Captain Cynthia Stout

Shield Dwarf. Captain of the Kingsguard detail at Thornwall Fords. Was holding back 30 blocked merchant wagons due to the plesiosaur blockade on the Starwater River — two guards killed, three rafts smashed. Recognized Harold's letter of introduction and seal as legitimate. Offered the crew coffers, free passage, and a prime vendor spot in the market square in exchange for clearing the plesiosaur threat. Promised protection inside Thornwall Fords' walls, though acknowledged she could not send protection back out on the road.

Session 08: Paid the party 100 gold as promised. Collected the sabotaged control whistle as evidence, locked it in her strongbox, and intends to send it with her full report to her superiors. The whistle bears a small imprint of tally marks and antlers. Her recon guard returned with an order slip bearing a broken yellow wax seal marked with what looks like a 'V', reading: 'Hold the ford through market week. Feed it. Don't spend it. Coin follows the tally.' Guard also collected resin-dipped crossbow bolts from the ambush site. Stout took copious notes on the ambush, the brand, the barrels, and the body. Recalled Foreman Kaelin complaining about market routes being interrupted — potentially connecting him to the plesiosaur blockade plot. Does not personally know the king's whereabouts.

Session 09: Accepted the bloodied threat note and Wickett's sketch of the tally-mark brand as additional evidence, placing them in the strongbox alongside the whistle. Doubled gate watches and posted a guard at the strongbox. Bluntly told Wickett she has only eight spears across three locations and advised the crew to choose carefully where they sleep. Immediately recognized Wickett's description of the raft camp as Redwater Shallows, confirming long-standing suspicion that it is a ruffian stronghold she has never been able to get reliable intel on. Now clearly regards Wickett as the crew's spokesperson.

Session 10: Her River Toll House strongbox was broken into during the pre-dawn raid — all evidence she had collected (whistle, threat note, and other items) was stolen, and the guard she posted on the strongbox was abducted (drag marks confirmed by Sanji's investigation). Had pre-positioned an ambush: she and three guards rose from the bushes at the close of the river combat and cuffed the two fleeing raft attackers before they reached the tree line. Ends the session with four prisoners in custody (two she captured plus two delivered by Sanji). Note: Wicket quietly re-pocketed the recovered whistle after Stout emerged; no roll was called, and it is unclear whether Stout knows the evidence has been retrieved or who holds it.

Session 11: Arrived at the riverbank wagon with four prisoners in irons, one on a slab (Tobias Grimm), an empty strongbox, and a bandaged knuckle — reason for the bandage not yet explained. Methodically tallied her morning: evidence believed gone upriver, Corporal Tam Brannick taken 'like freight.' Flatly defended Brannick when Wickett insinuated he might be complicit ('We trust our own. We trust Corporal Tam Brannick'). Asked the party to retrieve Brannick upriver and shared intelligence that 20 men work at the mill for pay and one works for fear — 'mind that one.' On a 19+ Insight (Gorlog), she appeared to be reacting to something beyond the fire — something changed this morning she is not sharing. Offered a commandeered rowboat, then swapped to two rafts (the captured raider raft as evidence-on-loan plus a town river-crossing raft) upon seeing the wagon and Ledger. Did not detect Wickett's deception about the whistle (rolled 17, then a re-rolled 20); believes the whistle was lost, eaten, or taken upriver. Confirmed the mill's Vance connection 'as far as we can tell.' Four of her seven guards escorted the prisoners to the town guard shack.