TITLE: Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Sentients
OVERVIEW: This is a light hearted adventure which brings the characters in contact with the Peace Brigade and a group of dabbers. It is probably best if the players (though not necessarily the characters) are already familiar with this Cryptic Alliance. A quick description of the Brigade is included below.

For members of the Cryptic Alliance known as the Peace Brigade it will always be a mystery why so many of villages should refuse their genuine offers of assistance. Can't they recognize a good deal when they see one? But one Benedict R. Sunchild, a raising star of the local (i.e. wherever the GMs campaign is set) section of the Brigade, has come closer to the truth then most on this issue. He has noticed that in the past most of the Brigade's offers of assistance have been met with suspicion due to the common assumption that nobody does nothing for nothing in this world. He has also noticed that most villagers fail to grasp the high ideals that motivate the  Brigade. So perhaps, thought Benedict, what is required is a little subterfuge to make these villagers more receptive.

The scheme is very simple. A team of Peace Brigade members will affect that an accident has occurred to one of their trucks in the vicinity of the target village. For example they might get the truck stuck in the mud or overturned. They will then go up to the village and ask for assistance to free the truck. In return they will offer the village half of the cargo. The purpose of this charade is to make the village feel it has "earned" the Brigade's help. Also the hard work directed towards a common purpose should help bonding between the villagers and Brigade members.

Benedict decides to put this scheme to test. With is co-Brigader and Fiancée Lili Wildflower, he drives on of the Brigades trucks near to the PCs village and arranges it to get stuck in the mud. But not all goes as planned. And while he's out  making contact with the villagers, a group of dabbers find his truck and loot it.
TRIGGER: Two young sentients, a man and an altered human woman approach the PC's village. The man introduces himself as Benedict R Sunchild and his companion as Lili Wildflower and explains how his truck full of construction goods got it stuck deep in the mud. If the village can spare a few people to help them free the truck, he'll gladly share the truck's load with them.
DESCRIPTION: Benedict and Lili approach the village with their request for help to free their truck from the mud in exchange for part of their load. Observant PCs will notice that the couple look a little out of place as truckers. They are both young, seemly well educated and not in the least streetwise. Exceptionally knowledgeable character might like the hippy names with the Peace Brigade, but otherwise no mention of the Cryptic Alliance should be made at this stage.

Assuming things go as planned, the party will make its way to the trapped truck. After a couple of hours trek they reach the truck, it is indeed stuck in the mud as described. However the  truck has been robbed. The less valuable things lay discarded here and there (bags of cement, simple tools). All the "good stuff" is gone. Searching for tracks will reveal that the passage of a dozen or so humanoids (they left shoe prints). Exceptional tracking rolls will reveal two things (1) signs of dabbers (note dabbers like to wear human shoes and clothes, so tracks alone won't give them away) (2) the truck was deliberately stranded there. The PCs will also notice Peace Brigade markings on the truck.

Should the party choose pursue the dabbers, they will need to  make some good tracking rolls to keep up. The dabbers will use their illusion generation mutations to scare the party off if they get too close, but ultimately they are not prepared to fight for the loot. If you feel you need some real combat in the scenario, you can thrown in a real monster, like a sword beetle or two reacting to first the dabber then the party marching through their territory. A good moment to spring the monster on the party is once the party grows accustomed to the idea of illusions being used against them. Watch the party ignore the Parn as it closes in for the kill.

If all goes well and the loot is recovered and brought back to the village, Benedict will start his sale pitch for the Peace Brigade and try to convince the village that "as a sign of gratitude" they allow him to make a few improvements here and there...
DM NOTES: The Peace Brigade is a Cryptic Alliance introduced in the 4th edition. They are a loony splinter group from the Restorationists. The Brigade takes a hands on approach to the restoration of civilization. They approach villages in remote area and offer to improve their standard of living. This usually involves improvements in education, sanitation and fortifications. The downside for the village is that the Brigade tends to take charge of the village, redirecting resources, disregarding customs and traditions and never taking no as an answer. On top of that Peace Brigade members, mostly young and well intentioned folk, have the tendency of screwing up big time. Also  the Brigade does levy taxes for their services, but the tax rates are really quite reasonable. In a nutshell, the Brigade is well intentioned but also a interfering, annoying  and disruptive nuisance which once installed in the village is hard to get rid off.

This is a pretty free form encounter. The GM ought to be aware that while it can potentially  develop in a longish  scenario, it can also end prematurely at any point and even the hook might be ignored.
KEY: If the Peace Brigade gets its way, the GM can expand on how their presence disrupts the village day to day life. Maybe have the party go off for an adventure for a few weeks. When they return they find the village transformed and the villagers very, very upset.