“By way of public notice:

Bandits operating in and around the settlement of Moradu under the name “The Merry Trapaceiros” are believed to have taken Baron Matrim Elfonce hostage. Eyewitness reports describe a band of at least five staging an ambush on the Baron’s wagon, whereupon they vanished deep into the untamed forest.

A bounty has been placed on the heads of these base knaves of 100 gold per with a bonus of 300 gold for the leader of the band, Farooq Masquat. Bounties collectable only upon the safe delivery of Baron Elfonce and proof of kill. Be advised that these rogues are considered a great threat to the safety of the land and should thus be handled with utmost care.

Local aldermen have been authorized to pay the sum of this contract upon completion.

By authority of the Royal Chambers of Salasandra; Eurynomea Xanthippe Secretary of State”

"The Merry Trapaceiros" was a bounty posted on the Moradu Job Board in the year 3'2071 by the Gallacão Secretary of State Eurynomea Xanthippe. This job was accepted by the AAA Fixers For You, but was not formally completed as the brigand group The Trapaceiros turned themselves in for sentencing in Salasandra. Regardless of the status of the bounty, a full account of their effort was given to Secretary Xanthippe when she came north to meet the band of Fixers.

While travelling through the Lordless Lands, a rich and influential noble from the Royal City, Matrim Elfonce, was kidnapped by a group of bandits. With great urgency, a bounty was posted on job boards in the Northern lands to both dispatch the thugs and safely retrieve the Baron. The Triple-A's accepted this job, which promised a considerable reward, from the Moradu job board.

Seeking information about the Trapaceiros, the Triple-A's first visited The Shallow Pull, the village tavern to see if they could get some information. They were all quite surprised to find that rather than being feared as common thugs, the Trapaceiros were revered as folk heroes; only stealing from those of means and contributing largely to charities in the region. A charismatic man at the bar named Dodger informed the Fixers that the Trapaceiros would never intentionally kidnap or ransom anyone, and if they wished to get the full story, they should seek the brigand's camp deep in The Loathewood.

Navigating the labyrinthian, hostile woodlands, the Fixers eventually came upon the camp of the wanted criminals. Surprisingly, rather than being met with hostility, the Trapaceiros invited the Fixers to join them at their camp where they were informed of the predicament they faced: the brigands had heard of a wealthy convoy passing through small towns in the north, and they eagerly set up and ambush on the Kasman Road and awaited the wagon train. They had no intentions to take a hostage or ransom a noble, they simply wished to relieve the wealthy of some treasure and send them back to the capital.

While searching the caravan of the Baron Matrim, they were horrified to discover that he had a captive child in a trunk. Unsure what to do, the gang panicked and brought the noble back to their camp after hearing the account of the boy in the trunk. Apparently, the Baron had been prowling the rural settlements and choosing children from some of the more desperate villages. These children were said to have been selected to work in at the Baron's estate. These children were never seen again.

Half of the group held the belief that releasing the Baron to face 'justice' in Salasandra would be fruitless, and within time he would be back to his vile ways. The other half of the gang insisted it wasn't their place to administer judgement and to execute a noble would also mean death for them. Aware of the bounty placed on their heads, the Trapaceiros didn't resist, but asked for the Fixers to aid in their moral conundrum.

Having heard from the bandits, from the boy - who also informed the group that his older brother Argus Iarr was also kidnapped by the Baron, and from the Baron himself, the Triple-A's were as equally vexed as to what to do. Where the Fixer's account differs from the confessions of the Trapaceiros, is that the Fixers brazenly admit that a member of their band, Gordo Bloodfury, grew tired of weighing morality and took it upon himself to slay the wicked man.

According to the accounts of both the Trapaceiros and the Triple-A's, the Baron revealed his true form to be that of a monstrous parasitic beast; one that feasts on the blood of the young. In a desperate battle, the Fixers managed to defeat this horrific monster. Thus, having displayed their prowess in battle, the Trapaceiros didn't wish to engage them and agreed that they would turn themselves in, bringing the corpse of the beast as proof of their word.

While the Triple-A's were unable to collect the bounty on the heads of the Trapaceiros, they were able to collect some valuables from the Baron's caravan as recompense.