At the appointed hour the ubiquitous Nevill appears and ushers you back into the same dining hall you used for last night's dinner.  As before the baron is already seated before you arrive and the same five places are set out.  You take your seats and immediately servants sweep in to place a hot starter in front of you.   Whereas with your meal last night the baron was uninterested in talking about jobs, this time he is all business.  You also note the lack of any alcohol served with today's lunch.

"Gentlemen, milady, welcome back to my humble abode.  I trust you had a pleasant night's sleep and an educational ride out this morning?" the baron asks of you all.  The question is clearly rhetorical however as he plunges on with the rest of his monologue before you have a chance to answer.  "You have come here because I need some help with a Delicate Matter, as you will have seen from the messages posted around town, and beyond.  I need some skilful and discrete people to aid me in that task, but before I explain all I have a simple test for you.  This test is there to help you prove your work and ability, plus to aid you in forming a team as I know you have not all worked together before.

"Now, this morning Varnell took you on the north road up towards Hillsend.  If you had continued to follow the river and the trail you would have come to the small mining community there.  And that is where I would like you to go.  It appears that the miners are suffering from bandits.  Coal shipments which they should be sending downriver to us are being stolen.  As you know the first Guild ships are arriving and that coal needs to be on those ships if the settlement there is to make any money this year.  I need my coal warehouse in Grunal filling up.

"So, I would like you to travel up to Hillsend.  Stop the attacks.  If possible, recover the missing coal which has already been taken.  And finally, for extra credit, find out who was responsible.

"I have a small store of equipment in the manor.  You are welcome to take anything you need from it to help with this expedition.  I will provide you with an orange bandana for the period of this trip, so it is clear to all that you are acting with my full authority.  Once you have solved this riddle to my satisfaction we will discuss the Delicate Matter that brought you here in the first place.

"Do you have any questions?"

“Well... uh... how much coal has been stolen?” Louis blubbers a bit through his food.

"And do you have any ideas about who is taking the coal. A hint or two that might give us the right questions to ask?" 

"Enough to fill half a warehouse," the baron responds, sipping on a glass of fresh orange.  "Four barges have been hit so far.  They typically ship one barge per week.  So that is four barges worth of coal.  That's not an insubstantial amount of produce that someone must be storing somewhere; or selling."

"'Bandits', is all I have been able to determine so far.  The mining operation has a foreman called Fallon.  He is the obvious person to ask for more details and suspicions, though the attacks always happen after the coal has left the village and is en route here, so he may not know too much.  I do not have enough spare enforcers to send men to guard these shipments.  The bandits never kill the miners who escort the barges, but they are threatened with death if they resist.   I suppose I cannot blame the miners for handing over the produce when threatened with violence," the baron concludes, though the way he holds his chin in his fingers suggests he may be pondering such action in future.

Claire frowns.  "So you've noticed this theft starting around four weeks ago, then?  Or were more barges targeted, but Fallon and his miners managed to defend the supply chain from further attacks?"   She rubs her chin.  "And no reports of anything new or unusual in the area in that timeframe, such as any movements across the border, transient groups or merchants passing by the operation, or the like?"

“Not a single injury or death? Are you sure the foreman isn’t just stealing from you?“

"Information on what is happening a day away from here is never easy to come by.  The wilds are dangerous and not to be travelled lightly.  This is why I need to send people like you to find out what has happened," he says in response to Claire.  "No reports of anything unusual, other than the barges being attacked, which is very unusual, especially to lose four in a row."

Turning to Louis he responds, "No, nothing yet.  But the miners are not paid to protect the barges from armed thugs.  Fallon is a good man, and trustworthy as far as I know.  But anything is possible, I suppose."

If there are no more questions the Baron hands you over to Nevill.  The seneschal leads you back to the guest quarters and tells you that you have the choice of when to leave.  You can leave now or wait until tomorrow morning.  Hillsend is about a day's walk away so leaving now would mean camping out in the wilds.  He doesn't give any indication on which option he or the baron would prefer.

