Meeting Danum Karland

Scene 1 — Encounter

Contract Negotiation & Route Briefing

The deafening screech of water-driven gang-saws echoing across the timber yard abruptly softens as you step into Danum Karland’s riverfront office. Heavy darkwood beams frame wide windows overlooking the intake bays of Profit's Flow, where floating logs lie anchored against the piers. Behind a sturdy oak desk covered in timber ledgers and river charts stands Danum Karland. His face is weathered by decades on the river, his expression grim as he runs a callous-rough hand over a thick slab of freshly sawn darkwood—its grain unnaturally stained with an oily, foul-smelling black sap that smells of wet ash and stagnant earth.

Danum Karland (LN male human expert/ranger) does not waste time on pleasantries. As the owner of Old Macridi’s primary sawmill, he is a pragmatic, straight-talking frontier veteran who respects competence over corporate titles. He slaps the stained board with an open palm as you enter.

"Look at this damn wood. Grain's choked with black bile and it turns the sawblades to dull scrap in three passes. The high-and-mighty Guildmasters up in New Macridi say it's just a localized blight on the upriver runs, but they're blind fools. Reiver's Right went dead silent four days ago. New Macridi thinks because it's downriver, it doesn't matter to our timber supply. They don't know the forest like I do—the roots run deep and connected beneath the mud. If Reiver's Right is rotting from below, the whole basin is in danger. I need a crew with sharp steel and no corporate leash to head downriver and bring me back the truth."

Contract Terms

Advance Payment: 15 gp upfront for supplies and preparations in Old Macridi.
Completion Bounty: 100 gp upon returning with definitive proof of what happened to the workforce at Reiver's Right.
Special Provision: Full reimbursement for any anti-blight supplies or medical preparations purchased from local proprietors.

Encounter Challenges

Challenge 1: Negotiating the Contract Terms

Primary CheckDiplomacy or Society DC 17

The party attempts to leverage their unique position as independent contractors to secure better equipment or additional hazard pay from Danum before setting off downriver.

Critical Success Danum is thoroughly impressed by the party's professional acumen. He increases the completion bounty to 140 gp and writes a personal credit voucher for Morwenna at the Iron-Root Apothecary, covering up to 10 gp in free health supplies.

Success Danum agrees to throw in two river-barge transport tokens, securing free passage downriver if the party manages to hire local river transport.

Failure Danum stands firm on his original offer of 100 gp, citing tight mill margins caused by damaged equipment.

Critical Failure Danum grows frustrated by what he perceives as mercenary greed during a town crisis, reducing the upfront advance to 10 gp.

Challenge 2: Pressing for Historic Lore

Primary CheckHistory or Nature DC 18

The party asks Danum about the history of Reiver's Right, probing his memory for details regarding the camp's dark past and infamous previous disaster.

Critical Success Danum reveals that Reiver's Right is named after an ancient Macridi Blade warlord and sits directly atop pre-Earthfall burial mounds. He recalls that during the infamous incident decades ago when a previous crew vanished overnight, survivors spoke of severe subterranean shifts and crimson fluid bubbling up from subterranean fissures.

Success Danum explains that Reiver's Right was reclaimed and put back into service to support fifty workers, but notes that its position on the river bluffs makes it prone to strange ground tremors and root-collapses.

Failure Danum provides only basic operational details about the camp's layout, unable to recall specific historical records.

Critical Failure Danum misinterprets the query as hesitation, warning the party that if they are too afraid of frontier superstitions, he will find another crew.

"One last piece of advice—don't plan on walking the bluff trails unless you fancy a three-day slog through overgrown brambles and hostile fey groves. Your best bet for fast travel is by water. Head down to The Gilded Ledger Tavern near the southern gate road. There's a river barge captain, Captain Hake, who's currently drowning his sorrows at the bar. His flatbottom barge is the only ride leaving town downriver for the next several days. If you can convince or pay him to take you, you'll be at Reiver's Right in a fraction of the time. If you miss him, your only alternative is trekking out along the North Road on foot, which will cost you precious time and test your steel against the forest trail."