Adam hits the leader with one of his most charming smiles, an amazing feat from one who is usually more sarcastic and irritated by the world at large.
"You've had quite a battle. You're lucky we found you when we did. Are you hungry? I'll go see if we have some food."
Adam pretends to leave, but instead hides behind a low stable wall when he nears the exit.
Without saying anything, Bea kneels down beside the bandit and tries her best to tend to his wounds.
Retsiji nods. "Disappearing without a trace is good, too." He then casts sleep on the captured bandits.
With the casting of Retsiji's spell, the four bandits all slump over, fast asleep.
Adam hits the leader with one of his most charming smiles, an amazing feat from one who is usually more sarcastic and irritated by the world at large.
"You've had quite a battle. You're lucky we found you when we did. Are you hungry? I'll go see if we have some food."
Adam pretends to leave, but instead hides behind a low stable wall when he nears the exit.
The leader nods, appreciative of Adam's 'friendly' offer. "Ah, that explains all this blood, then, hmm? Thank you, friend, a drink of wine would be even better."
When Adam crouches down behind the wall, the bandit leader gives no sign that he notices the hiding halfling.
Without saying anything, Bea kneels down beside the bandit and tries her best to tend to his wounds.
"Many thanks, lass. You are most kind. Perhaps when I am mended, you could tend to some of my other needs, eh?" the bandit says with a leering smile.
Retsiji shudders once, takes his staff in both hands, and brings it down on the wounded bandit's head.
Jacyn starts on the opposite end from Retsiji, lifting the heads of the bandits by the hair just long enough to draw one of the short swords across the neck of each man. Once the cut is made, he moves the dead thieves in a manner to keep as much blood as possible from getting onto their clothese.
"No sense in gettin their clothes soaked in blood if we can avoid it. Extra shirts and breeches are hard to come by out here, Id imagine."
"Many thanks, lass. You are most kind. Perhaps when I am mended, you could tend to some of my other needs, eh?" the bandit says with a leering smile.
Bea gives the man a not-very sincere half-smile that ends up looking more like a smirk. "You're heading back to camp then? Perhaps I might join you there - how far is it?"
Simn was doing his best to be unobtrusive for the moment. That and avoid getting exercised over the bandit's behaviour. Bea seemed to be handling him well enough for now, and he thought it better to let her ask the questions, since she had the man's undivided attention.
Bea gives the man a not-very sincere half-smile that ends up looking more like a smirk. "You're heading back to camp then? Perhaps I might join you there - how far is it?"
"Oh, just a day's ride southwest of here. It's right near the bank of the Thorn River, of course," answers the bandit leader.
Adam waits patiently to see if the bandit leader will say anything further of importance.
Adam waits patiently to see if the bandit leader will say anything further of importance.
"If these fine fellows go the way my uncle's prisoners did, the breeches likely won't be salvageable without more than a few prestidigitation spells."
Retsiji leaves the rest of the executions to those more martially inclined. He retrieves pen, ink, and paper from his pack and writes out a death warrant on charges of unrepentant banditry, including the particulars, for the four bandits (by description, since we never learned their names), with space for all six of the party to sign it, and signs it himself. He then writes one out for Happs, but leaves it unsigned, and writes up an affidavit summarizing Oleg and Svetlana's statements.
"Oleg, Svetlana--sign this, please. I'm sure that some one of these bandits is going to turn out to be some Swordlord's third bastard son, and just in case I want everything looking good. Everyone else can sign the first warrant--I think we'll be signing the second one in short order, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.
"Oleg, do you have a shovel handy?"
Bea gives the man a not-very sincere half-smile that ends up looking more like a smirk. "You're heading back to camp then? Perhaps I might join you there - how far is it?""Oh, just a day's ride southwest of here. It's right near the bank of the Thorn River, of course," answers the bandit leader.
"Hmm...who all is at that camp? Would we be alone?"
Havrin assists Jacyn with the gruesome deed of executing the prisoners and disposing of their bodies. He then signs the death warrants prepared by Retsiji.
"Here, we can load the bodies on the cart and hitch up a couple of the horses to pull it a fair distance away from the trading post. Assuming Master Oleg has some shovels, we can dig them a mass grave in an out of the way spot. It would be nice if Simn could lay some blessings over the bodies, just to make sure they don't come back to haunt us. Maybe the four of us - Jacyn, Retsiji, Simn, and myself - could take care of this while Adam and Bea interrogate the leader," Havrin suggests.
Retsiji leaves the rest of the executions to those more martially inclined. He retrieves pen, ink, and paper from his pack and writes out a death warrant on charges of unrepentant banditry, including the particulars, for the four bandits (by description, since we never learned their names), with space for all six of the party to sign it, and signs it himself. He then writes one out for Happs, but leaves it unsigned, and writes up an affidavit summarizing Oleg and Svetlana's statements.
