The watchtowers are 15ft high. You can see an attached ladder on the side nearest the river.
Search Posts
Both lookouts take potshots at Rhaegal. "I see it. Kill it!"
"Got 'im!", calls the sentry from across the stream. "It's still alive though. Finish it off." There are other calls from across the stream.
As Rhaegal moves forwards, a cry goes up from the second watchtower, where Guðrún indeed does see another lookout, "Halloo, halloo! It's that beast again!" In the nearer tower, the other bandit looks towards the call and then scans the trees.
Gudrun spots a lookout on the watch tower (the crosshatched wooden structure) shortly after entering the map area. She can flag Jorquimo to a halt after he stumbles. The guard looks your way but doesn't register either of you. Looking around further you can see a second wooden tower the other side of the stream (which is fordable, difficult terrain). There's an empty wagon further along. There are voices coming from the camp fire direction.
It takes a couple of hours to clear the dam, but you head towards the camp before dark. Rhodeus keeps an eye on Valin and Jess the Mule as you approach. There is smoke from a campfire up ahead.
Ok. It seems you don't want to do anything more here. You loot then bury the bodies and prepare to set off for camp. It's pretty late in the day now. Approaching nightfall. You already have a map here. The crosshatched wooden structures are lookout towers. If you go now, you'll still have some light. If you wait a couple of hours it will be dark.
You don't think these 'Fae' were mites. You know of mites as much bigger - about 2 feet tall - and they don't fly. Fey creatures yes, but more in the "goblin-men" vein. These were true fairies. Pixies perhaps or maybe sprites or atomies?
Does Rhaegel share it?
You search the bodies. They are ill-kempt but their equipment is of reasonable quality. You can retrieve two sets of leather armour, two longbows, two short swords, 35 arrows, 22 gp, 26 sp and 10 cp. One of them wears a silver ring with initials A and D carved on the inside. As Rhaegel is looking around he spots two tiny, winged humanoids fly down over the dam, flit about it for a few seconds then fly on, into the forest. They must have been 4-5 inches high and were only there for brief moments.
Combat has ended...for now. Banter away.
Unfortunately Guðrún cannot run through rough terrain. If she enters the thick oozy mud she can only squelch and squerch her way across. Running also has to be in a straight line so she can't go around the marshy bit at top speed either. I've moved her back to where she could have got to at a hustle. It's technically the bandit's go before Sanglamore but as he was only going to panic and try to stab the big poodle, it doesn't really matter. Sanglamore breaks the poor guy's face with his hammer. Jorquimo is sprayed with blood. Both of them are down and not moving.
As it's a human bandit, that would be 9 damage. Without ever knowing his murderer was there, he collapses silently to the floor. Surprise round over. Standard initiative. The silent sling killer first (rest of order a few posts up).
The holy poodle appears next to Sanglamore and charges the bandit, ripping into his flesh with it's divine maw. Jorquimo moves up through the thick oozy mud (squelch, squerch) to flank the poor chap who is barely aware of what is going on around him. Meanwhile Guðrún...
They are going on:
So, in the surprise round (one move or standard action only, including partial charge): 1) Sanglamore summons a wondrous creature which attacks
Then in normal rounds it's: Guðrún
If you want to move on the map but can't for some reason: call out the grid reference and someone else will do it.
The one on the left gives up trying to signal to his mate and moves stealthily forwards to hide behind a tree, bow pointed Jorquimo and Sanglamore's way. He still doesn't see Guðrún. The second one moves forward and is no longer hidden. Sanglamore summons his creature... When that's done. It's G's go.
Jorquimo sees one man approaching the marshy area from the south. He is dressed in battered leather and carries a bow at the ready. You're sure he hasn't seen you. Guðrún sees two men enter. One of them has definitely seen Jorquimo and Sanglamore. He is frantically waving at the second man but can't catch his eye. Neither has seen you. Sanglamore sees no-one at all.
G and J can act
Battlemap is here: Move your token to the appropriate place on the map where you're hiding, click the Pass Turn button and copy the new url here. FYI the marshy bit around the river is difficult terrain, the trees offer cover, the little shrubs don't offer much at all unless you're prone.
You all find a place to hide around the dam and wait, keeping out of the boggy area.
Unless you have anything else you particularly want to do now, you wait.
You spend a couple of hours marching deeper into the forest, Valin leading the way. You reach a spot which Valin identifies as about 500 metres north of the camp . The stream is only a couple of feet deep and Guðrún finds a suitable spot where she can build a dam, with Rhodeus' help. If you want to do anything else in terms of planning, please do. Otherwise, the dam will work quite quickly and divert the flow of the stream in a different direction. The ground will swiftly become boggy around here as there is no clear path for the stream to take.
The direction you were heading in is upstream (the brook flows into the main river here), so you will have to move considerably further north, through the woods, to get beyond the camp. Valin can lead you there if you're happy to have him do so?
The watch platform on the left hand side can be reached without being seen from the other platform, but the platforms are in view of each other. So, you could sneak up from the west but if you were on top of the platform you could be seen from the other. The platforms are 20 feet high, reached by a built-in ladder. There are plenty of big trees around, so they by no means have an unobstructed view. They can see up and down the stream and have a better view of the forest, but stealth is certainly possible. The stream is a rapid brook. No more than five feet wide and a foot or two deep. Damming it would certainly be a possibility.
