Coldmoat, 598 A.C

[Ser Kenneth Coyn]

A Small Keep, Coldmoat is the ancestral home of House Webber known for a number of famous generals and tacticians.

[Ser Kenneth Coyn]

Kenneth and Jonathon arrive in Coldmoat with the little girl they rescued from the bandits.

[The Stranger]

They are stopped by two guardsmen atop the gatehouse who level crossbows at them.

"Hail who do you be?" The one wearing a kettle helm yells.

[Ser Kenneth Coyn]

"This is Ser Kenneth Coyn and I am the Astonishing Jonathon Biggs, we rescued Lord Webber's daughter," the Dwarf shouts up to the gatehouse.

[The Stranger]

There is a brief delay, and then the porticullis is raised.

[Ser Kenneth Coyn]

Ser Kenneth and the Dwarf enter the gate house with the Lady Webber. They wait for the men at arms to offer further instructions.

[The Stranger]

The two unlikely heroes are eventually escorted into the main hall, where a thin, grey looking man is seated on a high backed wooden chair. When he sees the little girl, he rises, and she runs to him and hugs his legs. They embrace, talking quietly for several minutes, and ignore Kenneth and Jonathan for the moment.

Eventually, Kenneth feels a tug on his sleeve, and he recognizes the herald which they saw earlier.

"If you'll come with me, milord has authorized for me to make payment."

[Ser Kenneth Coyn]

"Bet you didn't expect to see us again so soon," the Dwarf said to the hearld sure that the man would remember the Astonishing Jonathon Biggs and Ser Kenneth.

Kenneth said nothing but smiled as the little girl was reunited with her Lord Father. He turned and followed the Herald and the Dwarf.

[The Stranger]

"Your appearance was quite timely," The herald replied, sounding unimpressed. The man opened a desk and removed a pouch of coins, removing one, and showing Kenneth that it was gold.

[Ser Kenneth Coyn]

"What do you know of these bandits, the ones that took Lord Webber's little girl?" the Knight asked. "There was over one hundred of them and they were well equipped," Kenneth added taking the pouch from the herald.

It was heavy to his touch and more gold than the landless knight had seen in his previous 18 years combined.

[The Stranger]

"The peasants around here call them the Thorns," the heraldry replied. "They spread their net fairly far in the Mander and across the river here in Far Reach. There are many of them, indeed. I fear they could burn Coldmoat, if they all came together with the will to do so."

[Ser Kenneth Coyn]

"So the camp I stumbled upon was just one of many?" Kenneth asked surprised. "They seem a dire threat why haven't the Lords acted on them, concerns with irritating the Mander Lords?"

[The Stranger]

"They pick their targets well, and do not stay long in one place, frequently crossing borders the lands of one lord to the next."

[Ser Kenneth Coyn]

Kenneth nodded, thinking back to the semi-permenant wooden buildings that he saw while in the bandits camp. "Would I be right in assuming that their would be a very sizable reward in whatever company vanquished these miscreants?"

[The Stranger]

"I don't know if there is a formal reward," the man replied, "Lord Webber has said nothing on that subject to me."