In Mouse Guard, players portray gallant mice who keep the territories safe for all the normal mice who live in protected settlements. The wilderness is a dangerous place, especially for small creatures at the bottom of the food chain. From the fortress-city of Lockhaven, Matriach Gwendolyn sends patrols to keep roads clear, deliver mail, respond to crises, and assist mice in trouble.
Today, she has a mission for Kenzie and Saxon: find a missing grain peddler who usually runs a route from Barkstone to Rootwallow. Gwendolyn tells Kenzie privately that the grain peddler is suspected to be a spy. Kenzie must find this grain peddler, and find evidence of his treachery.
Since Barkstone and Rootwallow are far apart, the patrol checks the intermediary towns to see where on his route the mouse went missing. Apparently this Otis made a delivery in Elmoss but is overdue at Copperwood. Saxon & Kenzie search the route between those two cities, and detect movement in tall grass a ways off the usual path. They approach and find a light grey mouse wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat and pulling a handcart loaded with bags of grain. Saxon recognizes this as the potential spy, and since he always draws his sword at the first sign of trouble, he points his sword at the traveling merchant!
Otis, like most mice, does not relish conflict. His Will is no match for Saxon’s display of Fighting skill, so he drops his cart and flees into the brush. Saxon pursues, and Kenzie sees a great chance to search the cart without interference. Her search does not reveal anything, and is quickly interrupted! Otis blunders right into a grass snake. Now both Otis and Saxon run back towards the cart, but Otis is too slow and the constrictor snatches him up. Kenzie hurries to the source of the commotion, and the guard mice engage the fierce predator!
Snake’s goal: drive them away.
Patrol’s goal: rescue Otis
The snake has wrapped around Otis, but is still striking at the guard mice with tail and teeth. It out-maneuvers Saxon and just nicks Kenzie as she tries to flank it. Saxon scores a glancing blow, then they circle each other. The snake tries to surprise Kenzie with a bite, but Saxon smacks it hard when it takes its attention off him. They trade a few more blows and the snake looks about to give up. Saxon and the snake go straight for each other! The snake strikes a mighty blow! Saxon won’t be able to continue after this. His sword falters, but he gathers his strength and pulls Otis from the snake’s coils.
Holding Otis was taking much of the snake’s attention. Now freed, it is even more formidable, so the guard mice flee, dragging Otis behind them. They regroup at the cart, and the snake does not pursue them. Alas, Otis is dead. They put him on his cart on top of his grain, and make a sad funeral procession back to Elmoss.
The sorry sight causes quite a commotion as they enter the city gates. Elmoss’ bureaucracy requires endless forms and records, so the guard mice are able to find Otis’ next of kin: a sister named Ursula who lives in Barkstone. The bookkeeper takes the opportunity to look at the logs for Otis’ last few trips. The price per ounce is always within reasonable limits, but amount of this shipment right here is too heavy to fit on Otis’ little cart. How odd.
Saxon removes his cloak and goes undercover as a laborer, loading cargo for the day and hopefully getting more gossip about Otis. The cargo loaders don’t lolligag. Chatting is for the tavern after the shift is over. Saxon works the whole shift and is quite thirsty when the whistle finally blows. At the tavern, a worker complains that Otis was in a hurry to leave ahead of schedule. The amount of time Otis was budgeting for the trip between Elmoss and Copperwood was excessive.
So the potential spy is dead. There are some irregularities about his route and payment cargo, but no contraband was found in his cart. The patrol is weary and puzzled. They have some clues to pursue, but first, they need some rest.