You back into the woods and interrogate Valin some more. "They get their water from the stream. It's pretty clean. Hunting groups head out whenever food is low. We weren't going to be away for long, so we'll be missed before the end of the day. No-one's gone missing for this long before. There are lots of critters in the forest but we're pretty careful. They don't tell me about any raids until just before. It's just "get ready, we're heading out tonight". I don't know much."
Congrats Steve. Hope it all goes well. If you need any help moving just let INdran know. I'm going to be away for a few days now, so my responses might be limited. I'll see what I can do though.
With that sorted (well kind of), you tie up Kreg and pop him against a tree. He can be roused to consciousness but only barely. He's not going to be able to fend off much, but you've only got a short journey. Before you secure Valin, he scratches out a map of the bandit camp in the earth. He explains there are two lookout posts, one either side of the stream, that are always manned. The lookouts are equipped with thunderstones for rousing the alarm. The majority of the band's gear and loot is kept under the tower nearer the centre of the camp. Then you gag him, bind his hands and tie him securely to Jess (so he's walking along behind her). You walk back to the river (which Valin refers to as the Thorn River - the geographers amongst you think that could be right) and continue your previous journey. Before long you reach a ford in the river. A small stream branches north, along which Gudrun can make out tracks of both horses and men. Valin nods in that direction.
South of the Stolen Lands is a loose collection of independent realms known as the River Kingdoms. They have little to bring them together aside from an economic dependence on the rivers that wind through them and a rejection of interfering government. Some way west of you, directly to the south of the Stolen Lands is the river kingdom of Pitax. It is a small bustling kingdom, known as a centre of trade and a hub for smuggling. Recently it has also become known for its patronage of the arts and the foundation of a new bardic college. The King of Pitax is Castruccio Irrovetti. He has recently taken the throne - rumour has it he won rulership of the Kingdom in a card game. It was previously ruled by a few merchant/smuggler families. You have heard he is Numerian originally but no friend to the Technic League who rule there. You've heard a few of the more disreputable mercenaries that you've come across mention former comrades of theirs who have gone off to "join the Stag Lord". He seems to be a new bandit chief gathering reprobates to him. You've also heard of attacks on caravans along the South Rostland Road led by a man wearing a stag's skull, with antlers, as a helmet. You have no idea where he might be based.
Kreg is in a sorry way. He's not getting up and walking anytime soon. He's not going to expire of his wounds just yet but if you leave him here is likely to die eventually. He would be ok for the rest of he day unless a wild animal (or pack of gremlins) comes across him.
He looks startled at Sanglamore and his giant hammer. "Ok, ok, I'll tell you whatever you want to know.
"It won't be heavily guarded but there are a couple of lookout posts. There are 14 of us based there, although some are on a job. I guess you met those guys already. The leader is a vicious woman called Kressle although I think she works for someone else. She and some of the older ones talk about the Stag Lord. I don't know who that is though."
"Uhhh...well...ok. You work for the King? Of where, Pitax? Are you saying you can protect me, because if I do give you information they will hunt me down and they will do bad things. These bandits are not nice people. Kreg there is an escaped murderer. Killed his wife in a drunken rage, I heard. Best not let him wake up.”
No, you think they are the tracks of Mites - a small, mean-spirited gremlin that lives underground and has an affinity with vermin of all kinds. Vicious little fey creatures. They were heading roughly west to east as they scampered past.
Guðrún stares at the tracks with a fierceness of intent that practically demands all tracks to reveal themselves. She is certain there will be no ambush. The two men passed through here a couple of hours ago and, by the deeper impressions, one of them was carrying the deer as they made their way back. What she also finds though, are the bare-foot tracks of half a dozen small humanoids. Most of the tracks have been obliterated by the rain, but she thinks they came running through here a few days ago.
Valin goes pale at your tale of murder, death and the hunt. He swallows hard. "You're going to kill me too, aren't you? You've killed everyone else you've come across and now it's my turn. You want my last act to be to betray my comrades - those who took me in when I had nowhere else to go. Well, I won't. I'll die here, rather than turn traitor!"
"Valin," he says, simply (and you believe this to be true).
You all think what he's saying is true - he was out hunting and was surprised when you all appeared. He shot at Rhaegal when the big cat rushed up to him. However, there is more to it than that. He knows what you're talking about when you mention the camp and he's not keen to give it away.
GM's eyes only: I said GM's eyes only!
It's a female deer. Not large, but still a substantial food source. There's no obvious spit, but there are plenty of branches. You could spend some time looking for something. "We didn't attack you", says the hunter/bandit, "We'd been hunting when I heard you coming and hid. We only shot when that wild beast rushed towards us. It's what anyone would have done. Is he going to die?"
"What? Why? What are you going to do? Why did you attack me and Kreg?"
Rhodeus staunches the older man's bleeding and keeps him in a stable condition. The younger man, who is maybe just out of his teens, walks slowly out into the open ground. He seems terrified of the talking cat-beast. "What do you want with me? I've done you no harm."
The man fends off Rhaegal's vicious bite but succumbs to his wicked claws and collapses to the ground in a bloody heap. The younger man, bleeding from a cut on his head where Gudrun's slingshot struck him, hears the party's words and drops his bow. He holds his hands up. "I surrender. Don't set that thing on me."
|