The Merchant stands at the mill’s mouth, bundle hugged tight. The wheel keeps grinding with that wrong, dry screech. Kynes and Bren crouch in the fog, timber wet beneath their hands, as a second shape stirs behind her in the mist.
A cloaked porter emerges from the side path, hand out for the bundle. The spider-mark on the cloth catches the light for one thin breath. This is the handoff, and if it completes, Nezznar’s web gets another thread in Phandelver.
Kynes
Kynes steps from cover and snaps a binding spell toward the porter.
The porter jerks mid-stride, pinned by invisible force. The Merchant flinches hard, nearly dropping the bundle, and Bren surges up from the timber with her blade ready.
The Merchant
No, wait. This is a simple exchange. You do not want to break it.
Bren
Too late. Talk fast, or we take the bundle and leave you to explain to your masters.
The Merchant’s calm cracks at last. Her fingers loosen from the spider-marked cloth, and Kynes can see the corner of a sealed packet inside, stamped with the same sigil as the trail notes. Whatever is in that bundle is headed straight into the network, and now it is in his reach.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure the spider-marked bundle
“I take the bundle from the merchent " didn't we pass you on our way here? " He asks the merchant”
FAILURE (Mediocre Persuasion, rolled +0)
Kynes
Kynes reaches for the bundle and asks the merchant if they passed before.
The Merchant
Her hand tightens around the strap.
The Merchant
We did. I noticed the same lane, the same fog, and I did not like either of them then.
Bren
Bren gives a small, crooked smile.
Bren
That is one way to greet a road twice. Less cheerful than I prefer.
The Porter
The porter shifts the spider-marked bundle behind their hip.
The Porter
If you know the path, mage, then tell us whether the mill is shelter or snare.
The merchant does not hand the bundle over. Fog curls around the old mill’s stones, and the silk-mark on the wrapping seems darker in the dim light.
“I take the bundle from the merchent " didn't we pass you on our way here? " He asks the merchant”
FAILURE (Good Strength, rolled -3)
Kynes closes his fingers on the strap and pulls. The merchant plants her heels and wrenches back, turning the bundle into a stubborn tug of war.
The Merchant
No. Not while you stand in my path.
The fabric slips half an inch, then stops. The spider-mark seems to drink the grey light.
Kynes
Did we pass you on our way here?
The Merchant
Twice, if you count the fog. Once was already too many.
Bren
That answer is almost helpful. Almost.
The Porter
Let go of it, all of you. Before the mill notices.
The merchant keeps her grip, Kynes's hand still on the strap, and the bundle hangs between them like a challenge.
“I take the bundle from the merchent " didn't we pass you on our way here? " He asks the merchant" you asked about the ledger"”
SUCCESS (Good Strength, rolled +4)
Kynes twists the strap and takes the bundle cleanly from the merchant’s grip. Her hands slip free, and the spider-marked cloth settles against his palm.
Kynes
Didn’t we pass you on our way here? You asked about the ledger.
The Merchant
I asked because names move through Phandelver faster than coin. Yours was among them.
Bren
That sounds suspiciously like a compliment.
The merchant’s mouth tightens, but her eyes stay on the bundle now in Kynes’s grasp.
The Porter
If it is in your hands, then tell me this, stranger, what did the ledger say?
The Merchant
It said the road was watched. It said the old mill was the wrong place to be seen.
The fog presses at the threshold, and the merchant gives Kynes a long, measuring look, waiting for his answer.
Quest Complete
Secure the spider-marked bundle
Attribute Upgrade: Strength Good→Great
+ New Item Acquired
Spider-marked bundle