"Be it so known that the bearer of this charter has been charged by the Swordlords of Restov, acting upon the greater good and authority vested within them by the office of the Regent of the Dragonscale Throne, has granted the right of exploration and travel within the wilderness region known as the Greenbelt. Exploration should be limited to an area no further than thirty-six miles east and west and sixty miles south of Oleg's Trading Post. The carrier of this charter should also strive against banditry and other unlawful behavior to be encountered. The penalty for unrepentant banditry remains, as always, execution by sword or rope. So witnessed on this 24th day of Calistril, under the watchful eye of the Lordship of Restov and authority granted by Lord Nikoleski Surtova, current regent of the Dragonscale Throne."
Thus reads the charter placed in your hands two weeks past by agents of Rostland. Since then, your group has assembled and traveled steadily southward, and you now find yourselves on the border of Brevoy, just outside of the lawless River Kingdoms.
Dusk begins to fall as Oleg's Trading Post looms into view, the distant lights beckoning your weary feet to its hearth. To your south, the featureless grass of Brevoy's plains continue to stretch for miles, but a line of trees makes itself visible along the horizon.
Vasili read over the paper in his hands quickly one more time before rolling it up again and placing it back in his scroll case. A brief smirk crossed his face, and he patted Petro on the shoulder and he looks on the trading post to his south.
"Well friends, I suppose we should find rooms, and get ourselves some food and drink"
"Yes, Vasili. It starts to feel like we're getting somewhere, reaching this checkpoint. I hope there is nothing too interesting at this post, my money is very... short now."
A smile crossed Petro's face, and his stride subtly lengthened in the excitement to get to a properly-stuffed bed.
Yevette, a young women dressed in cleric robes sat delicately within the donkey pulled cart owned by the party member Vasili, it was certainly much better than walking, and at this particular moment, she didn't care to give the effort to ride her horse either, who was tethered to the back and following at an easy pace.
Dark ashen brown hair was swept from her eyes in a movement with her hand, allowing deep blue eyes a free view of the distant post.
After the travel, the prospect of resting with comfort, food and drink was welcoming.
"Do you see it Elyssa?" The healer looked over to her friend, one finger pointing out to the post in the distance.
"Aye, I see it." Elyssa sighed, fatigued from a long day of travel. "We certainly can't reach it fast enough for my tastes." Normally lengthy bouts of travel were not a problem, but the young woman was seated atop a beast that was half horse, half eagle, and had been fully struggling with the idea of eating the donkey pulling the cart Yvette was lazing upon, all day long.
The Hippogriff trotted along, clacking its sharp beak and staring at the tasty beast of burden, but being kept at bay by the occasional firm heel in the side.
Another half hour of easy travel sees you at the walls of the trading post. Though dusk draws near, the gates have not yet closed, affording you a good view of the small courtyard of the interior. The space if filled by four short modest buildings, and in the center of the area, a pair of long wooden tables flank a small fire-pit, where even now a flame burns warmly. The flickering light sends ribbons of shadow dancing across the interior of the walls, and at the top of each of the corner towers, you can spot an old decrepit catapult, presumably leftover from the fort's days as a military outpost.
As you step into the courtyard, the bonnet-clad face of a middle-aged woman appears in the window of one of the buildings, and in short order she rushes outside with bundles of food beneath her arms and a wide grin on her face.
"Hail, travelers," she calls cheerfully as she busily sets out a hearty stew and two loaves of warm bread. "We've been awaiting your arrival, and we're ever so grateful for your help. Ah, but were are my manners? I'm Svetlana Leveton. My husband, Oleg, is just patching up the roof. Please, help yourselves," she gestures to the meal and unstops a bottle of wine. "I'm sure you're weary, and probably more than a bit hungry. Eat, rest. My husband will be down shortly to discuss matters with you, but I imagine those odious bandits will keep till dawn."
Vasili stepped forward with a warm smile across his face.
"Hail ma'am, While this food and drink is more than welcome, we had no idea we were expected. However if there is a way we can provide some aid to you, we would be happy to provide it."
"Did someone send word that we were coming?" The blond woman quirked a brow, rightly surprised that anyone had been waiting for them. It was probably nothing to be suspicious about, however, and Elyssa dismounted her beast.
Yevette lifted her chin, blinking in surprise, in complete agreement with Elyssa's question.
"I wasn't aware that anyone had, but they know somehow."
She didn't think to much of it as this point, following her friend's lead and shifted her posture to slip out of the cart, brushing a hand over her robes and walking to stand by Elyssa.
Svetlana raises a brow quizzically and her expression rapidly shifts from joy to perplexion. "You're not the relief troops sent by Restov?"
