Phaedra shrugs. "Ask him what he plans to do if we let him go."
Baolus shakes his head. "Waste of words, for I'll never let a bandit free... before this I always worked towards bring law to this kingdom, capturing runaway slaves and sending bandits to prison and even if I'm not in that kind of job, I'll never work against that goal."
If you look around, it is clear that some of the people here are acting as armed guards, but it is equally clear that there is no "police force" or other militia. If you do ask around, people note that most criminals don't make it to the trading post alive and those that do generally are sent back with the next patrol of soldiers (which they reiterate come through roughly weekly).
Ihon chuckles as he feeds his small companion. And solutions continue to present themselves.
Hrm? What are we doing? Ihon suddenly brings his attention back to the conversation.
Baolus asks around while his companions discuss what to do with the bandit.
"Hum... I've ask these people and they told me there will be a patrol probably on the next week. We can't bring him with us and you don't want me to sentence him right now, so I say we tie him to a pole and pay the innkeeper a couple coins to bring him food and water until the guards arrive..." He pauses for a moment.
"And if he manages to escape, if I see him again, I'll cut a smile in his throat, from ear to ear... everyone agrees with me?" He looks to them, waiting for an answer.
"I agree with this suggestion." Aeliana responded quickly, pleased to have found a less violent solution. Unless, of course, violence is truly necessary.
Ihon shrugs, When in Absalom... He stands and waves his hand over his boots and breeches, magically removing the dust. So, what have we learned of this forest...problem?
Leaving the dwarf tied up with the people of the trading post is not a difficult thing to do. They ask for 2gp for the cost of what amounts to room and board as well as the time taken to watch over him until a patrol arrives.
I smile slightly that the prisoner has been dealt with in a way that means he can still be judged for his crimes. I do nod at Baolus, "If he escapes and is breaking the laws again, then I shall not get in your way. He would have had his chance and squandered it, we do not wish for him to target others and ruin their lives."
Now everything is settled I prepare to leave, making sure that all my weapons are within easy reach in case of emergency. I sit and wait patiently for everyone else to ready themselves before heading on again, thinking about the things that could go wrong and how to make sure that they don't.
Rona, you are aware that this area is technically under Chelish law and follows the normal rules and regulations of the crown. With that said, this is also one of the more "liberal" archduchies and particularly the closer to Kintargo that you get, the more people tend to take liberties with the law. Still you haven't heard anything overly dangerous in the area other than bandits that from time to time trouble the road.
Still sitting and thinking I look out of the gate to make sure no one tries to attack the fort whilst we are there. "The chances are high that we will encounter a few more bandits, we should decide now what to do with them, if we want to question them to find their lair or if we kill them. If we are going to question them, we should buy some more manacles, to bind them."
Hrm? Oh...the bandits. Yes, we should talk about... His voice trails off as he looks about the surroundings. Ihon's small companion scampers up his cloak and curls up on the man's shoulder.
Baolus nods. "We also let the bodies of his companions on the road last night... we should also go back a little and provide proper burial... if there is one thing worst than bandits roaming the country is undead bandits roaming the country... they can also attract wolves and it is never a good thing for travelers to find bodies upon the roads. It is not far from here and will take little of our time."
Baolus thinks for a while before continuing. "I'd vote for us to kill all the future bandits on the spot. There is nothing, until now, that connects our mission in the woods to the bandits and fighting, capturing and interrogating all of them will take us precious time, even more once we do not know what awaits us in the forests..."
Undead bandits... Ihon shrugs and chuckles, Superstition and folk lore. I doubt there would be... The man again trails off for a moment. We should bury them though. He taps his walking stick against the ground. Unless the wolves have already gotten to them.
Ihon lifts his pack over his shoulder and makes ready to go.
The group gets on the road once again. Given basic knowledge of the area, you are aware that, given how late you've left, you'll arrive at the next stopping post just after dark, though it is much larger than this one was.
The trip is peaceful and you start to see the next stop from much further away. It is a bustling trading post with about a half dozen permanent structures and from the sound and the smell, it seems like this stop fits much more into the idea of a cosmopolitan Kintargo stereotype. As you get closer it becomes evident that there are numerous cargo vessels docked at makeshift docks in the river and it seems clear that, while not necessarily pirates, these people are largely traders either not born in Cheliax or otherwise influenced by the outside.
As we approach the docks I instinctively grasp the handle of my sword and look about to make sure that no one will jump out at us to attack.
I keep in line with my companions, but I am obviously a little tense as I am focusing on the mass of people more than anything.
Perhaps these people will have a better idea of what is wrong with the forest. Ihon says idly, as he travels on.
Rona, people do not seem overly friendly, but neither do you see anything that looks immediately hostile. Since you all actually seem a but cleaner than most of the people here, you stand out and get a few odd glances.
The largest building in town is an inn and tavern, sitting right next to the cargo unload/offload area of the docks.
Phaedra looks around and checks out the inn. "I'd say we just head on into that inn over there. Given it's location, I bet it sees a lot of traffic and we're likely to have a good chance to get some information while in there. Plus, people tend to talk more when they've had a drink or two in them. That, and I'm starving, let's go."
Unless anyone objects or tries to stop her, Phaedra will go ahead and head towards the inn. She keeps an eye on her surroundings as she goes, not knowing if this place is known for thieves or cutpurses or not.
No one attempts to rob you (at least that you notice) but staying wary is clearly the right move as you enter the inn. It turns out to be loud and somewhat seedy with people gambling and playing cards, dice, and even knife games at the various tables around the room. A very large half-orc tends the bar and various servers push their way through the crowd, with a shockingly high number of the staff being non-humans as well.
