Sylvan-Forge roars beneath a vaulted roof of Iron-Elm beams. Cider, smoke, and forge-heat mingle as Bram Barrelbalde enters the crowded tavern.
At a corner table, three drinkers slap cards onto a scarred oak board. Their laughter carries above the clatter of tankards and the distant ring of dwarven hammers.
The Silver-Toothed Gambler
The silk merchant never knew the seal was false. Paid me twice, he did, once for the goods and once to keep quiet.
The Hooded Cardplayer
Save your boasting. You said the same about the scarred man from the northern roads.
The Silver-Toothed Gambler
That one? Broad as a grain shed, dark beard, eyes like a storm cellar. Called himself Ulrik, or answered when others did.
The cards stop. Three faces turn toward Bram Barrelbalde. The hooded cardplayer lowers a cup, while the third drinker quietly shifts a knife beneath the table.
The Silver-Toothed Gambler
Well now. Either the dead have learned to drink, or you know the man I mean.
Beyond the tavern windows, a bell tolls from the trade quarter. The table waits, its easy laughter gone.
✓ Quest Accepted
Gain a credible lead to Ulrik
✓ Quest Accepted
Find Ulrik
“I pull up a chair and ask what they know of Ulrik.”
FAILURE (Mediocre Diplomacy, rolled -1)
Bram Barrelbalde pulls a chair from the neighboring table and sets it opposite the gambler. The legs scrape hard across the rushes, silencing the nearest murmurs.
Bram Barrelbalde
What do you know of Ulrik?
The gambler's grin collapses. He reaches for his tankard, thinks better of it, and glances toward the hooded cardplayer.
The Silver-Toothed Gambler
Not enough to sell, and too much to forget. He passed through Mossgate three nights ago, asking after a river convoy marked with red wax.
The Hooded Cardplayer
You fool. That was not yours to give.
A card slips from the hooded player's sleeve and lands face-up beside the cider stain. Its painted bridge bears the same red-wax crest, and beneath it someone has written: East road, before dawn.
The Silver-Toothed Gambler
Mossgate is your trail, then. But if you want the name of the man who hired Ulrik, you will have to decide what that card is worth.
Quest Complete
Gain a credible lead to Ulrik