Before any of you can answer, a burly man with a one-day stubble tracing his wide jawline steps out from behind the building and approaches the tables. He gives your party a skeptical glance. "Are these the soldiers?" he asks his wife. She merely frowns at him, concern spreading across her face.
"We were expecting some soldiers from Rostland to help us with the bandit problem," Svetlana explains. "They've been plaguing us for some time now, and they're extortion is really starting to take its toll." She takes a seat as her husband shakes his head and mutters something about tardiness and troop discipline. After a moment, she looks up, her eyes coming to rest on your weapons. "Well, we wouldn't want to keep you from your own business, but if you could find the time to help us, we'd be most appreciative. I'm afraid with the thugs' predations, we don't have much coin to spare, but we could offer you free room and board if only you'll take care of them."
"We weren't drafted to come and fight bandits, but I think we would all agree that raids in this area are going to be a thorn in our side. Let's all sit down, break bread, and hear more about these bandits."
Petro gave a friendly smile to the Levetons, looking around to his traveling mates for agreement.
"Yes, let's speak of this, but first, where are my manners. I am Vasili Orlovsky, and these are my companions Petro, Elyssa, Yevette, and Zuri."
He gestures to each of them in turn, then walks over to the table and waits for the others to sit.
Elyssa nodded and made a detour at the cart to retrieve some of the trail rations from her bags, then returned to her mount. Rathin was sure to be insulted that the rest of them were going to be eating before he was, and a slighted hippogriff was more likely to misbehave just to spite his owner. "Stay." She held the strip of dried meat out of his reach. The bird-horse cocked his head to the side and fluffed out his crest, then adjusted his wings and sat with a great 'fwump'. Elyssa gave him the distraction and he gobbled it down, squawking afterward to let her know he still expected food.
Then the woman sat at the table with the rest of her companions.
Petro patted his horse tenderly on the shoulder. "Do not worry, Baraz, you will eat soon as well. If there is not sweet grass here, I will take you out in search of some later."
The tall man led his horse closer to the cart and tied a long rope between the animal and a rail. He scratched the horse on the mane to ensure he'll stay calm before going to sit at the table with Vasili and Elyssa.
Oh, so they had been mistaken for someone else, that certainly explained the moment of confusion, but upon hearing the problem this village was having with bandits.
Frowning, as an eyebrows twitched into an arch, she nodded when Petro abruptly agreed to lend assistance.
When she was introduced by Vasili she bowed her head gently.
She remained mostly quiet at this moment, since the pleasantries were being taken care of by the other party members, giving her move time to listen, and eat.
"Oh, thank you!" Svetlana exclaims, gesturing for you to be seated. Her and Oleg join you at the table, though the grizzled proprietor remains standing. "Those thugs have been demanding 'taxes' from us since they first showed up three months ago," the woman says as she pours herself some wine. "They said that if we didn't hand over all our furs and trade goods, they'd burn the trading post to the ground. They threatened to kill my dear Oleg, and well..." she trails off as she takes a hearty sip from her goblet.
Oleg nods grimly as he places a hand on his wife's shoulder. "They've arrived like clockwork since their first visit. Always within an hour of sunup, and every time on the first day of the month. I figure they're camp can't be more than a day away."
"Well, it sounds to me like these bandits need dealt with. I think we should confront them when they arrive tomorrow. The penalty for banditry is death, after all." Vasili said, as a brief grimace crossed his face.
"They'll certainly be surprised, then, won't they." Elyssa chuckled, "Maybe they'll have a change of heart when they see you've a group of 'soldiers' aiding you." It was highly unlikely, however, since bandits tended to be rather bold and doltish, which never lent itself to wise decisions. Having been part of her village's militia, Elyssa was fairly confidant they'd at least be able to drive off the tax collectors in the morning.
Elyssa reached out and tore off a chunk of bread while she listened to the others talk as she ate.
Yevette couldn't help an amused sort of snort at Elyssa's comment, looking over at the female ranger.
"You've always had the most charming imagination Elyssa." the cleric added with an endearing smile toward her friend.
Bandits were a lowly scum, and what this band was doing to these people was sickening. Yevette ate with more animated anger, ripping off bread and chewing with a soft scowl.
"I don't expect there will be too many of them," Oleg voices as he looks you up and down. "True, there were close to a dozen on their first visit, but I think they're getting complacent - they've sent fewer men each time. Last month it were six, and tomorrow, hopefully less than that."
"And hopefully they won't send the woman with the axes." Svetlana shudders as her husband nods grimmly. "She had a wicked way about her," she says meekly. Oleg sheepishly rubs his wrist.
