As the morning light broke the sky, Fern woke up feeling better than when he went to sleep. Fern quickly checked the day's weather using a small amount of his druidic magic. A small orb appeared in his hand and a tiny sun was shinning at the top of it for thirty seconds before showing a three-quarter moon. After he verified the weather he proceeded downstairs to wait for everyone else. He waited for at most a half an hour, the rest of the group found their way into the common area. "Shall we?" Gene asked and we all leave the inn.

The journey towards the bridge was uneventful. They saw people setting up stalls and preparing for the day's work. As the sun continued to rise higher in the sky, the Northern Bridge appeared more magnificent than Fern remembered it being yesterday. Dew dripped off the leaves of the trees and gently dropped on the feathers of birds allowing them to wake up. Song soon filled the air, better than the music they had to listen to last night, as they traveled on the long road towards the north. Silence lingered between them and caused some eerie tension. Thoughts of being imprisoned weighed on their minds if they failed.

Two figures could be seen in the distance standing maybe thirty feet from the bridge on either side of the path. Gene continued walking forward as Fern heard some of the Jellybeans slip into the treeline but neither men looked back as to not give away their team’s position. As the two approached ten feet from the men, they move towards the adventures. "What business do you have here?" the shorter man said in a commanding voice.

"We are here to see Shield or at least I am," Gene stated.

"Never heard of that guy before," the taller one chuckled. That lie was so thin it would give parchment a run for its copper.

“I'm sure," Fern interrupted. "We have business with the guy so let's hurry this up." The short one tilted his head to the side quickly and a third figure darted from by the bridge and disappeared under it. Gene got ready for an attack, waiting for whatever that other humanoid was doing under the bridge.

After a few minutes, that man returned and made strange gestures with his hands. "You may see Shield," laughed the taller man. "Of course you will do so unarmed. Walk forward for inspection.”

The monk turned to his team and presented his plan, "Fern and I will go meet Shield. I decided this because I excel in unarmed combat and Fern can change into a bear. If something goes wrong he will change into a bear and I will hop on his back and we'll get out of there. Aliya, I need you ready to heal us if something goes wrong and the rest of you are on ranged support if we need to escape."

"That sounds like a great idea," agreed Aliya. Her friend, Kira also agreed. Ciylia nodded then went into the forest on the side of the road. Meowlynn still a bit hungover was just glad she didn't have to do much.

Moving forward, Gene raised his hands in the air and allowed the men to inspect him for weapons. Fern stepped up behind him and did the same before they followed the third person under the bridge. The path he led them down was to the east of the giant bridge. It went a short distance before curving under the stone and wood rainbow.

A horde of men were sitting around playing various games and not paying attention to them. Most of the tents looked extremely basic and didn't show signs of activity. One tent stood out, it was slightly taller than the rest and was a dark purple instead of the earthy grays and browns of the other tents. Next to that tent was a man looking like he was giving three men orders.

Gene and Fern were brought to him but were surprised by his appearance. He had short messy brown hair with a scruffy beard on his plain and kind face. He was a shorter human male wearing a white long-sleeved shirt with a dull red vest, generic brown slacks with a basic black belt, and matching black boots. He looked at them with his warm hazel eyes as they approached, needless to say, his basic and gentle appearance was not what Fern was expecting. "How may I help the Jellybeans?" the man asked in a smooth and soft voice.

"How do you know who we are?" asked Fern. The young half-elf couldn't recall ever meeting this man.

"I like to keep tabs on potential partners or problems," responded Shield. "Anyways, you are here for business, are you not?"

"We are here to ask why you had Blair Cormund killed," Gene stated.

A small smile crept across the man's face. "Why do you think I had anything to do with what happened?”

"I know you hired an assassin to kill him and leave the body where it could be found," the monk snapped back.

"Oh? How do you know that?" The smile against the criminal's face became even bigger.

