The two-week road from Baldur’s Gate to Warlock’s Crypt begins beyond a roadside hamlet, where the party stops at a busy butcher’s stall for provisions. Then Kynes sees them: the same two ordinary shoppers from the earlier trail encounter.
The Recognizing Shopper
That is him. The dark elf from the road.
The words land before the danger does. The second shopper steps into the road, not startled, but practiced, placing their body across the eastern trail and cutting off the party’s departure.
The Road Blocker
No farther. We were told to keep you here until the watcher gave the sign.
Bren
The butcher’s stall was never a stop. It was a mark in the route.
The apparent chance meeting was staged from the beginning. The Recognizing Shopper watches Kynes, while The Road Blocker keeps glancing toward the trail, waiting for someone who has not yet arrived.
✓ Quest Accepted
Get past the road blockade
“" sooo I would like to call bullshit and say your woefully under prepared and understaffed. These two are my adopted kids, Slaan an assassin by trade and a mage who has the compasity to bind your soul to a pigsty. Her void-fed girlfriend Nhal, who is also a mage, my wife Bren who is an assassin. And I am a fuck mothering wizard who can cancel reality as you know it." I pause." And you have a basket." I give them all a impish grin”
SUCCESS (Good Intimidation, rolled +0)
Kynes
So you call this a roadblock? You are two people and one of you has a basket. These are my family. Slaan can bind a soul to a pigsty, Nhal is a void-fed mage, Bren is an assassin, and I can unmake the rules of this road. I pause, then grin. You are woefully understaffed.
From Kynes's view, the basket fills the foreground while the two blockers shrink behind it. The Road Blocker's raised arm falters. The Recognizing Shopper grips the parcel with both hands.
The Road Blocker
That was not the description we were given.
The Recognizing Shopper
We should leave. Now.
Therefore the road opens. The Road Blocker steps aside and gestures the Recognizing Shopper away from the trail, abandoning the order to hold Kynes. The butcher's customers turn their faces aside, unwilling to become witnesses.
Bren
Good. Keep walking, both of you.
Slaan
The journal's weave says this was meant to look harmless. It no longer does.
The two shoppers retreat into the hamlet, exposed as planted blockers rather than ordinary customers. The eastern trail lies clear, with the red thread still tied to the nearest split stone.
Quest Complete
Get past the road blockade
“" awww I don't think they want to play." I say and give a hearty laugh”
Kynes
Aww, I don't think they want to play.
Kynes gives a hearty laugh, and the tension slips from the roadside stall. Bren’s mouth quirks as she watches the retreating pair disappear toward the hamlet.
Bren
Their loss. You make a remarkably poor target when you are enjoying yourself.
✓ Quest Accepted
Get clear of the staged ambush
“Did Slaan and nhal like the adopted children remark”
YES (Likely, rolled 24)
From the edge of the road, Slaan’s dry smile and Nhal’s quiet amusement make the answer plain: yes, both of them liked the adopted children remark, though each concealed it differently.
Slaan
It was unexpectedly charming. Do not mistake that for permission to become sentimental.
Nhal
The word made them sound wanted. I liked that.
“" well we know there's an ambush coming" I smirk as I walk up to a stall with fresh and dried food reasons.. "spring it or let them come to us?" I ask”
SUCCESS (Legendary Perception, rolled +1)
Kynes
We know an ambush is coming. Spring it, or let them come to us?
Kynes smirks and walks toward the stall, where fresh cuts hang beside baskets of dried food. His sharp senses find no hidden blade, crouching scout, or waiting signal among the shoppers.
The harmless appearance is exposed at last. The stall is only a stall, while the planted watchers have abandoned the road and lost control of the moment.
Bren
Let them come to us, but keep walking. No need to give them a second chance.
Bren falls into line beside Kynes, guiding the party past the stall without stopping. The eastern road lies open, and the red thread remains tied to the split stone behind them.
Bren
Fresh food or dried? Choose quickly. I would rather be beyond this hamlet before anyone remembers our faces.
Quest Complete
Get clear of the staged ambush