"I'd wager she's the most dangerous of the lot," he agress, "But she was only here on their first visit. After that, seems that some crude oaf in a hood called most of the shots - he'll be here tomorrow, more likely than not." He gestures to a long roofed building across the courtyard. "I was thinking you might hide in the stables until they arrive, or perhaps the guesthouse. Once they're all inside, you can spring the ambush and put those curs to the sword! I'm sure their dangling corpses will give their friends pause before they tangle with us again!" He raises his fist into the air excitedly, but quickly regains his composure and looks at you contritely. "I know I'm no warrior or great tactician, though, and if you have a better plan, I leave it to you to put it into motion."
After finishing a calm bite of food, Petro looked questioningly at his hosts. "I understand that you've been tossing fantasies of justice being doled out to these criminals, but I wonder if there is a better strategy than murdering the ones that arrive tomorrow. I don't mean to imply that lethal force won't be used if they are unreasonable, but I would worry about reprisals from the remaining brigands. A fire could be very bad for this post, especially with the woods around here."
Vasili appears pensive. "Agreed, If we simply wipe out those that come to collect tomorrow, they will likely burn down this post in revenge. We will have to strive to take at least one captive, such that we can get back to their camp and handle the rest of them in one swoop."
At this point it was a good idea to let the others throw around their opinions, not only was she to busy with her food to speak for herself, but they seemed to have the gist of what to do covered, She was a healer, not a battle strategist,
an eyebrow raised at the mention of a women with an Ax, sounded like she might be the leader, and another high up on the bandit chain was the crude man in the hood. He didn't sound at all like someone she would want to meet, instead he was just going to be punished for his misdeeds upon these poor honest people.
She made a sharp "Humph" in agreement to her fellow party members.
"Aye, but it shouldn't be too difficult to find their camp if we can't." Elyssa took a hearty drink from her goblet, "Bandits aren't a right smart or discreet bunch, after all." The ranger craned her neck and glanced around the trading post.
"Do yah think really we should be having a chat with these fellows inside?" Elyssa smiled slightly and ran a hand through her hair, looking rather coy. "They might make a mess... And," She jerked a hand backwards towards the rather irate looking beast behind her, "Rathin'll get on the furniture."
"Mmmmm" Vasili raised his hand to his chin. "I don't think we should be underestimating them before we've encountered them." He paused to eat a bite of bread.
"My only fear about having our... discussion with them outside is the possibility of one of them escaping and warning the others of our presence here. What do think Petro?"
"Well, I don't think we should throw away the advantage of adequate light and maneuvering room outside. Maybe we could lure them in and keep them busy so somebody could cut off escape paths."
Petro excused himself from the meal table, thanking his hosts, before walking about the trading post. Hopefully there would be a good way to use the walls as a fence, but if not, familiarity with the terrain would not hurt.
"Whatever you guys decide," she said, now finished with her bread she picked at her fingertips distractedly before lowering her hands onto her lap and looking over at Petro as he got up and left to go take a look around, moving her gaze over to Elyssa.
"I think we should see what this guest house looks like, before we go deciding on where to be fightin', if the yah two donae mind, that is." She looked from her companions to the old couple; It was polite to not just barge into places, even if it had been offered up for hosting a fight.
The hippogriff, who had previously been sitting rather quietly, stood up and stamped his hooves and chittered briefly, followed by an impatient squawk. Rathin raised his crest and fluffed out the feathers on his face, resulting in a rather surprised looking bird. They were still talking and he was still not being fed.
"Well," Oleg says with trepidation, "I'd been thinking it would be best to ambush them in the courtyard, just inside the gate, but if you think diplomacy would be best..." He trails off as he glances down at his wife, and she simply nods. He continues. "In any case, a show of force would be in order. They're not likely to up and leave just for a band of travelers."
"Oh!" A hand shot up. That was from the Zuri, who had been uncharacteristically silent on account of devouring a hunk of thick, dark bread. The slight girl popped the last bit in her mouth, chewed hurriedly, swallowed, and spoke.
"If we're going to look for the bandit camp, I could scout." It was somewhere between a question and a suggestion and radiated excitement, which turned itself on the noisy hippogriff a moment later. "I think someone's hungry, isn't he? Are you hungry?" Zuri asked the creature, tilting her head to the side.
Vasili put both of his hands down on the table and looked around at his compatriots.
"Right, Elyssa, how about you take care of your hippogriff. Yevette, maybe you should set up the guest house in case we need to treat any injuries after tomorrow. Zuri, do you want to take a look around the woods right around the trading post, If we have to follow their tracks tomorrow, it would be helpful if you were already familiar with the terrain. Oleg and Svetlana, if theres anything else you can tell us about the bandits, that would be of great help, otherwise, I will go find Petro and see if he's found anything."
