 30 days disappear for a week without a trace - every 30 years. News article about first infant goes missing and returns, from a different district.

**Classifieds:**

## **Undesignated Hooks**

1. Water drawn from a certain well is animating into water elementals/mephits.
2. Anyone who reads a cursed book, brought into town by an adventuring party, dies after reading it
3. Monthly full moon attacks are blamed on a good lycan, and are actually being carried out by a pack of Moon Rats (MM2)
4. Thieves have plundered a tomb and until his golden burial mask is returned, a ghost/ghast/specter will continue to kill innocent people
5. An evil druid has taken up residence in the sewers and is waging a guerilla war on civilization
6. A temple has hired a large number of bards for a festival where music is to be played from sun up until sundown, the only problem is that no one recalls the obscure holiday because it is a ruse to mask the sound of tomb robbers breaking into sealed vaults below the church
7. The tarrasque is wreaking havoc on the countryside and the party (lvl 10ish) must slow it down until the champions (20th) can arrive, but the tarrasque is actually a simulacrum (cr 10) sent by an outsider/caster/etc. and not the real thing
8. Reports that a gold dragon is ravaging the countryside turn out to be true. The dragon, sick with a rare disease, has gone mad and must be stopped
9. A monster seen roaming close to town is actually a cursed person and not evil
10. A newly discovered dungeon is actually a complex trap to harvest souls/magic/life energy
11. A pair of ethereal filchers are stealing all the curative magic in the area/city/town
12. A band of fey has been stealing wine from a rural tavern
13. Several women in the area are pregnant under strange circumstances, an incubus is to blame. Their husbands are all found dead, but the woman say they were with them at the time of murders A doppelganger/changeling serial killer claims the identity of their most recent victim for one week before killing again
14. Shipments from a nearby mine have stopped when the PCs investigate they find the miners crazed and covered with red welts apparently from exposure to a new element they uncovered.
15. A wizard/collector wants a live troll to study
16. News spreads that a dragon was slain while away from his cave, a search for its unguarded hoard is underway. The PCs are looking for an arrow used to slay a dragon a hundred years earlier, but when they pull the arrow from the dragon’s skeleton, it animates and attacks
17. An aged and grizzled warrior is going town to town offering his magic sword/shield/armor to any fighter that can best him in honorable combat. Tournament style, so whomever wins the tournament, battles him and gets his magic thing
18. A mad wizard has been selling potions that have poisonous/odd effects
19. The local priesthood is paying gold for water collected from the Opal Caves to treat a spreading fever
20. Graffiti is scrawled on the walls of two buildings in town. It appears to be some sort of code. The messages are marked “1” and “3”. Message “2” is nowhere to be found.
21. More than three people in a given town have all their teeth fall out at the same time
22. A rumor reaches the party’s ears of a group of brigands hiding out in the woods. They have a code that is the reverse of Robin Hood and his Merry Men: Steal from the poor, and give to the rich.
23. A house outside of town is being circled by hundreds of birds. Upon approaching, the party sees that their beaks are lined with teeth, and the birds are twitching as though trying to escape possession. From the sounds inside, someone is clambering to hide within the building.
24. A farmer says he’s heard strange singing in the night in his corn field, but whenever he goes out to look, he doesn’t find anyone. If that wasn’t strange enough, one morning he found his scarecrows had been moved into a circle.
25. Old Jeb the farmer claims his sheepdog had puppies, but they all have split tails and he doesn’t know their sire.
26. A suit of enchanted armor with dozens of arms has been razing nearby villages. Watch out, each arm holds a hand crossbow, and each one can attack every turn.
27. You’ve gotten word about a logging village up north that has put up a massive reward for any adventurers willing to travel to the village, investigate the rash of disappearances and locate any of the missing persons: dead or alive.
28. The sawmill catches fire. The bucket brigade keeps it contained, but it refuses to extinguish after 2 days.
29. There is a bounty out on the dish breaking bandit.
30. The local towns people are complaining about a goblin tribe that has set up camp near by. They are acting strange and have begun constructing statues of a goblin with a pointy hat all over the area.
31. Kobolds have been attacking the town. All wearing similar regalia and a matching symbol. a raving man claims to have escaped from the kobolds’ lair. He describes a terrible dragon as the source of worship for the kobolds.
32. The moon stops traveling across the sky, and everyone’s time pieces stop working. Word around the continent is a group of warlocks are attempting to gain power from a new patron – the god of Time
33. The party finds a smouldering crater containing a metal wreck. Inside, they find an eccentric kobold who insists she has returned from the moon.
