The Knight Watch

Session 2 Part 3

A thorough search of the chamber unearths the following information-

- The well in the centre of the chamber seems to be bottomless, certainly it’s deeper than the PCs can fathom with fifty feet of rope and an everburning torch.

- Both cells have been used recently, one of them has only just been vacated- a half eaten meal and the blanket is still warm.

- The bell is ancient- made of tarnished bronze, it has no clapper so cannot be sounded. Furthermore there are carvings on the side showing a boat in the water, a tentacled creature also in the water, and some sort of port- there’s no sun or moon shown. The PCs believe that the entire scene depicts somewhere in the underdark- strange.

- The gold coins taken from the dead, and Dirk, are not from anywhere in the Nentir Vale.

- The bloody mess on the floor of the chamber are the remains of a sacrifice that took place yesterday evening- Dirk tells the PCs all about it (see below).

The PCs quickly discover the following from Dirk Tragga, who is locked in one of the cages-

- The prisoner is a young boy, no more than eight years old.

- The Butcher came to the lair less than twenty minutes ago, with a Half-Orc, a Goblin and an Eladrin, they took the prisoner with them. Dirk doesn’t know where they went, but he’s heard that The Butcher is leaving the city after the ransom is paid- what ransom the PCs worry, clearly The Butcher is not beyond lying to his hirelings.

- The Butcher can’t be the brains of the organisation, Dirk has heard him mention someone he calls ‘the Lady’.

- Yesterday night Dirk and his comrades cleared out of the chamber, down below The Butcher and some of his cronies sacrificed, well… Dirk is vague, certainly a prisoner and possibly a Goblin or two. They threw the bodies down the well.

And so what’s to be done?

The PCs have conquered all before them and yet they are no closer to finding where the prisoner has been taken- Dirk has told them all he knows, and they’re certain there are no more clues to be found in the bloody chamber.

Next stop an improvised Skill Challenge, it’s time for the PCs to make use of their sources, the people in Fallcrest they go to when they need to get information fast.

In the previous session each PC completed a questionnaire in which they provided me with details of their individual sources, each has one at the start of the game.

And so…

Encounter 5 Information Sources
200 XP Encounter Level 1
Skill Challenge Level 1 Complexity Level 2

As I say an improvised skill challenge, this because I had previously scripted the challenge but was dissatisfied with the outcome- too complex, too unwieldy; so I made something up on the spot. It went a little like this.

Each PC independently makes their way through the city to seek out their source and to find out what they know about The Butcher and his plans- if anything.

The PCs sources included- a mercenary captain, an upmarket whorehouse madam, a halfling river trader, a halfling thief and an elven ranger.

En route the PCs will be tested four times, they will each have to roleplay and make a skill check to overcome some slight problem, examples included- a surly bouncer (Intimidate), a sleeping drunken fop who is owed money (Stealth), a bevy of buxom beauties (Diplomacy), a gaggle of Sisters of Erathis (Religion), a stall collapsing on a young boy in the market place (Acrobatics), an injured bar keep (Heal) etc. Basically I just made up four separate minor incidents for each of the PCs, I decided what skill would be put to use by rolling a D20 against a list of skills (there are 17 of them), a roll of 18-20 and the PC decides what skill is going to the put to the test.

DCs for these checks were DC 10, then 11, then 12, then 13.

One of the players e-mailed me after the game to say that he had more fun RPing this section than he did fighting, and he loves fighting.

Back to the skill challenge- each of the four checks the PCs had to make served as an Aid Another for their fifth check- which takes place find their source and ask for information, obviously combined with a lot of role-play. The more failures along the way the longer the whole operation takes- further reducing the time left to rescue the member of the royal household.

And again the PCs got through this without any failures- harder still it seems is the order of the day- it was very enjoyable however.

The PCs discover yet more clues-

- The Half-Orcs were seen conversing with a merchant on the lower quays.

- The Half-Orcs were seen in the same place trying to locate births on a boat that was leaving today.

- An Eladrin swordsman visited the whorehouse last night, he had plenty of money to spend.

- Recently a number of Shadowmen, mostly of the Thug and/or muscle variety, have gained employment elsewhere.

The PCs head for the Lower Quays, it’s busy- bustling. The final check of the skill challenge requires four of them to role-play and make various checks- again as I dictate and describe the unfolding situation- again Aid Another’s. The final PC making a last check to finally discover the whereabouts- right now, of the The Butcher.