He smiled at his hosts, expecting that they wouldn't be able to tell him anything more, but it never hurt to ask.
Oleg furrows his brow at Zuri's offer. "Sure enough the skills of a scout will be useful in the Greenbelt, but certainly such rangings ought to wait? You've just arrived, probably weary, and the morning sun will bring bandits sure as Spring. Still, I'm sure you know best - you're the warriors here, not I." With that he, tears off a sizable hunk of bread and begins chewing stoically, staring blankly out over the wall.
The walls are fairly sizable, about ten feet high, so they'd make a good partition against anything that finds itself on the other side. A single ladder to the right of the gate offers a route onto the ramparts, though a skilled climber might be able to scale them without it. It seems the stables, with their low walls, shadowed interior, and mounds of hay, would make and ideal hiding spot, and while walking around the perimeter, you discover three waste pits behind the storage shed, each about eight feet in diameter and three feet deep.
Petro strode comfortably around the trading post, taking in the strategic layout of the place the best he could. The stables stood out above other locations as a likely place to get the better of bandits, but the warrior would have to ask Oleg if the bandits would be suspicious of being brought into the building.
The excited voice of the young druid rang out from the meal tables. It was both amusing and encouraging the way Zuri was getting ahead of herself to search out the bandits before the first encounter.
Something on the walls caught Petro's attention as he was walking the ramparts. He had seen the frame of what had once been a catapult as a passing glance arriving, but now he was curious about it. The warrior put on his metaphorical carpenter's hat and started to make a close inspection of the siege weapon: if it could work, how long to fix it if it's broken, how much material would be needed to fix it.
Knowledge Engineering
The catapults are old and certainly in need of attention, their conditions is not so poor as you first thought. Most of the damage is to the wood, which has experienced natural wear and tear, and a small degree of rotting. In spite of the rust, most of the iron bits look serviceable - you'll need to find new springs, of course, but the gears and winches will work fine. They can definitely be repaired, but you estimate that such a project would take at least two weeks, and even then, attempting to aim them at a force of a dozen bandits or less would be highly impractical. However, they might be of use to you once you are ready to begin building a kingdom...
To say that Rathin knew what Zuri was saying would be vastly overestimating his intelligence, but he did know that if he made enough noises, did a dance, or something else the humans found amusing, usually they would give him food. The hippogriff had decided on a combination of said activities once Zuri started making sounds at him. He turned his plate-shaped face towards her and spread his wings, all while alternating lifting his two front legs and squawking.
"Alright, Rathin. Quiet." Elyssa sighed and excused herself from the table to feed her mount. There was feed in the wagon, which she took out, laid across the hippogriff's back, and led him away by the reins towards the stables.
When her task when suggested to her, Yevette gave a single not, and pushed herself to her feet. "I can do that."
she made a stop by the cart, reaching in and pulling out her pack, mace and bow, hitching them over her shoulder before she turned to make her way over to the guest house to get is prepared the way she wanted it, she would have to optimize its functionality.
"but please no one mess with anything once its set, you know how much that annoys me"
When it looked like everyone was busy preparing for the next day, Vasili excused himself with a smile and made his way over to where Petro had gone earlier. Hopefully the warrior would have some ideas on how best to utilize the terrain against the bandits tomorrow. He soon stepped up behind his old friend
"Found anything interesting, Petro?"
Petro called out from up on the ramparts. "Hoy, Vasili! There is indeed something interesting up here! These catapults are not in working order now, but with some new beams, and the Levetons' approval, we could put them to some sort of use."
The tall warrior beamed down a cheerful smile to his friend. "One minute, let me come down from here to talk strategy." After a few moments, Petro made it back to the ladder and came down. He was fairly confident in his ability to drop harmlessly to the ground, but it was better not to chance it on the night before a fight.
After a few minutes relating the terrain and architecture of the trading post, Petro recommended "I think it may be best to bring the brigands into the stables where we can surprise them and box them in. You're a bit better with plans, though; what do you think?"
Vasili's brow furrowed. He started slowly, "Interesting, but I don't know how we could lure them into the stables."
He stood, thinking for a few more minutes.
"What if you hide behind the fort, outside the walls. Zuri is in the main house. Elyssa, Yevette and I are in the guest house. When the bandits come, and you hear them talking with Oleg and Svetlana, you come around and closes the gate, trapping everyone inside. Then Zuri comes out of the main house, maks sure that Oleg and Svetlana get in, then you and her close to melee while the rest of us shoot out of the windows of the guest house."