"The assassin told me himself that you hired him.”Fern didn't know it but that was a secret that wasn't supposed to be told. If he had known then maybe he would have said something to stop his leader from offering up the poor thief.

"I see. It's quite a shame that secrecy is hard to keep. I'll have to improve that later." Shield tapped on his chin thinking, "Well since you already know and are already here, I may as well tell you that someone hired us for the job.”

"Who hired you?" Ferns asked in frustration.

"Asking is certainly free," Shield chuckled "But information is not. If you wish to know that, you'll have to pay me a thousand gold or do a task for me first."

"Why would we do a job for you?" inquired Gene. "What's to stop us from reporting you to the authorities?"

"There are a few reasons you can't in fact," replied the man. "First, we are outside of Tormund's borders, so they don't bother us. Another is that you lack proof I had any involvement in it because your only proof is a man that you haven't already turned in or reported. So if for some odd reason you are protecting him or lack the investigative skills to find him yourself you'll need my information." He briefly paused before continuing, seeming like he was gauging their reactions. "Now I can see that you are honest and hard-working people as you have found your way to me, so I am offering you a chance to do a task for me and continue to live your lives as great citizens."

"What task would that be?" the half-elf asked.

"Hmm, I'm a generous man," said Shield smiling to himself. "I'll give you two options. The first is, I need people to go into the forest not far from here and clear out whatever is interrupting my trading route. I've had too many shipments slowed or gone missing.”

Gene stared him in eyes before speaking, "And what is the other task?”

"Oh, that is to kill off some of my competition.”

"What if we do both?" Fern asked thinking that perhaps the could receive some sort of reward that wasn't just information.

"Then you do both. You won't get anything extra. So, which one will it be?"

Gene pulled Fern aside for a moment and whispered, "I don't want to kill anyone for this guy.”

"Me neither," he replied. "Option A sounds good.”

They nodded in approval, Gene walked to Shield and straighten up. "Is there anything from stopping us from refusing you deal," the leader of the Jellybeans asked.

"None at all, but just know that I heard about the body you are hiding and word of it may find its way to the guard."

"How did you hear about that?!" exclaimed Fern.

"I have a fantastic network. It's the same way I knew you were. So it would be in everyone's best interest to help each other instead of trying to play a cat and mouse game that ends with you choking to death in the trap." Shield stood tall, knowing that he had these people right where he wanted them.

"The first choice sounds up our alley," said Gene.

"Very good, return when you have completed the task. I'll have someone show you the path. Please, excuse me. Oh and remember, I'm always watching you." At that moment his right eye turned from hazel to yellow then shifted back. The druid thought he must have been seeing things but it still creeped him out. Fern and Gene are escorted away from the bridge and back to the main road.

"The path is about two hundred paces down the road on the east side, now shove off," instructed a man before he walked back to his post and they walked back to their team.

"How did it go?" Aliya questioned as they rejoined the group.

"He said someone hired him and his men for the job and will only tell us who if we complete a task for him," Gene stated.

"And what task do we need to do for a criminal?" Kira yelled in her tiny voice. "Why not just turn him in and save ourselves the trouble?"

Gene looked at her, "He told us we are being watched closely right now. I believe that is why this task is within eyesight of the bridge." He sighed in frustration, "Plus they outnumber us greatly and I noticed a fair bit of archers."

"Also he knows about the body at the Home Inn and about us," added Fern. "He said if we refused to help him, he'll tell the guards we have the corpse. Since we have no proof of his involvement, we are as good as dead."

The halfling clenched her fist in anger, "In my experience if there are these many rats holed up in a place then the authorities do know about them or probably use them." Kira was fuming with hate. "Fine! We'll solve this ourselves then expose those poisonous officials and this gang!"

"Exactly what do we have to do for him," interrupted Meowlynn. "I'm okay with anything as long as I don't have to work too hard."

"We need to clear a forest trail of pests and then he'll help us," said Fern.