Success- The Butcher hired a warehouse from a merchant, they took possession of the building less than ten minutes ago.

ENCOUNTER 5 COMPLETE PC’S LEVEL 1 WITH 360 XP EACH

The PCs hot foot it to the locale, they have just less than an hour left to find the boy.

Session 2 Part 4

And so the PCs burst in to the warehouse…


Goblins! Dwarves! And a snarling Wolf!

And that’s the end of the second session.

Session 3

Fredag, the 8th day of the Month of Blossom, 2012.

This session was truncated, and started late- this due to the fact that one of the players was late to the game and another had massive problems with the internet- having to log back in to maptools every 5-10 minutes or so.

That said the fight was a corker…

And so the PCs have tracked the Butcher, his Half-Orc (and other) pals, and the kidnapped member of the Fallcrest Royal Household down to a warehouse on the Lower Quays, they bust in-

Encounter 6 The Butcher.
1250 XP Level 6 Encounter

I spend a moment to explain how the stacks work- climbing them, knocking them down, taking damage while atop them etc…

Then the PCs wade in to the surprised Goblins and Dwarves, all but a few of which are Minions, the first wave consists of-


Goblin Blade- Minion Artillery Level 1 (x5)
Converted Goblin Thorn


Dwarf Warrior- Minion Artillery Level 1 (x5)


Ravenous Wolf- Skirmisher Level 1


Goblin Archer- Skirmisher Level 1

&


Goblin Cutthroat- Skirmisher Level 1

And the PCs bought it, that is to say they thought that this was the fight, they didn’t think… but I’m getting ahead of myself.

In the opening few rounds the PCs spend action points, encounter powers and even (I think) a daily- the result of which is terror incarnate. The whole thing is not helped when Jazz (the Changeling Bard) mooches up to a dead Dwarf Warrior- has a good look at the guy, shape-changes in to as close as he can get, climbs atop a pile of crates and then starts issuing orders to the other Dwarves, with a ‘20’ roll for something like 32 on his Bluff check.

From this point on the Dwarf Mercenaries salute the Dwarf Jazz and more or less obey his every command, which mainly involves dropping their missile weapons and charging in to the other PCs, still the guys did say they wanted the enemies to stop sniping at them and get closer.

In short order the Goblin & Dwarf Minions are dead, the Ravenous Wolf is taken out with one shot, with Hunter’s Quarry, from Leodoor- actually the Ranger is spectacularly accurate in this encounter, hardly ever missing.

The Goblin Cutthroat is eventually cut down- while the Goblin Archer jumps down from off the crates and runs north screaming for help- very Bloodied, don’t worry the guys catch up with him later.

Meantime Morok has taken a chunk of hits, and is Bloodied- his usual state; Destructorr is approaching Bloodied while the others are unharmed- the PCs are however spending their big-ish powers and Action Points, as stated above.

Then the second wave arrives…


Trouble!

Session 3 Part 2

The second wave are the leader types.

I’ve preped a bunch of macros: Easy – Moderate – Hard DCs, when the PCs spot a new enemy they make an automatic (Free- of course) Monster Knowledge check and discover what they know about each newly revealed bad guy.

When they hear about the new guys, and their descriptions, there’s a little disent in the ranks, the PCs are worried- more worried when the bad guys get in to the fight.

The new bad guys joining the fracas are-


Eladrin Bodyguard Soldier Level 2
Adapted Eladrin Mithrendain Guard


Goblin Bodyguard Soldier Level 2
Adapted Goblin Sentry


Half-Orc Archer Artillery Level 3
Adapted Orc Archer

&


The Butcher
Half-Orc Gang Boss Elite Brute Level 3
Adapted Goblin Mess Cook

It doesn’t go well- the Goblin Bodyguard skips ahead, gets the drop on Morok and stabs him in the back- and crits (19 damage) leaving a just healed Morok on something like 3 hit points. The Eladrin Bodyguard follows suit and goes toe-to-toe with Destructorr, and crits also (27 damage)- the metal man drops.

Then the Half-Orc Archer sends an arrow in to Jazz’s back (for 17 damage), the Changeling had previously returned to his usual Half-Elven form, he’s staggered, and also very Bloodied.

