One: The Town of Brothers

The stage coach bounces down the road away from the verdant city of Bent Fork and eastward towards the expanse of the desert. The sounds of nearby waterways are quickly replaced with the tumble of wheels on dirt and gravel. Mountains give way to rocky outcrops sharp and craggy. The tiny coach rolls along, pulled by two chestnut horses between deep cliffs and ridges that eventually flatten out into a gold and tan expanse. You can see for miles ahead of you, but mostly all you see are cactus, juniper, and sagebrush all around.

Sitting on top of the coach is Rook Alderghast, a man who worked the night patrol in the worst part of town for the city watch. This is where he met Fenhari, the man who sits beside him on top of the coach. Fenhari was the first to know. His old friend, Asmyn and wife Sylma had lost their only son, practically still a baby. A boy named Osmond. It was Fenhari who connected Rook and then later Xur'Tual with the hunters who drove the coach. Maya and her two brothers.

Xur'Tual, a paladin, representing the city was almost the last to join the party. He rides ahead on the back of his steed.

The inside of the stagecoach is stuffed with camp supplies, traps and barrels. One barrel contains water, two are empty and one houses a halfling woman named Sophia Sunmeadow. She had her own reasons for joining the group, but so far, she remained completely undiscovered.



The promise of a cool day given by the morning has already proven deceitful as it starts getting hot outside. Quail run from brush to brush as the coach approaches the town of Brothers. The first signs of the town are the crumbled ruins of what was once a schoolhouse and a few houses that seem to have been blown to the ground. Old fence parts, tin cans and glass litter the ground.

Just past this is what remains of the town still in operation. On one side of the road is the Brothers Stagestop. A supply and mercantile/post office with bundles of wood and hand-painted signs promising food and water out front. Behind the Stagestop is Frederick Butte View, a campground with a nice view of Frederick Butte. There is currently a large tent set up in the campground. Across the road from all of this is The Waterin' Hole. A tavern with a couple of rooms up top. There are two donkeys tied up outside of The Waterin' Hole and there is an animal pen beside it.

Beyond this, the road continues into the desert, but it is here that the hunters will finish their journey.

Once we arrive, my brothers and I wish to stop at The Waterin' Hole. There we will fill up our barrels with ale and water our horses. Once it is cooler, we will set up our camp in the park. Where shall we let you out?

"That depends, Maya. Is there law in this town? If so we might want to check in on them and ask a few questions." Rook looks towards his companions and raises an eyebrow. "What do you all think?"

Xur scans the small town. "I agree. I need to touch base with the local guard here, or what passes for one, and let them know we've arrived. Time is of the essence in a kidnapping."

Fenhari answers with a nod. "Then our next stop should be the Waterin' Hole to see what the locals have to say. I'm also interested in hearing about what happened to that schoolhouse."

I have been coming to Brothers every year since I was a child to hunt the deer and elk in the desert with my family, In all of that time, the schoolhouse has always appeared as it does now. My grandmother remembers a time when children still went there, back when she was very young, but I don't know much more beyond that. My guess is that once it fell into disuse, the dessert just swallowed it up. Same with those houses.

If you're looking for law, then Fenhari is correct, you will most likely want to check The Waterin' Hole, but as long as I've been coming, lawmen come and go and it is rarely the same person from one season to the next, the few people who still reside in Brothers mostly just fend for themselves. You may also want to check the post office to see if they've received any news from the east.

Once we pull up the coach next to the animal pens, my brother, Aapo and I will go inside. Hadwin will begin unloading the empty barrels to the side door of the tavern. Rook and Fenhari, If the two of you can assist Hadwin, then we will call your debt even.

Sophia hears the discussions between the people, and she stays hidden until the wagon seems slow enough and that they might be distracted enough for her to slip out. She is dressed as Riley, and she is going to be going around looking for information about the figure with the kid. Investigating, using Thieves' Cant to connect with roguish types in town, eavesdropping, asking questions, etc.

