Pesky Bandits

A convoy heading to Silver Lake Mansion, west of Lumairen, has been ambushed by bandits three days. The bandits took off with the supplies, as well as some fine art (a portrait of Mavis Oldoro, the owner of the mansion). The caretaker of the mansion, a man called Otto Greyborn, has listed a job for someone to retrieve the artwork and as many of the supplies as possible. To start the quest, players must travel to Silver Lake Mansion and request a meeting with Otto Greyborn. The old man will present the adventurers with the details of what happened. He will tell them that a carriage transporting goods, including the painting, was attacked by unknown foes halfway between Lumairen and the mansion. No survivors were left of the attack and the only reason the mansion was made aware of the tragedy was due to one of the servants stumbling into the card on their way back to Lumairen. Because of his master's orders, Otto is unwilling to send out any of the guards protecting the mansion to investigate the sight. It is here where the party comes in, they will have to investigate the transport and try to find a way to identify and track down the culprits of the ambush. Otto will suggest that it was likely some townsfolk of Lumairen that committed the crime. He does not have any evidence for this, instead, he assumes so based on his dislike for the town and the hostilities between them.
The true bandits are actually a group of goblins that are held up in a ruin in the forest to the north. It is possible for the players to discover this by closely investigating the sight of the robbery (which they likely passed by already on their way to the mansion). The party should be able to notice that those with the convoy were killed using weapons, evidenced by deep cuts and bruises. Additionally, everything of food and value has been taken from the car, while heavier things, such as kitchen equipment, have been left. The goblins will leave a few tracks to follow, if the party wishes to track the goblins, they will start the Bandit Tracking event.
In case the players fail to track down the goblins using the clues found at the ambush site, they can head to Lumairen. If they go to the tavern, they can try and gather information from the tavernkeeper, Bran Helbert. The man will not be able to provide much information, letting the players know that he saw no suspicious activity in town as of late. He will point the players in the direction of the mayor, Lupis Arbor. If he catches on to the players looking into the bandit attack on the behest of the wealthy merchant, however, he will act aggressively. In this case, a waitress named Anabelle will interfere, calming the tavern keeper down. Given that she has a sister working at the mansion, she isn't as hostile towards those in service of Mavis Oldoro as most Lumairens and will point the players in the direction of the mayor instead. Once the players have met with the mayor and explained their intentions, Lupis will tell them that a group of goblins has been spotted in the nearby forest a few days ago, suggesting it might have been them that caused the robbery. Understanding that the goblins will likely cause trouble for the town sooner or later, the mayor offers his full help to the players to find their camp. Unfortunately, Lumairen does not have many hunters, so the townspeople cannot help with tracking down the bandits. However, Lupis suggests another way of drawing out the goblins. His plan is for the players to join up with a local merchant who is about to set out to Hazegate with a supply of fish. Fearing that the merchant may be attacked by the goblins, the mayor urges the players to accompany the shipment.
At the northern entrance of the town, the players will find the fish merchant waiting to depart. After Lupis explains the situation to him, the merchant gladly lets the players join him on his journey to deliver his strong-smelling shipment. The players will travel along the road toward Hazegate. When they are some way out of the town they will be ambushed by the goblin bandits. This triggers the Goblin Bandits - Ambush instance. After defeating the goblins, the players can attempt to track their main camp.
Upon succeeding in discovering the goblin camp that is located in some old ruins in the middle of the forest, the players can either engage the goblins or find a way to steal back the painting or supplies. Either way, approaching the camp kicks off the Goblin Bandits - Ruins instance. If the players can clear out the goblins, they can take the painting and whatever supplies they can back to the manor where they'll have to report back to Otto Greyborn. Upon handing over whatever they took with them and pointing out the location of the ruins, the players will be gifted their reward and finish up the quest. In case the players did not take care of the goblins, they'll still be rewarded, but the manor caretaker will hold out part of their pay.
Upon investigating the painting prior to handing it over, the players may notice that a corner of the cloth is loose and slight markings can be seen on it. Upon further investigation, the players can remove the painting from the canvas. On the back of the painting suspicious scribbles can be found that seem like instructions for some kind of experiment involving humans, yet the players cannot make any more sense of it. Otto Greyborn will notice the loose corner and respond with a degree of suspicion regardless if the party discovered the marking.

Grander Scope

There are a few things that will become clear to the players while undertaking the quest. Firstly, they'll become aware that The Cloud Orb is located at Silver Lake Manor, although they won't know about its significance just yet. Secondly, the conflict between the town and the merchant will become clear (Hostilities between Lumairen and Silver Lake Mansion). This is useful for the players to be aware of when having to obtain the Cloud Orb. Lastly, it will highlight the struggle the people of Meydia are having with the increased demon activity. With The Hunting Brigade being overwhelmed by the incursion, other monsters have been able to cause more trouble than ever. Due to these developments, Mavis Oldoro has even ordered all manor guards to remain at the estate at all times, afraid that his precious summer home might get assaulted by monsters or demons.
The hidden writing on the back of the painting's canvas also hints at the involvement of Mavis with the Circle of the Seventeen

Description

"Vile bandits have dared to attack one of the convoys belonging to the esteemed Mavis Oldoro, plundering both supplies and a precious item. A professional and well-mannered band of swords-for-hire is requested to look into the assault and return what was stolen to its rightful owners. We expect that the scum that committed this vile act will be put down swiftly. We will pay handsomely upon successful completion of the job
Pray report at Silver Lake Manor when interested."

Progression

1. Report at Silver Lake Mansion and speak with Otto Greyborn
2. Investigate the ambush sight (upon a successful tracking check, skip to 6)
3. Head to Lumairen to gather information
4. Speak with Lumairen's mayor, Lupis Arbor
5. Join Theo Brine, the fish merchant, on his travel and defeat the ambushing goblins.
6. Track the goblins down to their camp and reclaim the painting
7. Report back to Otto Greyborn

Pesky Bandits
Quest Giver	Mavis Oldoro
Contact Person	Otto Greyborn, Silver Lake Mansion caretaker
Recommended Level	3-4
Duration	2 session
Reward	200 gold