Traveling along a road, the party comes across a merchant driving a heavy carriage reinforced with iron bands and barred windows. The merchant is nervous, sweating despite the cool air, and he waves them off before they can get close enough to see inside. Then they hear it: a small voice from within the carriage, barely above a whisper, saying “Help me.” The merchant insists the creature inside is a dangerous monster capable of mimicking human speech, a ruse designed to lure in exactly the kind of soft-hearted fools now standing in his road. He’s very persuasive about it.
He’s also lying. The carriage contains the Duke’s daughter, kidnapped three days ago and being transported to a buyer in a city two weeks to the south. The merchant is a wanted slave trader with a price on his head in the capital, though he carries forged papers good enough to pass a casual inspection. The girl has been told to stay quiet, but desperation got the better of her.
How the party handles the next few minutes is entirely up to them. If they free her and return her safely to her father, the reward is substantial. If they hand her over to the nearest town guard without knowing who she is, things get complicated quickly. And if they believe the merchant and move along, they’ll find out the truth sooner or later.
Party Level: Any. The encounter is driven entirely by player choices and has no fixed outcome. Works equally well as a campaign opener or a mid-adventure complication on the road.
World: Any
Rules-set: Any
If this made your session better, buying me a coffee keeps the Vault stocked.