'Happy to help and much obliged for the ride." Rook says to Maya. Rook follows Hadwin and begins to help unload the wagon, with the intention of heading to whatever local law is established at the moment. Gonna have to get me a hat or something if we’re headed into desert… or else the sun’ll boil my brains.’ Rook grumbles to himself.

Fenhari also helps unload the cart. "Hadwin, the scenery is so beautiful around here. I'm surprised the town isn't bigger."

"I'll go on inside and see about getting us a table." Xur dismounts and secures his horse to the hitching post before walking inside the Waterin' Hole.

A small halfling woman slips out the back of the coach undetected, blowing away like just another tumbleweed. When she untucks she has transformed into a human girl. The first thing she notices as she assesses the tiny town, is that there really isn't much to it, the stagestop and camp on one side of the road and The Waterin' Hole on the other. She does however, make a few discoveries upon investigation.

Xur'Tual enters the Waterin Hole. The darkness is in stark contrast to the brightness of the day, and after a moment, his eyes begin to adjust. There are gaps in the wood of the floor, and the bar itself looks like it was made from the back of an old chuck wagon. There are several different livestock brands burnt into the large wooden beam over the bar and plenty of ancient broken farming and ranching equipment as decor. There are two men in dirty clothes sitting at a table to the left playing cards. Maya and Aapo are already inside sitting at the bar talking with the bartender.

Yes the desert is a place of great beauty, but don't let that deceive you, it can also be a very dangerous place. It takes a very special kind of person to make their home here. Many crops won't grow, water is scarce, the beasts, the weather, and not just the heat, the desert can easily become unbearably cold. This is a place of great power, and although many have tried to build this waystation into a town, it seems that so far, the desert has not allowed them to take root.

I will tend to the horses, if you wish to join the others inside.

'Thanks for the ride, Hadwin. Much appreciated.' He will enter the watering hole and approach the bar. 'Not much of a wait for tables, is there?' he nods to Xur'Tual. He elbows up to the bar.'Buy you both a drink?' he says to Maya and Aapo.

Xur walks up to the bar and leans on the counter. "Can someone point me in the direction of who's in charge of this little town, please?"

Fenhari waves to Hadwin as he walks to the Waterin' Hole. "Fare thee well, sir."

Aapo and Maya appreciate the drinks. They give a blessing in Xchiqua.

The bartender charges Rook 1.5 SP and anything you wish to tip. She then looks up and answers Xur'Tual,
Welcome stranger. Our watchman isn't here right now and the owners aren't here, either. So I guess that makes me in charge as long as you're in this place. Now what can I do for you?

"Good afternoon, Ma'am. My name is Xur'Tual and I am a paladin dispatched from Bent Fork to assist in the investigation of the recent kidnapping. I just want to go over any information that has been collected, and see if there have been any other additional leads."

Sophia thinks about the situation. What’s the best way to get these messages to these block-headed tall folks?

She has an idea. She asks someone nearby for a piece of parchment and a plume so that she can draw a pretty picture for her mother. She draws on one side of the parchment a desert with a compass on the bottom, North pointed up, and in the southeast corner, she draws a hut with a bunch of rats and piles of excrement.

On the other side of the parchment (when people pay her less attention), she writes the following message:

There is a safe house in the southeast corner of the desert called ‘rat shit hut’.

Chances are, your kidnapper is headed there.

X

She flourishes the picture of the desert, and puts some creative details into the rats (one of them has a human baby in its arms, and its eyes look devious).

She tells the merchant that gave her the parchment and plume, "Thank you! My mother loves my landscapes!"

She curtsies, and then she thinks, Now, where are those assholes?"

She pulls out a gold coin and then walks up to Xur’Tual, tugs on his elbow, and says, "A guy over there paid me a coin to give this to you.

"Isn’t it pretty and shiny?"

She points to a man walking out of the bar or tavern, and then she thanks Xur’Tael, and walks out.