And so in the matter of ten seconds (in-game time) the PCs have gone from heroes chasing down the last vanquished enemy- to one down, and two on less than 5 hit points each- good work Mr. DM sir!

Of course it doesn’t last long- it never does.

Morok turns around and hits back against the Goblin Bodyguard, and crits as well- the creature is almost done for- moments later Jazz finishes it off. Morok meanwhile gets his second wind and leads the charge on the Butcher.

All PCs concentrate fire, and the Elite Brute has a crap AC, and so suffers, the Butcher does however manage to get six attacks off before finally succumbing to his wounds- all aimed at Morok- he hits once, although for a substantial amount of damage. Another hit would have seen Morok down.

Too soon though the Butcher falls…

To make matters worse the Half-Orc Archer is neutralised with extreme prejudice, the Goblin Bodyguard is already dead, the Goblin Archer (fleeing) is chased down by a revived Destructorr; which just leaves the Eladrin who surrenders when Morok contrives, on a called shot, to break the bones of the creature’s weapon arm.

Victory!

ENCOUNTER 6 COMPLETE PC’S LEVEL 1 WITH 610 XP EACH

Note there were numerous occasions in this fight when the PCs missed an attack, or a check, or whatever by one. The award system we’ve instigated (see House Rules section), with Bronze, Silver & Gold awards available for good role-play, turned all of those misses in to hits, and thus the fight was bloody and brutal but short lived. Note most of the PCs had one or two Bronze awards saved up at this point, Jazz even has a Silver award he got for excellent play in one of the earlier encounters. A lot of them got spent in this encounter, even on one occasion adding a Bronze award (+1) to a damage roll in the hope that it would end the bad guy sooner.

Moments later an emaciated, and forlorn looking, eight year old boy- wearing scuffed and torn finery wanders out of his hiding place, he introduces himself as Arthur, and then cries on Jazz for a while.

A little later still the Fallcrest Watch arrive in force, including Captain Murgeddin- they’ve managed to catch up with the PCs at last. Arthur is ushered away to a waiting carriage- on which is the crest of the city, the PCs spot a woman in finery inside.



Slaps on the back all round- a job well done.

Murgeddin sends for the merchant who hired the warehouse to the Half-Orcs- he’s barked at a while by the Dwarf Captain, but to no effect- the fool is nothing to do with the conspiracy here.

The PCs threaten to break the Eladrin prisoner’s other arm if he doesn’t start singing like a canary, in short order the PCs learn-

- The creature is a renegade of his kind, an Eladrin Mercenary.

- He was hired three days ago, as a warrior, fixer and translator- he speaks Goblin.

- He helped to hire a bunch of other mercenaries, he reels off their names- the PCs have accounted for all of them.

- He has no idea who the boy is, some well-off merchant’s son, or so he was told.

- The Butcher spoke of the Lady, she seemed to be running the show.

And with that, after the bad guys have been fleeced of their possessions, the PCs head back to head quarters for a debriefing.

Session 3 Part 3

Back in head quarters the PCs are cheered and feted, Eoffram is there to debrief the PCs and make a few speeches, its what he does best.



“Success- the child has been returned, and already you are proving your worth.”

Troyas grins-

“…of course none of this happened, if you understand me, it wouldn’t look good if it came to light that a member of the royal household was kidnapped, even if it was only for a short time- do you understand me?”

The PCs nod, thinking- there goes our reward.

“That’s not to say that your efforts have not been appreciated, already people in high places have started to take notice- in fact I received this…”

Troyas opens a small coffer, it’s full of gold coins- 500gp, that’s 100gp each, quite a haul.

Also within is a note, it says-

“Thank you, from the bottom of my heart- thank you, if there’s ever anything I can do, just ask.”

The note is signed by Lady Markelhay, friends in high places indeed.

And there’s more…

The High Council Member prods the surly Captain Murgeddin in to action, the Dwarf harrumphs.



“It has been decided that on the completion of you training- providing you are successful, of course… then you are to be afforded honorary titles- Knight of Fallcrest.”

Murgeddin looks peeved…

“We’ve received orders from Lord Markelhay, as Troyas said, you seem to be making friends in high places.”

Murgeddin goes on-

“Furthermore we have decided upon a name for this organisation- or else the Lord Markelhay has decided… it’s obvious really, as you’re members of the Watch as well, or at least will be when you have finished your training, and with your new titles. You will hereafter be known as…

THE KNIGHT WATCH​

“You are furthermore to be granted a day off each week- for rest and relaxation.”

