When everyone has finished their morning routines, Carp the Halfling lad will lead the group out to the secret entrance that he found.

It's some sort of cave... or possibly a tunnel from long ago... that has been mostly overgrown. You have to push the bushes aside to enter.

"I was just out here playing... practicing with my sling... maybe hunting a squirrel or two if I got good enough," Carp explains.

"I was being very quiet so a squirrel would come close enough for me to hit it when a rustling noise in the bushes scared the squirrel away. I thought maybe it might be a fox or a bear so I hid behind some bushes. Next thing I know two Redbrands come thrashin' through the trees like big ole lumbering oxes."

"I recognized one o' them--his name's Mort. He's not one of the ones back at the inn, though. They walked up to that rock over there, and waited. Pretty soon, two more ruffians come out o' nowhere! They walk over to the two others, yell insults at each other for a couple o' minutes, then the two new guys walk off through the trees and Mort and his pal walk the other way... and disappeared!"

"I waited for almost 10 minutes before a snuck over to where they disappeared. That's when I found the secret place."

Serena takes the boy's hands in her own.

"Thank you for telling us, honey." she said to him.

"I think there's a big amount of courage in that small body of yours. Sometimes, when people are being oppressed, you have to realize that nothing is going to change until someone takes a risk and tries to make things better. And you reaching out to us and telling us about the cave was a brave and good thing to do, despite the danger. Never forget that big or small, small or tall, old or young, that even one person CAN make a difference." she said to him.

"But we're going to go down there, and clean house. Phandalin doesn't need vermin like the redbrands. No one does. What else can you tell us about them? About their numbers, or any special people of interest you may have noticed with them or working for them? Perhaps you know something about these tunnels, or the area the tunnels were build on?"

While Serena talks to the boy, Ero says to the others, "are there any good trackers?  Perhaps we might determine where their ambushment lay and assault them there rather than use one of us to bait the trap to lure them out."

When Serena finishes talking with Carp he will give the lad a special mission, one of stealth and quick thinking.
"Carp, I have a mission for you. Something that will require you to be on your toes. Go back to the inn and help watch over the person keeping an eye on the captured Redbrands. I do not want you engage with those men but report if they start to get loose or attack the guard watching them."
He did not want Carp aggravating the men tied up but he could report their attempt to escape. More to the point he did not want Carp here where actual combat would be taking place.

Mithra's own experiences had taught her that Carp was more foolish than brave, mostly because of his age. He said he wasn't afraid, but that probably because he hadn't encountered anything more dangerous than a squirrel before.

She was glad that the others knew how to handle him; she wasn't sure she could have done it.


"So, we got any sneaky people with us?" Mithra asked, not too loudy, though.

As Serena asks her questions, Carp looks rather attentive and eager at first, but the time she's done, he's almost in tears.

"N-n-no, ma'am!" he practically wails. "Th-that's all I know. I didn't even know there was tunnels under the old manor."

Serena talks soothingly to the boy, as she strokes his hair a bit to try and calm him down.

"And that is a-o-k." she said to him. "If it makes you feel any better, none of us knew about the tunnels either. Or the manor for that matter. you were one step ahead of the rest of us."

She gave his head a pat.

"Why don't you go back to the inn where it is safer. And of course, you can help them keep an eye on the redbrands we tied up too. That is an important mission too, after all."

Artem paces around nervously while the others are talking to the child. It seems clear that he has no children and very little experience dealing with their emotional fragility.

Maldor stood in place and swayed with an unheard melody. He stared at the opening to who-knew-what, pondering the battle to come. The fighter's eye drifted for a moment over to fellow fighter Artem. It seemed that he, too, was anxious to get started.

Mal had nothing to add to the conversation going on nearby. He just wanted to combat the evil that was threatening the innocent people of the nearby settlement.