Once Rathin was fed and in the stables, Elyssa went to the guest house. She had all of her important gear already on her, Vasili could deal with his donkey.
"Do you need any help, Yevette?" Elyssa asked as she peeked her head into the building.
A window at the guest out suddenly flung open, as Yevette pressed her palms down onto the window sill, and leaned forward to look out into the court yard.
"Everything is set up in here!" she announced, before she scanned around for where the others had gone to, jumping in sirprise when the voice of Elyssa came form somewhere next to her, having not caught her coming in.
"Oh, dear, Elyssa."
Heaving a sigh she moved back, "Its fine, I didn't have to much to do, I like this little house."
Zuri patted at the hippogriff's dish-face of feathers, speaking to it much as someone would a small child. "He is, aren't you, yes, you're such a hungrypants-" Her crooning was cut off by hearing her name. "Hm?"
The girl waved Oleg's concerns away. "It's no trouble," she beamed. "I'll be back before you know it!" With that bright assurance she was gone, reaching for the signal whistle around her neck to summon Svaha, wherever the bird might be.
"That would be a more natural way to handle this situation. I think I'll want to ask Oleg if the gates can be locked to ensure the bandits won't escape."
Petro seemed to think silently for a few moments, feeling like he might be forgetting something. Surely it would come to him if it were important. He gave his head a short shake and put his hand on his comrade's shoulder.
"By the way Vasili, have you been in combat before? Are you nervous?"
"Well then! Show me where yah want me to sleep and I'll get to work on that." Elyssa yawned and slid her quiver and bow off of her shoulder. "And yah might want to put up yahr horse. Don't worry about Rathin, he's locked up good and tight."
"No, never been in an actual fight before." Vasili paused for a moment. "Though I've been through a fair amount of training, and this is a good plan. I think we should be fine." He flashed a smile. "Come, let's go back to the others, its getting late, and we will need our rest for tomorrow."
"Just over there" Yevette told the other female, pointing her to an aria that she had neatly designated for the females in the party, her gear already put away neatly and laid out appropriately.
At the mention of her horse, Yevette's eyes widened a little in realization
"Oh! My horse! I forgot! thank you Elyssa!"
With that she hurried our of the guest house, and over to where her horse was, to put him into the stables, to keep him out of the way for when morning came.
For the most part, you find yourself traveling accros a wide expanse of rolling gross. The land rises and falls in gentle slopes, but for the most part, it's relatively flat - nothing that you'd even call a hill. The occasional rock or boulder breaks up the monotony, but there are no real landmarks - the trading post dominates the landscape for about 10 miles in any direction.
To the east, these plains stretch on for as far as you can see. In the dying light, you can barely make out the treeline of the large forest that stands to the south and west of the post. A few hours of travel will bring you to the edge of the trees, but by this time night has covered the Greenbelt. You can't see more than ten feet into the dense thicket, and surely travel into the forest would be significantly slower than across the verdant plains. Svaha's head swivel's alertly towards the woods and begins to fidget nervously as he feels the presence of its nightime patrons beginning to stir.
"Two great influences on a battle are a good plan and confidence. It is good that we have them. We may come out of this tomorrow without even a scratch!"
Petro grinned at Vasili, and a knowing look crossed his face.
"You go ahead back to the house, I remembered I need to see to the ladder. They need to come down for tomorrow"
The warrior waved at Vasili as he began to make his way to the ladder to move it from the wall into the stables. There ought to be plenty of room inside there not to cause any problems.
At some point Zuri came bounding through the gates again with an "I'm back!" that was entirely too full of energy for the late hour. There were a couple leaves caught in her hair, and a dark shape circled above until it landed on the roof and became Svaha, the eagle.
The corpses of two bandits now lie sprawled across the ground, their blood seeping into the gravel. The survivors take nervous looks about as the kneel in the dirt. Oleg wastes no time in binding them, and one of them winces as the burly man yanks taught a knot around his wrists. "Not so hard, merchant!" he whispers menacingly.
"Pah! Be grateful if a few rope burns is the worst that happens to you! If it were up to me, well... But that's not the case, much as I wish it were." He thumps the thug on the back of the head and steps over to you, trying to conceal a smile. He lowers his voice so the bandits do not hear him. "I presume you'll want to interrogate them, then? If you need a little help roughing them up, let me know and I'll happily lend my fists." He glances back over his shoulder, and his grim demeanor quickly returns. "You know the penalty for such activities. I say after we've done with them, we should just put them to the sword and be done with it. No real point in drawing it out."