"I would rather die than suffer your... mercy... Slavery, torture? I'd rather you kill me if you won't let me go. The Stag Lord will likely slay me if I cooperate."
Elvara's words do seem to have an effect on her, and she seems to be considering her words as she regards the women with cold, merciless eyes.. "What's in it for me, to betray my liege and lover? It would need to be something more concrete than 'we might let you live?' Striking here will surely draw his wrath when he discovers the insult you've dealt to him and his fledgling empire."
Raven raises an eyebrow. "Lover? Would he leave his sole lover out in a nothing post rather than by his side? My guess is that he has a harem, and he's having his fun with somebody else while you're gone. And let me put it this way: if you cooperate, I will do my best to make sure that the law doesn't touch you for your past activities. The Flame's Fury entry contract offers the same protection from the law as the Galtan Foreign Legion. And as for his empire? He 'rules' over a vast, lawless stretch of wilderness. That we are quickly conquering to make way for a true country." Raven offers one hand, while the other is still clutching her bloody javelin. "Either you come with us, or you end up like the rest of your men here."
Elvara was planning to say something similar to Raven, though she certainly wasn't planning on going through with it. Going against the charter would make them no better than the bandits they were fighting.
Raven is not lying, as far as you can tell.
The battle of wills continues, and Kressle glares at Raven. "I was thinking of a more... monetary compensation, but perhaps we can come to an arrangement. One that won't happen if I'm dead. I will come with you. As a sign of my cooperation, I can tell you that the Stag Lord is based out of a keep that he has claimed... There is a password to clear the patrols to the Keep that will aid you immeasurably. Decide for yourselves how much the password and location of the Keep is to you."
Raven shrugs. ”Fine. Since you don’t seem to mind blood money, I’ll let you have Vasilyan’s share of the bounty for your men. I’m sure he wouldn’t touch the stuff, anyways.” She extends her free hand further. ”Deal? Unless my companions have any objections, of course.”
Raven shrugs. "Fine. Let me speak to my companions. Just to review: in exchange for letting you live and protecting you from the law, you give us key information?"
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Vorsirion frowns at the turn of events and motions for his companions to come together to discuss the issue.
"I am not sure it is wisdom to let this woman go free," he confides. "And I am not sure what law there is here except for us. She is the self-acknowledge 'lover' of this Stag Lord, and will certainly, if given the chance, go back to him. The location of this Stag Lord, while potentially useful, will surely reveal itself in due course. I fear the harm she might do outweighs the value of the information she might provide."
Vorsirion frowns at the turn of events and motions for his companions to come together to discuss the issue.
"I am not sure it is wisdom to let this woman go free," he confides. "And I am not sure what law there is here except for us. She is the self-acknowledge 'lover' of this Stag Lord, and will certainly, if given the chance, go back to him. The location of this Stag Lord, while potentially useful, will surely reveal itself in due course. I fear the harm she might do outweighs the value of the information she might provide."
Raven shakes her head. "All good points, Vorsirion. But did you notice her speech? She's intelligent. And I know her type. She will always, always look out for number one. She knows that I will follow up on my threat to kill her if she doesn't agree. I know she'll try to escape, but she'll at least give us the information first before she tries-even though she'll probably be lying. And that's the whole point. We'll track her back to the keep once she escapes."
Elvara comes together with the two others while her eidolon remains constricting the woman.
"I would prefer both if possible. Get the information we can, then do off with her. She doesn't seem to be repentant at all, saving her would put us in the same league as them, basically condoning their actions. How about we try to trick her into giving the password, then we take her out? Letting her run off sounds way too risky, the Stag Lord doesn't even know about us at this point. If she runs to him he surely will. He'll also be alerted to our tactics and have one more capable fighter as his side." Elvara glances off at the woman. The talk about killing in cold blood makes her uneasy, but she's rather certain about what she wants as well.
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Vorsirion blinks a few times at Elvara's suggestion.
Yes...yes! Trick her into revealing the location. Then finish her off, slowly.
No, torture her until she reveals the location.
The elf looks torn.
"What little shred of humanity I have left..." he begins, then looks at Raven and Elvara again. "Do as you wish, but I would rather we do one or the other."
