Brisham Wood - Campaign Turn 8

The Silver Hawks remain in Woodcross, trying to make the area safer for the residents and others in the region who trade here.

Preparation Stage

As the warband moves through the town, a local blacksmith presents Maurice with a fine short sword in thanks for all they have done. The leader immediately turns and hands it to Tiffany, who herself is a forester from this area.

Out of habit, the Silver Hawks spend a few nights helping relieve the town guard. This covers their weekly costs and continues to demonstrate to the village that they really are here to help, whether that’s slaying aberrations or keeping drunken merchants from harassing the tavern staff. Drog spends some time training with the guard as well, having recovered his desire to return to a form of soldiering.

It’s Market Day, and Maurice takes advantage. He and Carves-The-Dark sell off some of the extra equipment they’ve acquired or have recently replaced with better options. At the end of it all, most of the warband have a ranged weapon, plus there are 2 staves in reserve. That allows him to sell off several swords and daggers for a net profit of 5 gold marks. (Perhaps next time they can pay their upkeep directly and free up their time for other things.)

That evening, he and Daisy sit and discuss what needs to be done. A local man has gone missing, and it’s believed that brigands may be responsible. That seems the most urgent. Additionally, the town elder has told them of local troublemakers, but while that does need handled soon, it need not be this week. And while there is a letter to be carried from Brisham Hall, that does not have a time limit associated with it.

Adventuring Stage

All the information about the missing man indicates that he should be in the area. Tiffany takes point on scouting through the woods. When they reach his last known location, there’s not a trace, unfortunately. The Silver Hawks scour the area to find anything, even a scrap, that might tell them where to find him, but they find nothing beyond a rare and valuable set of mushrooms worth a few gold marks. Their failure weighs heavily on their hearts as they return to town and inform the council that the contract cannot be completed.

Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash

Resolution Phase

There’s not much to resolve here. The warband settles back into Woodcross. Word reaches them that Outpost Loren, the tiny military garrison to the south, is low on supplies and needs support within the next few weeks. Maurice tells the Silver Hawks they’ll head there after they finish taking care of business here in Woodcross.

Wrap-Up

Mechanically, carrying out a rescue mission requires a roll on an Unexplored Location table, and if no battle results, it indicates that the rescuee cannot be located. That’s good to know when these contract opportunities come up.