The good Captain looks heartily sick.

“That’ll be nice for you.”

He snarls, but then smiles as if suddenly possessed by a thought.

“But tomorrow, it’s down to earth for you with a bump, you’re on the streets- you’re to patrol the market place, it’s Founders Day- the festival to celebrate the founding of the city, it’ll be busy- your job is to keep order.”

Murgeddin takes to grinning, broadly, most unnerving.

And so there we have it, success for the PCs- the first chapter of book one of their story has been told. The second chapter of book one begins in Session 4- click below. A short session beset by many many technical problems, but ultimately good fun.

That said before the players departed they each completed a little questionnaire-

What are you like?

This is a short questionnaire, it should take only ten or so minutes to complete, and rather we do it now while we’re all gathered here, and so please complete the following and send it back to me.

For each answer give a score from 0 to 4- where 0 is never (0%), 1 is sometimes (25%), 2 is often (50%), 3 is most of the time (75%) and 4 is always (100%).

But first write your name and your PCs name here-

1) How are you in social interactions?
Cheerful
Talkative
Reserved
Charming
Witty
Relaxed

2) How optimistic are you?
Hopeful
Fatalistic
Brooding
Self-assured
Grim
Enthusiastic

3) How trusting are you?
Gullible
Skeptical
Suspicious
Trusting
Naïve
Open-minded

4) How assertive are you when it comes to making tough decisions.
Humble
Adaptable
Commanding
Timid
Easy-going
Impatient

5) How conscientious are you about following the law?
Scrupulous
Pragmatic
Dutiful
Honest
Flexible
Wild

6) How empathetic are you?
Kind
Stern
Hard-hearted
Thoughtful
Protective
Oblivious

7) How courageous are you when it comes to the crunch?
Brave
Steady
Competitive
Cautious
Reckless
Fierce

8) How do you feel when faced with setbacks?
Stoic
Driven
Happy-go-lucky
Vengeful
Impassioned
Bold

9) How are your nerves?
Calm
Skittish
Unshakable
Restless
Impulsive
Patient

10) Tell me about a couple of your mannerisms or habits…

11) Tell me three things you say a lot…

All part of the process of getting to know the PCs, and how they see themselves.

Session 4

This session was played out on Monday 14th May 2012, however we had many problems- many, many problems; these culminated in my PC dying the next day- that’s why there have been no new updates here. I now have a new PC of course, and we’re back in-game.

Book 1 Chapter 2: Secrets of the Black Tongue.

Iordag, the 9th day of the Month of Blossom, 2012.

And so the PCs rise and shine and head off to the market place, down to earth with a bump, the guys are going to spend the day under the tutelage (briefly) of Captain Murgeddin learning the value of leadership and decision making.

The entire session, beset by a myriad technical problems (see above) is devoted to role-play, no bad thing.

Murgeddin leads the PCs down to the Market Place, it’s Founder’s Day, and at 7 AM already busy with stallholders preparing for the day ahead. The Dwarf Watch Captain is in a funny mood.



“Well, this is it.” Murgeddin grins and looks a little sheepish, “remember what I told you, it’s about being in control- making decisions, and knowing who to assign what job- that’s leadership. It’s as simple as that- only it’s not really, but you’ll get the hang of it- and what better place…” Murgeddin indicates the Market Place, and stifles a laugh.

“So you’re in charge here, got it? You take it in turns to take control of situations as and when they arise, you get your guys on the job- the right people doing the right jobs, that’s what I said, got it?” Murgeddin rocks on his heels a little, clearly very amused by something.

“Nice easy assignment today, worthy of heroes!” Murgeddin laughs out loud- tries to stifle it for a while and then turns tail and wanders off- giggling all the way.

Leaving the PCs a little bemused.

“Good luck- you’re gonna need it.” He shouts back- his sides still shaking.

What’s happening? The PCs wonder aloud- meanwhile the Founder’s Day Market begins to fill up-the place is soon awash with the good folk of Fallcrest stepping out in their finest to find favour or bargains.



And then it begins, the grand role-playing skill challenge.

