WH4.6 – Reedwatch Errand

• Suggested Level: 2–3
• Quest Giver(s): Elsbeth (Hodnet trader) or Thane Alris (Bent Willow Innkeeper)

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Summary

With all the chaos along the river and rumors of marsh creatures, local trade has grown strained. Hodnet traders are wary, and riverfolk avoid the shallows. That’s made simple errands far more valuable—and risky.

Elsbeth, a Hodnet merchant stranded in Reedwatch, asks the party to deliver a satchel of smoked fish, woven reeds, and sealed notes to her trading partner in a remote dock hut just downriver—an hour’s journey by flatboat. Seems simple… but she’s clearly anxious about something. Is it the route? Or the contents?

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Downriver (approx 4 miles from Hodnet)

Elsbeth presses the satchel into your hands with care, her knuckles white.
“It’s just a trade drop. Routine. Been doin’ it twice a month for five years.”
She glances at the cloudy sky and the reed-choked bank.
“…But if you hear whispering, don’t answer. Just keep rowing.”

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Objectives

• Deliver the satchel to Tarn Visk, Elsbeth’s contact, at the remote dock hut.
• Avoid conflict or disruption along the river.
• Optionally: Uncover what’s really going on with the satchel or Tarn.
• Return safely with confirmation (or questions)…

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Route & Encounters (Roll or Choose One)

While boating or walking the river’s edge, the party faces one event:

d6	Encounter
1	Fogbound: The river mists rise unexpectedly. DC 13 Survival or Perception to stay on course. Failure results in delay or minor hazard (exhaustion check or river hazard).
2	Whispers in the Reeds: A minor echo of WH4.5. Creeping sense of dread. DC 11 Wis save or gain 1 level of unease (Disadvantage on first combat check in next hour).
3	Bogling Shadows: One Bogling Lurker is watching from the bank. If approached, it flees—unless the party chases.
4	Fishers in Trouble: Two Reedweavers’ cousins are stuck in a flatboat caught on submerged roots. Help them, and they share gossip (about WH4.7 or WH4.8).
5	Saboteur’s Sign: The party notices bootprints and a knife stuck in a tree—someone’s been watching the trail. May hint at smuggling.
6	Tarn’s Not Alone: When the party arrives, Tarn Visk is in tense conversation with a cloaked stranger. Is it a smuggler? Cultist? Or rival trader?

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NPCs

• Elsbeth – Trade partner, worried. She plays it off as concern for the marsh—but she knows more.
• Tarn Visk – River trader and go-between. Suspicious of newcomers. If questioned, he may hint: “Some things cross the river that aren’t on any manifest.”

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Optional Combatants

Only if the route turns hostile or the party investigates a threat.

Bogling Lurker (see WH4.2–WH4.3)

• AC: 13 HP: 18
• Claw x2 or Harpoon Toss (1/day)
• Ambusher in reeds, flees if outnumbered

[Optional tie in to Zumkergrod] Rustjaw Smuggler (Human Scout)

• AC: 13 HP: 16
• Shortbow +4 (1d6+2) or Scimitar +3 (1d6+1)
• Has river tattoos or a secret Rustjaw token

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Rewards

• Successful Delivery: 10 gp from Elsbeth, plus favor
• Extra Reward: If players discover something suspicious (e.g., cult documents or smuggling ties), they may earn a new hook or a hidden coin pouch (+15 gp)
• Favor from the Reedweavers: If they assist the stranded cousins (Encounter #4), they’re gifted a woven charm that provides advantage on the next Navigation check in marsh terrain

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Lore Payoffs

• Foreshadowing: The cloaked figure or strange conversation with Tarn may directly tie into WH4.8 – Marsh Predator or hint at cult/smuggler entanglement.
• Faction Development: Rustjaw Circle may be using this route as a minor supply line.
  • Option 1: Neutral Smuggler – Tied to Rustjaw Circle
    The smuggler is from the Rustjaw Circle and is negotiating a gray-market trade route—not malicious, but secretive.
    Tarn: “…I said not during daylight. I run honest business when the sun’s out.”
    Smuggler (low voice): “No one honest uses the east bend landing anymore. Not with fishers snooping. You want it quiet, you pay double.”
    The smuggler pulls a small pouch and something flat—wrapped in oilskin—from his cloak. It clinks softly. You can’t make out the symbol pressed into the wax seal.
    Tarn: “If this gets back to Elsbeth—”
    Smuggler: “It won’t. Unless you grow a conscience.”
    • Players who interrupt may spook the smuggler.
    • Players who eavesdrop (DC 12 Stealth or Perception) can learn of the Rustjaw route.
  • Option 2: Cult Courier – Echoes of the Eye
    This conversation is tied to EEG cult activities—quiet chaos spreading via mundane routes. The smuggler may be an acolyte or courier for cultist Varag Thul’s operations.
    Smuggler: “…and the tide-carver said it should arrive tonight. Three bundles. No tampering.”
    Tarn: “What the hell is a ‘tide-carver’? This wasn’t part of the deal. You said incense and coin.”
    Smuggler: “There is no deal. There is only the offering.”
    The cloaked figure turns slightly—you glimpse a faint swirl of red embroidered into the hem of their cloak. Not local craft. Something older. Something deliberate.
    • This ties directly into WH4.8 – Marsh Predator or even WH4.7’s chaos foreshadowing.
    • Interruption leads to a threat and possibly combat.
      Tracking them could lead to a riverside altar or offering site.
  • Option 3: Coin and Threat – Simple Greed with Tension
    Tarn may be ferrying illicit goods, and the smuggler is pushing harder than he wants.
    Smuggler: “You’ll take the crate. Tonight. You know the path.”
    Tarn: “I said no more runs. Too many eyes in Reedwatch now.”
    Smuggler (smirking): “Then we’ll pay someone else. And you’ll still owe us the toll.”
    He places a small carved stone on the table. Shaped like a fishhook, but twisted at the neck.
    • Players might recognize the symbol later in a Rustjaw hideout or cult lair.
    • Tarn may beg them not to tell Elsbeth if confronted—offering them hush money or trade favors.