Aubrey, clearly finding the heavy rain annoying, approaches the man and a young boy. "Greetings, what happened here?" He asks with a compassionate voice.

Grugga kneels down next to the boy while Aubrey talks to the man. "Hey young man, want to see a cool trick?" Grugga take a crystal from his toolkit and places it on a broken board and casts mending. The crystal vibrates while Grugga chants his words of power and slowly, over a minute, the board knits itself back together. He continues fixing the more 'annoying' breaks for as long as his groups sticks around talking to the man.

The man avoids eye contact with Aubrey at first.  “Nothing to be concerned about, travelers.”

The young child is mesmerized by Grugga’s action in mending the stall.  He asks if Grugga is a priest of Joshua, as he has seen them work spells using diving power.

Seeing how enchanted his boy is, and thankful for the help, he invites you all back to his neighboring farmhouse to warm yourselves by the stove before you continue on.  He also explains a bit about his troubles.

”We have to pay protection to the Beneducci Boys.  Travel on the road has been light this year and we haven’t found many of the good morel mushrooms this season.  So our purse has been light.  They sent some of their men out to give us a hard time… remind us what happens if we don’t pay as much as they desire.”  He looks over at his boy who continues to ask Grugga about spells and magic, and then over to his wife who has quickly brewed and offered a small cup of tea to everyone. “I think we might need to leave.  If we cannot make the payments, they are only going to get more violent with us.”

Happy to have found shelter from the rain, Leelan enjoys the warm cup of tea and listens to the man’s problem.

"Forgive me for asking, Mister…well I don’t actually know your name…but couldn’t the guard back in Shelley or soldiers assist you with your unfortunate situation?"

“I wish it were that simple.  We are far from town and the legionnaires are seldom out this way and even then, they just pass through.  Likewise the guards in town don’t do us much good if we are visited by criminals out here.  And besides… the cartel claims they are the real power in town and that they have men within the guards.  If we complain or seek assistance… they say what happened here last night will be only a taste of what they will do to us.  They may be bluffing about having guards in their pay…” he looks at his wife and child again, “… but we can’t risk it.  When we had coin to pay it wasn’t so bad. Now… I don’t think we can keep this up.”

"Joshua? No..." He looks over his shoulder to Rohuzar and winces - he knows the reaction that's coming, "I'm an acolyte of Gel-Nagev. We're always happy to lend a helping hand."

In between talking with the adults, Grugga tries to impart some lessons to the lad, such as: "the real magic is self-sufficiency. One day, if we work really hard, everyone will be able to perform things that look like this magic. Things are changing, and new problems are coming up. The fun part is thinking of new ways to fix them." ((I sound like an afterschool special)). He also pulls Zip out and commands it to do laps around the room and lets the boy chase it. If he does any damage to it, Grugga will just mend it later.

He also shows interest in the family's immediate problem, though. He asks questions between sips of tea. "Is the cartel local? Beneducci boys... they aren't 4 brothers, are they? How often do they collect? How much do they demand?"

Rohuzar winces a bit at Grugga’s admission. 

“Mark of leader. See opportunity to turn team’s vulnerability into a strength.”

”Ve are not men for sitting. Maybe ve can help.” He starts holding up fingers as he lists off his questions. “How many of these Boys? Vhere are they? Who might pay for their demise?”

Would Aubrey know anything of this cartel considering his family has business in Shelley.
History: 17

Grugga, he doesn’t know if they are brothers, or even family.  As far as he knows, the Beneducci Boys are enforcers for a larger group he has heard referred to as the ‘cartel’ or the ‘association.’  He doesn’t know for sure how many there are… he has never been visited by more than two… but it’s never the same two.

Rohuzar, he isn’t sure about numbers.  They present to a poor farmer like himself as an almost impossible vast enemy, but he can’t say for sure.  He knows they are based in or around Shelley but doesn’t know where exactly.  They claim to be owed a piece of any commerce in the region.  He pays his taxes to the Lords… and then he pays his taxes to the cartel.  He would think the Lords and Ladies of the region would pay to do something about this, but so far they haven’t.  The nobles seem to not care at all.