Session 4 Part 2

The Skill Challenge comes in three parts, here’s the first part-

Masters of the Market-Part 1

Encounter 7 Skill Challenge Level 1 Complexity 6 (600 XP)

You’re in charge here-that’s what Murgeddin said, although he was laughing when he said it, I wonder why. Regardless this is the way leadership works; in this Skill Challenge you will each take it in turn to control a situation. That is to say during your time here certain problems are going to occur, you-as a group, must neutralise or solve each problem. This however must be done in a very specific way.

Your friendly DM will tell you about the situation, and then one player will choose to take control (until all five of you have taken charge once). Each situation must be resolved by the use of skill checks-a total of five Skill Checks to be exact, one for each player. The first four skill checks are considered to be Aid Another checks, the final Skill Check is the Primary check-which must be made by the player controlling the situation.

To reiterate-one PC is in control, the controller decides which other PC makes what check until four checks are complete, leading to a possible +12 (Aid Another results-see below) to the final check made the controlling PC.
Action Points

Remember for every encounter, including a Skill Challenge, you have an AP to spend-in this challenge you can use your Action Point to re-roll one dice roll, you must take the second result even if it is lower.

Note all checks are Standard Actions.

Primary Skills:

Any DC 20: (1 Success/Situation Resolved)

The controlling PC makes a skill check in an attempt to defuse whatever situation has arisen-to resolve it once and for all. This check can be aided-see Secondary Skills. This check must be attempted last, after four Secondary Skill checks-see below.

Secondary Skills (Aid Another checks):

Any DC 10:

The controlling PC orders one of his fellow adventurers to use their skills to aid in bringing whatever the problem is to a successful resolution. This check serves as an Aid Another check to the controlling PCs Primary check, note a ‘20’ bestows a +3 instead of the usual +2 bonus.

Success:

You move on to the next part of the challenge, and what’s more you will receive minor rewards from the people you helped at a later date.

Failure:

You move on to the next part of the challenge, however for each failure here all DCs in the final part of this challenge are increased by ‘1’.

XP:

To be awarded later.

In reality it goes a little like this-

About an hour after the PCs arrive at the market place the PCs notice a surge in the crowd in the north west section of the market, they head over to investigate. They discover a well dressed lady (Lady Thanay), from a good household in the upper section of the city, hitting a Halfling Trader (Renk) again and again with her hand bag, and screaming ‘Thief!’ A crowd have of course gathered on the off-chance the confrontation will escalate.

At this point one PC takes charge of the situation, in this case it’s Jazz who attempts to ‘manage’ the encounter- ordering each of the other four PCs to complete some task (with associated Skill Check) in order to find a solution to the problem.

This investigation is called- ‘The Lady Doth Protest Too Much’, Jazz takes charge, first things first- Destructorr is brought in as crowd control. Then Morok is ordered to ‘persuade’ Renk to tell what he knows, Ayumu is sent to charm the Lady Thanay. And thus Jazz discovers that Renk is not really a thief, Lady Thanay bought a hand-bag from the Halfling trader yesterday- it is now on offer at 50% cheaper than she paid the day before- hence the kerfuffle.

Leodoor’s is used to spy out a fashionable hand-bag from the Halfling traders stall, and the last check from Jazz (with bonuses from the other four PCs aid another style checks) is in the form of a diplomatic solution to the problem- the Lady Thanay is happy to purchase a second, very fashionable, hand-bag at a much reduced price- every one is happy with the solution.

The PCs have their first success, all of this comes with a great deal of role-playing, and some churlish comments about the nature of women and their hand-bags.

And thus it continues- every couple of hours or so the PCs are called in to deal with some trifling matter-

In ‘The Lady in Waiting’ the PCs have to come to the rescue of a foreign lady, with a thick almost incoherent accent who wishes to buy ‘a looong wait, yesss!’ It turns out the Lady Corrus, daughter of a visiting merchant from a faraway land, actually wishes to purchase a large weight for her father’s Merchant scales. Alas an enterprising member of Fallcrest’s underclass charged her five gold coins and ordered her to ‘stand there for your long wait.’

The PCs rescue the day- find weights and measures to buy, locate the miscreant and get her money back- another case solved.

In ‘Find the Lady’ the PCs are put on the trail of a possible thief (again), they head off into the market in search of Lady Helena, again from a good household, who has stolen a pair of high fashion shoes. Of course the PCs are actually armed with the most generic of descriptions- they have to head through the crowd gathering clues, or else trying to spot the lady with the missing shoes. It all, of course, turns out to be a misunderstanding- the Lady Helena is most apologetic and pays up in full and rewards the PCs a little for their efforts.