Either way, you are each provided with an orange bandana which you are told you should wear at all times, prominently, when on the baron's business.  Additionally, you are given the freedom to borrow anything you need from the baron's stores.  (You can have anything valued at less than 10 gold pieces from the PHB).  It's also clear that horses are not being provided for this trip.  You get the impression they are too valuable to be risked riding them up into the mountains and potential trouble.

"I intend to enjoy this lavish repast for as long as I possibly can," Claire tells the others, already planning her next bath.  She takes the orange bandana and tucks it away securely among her possessions.  She also helps herself to several of the items the baron is offering: a healer's kit, a light hammer, a grappling hook, a mirror, a scroll case, a crowbar, three oil flasks, two lengths of silken rope, and a comfortable bedroll.  By the time she's done picking through the items available, she's quite certain Nevill is giving her the look he must reserve for freeloaders.  No matter; if any of these things can help them accomplish their goal, Claire won't hesitate to use them.

If possible before leaving town, Claire would like to sell her hand crossbow (retails for 75GP) and hammer (non-martial, retails for 1GP) at a shop.

"I'll take it we're leaving in the morning then?" Vaclav says with a wry smile. In the other room he picks up a blanket, some caltrops, chalk, a healer's kit, some oil, some soap, and a whetstone. He then wanders over to the weapons, searching through them before picking up a shortsword with a simple half moon crossguard. While the others are looking through things he sits off to the side and takes out a small knife and ring. He digs the turquoise jewel from the ring and proceeds to affix it to the end of the pommel of the shortsword, heating the metal with small blasts of fire until the two are joined. He then stands and gives the sword a couple of awkward twirls. "There, almost like home again." He then picks up some hide armor but simply stashes it in his pack.

Since the bounty is offered, Nos Heliwr will take: fishing tackle, grappling hook, healer's kit, bullseye lantern, oil(2), sealing wax, candle(5), pouch, 2 sq yrds silk.  He will take the orange bandana and tuck it away for the nonce.

"So, shall we leave immediately, or sleep here?"  Nos Heliwr looks at the others, "I would not mind an early morning start, but, truth be told, am ready to begin right now."

"I'd rather spend one last night in comfort than face unnecessary hardship on the road," Claire says frankly, thinking of her bath.

"In the morning it is then. Enjoy your luxury while you have it, for tomorrow we sleep in the dirt." Vaclav says in his best interpretation of an inspiring leader. 

He then heads off into town for a bit to see if he can find anyone or anything that might help him with his work with the arcane.

After diner, Nos Heliwr will stroll about the town talking with the better informed, spreading a bit of coin here and there, (the strongest castle require a firm and dependable foundation) enticing select small folk with the rewards of commitment.  To what you say?  Well, eventually, himself of course; but we don't need to tell everybody that just yet.

Louis grabs several sets of manacles. 

“Ya’ll planning on leaving nothing but bodies? Seems like you a rough crowd.”

"If you're going to do a job, do it fully. Stop a thief, make sure he can't steal again." Vaclav says as he finishes up with his sword.

Quote from nschrock >>

Louis grabs several sets of manacles. 

“Ya’ll planning on leaving nothing but bodies? Seems like you a rough crowd.”

 "Rough? No, just thorough, don't like to leave loose ends that might come back and trip ye up, unexpected like." Nos Heliwr give Louis a fleeting grin, "We play hard, to be sure, but then again, those that play against us play just as hard; just seems their a bit . . . unlucky. Not much call for the Broken Chain when something easy is needed done."

"Hmm... that's a wise decision," Claire admits to Louis, "But my pack is already quite full as it is, and the rope is lighter for me to carry.  Still, I'm glad you're taking it upon yourself to try to capture some of these thieves alive.  It's more than likely that whoever masterminded this attack is not directly involved in the dirty work.  We will have to find a minion who can be convinced to reveal his or her contacts and sources, in order to find the true source of the malaise."

“Minions answer questions, chopped liver! Simple, no?” Nos Heliwr looks grim. “After all, what is a mastermind but a minion who killed its master. Best keep chopping heads, whenever necessary, of course.”