"I can guide us through the forest," chimed in Cilyia. "It's my favourite terrain you know.”

"It's mine too," mumbled Kira. "I'm not surprised someone who use to be in a thieves guild doesn't even blink at helping scum like him." The elven ranger ignored her halfling counterpart.

"I also don't like this as well," said Aliya. "But I think it's what we have to do to live and that is more important to me than dying because we did nothing."

"Perhaps if you would have captured that assassin we wouldn't be in this mess at all," remarked Kira. Aliya hung her head low and looked very guilty for some reason. Fern thought that if she could have she would have caught the man. He just happened to escape so she didn't need to feel down.

"Both of you can lead the way," Gene said with a smile and both Cilyia and Kira took the lead. After a short walk, they found the forest trail that Shield had talked about. The two rangers went ahead of rest and scouted for danger as well as the source of the disturbance on the trail. They cautiously walked along the faint dirt path while waiting for a report from the scouts.

Two hours passed before Cilyia and Kira returned saying they found a clearing with some abandoned carriages and a few bodies. They guided the group to a clearing where two carriages had been left to rot and three human bodies in different locations, that looked like they were been eaten by the five wolves laying in the center.

"Looks like we have found the problem," Aliya said. A deja vu feeling passed over Fern as this was extremely similar to what he just did yesterday morning. Stopping wolves from attacking people and carriages is exactly what the group had just done before this whole mess. Did these thugs hear that they just completed such a job? While Fern stood there thinking about yesterday and how Shield could know who they were, Cilyia's seductive voice broke his concentration.

"So how are we going to take care of them?”

"We could just set them on fire," Meowlynn suggested as a small spark of flame danced between her fingertips.

"Well I know how to talk to animals," the halfling said. "I could try to convince them to go somewhere else.”

"I can become a wolf and I'll lure them over here." Before anyone could protest, Fern turned into a gray wolf mirroring the image of one of the wolves in the clearing. Gene poured a green ink onto his fur so they knew which one was Fern.

The new wolf walked into the open with a fake limp in his leg. Cilyia and Kira took off in two different directions along the treeline to gain a better vantage point. Peaking out from behind a tree, Gene could see Fern whimper as a bigger wolf growled and barked at him.

"Who are you?" The biggest wolf growled at Fern.

"I was attacked by adventures," Fern whimpered. "I need help getting the food they tried to steal from me.”

"Are they strong?”

"Not strong enough to kill me," barked Fern. "It will be no problem for a strong wolf like yourself”

"Why do you talk like a human?”

"Because my den is near a human settlement," the fake wolf lied.

"Fine, show us to the food."

As the wolves approached the treeline the big one stopped, sniffed a couple of times and then howled. Hearing this Fern turned around and bit at him, Gene ran out to assist him. Two wolves dashed to help their alpha, while the other two wolves started smelling the air and moved towards the hidden Jellybeans.

A wolf yelped as an arrow found its way into the side of the beast. Fern and Gene were attacked by the small group in front of them. None of their bites touched Gene as he swatted them in the face but one of the bites from the alpha dug into Fern’s canine shoulder and ripped a chunk of flesh out. Fern lashed out at the bigger wolf and only managed to tear some skin from its front left leg.

An arrow zoomed from the opposite direction of the first arrow and cut the belly of a wolf before it disappeared into the forest. Aliya ran out of a bush and flanked the wolf to Gene's right and cracked it in the face with her war hammer. It shook its head and growled at her, blood pouring from its mouth. Fire streaked through the air and hit Aliya. She screamed in pain before cussing at the elegant wizard, "Watch where you are fucking aiming!”

Another arrow came from the trees where Cilyia hid and pierced the neck of the wolf, with an arrow already in its side, ending its life. Seeing an injured target, the wolf with a sliced belly locked its eyes on the roasting gnome. It readied its pounce as another arrow came from the bushes and barely missed its skull. The wolf jumped at Aliya as she turned and smashed it with a fury that matched her current flaming appearance. The neck snapped in an unnatural direction before it tumbled across the dirt. Aliya threw herself on the ground and began rolling to extinguish the flames. As the final flame was removed from her body she passed out.

