Well, he is a NPC, no worse a plot device, he's not supposed to solve our problems for us 
The AM character I played longest and have most feelings towards of my PCs was a Gentle-gifted Jerbiton nobleman. I really miss him now.
Yes we should hurry down to the town and have Fresse and Alice find Eilward and persuade/bribe him to join our cause. Then we might be able to handle these situations a little bit better.
Well I'm sure Arthur would have made it difficult for us with a silver-tongued and gently-gifted Jerbiton too if we had one.
I know, but it still makes me rise my eyebrow when I see him trembling before the world. :mrgreen:
Bernhard is very nervous and it can't be easy for him to be a Redcap like that, but that's part of our story and it's quite fun I think.
The mystery that is Bernhard may become clearer with time. You hardly know the guy, after all.
But I'm having a lot of fun with him. I wanted to get away from the stereotypical redcap, while still having him available as a source of information for the magi. But you're right that he should not solve the problems for you -- and with that type of personality he simply cannot solve most problems [strike]with[/strike] for you.
You did a good job at creating a unique redcap Looking at his social antics and fearful disposition is really great. It is like having to push a stubborn mule forward, just without any carrot or any stick. Still, pushing him to face problems is fun :mrgreen:
Regarding the Unloading cargo scene.
I was thinking about who Trond would say is the master of this cargo. The two natural persons for him to say would be Japik or Bernhard. He knows Japik rarely gets involved with the mundane officials and the other magi seems just as inept at dealing with mundanes. He hasn't been around Bernhard (or the other magi for that matter) much yet since he was on the knarr while they sailed from Anvers so he doesn't know much about his nervousness, but he seems friendlier than the others and he is the one that has lead them here.
So it felt most natural to Trond to name the Redcap even if I know he is just about as bad as the magi to handle these situations. 
Note also that Bernhard has not shown the same level of nervousness when he has dealt with the grogs. The few times that they've had to interact with him, he's seemed friendly enough, in a slightly skittish way.
And it is a nice assumption. However (while not holding the rail to feed his breakfast to the fish) Fresse had a better impression of the redcap on the cog, and he has come to think of it as a boss, but not one that he thinks is very adequate as an intermediary 
EDT: Ah, so Bernhard is afraid of magi and any relationship they imply. Nice one :mrgreen:
An image of the kind of cart the locals show up with.
It's a bit more complicated than that, actually. But only time and continuous interaction will tell.
A friend of mine:
:mrgreen:
Source: yours truly. Garden of la fuente del Berro (the fountain of El Berro), Madrid, Spain. Under the oak you can actually see a friend of mine 
Benarec saved the situation with the shepherd pretty well but he was also a bit mad which may have made it easier to get by him. The question is shall we talk to the villagers now or send some of the more talkative grogs to talk to them later without any magi around? I think I prefer the latter.
I prefer the later too, I'm okay with Benarec speaking to the villagers but it will be easier without the Gifted Ones standing around.
Yes definately. Benarec could get some instructions and talk to the villagers while the rest go back to the town.
I thought the official would be an important element in the saga. If not, no need to ask
Edited the women entry to force Fresse to contact them at midday. Problem solved No biggie really. Except to put forward some ascendancy of our (strong willed) women over the poor guy :mrgreen:
How big is the settlement anyway?
The town has about 200 buildings, including the warehouses. So one could estimate a population between 500 and 1000 souls. A fairly sizeable town, though not a city by any means.
Seizable indeed. Edimburgh and IIRC York are this size at the time 
I was expecting a smaller settlement, but can live with that Good to know in any case. Well, the women still saddle Fresse with taking care of stuff and answering to them and go to the town square :mrgreen: Gossip, gossip!
Well, I may be over-estimating the size. Let's cut it in half and say 100 buildings and less than 500 people.
Upper England and Scotland were very low on popuolation at the time, but they have been references in some of my past sagas, and this is why I was using them. IIRC the Netherlands are much more populated at the time, so your numbners can be good.
Can we get a description of the town and town square as the women pass through it?