Raven raises an eyebrow. "I only suggested my previous opinion because I believed that killing her after she gives us what we promised would offend your sensibilities, Elvara. Alright, let's make a show of parading her back to the fort, getting the password, then executing her."
Raven nods, then walks back towards Kressle. Wordlessly, she begins tying rope around her hands and feet, before nodding towards Smexala to release Kressle. "And remember. You try to escape, I will not hesitate you kill you."
"I did not like the way you brutally slaughtered the bandits who might very well have been forced into this, but this woman... She shows no remorse. If we let her go she'll no doubt get back to banditry and rob and harm innocent people. No, if that's the case then she's better off dead. As for deception, that's the same thing, to save our lives and those of other innocents." She says in hushed tones to the others. Before they walk over to Kressle. She also mutters a small cantrip of guidance before approaching the bandit.
"Just until we can come to an agreement of course. You said you wanted money. We can work with money. We want the password and location. How about 30 gold for it? That's a small fortune in itself. That should be more than enough." It's nearly all of Elvara's money, but since she's not planning on letting the woman live, she has no trouble parting with it.
Elvara can see golden scales clinking in the woman's eyes. "30 gold? I was going to say 'make it 300', but I'll settle for half. 150 and we'll have a deal. I know that there was more than enough in the loot you've taken from my camp. That and a promise of freedom once my business with you is done."
She thinks for a moment. "As a sign of good faith, I'll give a minor hint as to the password: it's incredibly ironic given our current circumstances." She gives a wry smile.
Elvara makes wide eyes and says with a shocked voice. "300 gold? That's a lot of gold. More than I've ever had before. But ok, 150 it is, and your freedom once our business is done." Though you'll be dead then, you'll no longer be bound. Elvara feels a sting of guilt at thinking about killing the woman like this.
Raven herself feels a twinge of guilt upon seeing Kressle's relief and cooperation.
When the time comes for Raven to take watch, she wearily gets up and begins surveying the terrain, looking for any sign of danger. After a few minutes, she growls, shakes her head, and plants her sword in the dirt.
She then sits down in front of it, cross-legged, and says, "Hey... Iomedae. It's been some time since I talked at my sword." She chuckles a little bit at this, but then becomes sober. "Am I doing the right thing? I proposed sticking people's heads on pikes. When somebody who was at our mercy refused to cooperate, I murdered-not killed on the field of battle, murdered-all of her men to make a point. And now..." Raven sighs. "Now, after telling her that we'll leave her alive in exchange for information, we're going to execute her as soon as we have it."
Raven rubs her forehead. "She's a horrible person. Fanatical until we promised gold, then she dropped the facade. I don't know which is worse, honestly-her being utterly loyal, or dropping that loyalty once it was convenient. But your code says that I should offer mercy to her, and I made a promise. 'My word is honor, and honor is my life,' and all that."
Raven stands and begins pacing. "But it's just so easy! All of the top brass in the outfit got promoted because they were willing to make the hard choices! Willing to go back on their word when the situation called for it! But they... I look into their eyes sometime. I either see regret, or I see nothing there. That kind of thinking, that kind of doing, hollows you out. But she's a murderer! A bandit!" Her voice gradually rises in volume until she sits down again, and cradles her head. Raven whispers, "What should I do, Iomedae?"
"Whatever I think is right, I guess."
As the party approaches Oleg's Fort, Raven stops her moment, then takes a deep breath, before dismounting.
"I can't let you do this, Elvara," she says simply.
Elvara is a bit disappointed to not get an answer right away and while it combines together with her uneasiness at what they are about to do, she's still largely positive to what happened. They did accomplish what they set out to after all.
Elvara looks questioningly at Raven. "Can't let me do what?" She's been busy caught up in her own thoughts. She glances over at Kressle before looking back at Raven.
Raven continues glaring at Elvara, steely eyed. "Execute Kressle. She's done all we've asked of her. She's been completely cooperative. I'm not suggesting we let her go free-I'm not an idiot-but she is my charge. By my word as a Sirkas, and as a Flame's Fury soldier, all actions that she takes are my responsibility. I will not let you kill her, Elvara."
