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Message: <blockquote data-quote="UnDfind" data-source="post: 51017" data-attributes="member: 2744">Part 4Okay, we now have a good situation set up (assuming the players are hooked).  For a while, the adventure is probably going to take on a life of it's own as the party does some detective work.The Hunters:  By afternoon of the first day of tracking down the leader of the Smuggler's Alliance, word will have spread that the newcomers have been hired to locate the murderer of the magistrate.  This means that Geuber will have heard, and will act to resolve the situation quietly by sending scouts (typical Smuggler's Alliance members...see above) to watch and report on who the party talks to and what they've found out.Throughout the day (preferrably when they near a critical clue), the party may make a spot check (DC = the scout's Hide check result) to catch sight of their trackers.  If any of the party leaves the town of Heraldsford, throw a couple of typical smugglers at them to keep them on their toes.  Any captured smugglers may be interrogated, and an Intimidate check (DC 15) will force them to reveal that their boss (they will not say his name) has sent them to watch over the party's progress.  Further interrogation will cause captured scouts to reveal how much their boss knows the party knows.The Clues:  As mentioned before, this part of the adventure will most likely be a little chaotic, as the group will be running around trying to figure the problem out.  Here are some important clues the party may pick up to piece the puzzle together:-->  A Gather Information check (DC 15) made at the Dancing Donkey will cause a party member to meet an old farmer visiting from his home half a day's ride to the northeast.  He claims that he saw a well-guarded wagon caravan cross the trail he used to get here.  "I still can't figure out how they managed to get the wagons through that thick of a wood.  Wonder why they didn't just use the main road?"-->  If looking for the source of the greenblood oil, the party may come across Hilga, who is the town's local dealer in herbal remedies and alchemical products.  Conversation with Hilga in regards to greenblood reveals that she has treated two such wounds in the past year.  The two inflicted with the poison had been hunting in the woods to the east, and claimed that shadowy figures had thrown darts at them for no apparent reason.  Both men had died from the poison.  The matter had been turned over to the magistrate, who had claimed he would send men to search the woods for those that were responsible for the attacks, but no word was ever heard regarding the success or failure of these attempts.-->  No member of the town guard or militia remembers ever being ordered by the magistrate to search the woods for any reason.  But they do know the Magistrate sent a couple of local hicks who claim to be rangers out every once in a while to scout around.  They always came back empty-handed.  They aren't very good rangers.  (For the sake of ease, they only remeber the name of one of the "rangers," a man named Dale).-->  Inquiries into the habits of the Magistrate lead to the knowledge that he was a hard working man who kept to himself, but he frequented the Dancing Donkey's common room on the evenings.--> Questions about the magistrate at the Dancing Donkey result in the staff claiming he kept to himself.  In fact, the only person at the inn he really talked to (apart from ordering meals or wine) was Greuber Baleson when he was tending bar.  All Greuber Baleson will say about the magistrate is "He was a good customer who always paid his tab on time."  (The tabs at the Dancing Donkey are only for locals, by the way <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /> )-->  Talking to one of the local guardsmen about the main road (the guardsman may start the conversation by saying something like "Only got a few hours before I go patrol the road") reveals that the main road is well patrolled, and the rumored smuggling ring that has sprung up in the area couldn't be using it for their runs.-->  Any inquiry into alternative means of transport through the woods requires a knowledge (Heraldsford...yeah right), Gather Information, or a Diplomacy (with one of the older citizens of Heraldsford) check (DC 18) to reveal the existance of an older road used before the main road was constructed.  This road was called the Heralds Highway, and it required the crossing of the nearby Neerin River to reach the town (thus the name Heraldsford). -->  Most any resident of Heraldsford can tell the party the location of the Neerin River.  The river lies to the east of the town (whoda thunk it?)-->  One of the local rangers (Dale Winneford) approaches the party at an opportune time (either to set them on the right track, or just to provide more info).  He iforms the group that he was instructed by the acting Magistrate to offer his services to the party, as he had been investigating the claims of smugglers in the area for the dead Magistrate.  Dale's not a very good ranger, and doesn't seem to know much about his craft.If the party has not had much success in their search thus far, Dale explains that the smugglers must be using an alternate route, probably somewhere in the woods, to smuggle their goods as the main road is well patrolled.If the party is taking to detective work rather well, Dale opens up for questions.  Any inquiries about the Heraldsford Highway reveals that the road wound through a very out-of-the-way and indirect route from town.  It eventually runs parallel the main road, but it does so far from the town.  Dale had not looked for the smugglers on the old highway because it had been disused for so long that it bacame little more than goat trail.  Dale admits he hasn't been near the highway in quite some time, though.What Really Happened:  The Magistrate was actually in cahoots with Greuber and his Smuggler's Alliance (A fact known only to Greuber and the Magistrate).  The Magistrate would keep up the appearance of patrolling the woods by sending out two very inexperienced and not amazingly bright rangers, and in return for the privacy, Greuber would give the Magistrate a cut of the loot.  The Magistrate began asking for more and more money  from Greuber in exchange for his protection. When a member of the Smuggler's Alliance turned coat and confessed to the Magistrate, he found himself in an awkward position.  If he jailed the man, the traitor might tell someone else and then his profit from Greuber would stop, because he would be forced to turn against his partner in crime to keep up appearances.  The Magistrate also could not risk killing the man himself without a trial, where the same information would be revealed.The Magistrate wove a convincing story of how the jail was not safe and that the town guard may have been infiltrated, and told the traitor to stay quiet for a while.  The Magistrate secreted him in a cave he knew of to the southeast.  He said that he would come to claim him in a few days when it was safe.  The Magistrate then went to Greuber and demanded an insane amount of money for the location of the traitor.  Greuber was angry, but he paid the Magistrate so he could take care of a potential leak.  Greuber then had the magistrate poisoned, as he was tiring of his constant demands for more money. Greuber sent some of his men to take care of the traitor.  That, of course, is when the party entered the scene.Imporvisation:  Use the infromation above to lay down clues, but don't be frustrated if the party doesn't find them immediately.  Not everyone thinks alike, and a good idea should be rewarded.  If a party member decides to look in a place not mentioned, but clever, then reward them with a bit of information that helps them to locate the smuggler's operations in the forest to the east.Next:  I'll outline the smuggler's operations in the forest, and provide some groovy ways to locate them.  Maybe I'll even throw an encounter or two in.(((More later)))</blockquote>

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