Memories of Holdenshire: A Friend In Need
Unfortunately the blows don't stop coming for the party. Brand Torek comes back the day after the kobold raid with news about Belton's wagon: it's been found with a broken axle alongside the road to Blackford, and there's no sign of the halfling having left on foot. Brand hasn't seen it himself, but he's heard from a fellow ranger about its discovery, recognized the wagon from the description, and wanted to pass the news to Myco and the PCs, as they clearly knew him best. Myco offers the adventurers a reward of 100 gold to investigate if they don't decide to on their own.
The party should be well-used to the demands of travel by now and can purchase supplies, mounts, and the like in town. Since the kobold raids however, the people of Hengeistbury consider them heroes and will give them a discount of 15% for the occasion.
At the Wagon
Read the following when the adventurers come upon their halfling companion's wagon.
Finally you've reached it: Belton's wagon. Deep gouges in the ground show that it's been run off the road, and the front axle is in splinters. Rummynose is long gone, as are whatever supplies Belton had stashed away. A halfling-sized knife is embedded in the driver's seat, pinning a fluttering piece of gray-purple cloth with it. Wait, is that...?
All the former cultists recognize the cloth with certainty as matching that of the cloaked figure who bundled them into the covered wagon and away to mind-controlled servitude. What isn't as clear is why he's taken Belton and, most importantly, where. Any PC who hasn't recovered their memory of having been abducted does so now (though they gain no mechanical bonus from it).
Anyone that makes a DC 13 Engineering check realizes that there's no indication that Rummynose broke loose on her own. As mentioned by Brand, there's also no sign of halfling footprints anywhere about. However, a DC 10 Perception or Survival check spots the tracks of a second wagon making its way off of the road and towards the Crawley Hills. This check also reveals that Rummynose must have bolted, as her tracks run along the road as opposed to following the wagon.