Elvara is confused by Raven's word. She doesn't understand why Raven want to go against the law to aid this cold-blooded killer. Her words are steady, yet soft in reply. "She's shown no remorse for her actions so far. The penalty for unrepentant banditry is death. If we aid her, what does that make of us? It'll put us on the wrong side of the law. Also, how has she been completely cooperative? We've got her bound and she has neither told us the location nor the password we need to deal with this Stag Lord. The right way to deal with her is to follow the law. Learning what we need to deal with the other threats here in the greenbelt first would be a good idea though. Why am I suddenly the one in the wrong? I'm not the one who killed all the bandits back at their camp without hearing them out first. Those men deserved to live way more than this Kressle."
Raven's muscles tense, and then she says smally, "I made a mistake, Elvara." Then, she says more loudly, "I made a mistake, dammit! You are right, Elvara. Those men deserved to live. But so does Kressle. So do I. So do you. It doesn't matter the things she did in the past. She can make amends. Do you have any idea the things I did as a mercenary, Elvara? They made me shudder, at first. They made me question. But I eventually grew... distant, from all of that. I thought that was a good thing. But only now do I realize that if I continue down this path, if we continue down this path, we'll be no better than any of the villains we hunt down or bring in!" Raven takes a deep breath. "It was wrong of me to deprive those men back in the camp of a second chance. I at least can give Kressle a second one." Raven turns towards Kressle. "Make no mistake, Kressle. I am giving you one more chance. One. You step out of line, you break my trust, then I will end you." She then smirks a little bit. "Your self-preservation instincts are well-honed, so I'm fairly certain I won't have to kill you.
Raven turns back to Elvara. [b]"And as for Kressle being uncooperative? We gave her no proof that we wouldn't kill her! She was just being smart. Hell, we were about to prove her right!"
"Like father, like son." Just like Alexander and dad... "You can't change everyone. Sure I agree that those who can be saved and are willing to change should be saved, but if they show no willingness to do so and they've committed heinous crimes in the past, then they should be dealt with as the law says or hand her to Oleg. Still, I might have judged to quickly. Maybe she will change. It's all up to her though. Will she change? Or will she continue to try to extort people and get easy money. Like with what she asked us to be able to deal with this Stag Lord?"
Raven nods, saying, "I should give her the chance I didn't give everyone else, Elvara. All that she does is now my responsibility," before mounting her horse again and trotting off to the fort.
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Kressle remains silent through the exchange, her intelligent eyes glancing between the arguing women with a detached look (despite the fact that they appeared to be discussing her fate.) She appears to be either resigned to her fate, or watching for an opportunity for which to exploit to her own advantage.
As you approach the familiar barricade of Oleg's Trading Post, clearly some elements are out of place from when you last left. There is a string of horses picketed to the South East of the gate, near several tents that have been set up. Two men near horses appear to be standing on watch and call out "Riders approaching from the South" before Oleg pops his head around and gives the ok.
The quiet little Trading Post has gotten a bit more crowded.
One of the newcomers shouts, "At ease, men." Turning to the group he appears to take stock of you all, nods, and says, "So you're the group that's made a run on the bandits here. Well, I wish you Desna's blessing. Name's Kesten Garess, and me and my boys here have been sent to deliver a message for you."
He hands over a large pouch and a parchment sealed with a red stamp embossed with a quill. The letter reads:
I have heard word that you are making remarkable strides in dispersing the local bandit population in your parts. Well done! Befitting your exemplary accomplishments, I have secured a reward and reinforcements in your pursuits. I have persuaded the Sword Lords to secure the services of Sir Garress, and he has been attached to the Trading Post to ensure there are no reprisals against it while you foray further into the Stolen Lands. He has a personal motive in the Stolen Lands as well.
Additionally, to suplement your numbers, I have contracted with several advanturers that I believe should be a boon in your Expedition
Continue with the good work
-The Solicitor
Within the bag is a shining pile of gold, 400GP total.
