On the side of the road, the PCs find the dead body of a messenger laying face down in a ditch. The man appears to have been dead for about a day, and arrows are jutting out of his back. There is nothing of value on the dead man except for a scroll clutched in his outstretched right hand. Inspecting the scroll reveals that it is a message written by the man, Wilfrid Kranz, to his liege, Lord Volkmar.
The letter details that Wilfrid has apprehended intelligence that a gang of bandits heading toward a spot somewhere to the southeast where they believe treasure is buried, and he intends to warn the Lord of their movements as soon as possible. In Wilfrid's words, they must make haste to send the Lord's forces to apprehend the bandits. Wilfrid also notes that such treasure would be a boon to the fief's riches, and that they may as well get to it first. Lastly, Wilfrid includes a map to a narrow canyon where the treasure is supposed to be buried beneath a boulder, with directions from Volkmar's manor. The site where Wilfrid was found dead appears to be halfway between the manor and the canyon.
Most players will likely see this as a cue to either warn Volkmar in his dead messenger's stead, or attempt to seek out the canyon themselves in search of the treasure. However, this is a trap. A DC 20 Investigation check will note that the ink on the scroll still seems fairly fresh - as though it was only written hours ago, even though Wilfrid has obviously been dead for longer than that. This is because the bandits killed Wilfrid and apprehended his message before replacing it with a decoy, then dumped the body on the side of the road in the hopes that someone would report it back to Volkmar. In fact, the map will actually lead pursuers right into a bandit ambush!
If the PCs decide to follow the trail to Volkmar's manor and present him with the message, he will be alarmed by the news of Wilfrid's death, and insist that they heed his warning. If the PCs agree to go to the canyon, he will reward them each with 150 GP from his treasury upon their return, and promises them a cut of any treasure discovered. He will also send three guards to accompany them.
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The canyon has the following terrain features:
A. Rocky walls, 60 feet high (High Ground, Impassible, Ledge, Sheer)
B. Slopes (High Ground, Steep)
C. Bushes (Concealing)
D. Boulder (Climbable, Concealing, Total Cover, High Ground, Ledge)
When the PCs arrive, two bandits will be hiding in the bushes atop each cliff, while another four, plus a bandit captain, are hiding in the bushes around the boulder below. Roll Stealth against the PCs' passive Perception to see if the bandits hide successfully; remember that they have Advantage thanks to the Concealing bushes. As soon as the PCs approach the boulder, the bandits on the cliffs will open fire on them, while the others will engage them in melee.
Each group of bandits will fight until they drop to half strength; after that, they start making morale checks each turn. This is in regards to each group, not altogether - for example, if one of the two bandits on the north cliff dies but no one on the ground dies, the remaining bandit on the north cliff starts making morale checks, but the ones on the ground will be unaffected. If the bandit captain is alive, all bandits will have Advantage on their morale checks.
If the PCs search under the boulder, they will find nothing there. However, they may still be able to get information from any bandits that surrender. They will explain they belong to a gang called the Bloody Blades, working for a woman named Matilda the Red. She is now in possession of the real letter from Wilfrid, with the real map to the treasure. Now, the PCs might need to go after her to find the treasure's whereabouts...assuming she hasn't already gotten to it!
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