Aubrey, a couple things.  You vaguely recall Lord Diamond mentioning criminal syndicates spreading their influence in Shelley over drinks last night.  The name Beneducci also rings a bell.  During the first empire, there had been a traitor in the court who had sought to poison the emperor and then control from the shadows while the emperor was incapacitated.  They were exposed and their entire family were put to the sword.  There has never been another house to carry the name Beneducci.  However, the name became synonymous with treachery, mystery and murder.  several playwrites over the ages have used it as a pen name, and it is not uncommon for bandits or criminals to invoke the name as a patron or for inspiration.

He thanks you again for your help with the stall.  “Look, misters, you seem like fine folk and all but I am not asking you to get mixed up in this.  These are dangerous men and I can’t risk trying to challenge them… or possess the kind of coin to pay people to do it.”

He gathers up a handful of strange looking mushrooms, enough for everyone.  They look a bit like someone crossed a tiny pine tree with a sponge.  “Please, for your help with the stall.”

Outside, the weather has not abated at all… just the same dreary, persistent rain.

Rohuzar examines the mushroom in thought, and looks around the dreary land here. 

“There is job ‘round every corner. Let’s hurry.” 

Aubrey would thank the man and says he would take it up with his family as it should be in their interest too to see this problem being taken care of.
Outside in the heavy rain Aubrey would share with the others what he knows about the Beneduccis (post #889). "As much as these people need our help, this is likely something much bigger than we have considered taking on this far. If we go up against this cartel we must prepare ourselves for a war and not a battle I suspect." He says to the others, not sounding that he dislikes the idea, just that it must be planned for thoroughly before being executed.

Grugga reluctantly agrees with Aubrey. "Maybe we could try talking to these Beneducci in town, but I agree that unplanned and uneducated interference could have reprisals for the town." Still, Grugga doesn't seem to feel right about the whole thing. He runs back to the family's house and drops a little leather sack with 20 gold pieces on their doorstep, then runs back and rejoins the group on  their way into town. He decides to keep Zip out, letting it lead the way with orders that it return if it sees anything dangerous.

"It is unfortunate what is happening here and it reminds me to much of what the blasted elves did to my home." Guilim says with a look of disgust on his face at having to mention the so called ancient race. "But we already took a job and have to take the time limit into consideration."

Trudging through muddy roads and soggy grass, you continue to press westward.  The weather is keeping most sensible folk off of the roads and there are no other encounters before you reach Mavern’s Town near mid day.  

The village sits where the Whitehills road meets the Outer Loop trail.  There is a general store, a small inn, and a smithy.  On a ridge just to the east, two larger stone buildings and a church overlook the rest of the settlement.

History DC 15 (Aubrey can roll at advantage):

 Northwest of the village you can make out the edge of Maggies Wood.

Aubrey history: 19
Aubrey informs the others on what he knows about the Malverns.
"Lunch and information at the Inn before we enter Maggies wood perhaps?" Aubrey suggests, hoping to the rain will abate soon.

History: 7

"Oh please, yes. This rain won’t let up and I need a hot meal. And a roof! A roof for my kingdom!", says the gnome, completely soaked.

“Da, I’ll be happy with dry feet for a few moments.” Rohuzar presses onward at a quicker pace to get to an inn. 

It might be wishful thinking, but the rain seems to be letting up a bit as you enter the inn.  A sign tacked to the outside wall reads “Crowfoot Inn.”  

Inside, an elderly orc woman is stirring a large pot beside the hearth.  A human, a halfling and an elf, all in leather armor gather nearby.  The human has his boots off and trying to dry them beside the fire.  The elf strums deep chords on a harp and sings a sad song about heavy rains and levees breaking.  The halfling taps his hands on the table along with the slow tune, but looks lost in thought.

A door next to the orc woman presumably leads to a kitchen or pantry, and a narrow staircase along the back wall heads upstairs.  

“G’day, travelers,” says the old orc without looking up from her cooking.  “Slim pickings today with the weather, but I’ll have this corn and oat gruel ready in another 20 minutes.  3cp.  We’ve got some bread but it’s day old.  Sit anywhere and make yourselves at home.”

A look of disappointment sweeps across Aubrey's face but he decides to focus on the mission instead of the menu, approaching the other party at the inn. "Bad weather out there but it seems to be getting better soon." He says, trying to sound optimistic about it. "You wouldn't happen to be familiar with the woods here would you?" He continues. "Mind if I sit down?"