34. The dead are rising as zombies one hour after their death
35. Slavers are capturing peasants and merchants on the highway and selling them to mindflayers
36. The owner of a failing inn claims to have the entrance to a mysterious dungeon in his cellar hoping that the ruse will draw business from adventurers
37. A pack of displacer beasts/displacer beast lord is preying on farm animals and farmers alike
38. A logging camp is being haunted by the ghost of a treant/forest haunt and his dryad followers
39. A college that teaches science over magic opens and arcane casters start going missing
40. A powerful artifact that will allow teleportation through the layers of the abyss/hells has been uncovered and a race to claim it has begun. The PCs must beat the groups of devils and demons that see the artifact as a powerful tool to end the Blood War
41. Rumors of “The most powerful sword” lead the PCs to an evil, intelligent, dancing sword that can animate other weapons to fight for it
42. Murders attributed to a small girl are being done by her doll, a slaymate (libris motris)
43. A group of bulettes is keeping anyone from entering or leaving the city/town/inn
44. For exactly 1 round a day, everyone in town falls sway under the HOLD PERSON spell. Life continues, but everyone is on edge. “Protection” totems begin surfacing in every market shop.
45. The first gun is invented, but its creator mysteriously dies before any more can be made. Now everyone wants her only creation.
46. The Cloud Whales of ancient myth have unexpectedly returned, pulling the Chariot of Infinite Riches across the sky. They are peaceful, but are unintentionally causing havoc as gold coins fall from their chariot and rain from the sky. There must be a way to reason with them, but they’re all the way up in the air!
47. Late one night, a star falls to a mountaintop just outside town. As the nights pass, more and more stars plummet to the earth, and people fear that the fire elementals emerging from the fallen stars are just the vanguard of a much deadlier force.
48. Chicken Wrangler Needed! Some jerks smashed my coop and now 100 chickens are loose. 1GP/chicken to return them, no questions asked. (Poster is True Neutral witch in old haunted forest; all the chickens have been enlarged.)
49. The book store has a shipment of rare books coming in and needs people to help unload them. Will pay 100gold per person and not responsible for any injuries incurred on the job. (Caution: dangerous magic and pet books around.)
50. Exterminator needed: I’ve got a mess of rats in my basement. Bring me 10 rat tails in return for payment. (Listed address has no basement and owner has no rat problem. The advert has a typo and should point to a house further down the way.)
51. Exterminator needed: There’s a bunch of noise coming from the attic. Like chains or moaning or something. It’s probably those damn raccoons again. I would have my husband look into it, but the lazy oaf up and died on me. Payment dependant on work done. (Listed address has no attic, but does have a basement with a rat problem. Murdered husband is haunting the house, bring proton pack.)
52. Strong Swimmer Needed! My simpleton apprentice left my ore cart unattended on the bridge and the blasted thing tumbled into the river! Hopefully the ore is still in there somewhere, I’ll pay gold to anyone who can get me my ore!
53. Lost Arrow: While practicing with a bow, my son lost a trophy arrow (he was not supposed to use). He was practicing in the Northern plains and thinks the arrow went into the forbidden forest. Please retrieve this arrow. As an alchemist, I will pay in healing potions.
54. Wandering Skeleton: Wandering Skeleton seen on the outskirts of town. It appears armed with a sword, shield and horned helmet.
55. 100 List: Help! Local bard needs assistance creating a list of 100 dirty jobs no one wants to do. A small payment will be available as well as your name as a contributing author in the book I’m writing.
56. Kobold Flour: Local baker seeks Kobold Flour for the upcoming Monster festival. This specialty item can only be found in Kobold encampments. Will pay 10gp per pound (maximum of 100 pounds).
57. The (Insert bar or inn name here) is looking for a bard to entertain the crowds on Thursday Nights (mug for a copper night).
58. Merchants looking for armed security to escort us to (Insert town or city name here).
59. Lost mail! Important documents might have been intercepted. The currier I’ve been expecting has not arrived.
60. The town of (insert neighboring town) has challenged us to our annual match of Shinty (or similar sport). Let’s show them who’s best, and get that trophy back where it belongs!
61. Lady Clarissa will read your future in the cards. I know you will show up. Where am I? Don’t worry, dear. Fate will guide you.
62. Koboliam Ore Needed: A local blacksmith needs Koboliam Ore, which is only found in the Myriad caves to the North. Once a Kobold stronghold, this abandoned cave is full of traps and possibly other dangers — will pay top gold for each block of Ore.
