Zhentarim Instruction: An Asset at the Bridge
| Sent | Hammer 9, 1489 |
|---|---|
| From | The Zhentarim |
| To | Shade |
| Carried | Passed through The Broken Latch's channels; nothing on paper |
| Answered | Fulfilled — Bolo recruited in Session 54 |
Zhentarim Instruction: An Asset at the Bridge — the instruction the Zhentarim gave Shade during the downtime at Nuts Deep: recruit an asset at Boareskyr Bridge.
The instruction
Boareskyr Bridge is where the Trade Way crosses the Winding Water — road traffic north and south meets river traffic east and west, and the crossing sits at the edge of Elturgard's customs watch. The Black Network wanted a standing asset there: a trader who can move goods — and, when needed, people — for the Zhentarim, off the books. Publicly the Network sells caravan protection; being the largest supplier of hired hands gives it control and leverage over who moves what, and its actual freight needs movers, and officials paid to look the other way.
Outcome — completed
Fulfilled in Session 54. Shade recruited Bolo, the halfling trader who has run the bridge's midway trade for eight years — buying from caravans on one side of the customs line and selling to caravans on the other, running the market, and keeping a concealed smuggler's cache under a patch of grass beside her circus tent (spotted by Karma and Xanphina on the walk over, and confirmed by Bolo's own guilty glance). When Shade dropped the pretense — "Ah, fuck it. Yeah, actually, I work with the Zhentarim" — Bolo relaxed entirely: "The Zhentarim, they're always good in my book. What do you need?"
Terms, call-signs, and percentages were settled off-screen; word went back through The Broken Latch to Shade's Zhentarim contact. Bolo is now the Network's path through Boareskyr Bridge, and the recruitment earned Shade renown directly.
See also
- Correspondence — the campaign's letters, gathered
- The Broken Latch — Shade's crew
- Zhentarim · Shade · Bolo
- Boareskyr Bridge
- Quests · Renown Tracker