"Oleg, Svetlana--sign this, please. I'm sure that some one of these bandits is going to turn out to be some Swordlord's third bastard son, and just in case I want everything looking good. Everyone else can sign the first warrant--I think we'll be signing the second one in short order, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.
"Oleg, do you have a shovel handy?"
Oleg watches impassively as Jacyn does the dirty work, slitting the throat of each of the four subordinate bandits in succession. He nods in satisfaction as their lifeblood pools out on the hard ground. "No more nor less than they deserved. Good riddance."
Turning to Retsiji, Oleg agrees, "That's good thinking," as he puts pen to the document then hands it to Svetlana to do the same. "I'll fetch that shovel."
"Hmm...who all is at that camp? Would we be alone?"
"Well, no, not alone really. Tressle's in charge, so she'll be there of course. The other lads come and go, but besides m'self and the boys with me, there's..." he pauses to take count in his head, "maybe a dozen other fellows, if they're all in camp at once. But that don't happen too oft."
With a wolfish grin he adds, "But don't worry about them too much, we can always slip off into my tent for some alone time."
Adam opens the door and closes it again (if it is already closed), and walks back into the room.
"Umm, there are some men outside looking for him. We're going to have to hide him."
He looks at the bandit leader with a curious gaze.
"What did you do? Why is this military group interested in you?"
".... Maybe the four of us - Jacyn, Retsiji, Simn, and myself - could take care of this while Adam and Bea interrogate the leader," Havrin suggests.
"Even though he's wounded, I'd still rather not leave Adam and Bea alone with him, especially since he's got a horse around to make his escape. Another thing to keep in mind is that unless this Happs fellow has more of a conscience than his mates he's headed the same place they are, right? Let's not waste time digging two graves."
Adam opens the door and closes it again (if it is already closed), and walks back into the room.
"Umm, there are some men outside looking for him. We're going to have to hide him."
He looks at the bandit leader with a curious gaze.
"What did you do? Why is this military group interested in you?"
"Wh...what? Military? From Restov?!" A look of near panic falls upon the man's face. "Hide me, yes, please! I'm a wanted man in Restov! They think I was running a protection racket back when I was a member of the city watch. Don't let them catch me here, please!"
"Even though he's wounded, I'd still rather not leave Adam and Bea alone with him, especially since he's got a horse around to make his escape. Another thing to keep in mind is that unless this Happs fellow has more of a conscience than his mates he's headed the same place they are, right? Let's not waste time digging two graves."
"Yes, you're right," Havrin agrees, acknowledging the wisdom of the wizard's assessment. "While we're waiting, I'll see if I can find their tracks."
Havrin moves over to the bandits' pack horses, inspecting their overall condition and checking their hooves carefully for any distinctive patterns or damage that might make following their tracks easier. Then he steps outside to examine the bandits' tracks leading into the post and follows them for several yards before returning.
Havrin finds that the horses' hooves don't really have any distinctive markings or damage. But upon leaving the trading post, he only needs a few moments to find exactly what he'd hoped for. The bandits' mounts have left numerous tracks in the soft, muddy earth, giving the ranger confidence that he can track them back to their source with little trouble.
"I wouldn't worry too much about Bea and Adam, Retsiji. Bea looks like she can handle herself pretty well, and Adam didn't look a novice to his blade either. I think they can handle him. Besides, he's injured and tied up anyway."
Jacyn signs the warrant offered to him without hesitation and then sets to work helping to bury the bodies.
Retsiji isn't exactly cut out for physical labor, but he'll also pitch in and help dig once he finds a decent place to put the mass grave.
"Say, where does your water come from? If you've got a well, how deep is it? Last thing we want is to mess that up for you."
"Wh...what? Military? From Restov?!" A look of near panic falls upon the man's face. "Hide me, yes, please! I'm a wanted man in Restov! They think I was running a protection racket back when I was a member of the city watch. Don't let them catch me here, please!"Adam opens the door and closes it again (if it is already closed), and walks back into the room.
"Umm, there are some men outside looking for him. We're going to have to hide him."
He looks at the bandit leader with a curious gaze.
"What did you do? Why is this military group interested in you?"
Bea suddenly goes stiff at the mention of the Restov military, the panic in the prisoner's face reflected in her own. The military, here? Or is Adam just saying that to get information out of him? Oh gods...
She shifts uncomfortably and looks back at Adam, concern all too apparent on her face.
Fortunately something in his face conveys his ruse to her, and the panic quickly fades away, leaving sharp pangs of embarrassment. Oh I feel so stupid...I could've screwed this up.
Once the bodies are buried, Jacyn moves back inside with Oleg, Havrim, and Retsiji, to await the ending of the interrogation of the bandit leader by Bea and Adam.
Adam raises an eyebrow with a sardonic expression. He looks over at Bea.
"Then we should see what we can do to hide you and help you escape."
He turns his gaze back to the bandit leader.
"Is there anything else we need to know, if we're going to save your life?"