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LOCATION: LORD MARTHEN'S HUNTING LODGE
CITY: THE SHADOWED HAMLET, ALLOVIA
DATE: MAY 8, 2026 | TIME: 5:00 PM
After Grim, Brick, Li and Samir visited The Shadowed Hamlet and saw the state of affairs for themselves, they returned to The Lusty Wench tavern in Grimwatch to talk strategy.
Mayor Thomas Brae joined them.
"They really are among the most arrogant, self-righteous people I've ever met," Li started.
"Arrogant doesn't begin to describe them," Brick said, snorting. "The way they live up on that hill in luxury while the townsfolk below live in squalor is fucking disgusting."
He slammed his fist on the table, and the beer mugs jumped.
Grim put his hand on Brick's shoulder.
He knew this was a sore spot for Brick, who grew up on the south side of Chicago and saw his fair share of slumlords taking out their shitty attitudes and life's frustrations on the parents and kids there.
"What we need," Samir said, "is a targeted smear campaign."
Grim looked up, froth from his beer still glistening on his stubble.
"Tell me more," he said.
Samir leaned back, gathering his thoughts. A server brought another round of beers and a tray of roasted meats, bread and cheese.
Brick grabbed a corner of bread and huffed back into his seat.
"So," Samir started, "one thing we know is that nobles care about their reputation and image above just about everything else."
Li nodded. "Go on."
"Some well-placed rumors are enough to get a little civil war going up on that hill," Samir continued. "We can pay some of the kids to spread them. Let it fester for a while. Watch the powder keg grow, and then we light a match to it."
"It's a good plan," Li said. "The rogues in the Peacekeeper Force are perfectly suited to get it going, too. Samir, would you like to lead the effort?"
Samir laughed.
"It would be my pleasure," he said. "Thomas, do you happen to have a discretionary fund we can draw a bit from?"
"To feeding the children," the mayor said, lifting his glass in a toast.
So that was the plan. For the next two weeks leading up to May 8th, Samir and two of his rogues spread rumors all over town.
Lord Marthen runs a trafficking ring out of his hunting lodge.
Lady Elsinore had her husband murdered.
The Mayor is skimming off the top to enrich himself.
And more. The rumors were designed to pit one noble family against the other.
The teens in the city below were paid in both food and coin to spread the gossip, and ensure it hit the ears of the staff members who had to come down to the city below to purchase groceries and other items for their households.
The staff, dutiful as they were, would return to the hill and promptly tell their bosses what they heard.
It couldn't have worked better if they had written a daily gossip rag and delivered to everyone's door.
Finally, on May 8th, the pieces were all in place, and it was time to tip the first domino.
Then stand back to watch them all fall.
Lord Harris Marthen, high noble and expert hunter, was fed up with the rumors. He was a legitimate businessman, owning the sawmill, tavern and almost a third of the homes in the town below.
How dare they accuse him of trafficking?
Never mind that it was true.
The question was who dared to blab about it.
He'd been fuming for the past two weeks, and every time a new rumor reached his ears, he was closer and closer to losing the impeccable composure he was known for maintaining.
So, he decided to host a dinner party at his hunting lodge to see if he could ferret out the traitor.
He cleared out the last two young women he'd been holding first, of course. Can't have the accusations proven correct by a nosy house guest who happened to hear the incessant whining.
Finally, he set up the banquet to sprawl from the large dining hall in his lodge and out the back to the lake, where guests could enjoy views of the moonlight on the water.
It was the perfect setting to clear his name.
He checked the System clock. Two hours until guests began arriving. He went to the kitchen and shouted at the staff to ensure they would complete their preparation on time.
Then he returned to the great room, poured a glass of wine, and watched the fire until the appointed time.
Around 5:00 PM, as dusk began settling like a blanket over the landscape, nobles with their small retinue of guards and aides began making their way down the long forest trail that led from the district on the hill to the lodge.
Some of them grumbled about being summoned so far from the noble district, but they all knew that Lord Marthen's parties were legendary. So if he was trying to get back in everyone's good graces by throwing one, they were willing to give him the chance to win them back.
As the guests filed in for the cocktail reception on the back lawn, they found Lord Marthen a pleasant, welcoming host, and their suspicions began falling to the wayside as the wine took effect.
When it was time to serve dinner, the crowd was ushered inside to the dining room, and a group of servants dressed in gray linen breeches and matching tunics entered in a line, setting trays on the table and leaving silently.
The trays were heaping with roasted duck, elk and boar meats Marthen had hunted himself.
One of the servants leaned forward to set a tray directly in front of the host, and Marthen looked up, meeting the server's eyes for a brief moment. She smiled at him and stepped away.
He watched her leave the room. She looked exactly like Elayne Calderane, the youngest of the three sisters he'd been holding just upstairs from this very dining room.
"It can't be," he muttered. "They'd never dare to return here…"
Lady Elsinore raised her glass for a toast.
As she began speaking, two more servants entered with large carafes of wine, topping off everyone's glasses.
Marthen's breath caught in his chest. He would swear it was Seraphina and Adelaine Calderane, the other two sisters.
His face flushed. Then turned red with anger. He was about to stand and follow them into the kitchen, when the Lady's toast neared its end.
"… and finally, I wish to toast our generous host, Lord Harris Marthen. Always an honorable man in his dealings. Regardless of the foul rumors that have been going around recently. Cheers to Lord Marthen!"
She raised her glass, and all in the room gave out a loud "Hear, hear!" before clinking glasses and drinking their wine.
As he was about to stand again, all three of the sisters entered the dining room again with the third course, a palate cleanser of baked brie on a slice of fresh baked bread.
As Elayne was leaning in to set a plate in front of the mayor, he glanced up at her. Shock filled his eyes. He turned toward the other two sisters.
"Elayne? Adelaine? Seraphina? Is it really you?" he asked, standing and walking toward Elayne.
Elayne just smiled, before bowing and leaving the room with her sisters.
Samir waited in the kitchen, and quietly escorted the girls out the back, replacing them with three girls of similar age and complexion.
He followed them outside to the path leading up toward the noble district.
"You've done very well tonight," Samir said. "Now, stick to the woods and hurry back to Grimwatch. My men will watch out for you just in case. Phase two is about to begin, and you don't need to witness what happens next. Now, go!"
The girls nodded and ran off into the forest, heading straight for their newly adopted town.
Inside the lodge, Marthen excused himself and went to the kitchen to see what the hell was going on.