Episode 2, Part 3: Kira

The team, having accepted this new Secret Squirrel mission is briefed by Tsorvano. He informs them that Halmaro’s daughter Kira, the bride-to-be, is supposedly with the caravan but in reality her carriage is empty. The characters are being sent out to find her. 

Kira

Kira is 18 years old, blue-black hair and brown eyes. She's about 5' 6", 125 lbs and is gorgeous with a deadly, graceful, athletic kind of way about her.

Kira was a student at an abbey school at Urlo, studying courtly arts, etiquette, and the Mashandi language and culture. Kira wanted to go out and do things, and staying cooped up in school, even if it meant she got to marry a rich prince, was torture.

One day she disappeared. The brothers and sisters of the abbey searched for her fruitlessly. Her bed hadn’t been slept in and there were no signs of a struggle, so they had no idea what had happened – until a ransom note appeared on the abbey’s front door one morning. HELP, the note read. I HAVE BEEN CAPTURED BY BANDITS. THEY WANT $50,000 TO RELEASE ME. LIGHT TWO FIRES ON THE HILL NEAR THE RING OF OAK TREES JUST NORTH OF THE BANDOTHRU RIVER. HURRY. The note was signed by Kira, and so far as anyone can tell was in Kira’s script.

Halmaro is suspicious; the note looks genuine but he has learned to be cautious of anything having to do with both Kira and money. When the caravan gets near the Bandothru (which is between Narhanha and Marshanda), he wants the PCs to investigate and see if they can find the bandits. Has Kira been kidnapped or did she just run away? If she has been kidnapped and they can rescue her without paying the ransom, so much the better; otherwise they will be deputized to pay the ransom and retrieve Kira.

The characters are to travel through Satrhan Pass, and from there follow the road down to the Bandothru and the rendezvous point. They will be given $500 for expenses, but will be expected to use it wisely and account for it upon returning. Their mission is to find out if the bandits really have Kira, if she’s all right, and to rescue her if they can. If necessary, they are to make arrangements for the ransom. 

Snatch and Grab

The team (which is unofficially being called Strike Force Alpha) manages to stealthily find the camp and conducts a well planned raid, greatly aided by the silencing power of their new friend, Noah and the cooperation of Dee. They rescue Kira handily though it's quite a ride back. 

The trip back is 3.5 days. Almost 4. Long. Days. During the trip back, she exhibits all of her character flaws. She is glad to be out of the brigand’s camp, but the word “grateful” does not describe her attitude. Her saddle is uncomfortable, she hates the weather, she’s glad to get away from Karhan (the bandit leader we just left) because he turned out to be so boring, she’s been wearing this same outfit “forever,” she needs a maid to do her hair, and on and on.

Asharra spends as little time around her as possible (she consistently does roving scout maneuvers) because it's rather obvious that Kira's jealous of anyone that could be reasonably attractive or of possible competition for the "Beautiful Deadly Female Fighter" award. That, combined with her stubborn temper makes dealing with her a little challenging and difficult to take. 

Seductions

On the way back, Kira attempts her feminine wiles first on Dee, but Asharra pulls her to the side and whatever conversation happened serves to deter Kira from making any further moves on Dee, and she has begun to give Asharra the cold shoulder (Asharra clearly doesn't care). She then turns her attention to Alex who separates the two of them from the rest of the team and takes Kira ahead of the group. Alex becomes infatuated with her and she convinces him to take her away to someplace else, but Blink manages a caveat appearance, just long enough to persuade Alex that it might be a bad idea.

Before they get back to the caravan, Alex informs the team that it would be wise to avoid sharing all of the little details of the rescue to anyone, not even Halmaro. Don't tell about specific abilities that were used. They stress that the mission was carried out covertly, exploiting the opportunities made available by very careful recon.

Once Kira gets back to the caravan there will be a big, happy family reunion. Halmaro splits $5,000 among the PCs ($1,000 each)! Kira herself will be very happy for a day or two and then get bored with the whole routine.

Halmaro indicates that he is rather happy with the PCs work and re-extends his offer to work for him (which, of course, they turn down).