Kesten clears his throat. "I'm not sure what all that letter said, but I'm here, at least temporarily, to act as a discouragement against further unpleasantness. Plus, I've got a bit of unpleasantness of my own to look after. You see, a traitorous ex-associate of mine named Falgrim Sneeg betrayed me and my men a few months back, leaving us in a bad way. I've managed to track him this far, but the trail has gone cold. I suspect he's joined up with the bandits here. If you manage to take him alive, I can provide you with some weaponry from an armory I have access to. I'll settle for him dead, but for less of a reward."
Additionally there are several new faces to join you on your quest
Alamina waits until Sir Garess finishes his speech before stepping out, smiling broadly. Her black hair hangs loose beneath a bright red headscarf, and small silver bells ring quietly as they sway from her ears.
She speaks with a slight Varisian accent in a clear alto timbre, "Greetings, all. I am Alamina. I understand your group has undertaken to bring peace and justice to this land, and you may be in need of some spiritual assistance. I am happy to offer my skills, and the blessings of The Lady of Dreams, in that task."
The slim woman wears a chain shirt over well-made and well-worn traveling clothes. A four-bladed weapon hangs from her belt, a traditional starknife while an obvious symbol of Desna, a multicolored butterfly, stands out against the green of her shirt.
She offers her hand to everyone in turn, smiling warmly.
Elvara looks into the bag briefly. "Wow, that's a lot of gold. Though I wonder what use we'll have for it out here..." She mutters under her breath before turning to more important matters. She chants under her breath a quick cantrip before taking the word.
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"G̥̰̟̩͔̜ͤ̇̋ͨ͂ͤ̀͛͝ͅu̳̲̗̻̤̩͊̒̃̈́ͥ̽͟i̡̢̮̫͔̘̠̝̾̋ͩͯͬ̔d̺̤̯͙͌ͣͪ͊̅̇ͅẻ̥͖͖͇̦͙ͣ̅ͥ͋̉̎̌̑ ̳ ̖͕̹̱͙̬̥ͥ̍̈́̔m̷̬̖̪͌̉y̥̬̔́ ̛̉̅̒͑̿̋͟͏͕̖t̤̟͍̟͎͙̂̑̄̾ơ̩͉͇̤͙̜͚̑͜ͅn̵̜̬͉̯̮̱̖ͧͫ̽̂̔͋̀̍̌̕g̶͍̣̗ͯͨ̈́̽̕͘u̹͚͙̞ͪ̇̃e̛ͬ ̧̼̟̬̹̬ ̯̮͍̦̹ͮ̌͆͂̇͆͐̀͟t̛̫̬̩̭̯̘̪ͩͤ͟͝ͅȯ̯̩̠̖̗͉̦ͫͬ͠ ̓ͮ̉͐̔̀̄̓҉̤͇́t̛͇̝̪̗͕̝̫ͭ̀͆ͣ͛̔͞ȟ̸̢̤̥̲̤̖̻͉e͓͈̝͖͈̦ͭ̕͜ ̵̢̬͕͓̉ͫ̚ͅȑ̵̨̧̜̹̞͓̞̗̓ͧ̓̔ͥ͛̐ͅi̴̟̖ͨ͂̉̑ͥ̇ͭ̉̐͝g̼̞̽̌h͖͓͕̹͉̰͉͊͗̏̎̋̑t̵̛͔̞̜̫̳͍̤͒̔̿͋ ͕ ̼͎̦̬̽̈́̆̑̍̃ͧ͆̃w̗̮̮̯̜̹̎̽̓͂̕o͇͓̟̦̲̥̤͚ͫ̋ͨͩ̚͝ͅṙ͔͇̭̞̯͎͐̑̌̂͢d̨̢̜̹̩͉̲͎͖̭̒̈̽ͬ̎̾̿̓̂͘ s̝ͤ̿͘͢͡"
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Elvara smiles warmly at the newcomers. Her amber eyes twinkles as she answers in a soft and sweet voice. "Nice to meet you. I'm Elvara Rivers. I'm happy to have you join us. It's great to have such spirited and positive people here." She glances over at Raven thinking about the men she murdered and spares a glance for Kressle. "I too wish we could bring peace to the land, though thus far we've just been tasked with exploring the greenbelt. Dealing with the bandits was a good step in the right direction though."