63. Detail-oriented individuals needed to go door-to-door to market my magical floor-sucker-cleaner. Commission based.
64. Local spell caster looking for lab “assistant.” Intelligence not required, but a high resistance to pain appreciated.
65. Mole Dispatch – a group of unusually large moles wreck our fields! We are in dire need of a someone who is getting rid of those pests. Payment in gold or products from our farmers market.
66. Sheep Numbers Dwindling – We don’t know who, or what, is killing our sheep, but we cant ignore it any longer. Over the last three months, we found several mother sheep and their newborns dead. We offer 10 gold coins for whoever finds out what has happened to our lifestock and ends this from happening again. (A were-sheep has been killing the other sheep, can be found out when the heard is observed, all sheep go away when this particular one comes close to them, or when the transformation happens during a clear moonlit night.)
67. Cleric needed – Daughter ill and Dying (A local father is worried because his daughter’s health has been rapidly declining. He needs someone with knowledge of medicine to determine what kind of illness… or poison or curse… is affecting her.)
68. Adventurers needed! Our Kobold in our previous adventuring party is currently missing and is in possession of an ancient and dangerous artifact. Problem is, he ate it. Please return the artifact in tact! The Kobold (Skrazz) can be returned dead, alive, or not at all for all we care. 1000 GP Reward.
69. Multi-Linguist Needed: While going through my pappy’s attic I found this really old map that I’m pretty sure leads to something cool. The problem is, I can’t read it! Pretty sure it’s Celestial, Draconian or Elvish cuz the letters are all curly. If the map leads to some sweet treasure I’ll share it fairly with you!
70. Taste-Tester Needed: Lord \_\_\_\_\_ needs a qualified taste-tester for upcoming banquet to fill recently vacated position. Benefits include All you can eat food and drink, provided medical care, lodging and pay-per-taste. Dwarvish candidates preferred. Inquire at \_\_\_\_\_\_ Manor.
71. A Muse-ment Please: My brother, the head writer of our musical comedy duo is in a rut. He hasn’t been writing any good jokes for a while and I just can’t play backup to another lukewarm song like “there’s gnome place like home”. He needs something hilarious and inspiring to jump-start his creativity again. I’m taking him to the \_\_\_\_\_ tavern tonight for drinks, and if you manage to orchestrate some weird and hilarious scene I’ll pay you 10g. (by the way, don’t tell him I paid for this, just say I owe you money or something I don’t care) -Billie Doobie
72. FOUND: Stange child’s doll. Blue gingham dress, yellow yarn hair with blue satin bow, made of painted wood. Eyes are large and very lifelike, seeming to follow you around the room. IF YOU RECOGNIZE THIS DOLL PLEASE COME AND TAKE IT I’LL GIVE YOU 5G. -23 Wyverann St E
73. WHO AM I?: I woke up in a gutter this morning outside of the Hill Street Inn and Tavern. I do not remember who I am, where I am from, what my name is, anything. I have a large sack of gold on my person and I am currently renting at the Hill Street Inn and Tavern for the foreseeable future. If you assist me in regaining my lost memories I would be more than happy to properly compensate you, for it seems that whoever I am, it is a man of means.
74. BIG AWARD MONEY!! Near forest there is cave. In cave small monster. Need help with monster. WILL AWARD BIG MONEY!! (A barghest’s trap, prepared by goblins to lure adventurers in and devour them alive)
75. Someone stole my chicken that lays all sort of metal eggs. Help me find it.
76. My Family is about to find out about my secret. Good liars and problem solvers in need.
77. What up? We’re three cool guys who are looking for other cool guys who want to hang out in our party mansion. Nothing sexual. Dudes in good shape encouraged. If you’re fat, you should be able to find humor in the little things. Again, nothing sexual.
78. Need basilisk eggs for experiment! Big reward!
79. Missing: One (1) semi-intelligent skeleton. 5 feet 10 inches. Last seen wearing blue cloak. He was sent to the market for some groceries five days ago, and hasn’t come home. His creator misses him very much. 50 GP & four (4) Stones of Farspeech upon return.
80. Love of my life! Please, I need your help to make me look cool in front of the love of my life, so that I can win her heart! I could never hope to win her by normal means since I’m poor. I will give you all of my life savings in return. Bonus if you look scary! //DM note: The plan is to have the players perform as crooks flirting and trying to pick up the girl and in turn be chased away by the contract giver to make him look cool.