The alpha wolf snapped at Gene but missed again. Fern took this opportunity to get low and lunged at its throat. His teeth sank in and he bit down with all his might before taking a huge piece of meat from the wolf leader. Red sprayed out from the fatal wound, covering Fern's face. The leader collapsed and the druid backed away to shake the blood from his eyes.

One of the two remaining wolves tried to take advantage of Fern's temporary blindness and snapped at him. It missed and Gene raised his foot and slammed his heel on the top of its head. As the head of this beast hit the ground Gene felt the skull break under the force allowing his foot to rest on the soft matter underneath.

Gene moved his foot off its head and twisted towards the last wolf and performed a snap kick under its chin. Using the last of its pride, the wolf attacked Gene at the same time but Gene's foot connected before its fangs could reach him. The impact from the kick caused the wolf's head to arc all the way back and allowed the top of its head to go flat against its spine. As it fell over on the ground, slow clapping echoed through the forest and laughter followed after it.

"I'm glad you can handle simple tasks. It is good knowledge for future business." Shield emerged from the trees behind the carriages. "We staged this whole thing to see if you are trustworthy in any way. You of course never thought about running away, just how stupid are you guys?”Again the man paused, "Not that it would have helped, I would have killed you on principle. I hate people who go back on their word."

"We have completed your test," Gene shouted. "Now tell us who hired you to kill Blair Cormund.”

A gentle smile formed on his plain face. "The head guard of the Bruntworth estate came to us with a box filled with gold and the job request. Obviously, we took the contract and kept it a secret for the most part it seems." He sighed, "There was a small breach in that contract that I'll have to fix later but other than that, all other evidence has been destroyed to avoid complications.”

"Is that all?" Kira's quiet voice asked.

"That is all. You have your information, you can now continue your trivial investigation." They all turned to leave, "I hope you don't mind but I would prefer if we left first. Also, try to keep your noses out of my business. I was able to create this task with the remainder of the wolves I had, no thanks to you. Since you were a pest and killed my investment I have been keeping an eye on you and will continue to do so."

"What do mean, killed your investment?" The halfling woman had to know how she hurt Shield. Maybe so she could try to do more of it in the future, whatever it was.

"The wolves, of course," Shield replied coldly. "They were a great way to get profits from those merchants and open the roads for myself. If you do something like that again, I'll be sure to make you suffer for it. I'm kind so I'll let the first slight against me go unpunished." Then the gang leader and his men melted back into the shadows leaving the Jellybeans alone.

This was Fern's first big kill and it excited so he had to come down from that high. Last time they fought wolves, he stuck to being support. Fern was thrilled that he could be useful in many ways and that he thought of the plan all by himself.

"Now we know who hired him, we can continue our investigation," Aliya said still treating her burns. The half-elf went to help her as well since he also had some healing magic.

"Yes, let's do it tomorrow morning," Gene stated. "Rest could do us some good and it's getting late." The autumn sun had almost fully set giving the Northern Bridge a fiery backdrop. Walking back Fern tried to take in Tormund's twilight beauty before they arrived at the Home Inn.

Ken sat behind the bar counter, stress running across his face. "Don't worry Ken, we should have this case solved by the end of tomorrow," Gene said.

“That's great to hear," he muttered. "I'm afraid tomorrow is our last possible day before guards swarm my inn. I'll prepare you some dinner." He went into the kitchen and brought the group out plates of meat, eggs, some bread, a few slices of his finest cheese, and some mugs of ale. They gladly devoured their meals with the silent promise to save their newfound home. Fern chugged his pint of ale, walked upstairs to his room, and drifted to sleep determined for tomorrow.