SITUATION

For years now, the roads and villages of the eastern countryside have suffered from the usual plague of brigands.

Bandits have always been with us. Men too poor to farm, too proud to beg, and too cowardly to fight beneath a proper banner have taken to the woods and hills. They rob merchants, waylay travelers, steal livestock, and occasionally murder those unfortunate enough to cross their path.

Such men are a nuisance.

What we face now is something altogether different.

Since the recent wars and feuds between the great lords of the realm, hundreds of armed men have been left without wages, land, or masters. Mercenaries have returned from the fighting with nothing but their weapons. Dispossessed men have fled their villages. Lesser nobles have gathered armed retainers of their own.

Many have turned to robbery.

But the attacks of the past several months bear little resemblance to the petty banditry we have known.

The brigands now strike with purpose.

Villages are attacked simultaneously along different roads. Grain stores are emptied rather than burned. Horses and draft animals are taken in great numbers. Toll stations and manor houses are carefully avoided unless they are poorly defended. Merchants are robbed of particular goods, while common travelers are sometimes left untouched.

Most troubling of all, the bandits appear to know exactly when and where their victims will be found.

Someone is providing them with information.

Someone is supplying them with men, weapons and horses.

Someone is turning a collection of common thieves into an organized force.

THE ENEMY

Scouts have reported groups ranging from a dozen men to several dozen. Some appear to be common brigands armed with bows, spears and stolen weapons. Others are clearly veterans. Their numbers are uncertain

Several prisoners have spoken of a captain who commands the larger bands. He is said to have fought in the recent wars and understands how to organize men properly.

More concerning still are reports of a nobleman's banner being seen among the raiders.

The attacks have steadily grown bolder with every passing week.

FRIENDLY FORCES

The king's authority is contested, the great lords are more concerned with their own rivalries, and many soldiers who might ordinarily enforce the king's peace are serving elsewhere.

To bring order to your lands the local lord of Flusswacht have taken it upon himself to rid of the vermin plaguing these lands. The lord have therefore mustered a small force consisting of:

• A handful of experienced men-at-arms.
• Local castle garrison familiar with the surrounding villages.
• A small number of crossbowmen.
• Whatever additional men the lord can levvie.

You are not an army.

You cannot defeat every brigand in the region.

Your task is to find the head of the snake.

MISSION

Your immediate objective is to investigate the recent attacks and determine who is organizing them.

A merchant caravan was attacked three nights ago along the old road between Flusswacht and Altbaumhain. Unlike previous attacks, the brigands did not kill the merchants. They took the caravan's horses, weapons and provisions and left the wagons behind.

One of the merchants survived and has been brought before you. He claims that the raiders were led by a well-armored man who spoke like a nobleman.

He also claims the brigands were expecting the caravan. That means somebody told them it was coming.

And somewhere in the forests, men who once fought in proper armies are learning that there is good coin to be made from robbing their neighbors.

Find out who commands them.

Find out who pays them.

And find out why.

If this truly is the work of a nobleman, he must be found, caught and brought to justice. This means treating him as befit a noble up until the point where the king decides the mans fate.