81. Need to make silver quick? Why not platinum! Rent doesn’t pay itself ya’ know! Find Raul Sonderheim and ask him how you can become your own boss and never have to work a day in your life! (Can be a quest to thwart a predatory pyramid scheme OR be the starting branch in a murder investigation once Raul is found murdered, likely by one of the people he recruited.) It’s a multi-level marketing job. The job poster gives you a sales talk about their wonderful liniments and gizmos. They do work, but they are overpriced. You have to make a bulk purchase of the items and then try to resell them for a profit. You are unlikely to find the buyers needed to turn a profit and are stuck with too much stock.
82. Open minded and discrete healer wanted. Must interview.: Despite the suspicious wording, the job is treating people from discriminated-against ancestries or with embarrassing deformities that have been persecuted, passed over, or financially exploited by other healing organizations. The pay is low, but you make solid allegiances. Word of your kindness spreads among the hidden downtrodden and you may find welcome far away.
83. Music tutor: My son Stevie wants to be a bard, but the kid has absolutely no talent. I want to enjoy my time at home without the shrieking of his horrible electric lute destroying the peace. I’ll pay you 10g to give him some lessons, and if after a couple his “Music” becomes less painful, I’ll give you a 100g bonus. Contact John Harris at 75 Leyton Ave.
84. Help! My mother-in-law is coming to town for a visit and I need someone professional to inflict me with some awful disease or other affliction so I have an excuse to stay in bed and not interact or be around her. Please no afflictions that cause perminant damage or death. Mildly life-threatening ok. Meet me at 10pm behind that bar that smells like old goat. You know the one. 50g upon disease delivery.
85. Help recovering property! This is your local bard Razzle, and if you’ve seen me lately you know that I haven’t quite been myself. The truth is I lost my prize peacock feather hat in a wager at the Lusty Mermaid two days ago. The man who won it from me said I could pay him back for the value of the hat, but when I went to the inn he was staying at I found he skipped town without even paying his tab! (And I found out he cheated at that game of cards by the by) Please, I need a skilled ranger or another who is good at tracking to get back my hat! I’ll pay you 4,000 gold to go with me to get it, and I’m willing increase the price to 5,000 if our quarry proves elusive.
86. HELP WANTED: Poor old widow requests the assistance of any strong and able persons to rearrange some furnishings. (She is a witch in a small town of elderly folks that help her trick strong strangers in order to preserve their own lives.)
87. IN NEED OF DURABLE IDIOT, WILL BE WORKING WITH IMPOSSIBLE GEOMETRIES. IDIOCY NOT NEEDED BUT DESIRED. BRING FRIENDS. snacks provided! (This was wrote incredibly hastily by a desperate wizard, and his wife. The words “snacks provided” are in much cleaner handwriting toward the bottom, obviously added as it was being posted.)
88. Looking for riddle maker. You make riddles, we buy ’em! For more information contact your local Wizards Association.
89. Just bought the old mill outside of town. But there’s something living in it (make something up). Will pay 50GP and free milling service for a year to anybody who clears out the infestation and makes it safe for our family to set up!
90. Seasoned adventurers needed! Writer/Bard here, tell me the tales of your great adventures, I need some inspiration for my books/songs. Payment will be determined by how good your stories are.
91. Underground homunculi fights discovered - homunculi sales increase.
92. Wizard house vanishes in the night, locals suspect shenanigans.
93. Werewolf suspected to live in town, buy your silver at Jameson's general store!
94. Dragon flies over town, local illusionist jailed.
95. Forest gnome discovered in wood elf elementary school, been "stealing our food for years."
96. Fey found making old man's shoes, old man to be jailed for slavery.
97. Drunken old ramblings of future discovered to be 90% accurate.
98. Farmer discovers wishing well works.
99. Travelling circus to visit soon.
100. Small medium at large; *a poster for an escaped gnomish diviner*
101. "Blurry face of something, angle or demon? Who knows" Do you trust your sight? MADD Magicians Against Drunken Divining.
102. 'Beware of doppelgangers!' *Then fill the town with exact replicas of one whacky NPC, all claiming to be the real one*
103. 'Local wizard went missing after experimenting with a bag of holding'
104. \_Clickbait: \_'You will not believe your eyes when you read what this Halfling found in a dungeon!!!' and then make up a shitty story where he finds some useless magic item...
105. 'Thieves' guild revealed to be just a rumour'
106. 'Gnome banished from town after drinking 200 potions of inappropriate yodelling'
107. 'City unsure why the sewer smells.' *A gelatinous cube, used to eat waste, has escaped the sewer and must be lured back down.*
108. "Local merchant arrested for selling mimics disguised as furniture and appliances, scheme discovered after customer noticed his refrigerator was running."
