The back entrance bangs open as the half-orc/goblin bartender returns with a dust-stained young adult man in a patched mine hauler’s coat. His copper-brown hair is plastered to his forehead, and a fresh scrape marks one cheek.
The Half-Orc/goblin Bartender
This is Darran. He hauled ore for the supplier’s route. He wants payment for bringing warning, or protection before he says another word.
Darran
The liquor runner vanished near the abandoned Imperial road. No wreckage, no bodies, no spilled cargo. Just those red signs burned across the stones.
Darran’s eyes, deep-set in the narrow face of a lean, sun-browned young man, drop to the wrapped wands. The red sigils answer with a faint pulse beneath the cloth, and the gang’s five members close around the table without touching them.
Darran
Those marks caused it. I saw the same glow on the road before the wagons disappeared. Sell the wands and you may call whatever took them to this house.
The Ogre Recruit
We have stock worth silver now, and a road that may be bait. Paying him buys silence or a guide, not certainty.
The Five Orc Gang Members
Immediate coin keeps the house moving. The missing runner and the sigils may lead to more, but chasing them could cost every bottle and wand we own.
✓ Quest Accepted
Locate the vanished liquor runner
✓ Quest Accepted
Identify the source linked to the red sigils
“I say "thank you Orana" to the bartender and negotiate a payment”
FAILURE (Mediocre Bartering, rolled -1)
Herxul
Thank you, Vessa. Name your price for the warning, Darran, and we will settle payment.
Vessa folds her arms while Darran glances from the sealed tube to the wrapped wands. The gang listens, measuring the value of his warning against the danger it reveals.
Darran
Payment first. Silver for the warning, and protection if I lead you to that road. I will not trade both for a promise after you find what took the wagons.
Herxul
You get payment for useful truth, not for fear. Take a fair share now, and protection only if your directions prove sound.
The offer lands poorly. Darran’s mouth tightens, and Vessa withdraws the purse she had begun to reach for, leaving the bargain suspended rather than agreed.
Darran
Then there is no bargain. I will not guide armed thieves for a small advance while the thing on that road knows these marks.
Darran keeps the road’s location to himself and refuses the purse. The warning remains, but payment has failed to secure a guide or his cooperation.
“I say, "our offer is fair, the rest is your choice"”
FAILURE (Mediocre Bartering, rolled +0)
Herxul
Our offer is fair. The rest is your choice, Darran.
Darran studies Herxul across the scarred table, then glances toward the sealed tube and wrapped wands. The choice leaves him no richer and no safer.
Darran
Then I choose neither bargain. Keep your silver. I will not lead you onto that road for a promise of protection.
Darran steps back from the table, ending the negotiation instead of inviting another offer. Vessa watches him closely, her hand resting near the untouched purse.
The Half-Orc/goblin Bartender
He will not guide you, but he can still mark where he saw the glow. A road’s edge is safer to name than a road’s secrets.
Darran
A mark on your map, perhaps. No escort, no meeting at the stones, and no claim that I joined your hunt.
The bargain is lost, but a narrow lead remains: Darran may identify the stretch of abandoned Imperial road without becoming Herxul’s guide or accepting gang silver.
“I remain docile and dont push the topic”
Herxul remains still, letting the failed bargain rest without pressing Darran. The sealed tube and wrapped wands stay untouched on the scarred table.
The Half-Orc/goblin Bartender
Then mark the road’s edge and leave the rest alone. A useful direction is better than another argument.
Vessa draws a scrap of old account paper from beneath the bar and lays charcoal beside it. Darran approaches only far enough to indicate the route.
Darran
The abandoned Imperial road bends west after the split stones. The glow appeared near the sunken milestone, not by the old fort.
The five orc gang members study the charcoal marks in silence. No hand reaches for the parchment tube, and no one tries to turn Darran’s boundary into a promise.
Darran
That is all I will give. Keep your hunt away from my name, and we have no quarrel.
Darran steps back from the table, leaving the road’s location behind without payment or escort. The lead is recorded, while the sealed evidence remains safely in Herxul’s possession.
“I tell the others, "we can split up and scout more terrain at the area solo as individuals"”
SUCCESS (Mediocre Gang leadership and activities, rolled +1)
Herxul
We can split up and scout more terrain at the area, solo as individuals.
The proposal settles over the table. Vessa studies the charcoal route, while Darran keeps his distance and the five gang members turn toward their leader.
The Ogre Recruit
Separate scouts cover more ground without making one loud party. I can take the western bend and return before dusk.
The Half-Orc/goblin Bartender
I will watch the road near the split stones. If the glow shows again, I can mark its direction without approaching it.
The Five Orc Gang Members
We will divide the grass and road in pairs of distance, each alone, and report every sign before anyone touches the sealed evidence.
Darran
That keeps my name clear. I will point out the sunken milestone from here, then leave while your people search beyond it.
The plan is accepted. Vessa adds the milestone and western bend to the charcoal map, while the gang prepares separate routes around the abandoned Imperial road.