A kingdom on the verge of war has lost contact with its spy, who disappeared sometime in between missions. He was last seen at his home in the mountains, but has not been tracked since. The local guard disguises this fact by requesting a number of volunteers to get tax money from the specific individual. Places a bounty saying that his capture is preferable. Also briefs that the guy is tricky and may no longer be there. If he isn't, then he must be tracked down. Permission given to search the premises...

Naturally, this will all just be a coverup.

The spy had actually uncovered a great amount of information supporting the possibility of a massive war in the near future. He's found evidence that the enemy kingdom has enlisted the help of a powerful lich that has agreed to help, so long as he's given an army of his own to command. Even though the spy was very good at concealing his identity, the lich and his wizard companions detected the presence of the spy and had him done away with, sacking his home and taking him far away for interrogation by goblins and an ogre mage.

The man chose long ago to live in the mountains, which benefited the kingdom that chose to enlist him as a spy. It's location lies just outside the kingdom's borders, which makes the kingdom less likely to be pointed at, should the spy be caught.

It's kingdom doctrine to deny all association with a spy, if questioned, though in the event of capture, the kingdom will attempt a rescue. This rarely actually happens, however.

The house contains numerous clues identifying mage spells, and goblin intrusion, immediately indicating capture, though from the outside it's not immediately apparent that the house was even broken into. Further investigation will show that a hole was tunneled into the basement. The tunnel is a dungeon that will take a few hours to clear, with a couple goblins left behind, trying to seal the tunnel and hide the evidence it ever was there.