Session 0
The taxman (Alastar) appear and begins to get to know the people of the town as well as the local economy, including how adventurers stimulate it. He's charismatic and likable and does not let on that he plans to tax everyone. He claims that construction workers from the fief are coming in a few days, but he's arrived ahead of time to really get a feel for the town.
The leader of the local church (unofficial) - Amy - introduces herself more formally and tells the group that he's a charismatic bastard and has been known to con others. Nothing that would get him outright killed, but he's dangerous given that he's known to work for the local fief. She doesn't trust him. It is possible that she is jealous that she's spent so much time helping the community, but can't compete with someone of his resources.
Claire's husband tells her that one of their children hasn't been seen all day - they've been off playing and didn't come home for dinner. Several other villagers have also gone missing in the last few days, mostly just local people not involved with trade so no one outside of locals really care. The Town Crier mentions this as a brief local news segment of his morning spiel.
Alastar is saddened to hear about the missing townsfolk and offers to pay Brigh to highlight the disurbing news, but does not have the authority or resources to help further. At least not until the workers arrive.
Amy is horrified by the news, especially since some of those under her care have not been here for a week or more. She hoped they had found some luck, but is now worried they may be among the first. She has few things of monetary value to offer, but does send her acolyte Kakko and gives amulets of blessing to whoever wants one.
Outside of town - none of the adventurers are interested in helping without some kind of reward - by a day or more, they find a camp situated outside some mostly intact ruins. It's relatively easy to identify the leader.
The bandits have been around for a few months. They started going after trade caravans, but they were too well-guarded and the bandits lost a lot of their numbers for little gain. They stumbled on these ruins and tried to use this as either a headquarters or some riches. The leader found an artifact and became different... more obsessed with murder. And ordered his minions to find sacrifices to feed his new hobby, or become the sacrifices themselves.
The second-in-command saw what happened to those who attempted to flee - they were killed without mercy - and has been sending some into the town to collect offerings. He's begun to strengthen the bandits on his own in an attempt to either overthrow the leader or just gain more power.
Claire's child, as well as a few of the younger victims, are kept secluded from the sacrifices. They want to raise them to be bandits and join the crew. The sacrifices are in a large enclosure near the ruins so the leader can access them at any time he chooses.
The ruins themselves are a maze filled with traps, most of them in disrepair. The leader lives further back in the cave, behind several traps he has yet to trigger. It is likely that getting rid of the bandits but leaving him here will cause him to get more aggressive and attack directly.
Hangman's Last Laugh: corpse is tied up and hung, with a small sign around their neck. Getting closer to read the sign: "Die, townies, die!" likely provokes a tripwire (Difficulty 3 Perception to see), which drops the body and releases a poison into the air (Difficulty 3 Might Defense or move down one track on the).
Jump Trick: Floor has an illusion of a pit with the broken remains of a bridge leading to a small tunnel on the other side. The gap appears to be 8 feet across, and a wall of force blocks the tunnel itself. Characters that try to jump the gap take 1 damage for every difficulty they pass as they slam into the wall. Anyone trying to test the bridge feels it's sturdy. The wall has a suppression trigger - "Challenge the Unwilling" disables the effect for 2 rounds. A Difficulty 4 Listen can reveal the trigger word if it is spoken. Behind the cavern is a device maintaining the effect (Difficulty 4 Spot) as well as several crystalline objects, presumably a power source.
Sower of Chaos: A sigil on the door entering into the leader's room is glowing. The first character to touch the sigil hears what they believe to be the vocie of God, saying: "These people you are with: Do not trust them. They have brought you here as a tribute."