"Greetingssss" Comes a hiss from behind Elvara. The half-elf is swift to grab the word again. "Ah, yes. This is Smexy, my companion." The serpentine creature is covered in glistening black scales and a beautiful pattern of red in her forehead, matching a similar mark upon Elvara. A pair of clawed legs growing out of the side of her body, speeding up her movements. The limbs are new to the originals of the group, they seemingly appeared overnight
The beautiful turns towards Kesten with a wink. "Finding this Falgrim Sneeg might be a good further step. Though we would have to find him first. I don't suppose you could give us access to buy stuff from your armory to make us better equipped to deal with the bandits?"
A handsome young man with an easy smile, dressed in forest green, with a rapier at his belt and a shortbow on his back sits up from where he was taking his ease nearby. A careful observer will note that the young man's position was out of easy view of Kesten Garress and his men. He darts a cautious look toward the soldiers only briefly before smiling again and bowing to Elvara. His bow is that of a country bumpkin imitating courtly manners he has only read about, or perhaps seen at a distance.
"I'm Quint. Well, Quintus Costenov, but most people just call me Quint. I've been wondering where life was going to take me next, and what you're about sounds like it could be great fun. Exploring the green belt!"
Quint moves so as to put as many people between himself and Kesten Garress as possible. As he moves his smile turns to a bit of a frown as his eyes flick to the creature behind Elvara. "Uh, what's that?"
Raven dismounts her horse and drags Kressle off it as well. She gives a brief nod to the two newcomers, before saying, "I'm Raven Sirkas, of the Flame's Fury." She then walks over to Kesten.
"This woman is Kressle, the former leader of one of the bandit clans. She's being cooperative so far, but in case she escapes or causes any harm, you alert me immediately."
Quint wonders about who the Flame's Fury might be as he watches Raven stalk toward Kesten.
I certainly wouldn't want to be on the other end of that march...
Deciding that Kesten's attention will be occupied by Raven (at least for the time being) Quint turns back toward Elvara. He's obviously enchanted by her otherworldly appearance.
"As for what to do with gold, Elvara, it seems like there's always somebody willing to take it from you one way or another. Speaking of bandits, there's a lot of good stories about bandits. My favorite is about a great folk hero named Reynard. Have you heard it?"
You recall that the Flame's Fury is a mercenary company based in Brevoy that is known for its ruthless efficiency and discipline. In addition to brutal soldiers, they are also known for their flame magicians. They take all sorts of jobs, from defending a village from an oncoming horde of orcs, to wiping out bands of curious adventurers on the orders of a thieves' guild. As such, you don't know what kind of job you've signed up for here. The gore and brain matter on one of her javelins probably isn't a good sign, though.
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Vorsirion listens to the introductions the newcomers gave. He appears a tired elf with a worn expression and a small scar under his right eye. What energy he lacks in his countenance is made up for in his eyes, which appear somewhat mad.
Aside from this, the elf seems handsome, with the best features of his race and gender. He is tall and lean, with thick auburn hair, and sits astride his mount in a relaxed manner.
Vorsiron wears black, studded-leather armor and an armored kilt, both made after the manner of elves. He also carries a curved blade of the kind favored by his race, essentially a longer version of a scimitar, but with a thinner blade.
A skull, fastened around his waist with a cord, leers ominously.
"We could use all the help we can get," he says by way of welcome to the newcomers. "I am Vorsirion," he says formally.
Gabriel looks up as the lookout shouts his warning. His boots squelch in the mud as he jumps down from the wagon he was sitting in, honing his falcata. He sheathes the blade and picks up the rest of his gear as he begins to walk over to where the rest have gathered to meet the travelers return. He eyes the group as he runs his fingers through his short, military cropped, red hair. His ice blue eyes examine each in turn, although he is taken aback when the weird looking creature makes it's appearance over Elvara's shoulder. He smiles slightly as the Starchild makes her introductions and it grows even bigger when Hayseed begins his tale.
As he steps forward you notice that he seems quite well armed. His breastplate , though well worn, seems to be of exceptional quality as is the crossbow slung from his shoulder. A large polearm with a blade curved like a sickle lies crossed strapped across his back while at his right hip hangs an archaic falcata while a morningstar dangles on the left. A large key made from solid gold dangles around his neck. "Greetings. I'm Gabriel Hightower, late of the Restov city watch and the Bank of Abadar. I'm pleased and honored to have been selected to join you as you bring order and civility to these untamed lands." He clasps forearms with each of you in turn.
