"Very well, please have a seat."
Kelnin sits at the head of the table and begins pulling handfuls of gold coins from the sack.
"Let me start off with the fact that it is I that need your help and not the city guard. You know the village of Capoe?"
[sblock=DC 10 Knowledge Reveals]
Capoe is a small farming village about 7 leagues south by southeast from Venza. The inhabitants of Capoe are mostly human and halfling, and are considered by most to be backwood, backward, and overly superstitous. It exists in a hilly wooded area, so the farmable land is mostly very small plots. However, those plots seem to be extraordinarily fertile.
It can be reached easily by an overgrown and not oft used road that cuts south of the Eastern Trade Route a bout a league east
of Venza. The small tavern/general store is known to brew a fantastic juniper mead.
[/sblock]
"Well my brother-inlaw, Malcom, farms a small plot just south of the village. My lovely Elaine is very close to her brother, but has not heard from him for sometime."
Kelnin has emptied the sack and begins stacking the coins into neat piles.
"I had planned to take a little leave and travel to Capoe to see if he was okay, but some disturbing reports have come up. It would seem that
two villagers have come up missing in Capoe over the last month. This we have heard from a travelling bard that has recently visited the village.
Unfortunately, my leave was cancelled and Venza has not the resources to send White Cloaks to investigate the disappearances. This is where you come in."
Kelnin has neatly arranged all the coins in to 8 stacks of about 25 coins each.
"I would like to hire you to check in on Malcom. It is possible that he is ill or there is another reason for his silence, but we need to be sure. I'm not strictly supposed to say this, but there have been reports of small bands of orcs in the hills between the East Trade Road and Capoe. I am willing to pay you 50 gold drakes each for one weeks service with another 100 drakes upon completion if you can prove you have spoken to Malcom or know his whereabouts."
Kelnin slides two stacks toward each of you.
"Can you do this?"
--Lieutenant Peurligh Kelnin--