Ihon smirks as they enter the Inn, Splendid. The small creature on his shoulder scurries around and hides itself, poorly, within Ihon's hood. Its long tail waving in irritation from out of the bundle of cloth. The man makes his way through the crowd, looking for a table. He doesn't really appear to be paying much attention to anything in particular, wandering around much like a duck out of water.
"A good idea like any other, Phaedra... I'm also starving and a good mug of ale might as well be handy..."
Baolus follows Phaedra into the inn, reaching the bar and the barkeeper. "Hello good man, we are looking for a good conversation, as well good food and drink and perhaps even a roof above our heads tonight... we are of course willing to pay for all of these services, starting with the food and drink."
The half orc looks you over Baolus and shrugs. Paying for food and drink is how this usually works. We've got beds as well. As for conversation, that would depend on the kind you want. Most people here have plenty of stories that won't cost you a dime.
Ihon places a gold piece down on the counter, Food, something to drink, and possibly staying the night. He tilts his head. Yes, my allies will want to talk to people. So, the common room. He takes the food without saying anything else and sits.
Baolus follows Ihon example, buying some food and a good ale before also joining him in the common room. Before leaving he gazes once more at the half-orc.
"We'll talk later then... following your advice, I'll try the free information first... if that fails, I guess I'll try my way then..."
Phaedra gathers up her own drink and food, leaves some coin on the counter and makes her way to whichever table had enough free chairs for their group to sit at.
"I don't think that I've ever seen this many non human peoples in one place before. I'm beginning to wonder about the safety of this inn."
Phaedra scans the crowd.
"Can anyone tell if any of these unsavory folks are paying us too much attention?"
Phaedra, you don't notice anything out of the ordinary, except for all of the non-humans of course.
As you all sit down, people are eyeing you still, but no one comes over to speak with you yet. You do get the sense however that the servers seem to be avoiding you and some people have nearly a sneer when they look in your direction.
Ihon doesn't seem to notice the looks his way at all, continuing on as if everything is normal.
"Indeed Phaedra... something is amiss, even if I'm not sure what it is..."
I walk into the bar and head straight to the barman, listen to what he says to Baolus and then ask for some food and drink before sitting with everyone else, nursing my drink in my hands. I am glad to be sitting down after a long day of walking and scan the room cautiously, due to seeing the look of unlawfulness in the area.
For a non-human myself, I appear to be slightly uncomfortable, while I am relaxing I am at the same time tense and ready for anything. For those who look carefully will notice that my hand is resting on the handle of my smaller blade.
Unable to pick out a decent target to talk to herself, Phaedra waves over a barmaid.
"Good evening miss, got any red wines available for sale? I'd like a bottle if so. I was also wondering whether this place is normally so busy. There seems to be a fair number of folk here and was wondering if there was some local celebration going on that we didn't know about."
Phaedra will give her a couple of silvers as a tip in addition to the bottle of wine.
Rona, the bartender didn't really say much, but it didn't seem like he was hiding anything. You (and no one else just yet) do notice that a rather scraggly looking human seems to be paying a bit more attention to your group than the rest of the people. When he sees you notice him, he starts to make for the door.
I notice the man trying to leave and point to him, "Umm, Phaedra ... the man over there has been watching us and is now trying to leave. Does anyone recognise him?" I continue to point at the man, so if anyone else wants to figure out what to do, then they can.
Baolus gets up and starts to move after the man.
"I do not know him... a fact that I should rectify in a couple seconds..."
Hrm? Who? Oh.
Unless you are willing to start a physical confrontation with the other people in the inn, you are unable to reach the retreating man before he can get out of the building. There are just too many other bodies in your way.
Ihon, you do notice, however, that the man has a somewhat poorly done tattoo of the symbol of Rovagug on the back of his neck.
"Crap!"
Baolus follows the man outside the building, looking around in search of him.
Ihon frowns and tilts his head, a motion mimicked by his small companion. The Beast. Chaos...Interesting. He goes back to eating, seemingly unperturbed.
"Well, I suppose whoever that was is now reporting to someone that we here. What will be done with that information, we will just have to wait and see I guess. We should definitely keep watch tonight. Maybe even in pairs."
Phaedra flags down a serving wench again. "Excuse me miss, do you happen to know who that fellow is?"
She'll point at the guy leaving the bar.
Baolus, you can't seem to find the guy in the crowd outside.
Phaedra, the woman turns to you and shrugs, Don't know. Some crazy people like him come through here for supplies every few weeks. Don't say much. First couple of times they caused some trouble, but we put a stop to that quickly enough.
"What kind of trouble? Do these people have some settlement nearby that they need supplies for?"
I look to Ihon confused, "The Beast? Who or what is that?" After Ihon's response I then turn my attention to the woman quickly, "Do you know where they come from and what supplies they obtain?"
Whilst listening carefully I continue to eat and drink, savouring the warmth as I drink. The spiced liquid warming my throat and stomach while giving a sweet flavour, manages to relax me a bit more.
Hrm? Oh, a god. Or, in this case, a tattoo. Rovagug, I believe it is called. He doesn't look up from his food as he continues eating.
The woman shrugs again, responding to Phaedra before returning to her work, They didn't always think they had to pay full price. And they tried to bully some bullies. As for a settlement, I don't know. We don't have a habit of asking many questions around here. But they weren't buying food and water, mostly weapons, parts of weapons, things to repair armor...stuff like that.
Baolus returns to the table, disappointment clearly in his face.
"Cursed rat... I missed him on the crowds... we've got something in our hands here but perhaps we should rest tonight and continue in the morning... get a better feel of things around here first before pressuring some points."
Ihon finishes his food and goes to bed. He doesn't seem overly worried about the man getting away. In the morning he wakes early as usual and sits, watching the village wake up around him.