Raven turns towards Gabriel and stiffly grasps his forearm, one hand still on Kressle's rope. She has a grip unlike you have ever felt. The crimson haired half elf must be tremendously strong indeed, as evidenced by the massive sword on her back. Her flame-red tabard emblazoned with a stylized flame symbol is tattered and torn, her chain leggings, sleeves, and metal breastplate scratched and scuffed. She is rather muscular for a woman, but is by no means hulking-she's merely toned enough that you could break a rock against her bicep. Her steely eyes bore into Gabriel's as she towers over him, asking brusquely, "Alexei's replacement?"
"Well met all, indeed. Surely the Lady has brought us together for a reason, and I am glad to be able to lend my skills. It would appear you are quite capable in martial abilities. I have the blessing of Desna, and can heal fairly easily. Do any of you know the arcane arts?"
Looking over the heavily armed crew, Alamina feels quite comfortable they can deal with most any physical threat.
"Who's this woman you have bound here? A bandit, but one who repents? She surrendered when offered quarter?"
The bandit woman shakes her dirty-brown haired head and glares at the attention. "I'm not some freak side-show attraction to be stared at. Now, we had a deal. A meager amount of coin in return for directions to the Stag Lord's lair, as well as the pass-phrase to get closer without raising the alarm. I'll be miles down the road towards Ustalav before night-fall." The steady mask of indifference she's held in her facial features fades a bit. "You were right; I have no intention to see my lover's rage should he discover my failure. It can be quite... extreme."
Quint looks at Alamina and shakes his head. "Magicians are dour men who work in caves and do terrible and serious things. They do great magic. People don’t like magicians. I just do a few tricks that make people laugh."
Raven looks Kressle in the eye, her face impassive. "Your end of the deal first, Kressle. What's the password? What's the location? And how extensive is his operation?" Vorsirion can see the cogs in Raven's head turning, as she works on some sort of unseen plan.
Just the tips of Kressles lips turns up as she gives a small smile wrought with sarcasm. "It is, you would say, ironic. 'Betrayal'. Betrayal is the password. That bastard the Stag Lord is obsessed with it, how everyone in his life betrays him. His father, some white haired wench he carries a torch for... In fact, you asking about the password made me think about how he would take my betrayal, intentional or otherwise."
She folds her arms. "As for the 'where', the Stag Lord has set up fortification in an old keep at ford of the Skunk and the Shrike rivers, north of the Tuskwater lake."
Thinking for a moment, she throws in, "The Stag Lord used to be almost.. noble, a great leader. He has a violent streak, though, and has a bit of a drinking problem. The green-bottled alcohol is a favorite of his, Taldor Red. He should be expecting a shipment within the week and he gets... sloppy when his alcohol is involved." She looks a bit sad at that.
Knowledge (Geography)
Raven nods, and as she cuts Kressle's bonds, whispers, "Thank you," in her ear. "Now get out of here. I hear Restov is nice this time of year."
After hearing Kressle's directions Quint thinks for a moment. "I've been around a bit, here and there. I got a look at some maps of Brevoy and the River Kingdoms a while ago, and that sounds like it is South - South West of Oleg's Trading Post."
Quint leans closer to Elvara and whispers, "Uh, who is the Stag Lord?"
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Vorsirion looks darkly at Kressle, hoping this does not come back against them. Though he had been in favor of killing her initially, he had not liked the idea of lying to her to obtain information, then ending her life anyway.
Perhaps I am not completely bereft of humanity...
The voices seemed silent for now.
He turned to Quintus, and said "The Stag Lord is some sort of local tough trying to build a kingdom for himself here locally. He and his men have been tormenting the trading post here. We intend to stop him," the elf says.
Quint's eyes get a far away look in them as he listens to Vorsirion.
"Tormenting people? Might doesn't give somebody the right to hurt other people. If you'll let me I'd like to try to help you stop him. I'm a fair shot with this bow. I also know a trick or two that can help."