In ‘The Lady in Black’ the PCs are told by a stallholder that he overheard a lady dressed in black say that she was a Witch-

“She headed off that way.” Guz, the stallholder, points vaguely to the south, “you’d better do sommats, she cud be turnin’ folk ina frogs by now- witch I tell ya- lady of the night.”

And thus the PCs head off again, finding Lady Dusk easily, however it takes a great effort, and much role-playing, to finally discover that she is in fact a member of the Watch, and not a Witch- an easy mistake to make.

In “My Fair Lady”, the final test of the PCs management &/or leadership abilities, Rasmussen a good-looking local youth begs the PCs to deliver a bunch of flowers to a beautiful lady that ‘just walked by’. Again the description of the woman is vague- this however turns out to be the twist, in their investigation the PCs, lead by Ayumu this time, discover that Rasmussen is a ‘pervert’. The PCs finally solve the situation by arresting the young lad, after several women complain about his attentions.

And thus it is the PCs manage to complete the first section of the Skill Challenge, with a good hour of role-play and lots of humour as the various investigations unfold.

Which leads us to the next section of the challenge, there’s been something bothering the PCs, while they’ve been out and about in the market- some itch they have collectively failed to scratch.

Session 4 Part 3

Something has been bothering the PCs, all along-

Masters of the Market- Part 2

Encounter 7 Skill Challenge Level 1 Complexity 6 (600 XP)

Dead easy this one- there’s been something bothering you, some… oh what is it? If only you could think back- something strange, you’ve seen something… strange.

Action Points

Remember for every encounter, including a Skill Challenge, you have an AP to spend- in this challenge you can use your Action Point to re-roll one dice roll, you must take the second result even if it is lower.

Note all checks are Standard Actions.

You need just one success to move on to the next part of the challenge.

Primary Skills:

Insight DC 22: (1 Success Maximum)

You try to think back, to go through everything you have seen so far, there’s something bothering you, something… Success here and you work out what has been bothering you all along. Note this check can be aided- see Secondary Skills below. Note this check must be the last one made, after four Aid Another checks, see Secondary Skills below.

Secondary Skills (Aid Another checks):

Perception or Insight DC 10:

You try to spot what it was, or else think back through all you have seen during your time in the market place. All successes here count as an Aid Another check to the Primary Insight check, a ‘20’ bestows a +3 bonus instead of the usual +2.

Success:

You remember what it was that was bothering you- the odd thing in the market place, and then move on to the final part of the challenge.

Failure:

You must try again, however for each failure here all DCs in the final part of the challenge are increased by ‘1’.

XP:

To be awarded later.

And it really is as simple as that- the PCs think back, take a look around- and then spot what it is that’s been bothering them all this while. It seems they have been kept under close observation by quite the strangest group of people.


The Little Lady, and friends.

And then the following occurs…



A little dark haired girl sits in a small wooden trolley with wonky wheels- she’s probably about eight years old. The Little Lady clutches a giant (for her) teddy bear to her- “Unky Derek”, she says with an infectious grin and lifts up the teddy bear to show you.



The wooden trolley is being pulled along by two fat kids- the pair look to be identical twins and about eight years old too. They’re scruffy buggers to look at. They both wear the same ragged clothes- although the one on the left has ‘Bip’ scrawled on his shirt, while the one on the right has ‘Bop’.



The little girl gets out of her cart- one of the fat twins takes to picking his nose, the other farts and then giggles. The girl places Unky Derek down in the cart and wanders over to you.

“Are you famus?” She asks and stares at you each in turn- her gaze is oddly unnerving. “Are you good peeple?” She asks- and waits for an answer.

The PCs shuffle on the spot awhile- eventually Jazz pipes up, ‘I am- famous and very good, that is…’

“Gud! Real gud.” She grins and at the same moment a flock of fat black birds, which seem to just appear from nowhere, swoop down with a grace and agility belying their cumbersome girth. The birds grab Unky Derek and flap furiously into the air…

There’s a moment when nothing happens- silence. Then the Little Lady begins to scream, and cry, and… and the entire Market Place stops what it is doing to turn and stare at you, expectantly- Rescue Unky Derek!

Which leads the PCs nicely into the final part of the Skill Challenge.