109. Strange ill rumours heard from those fleeing from the north. "Probably nothing," agrees city council.
110. Magical cobblers continue to take heavy losses on sales of Boots of Striding and Springing. Demand continues to drop as more editions are released.
111. Dragon scale market plummets as advances in metalwork create stronger materials
112. Recent reports confirm health potions to cause loss in bone density. Heavy users of these potions argue that they usually don't live long enough to be effected
113. Gnome mystic requires escort to deathly swamp.
114. Doppelganger suffering from identity crisis trying to find purpose in life.
115. The Wandering Troupe in town for two days only! Have the minstrels on the run from a bunch of bandits they fleeced and inadvertently involve the characters in their acts.
116. Local elven leader, famously against interracial breeding, found in orc brothel.
117. Charngroc's Custom Chimeras: personalized pets for any personality.
118. Local oracle revealed to be fraud. "I just wanted to make a prophet" he says.
119. Adventurer teaches blink dog Common. "Wow. Very language." comments dog.
120. Evil Lich Necromancer escaped prison. Wanted dead .
121. Impersonator discovers his house is a mimic
122. A hunt for an exotic animal for a local tavern (a dire boar in this case as the hunt is less of the problem as figuring out how to transport a 2000lb dead animal back to town)
123. Looking into the rumor of gnolls raiding the outlying farmlands *Gnolls have dug up the severed head of a lich in the desert, and it has promised them great power if they reunite him with his body.*
124. An ad for someone trying to sell trained guard/riding dogs
125. Hired hands needed for Apple picking.
126. Turtle census "come on give us an hour of your time and help count some turts"
127. Divers wanted to swim to bottom of harbor/lake and retrieve an overturned rowboat
128. Old estate needs to be cleared of furniture and cleaned for sale
129. Alchemist needs some ingredient and is too old now to make the journey to a nearby cave and gather it
130. Need night watch to keep out for cow tippers
131. Rat catchers are going missing under the city and a plague is spreading in their absence
132. A charismatic charlatan claims (and has proof) to be the cousin/brother/son of one of the PCs
133. A wandering merchant trades a pc for their magic item for a fake he claims is more powerful
134. Shipments from a nearby mine have stopped when the PCs investigate they find the miners crazed and covered with red welts apparently from exposure to a new element they uncovered
135. A madman who thinks he is a prophet is slaughtering the livestock of the local farmers in the hopes that it will bring forth Ibanirox, the Night Eater, a long forgotten (and made up) deity of immense power. The farmers offer the group 20 gold or 3 cows per adventurer.
136. Ancient prophecies predict that a star will fall at a precise location on a certain day. Whoever is first to grasp the star will receive a wish. Various dark factions camp and await the coming of the star, intent on making their wish.
137. A band of Drow (or similarly evil humanoids) comes to town claiming to be not evil and seeking asylum.
138. Ghostly dryads haunt the grove where their tree was destroyed and they can only be put to rest if the grove is replanted.
139. A werewolf, seemingly immune to wolfs bane and silver terrorizes a village. He is in fact a barghest.
140. Something has driven all the game from the kings hunting grounds.
141. A child in the slums is spouting doomsday prophecies and is gathering a large following.
142. A massive egg has appeared in the village square and cracks are forming.
143. Looking to hire security for caravan.
144. General store looking to buy uncommon goods x, y, z at or above market value.
145. Wanted poster for a thief/swindler/murderer/tax dodger/highway man with a drawing of the person's face
146. Store advertisements.
147. Traveling Minstrels/Performers at the local tavern.
148. Army recruitment posters.
149. Warnings about a con artist that passed through the town and took people's money.
150. Ads for products.
151. Ads for Dr. Dorian's Magical Cure-All.
152. Missing persons.
153. Announcement for the big fight this weekend at the local tavern/arena/fighting pit.
154. A Minstrel looking for adventurers to tell him of their exploits so he can turn them into songs.
155. Fliers for churches looking to convert people.
156. Edicts from the local government.
157. Wanted posters.
158. Announcement of an upcoming hanging/trial of a local criminal.
159. Lost Arrow: While practicing with a bow, my son lost a trophy arrow (he was not supposed to use). He was practicing in the Northern plains and thinks the arrow went into the forbidden forest. Please retrieve this arrow. As an alchemist, I will pay in healing potions.