Alannah listened to the exchange only partially in the moment, the rest of her mind working on the revalations she had recently come by. It was easy not to focus on the overwhelming sense of loss when the group was in the fied but now it all came crashing back.
She glanced at her companions feeling the urge to confide in somebody, the fact that they knew essentially nothing about her actually bothered her slightly although she couldn't say why.
Anya putting away the missive snapped her back to the present, her eyes going back to the leader of the soldiers to judge his reaction.
Lev
Bergan was happy to see the big hunter, though Lev had to return to the tent camp to find the man. He was working on a piece of wooden furniture for a young woman who seemed to be travelling alone now. When Lev had first turned up, the two of them had been smiling and laughing at some jest Bergan had made, and the girl had blushed before taking her leave at the sight of the big hunter.
It turned out that the girl, Kattelyn, had come here with her betrothed on the promise of new land. However, when Garess and his men had been deposed, her man had left in the middle of the night. He hadn't bothered to wake Kattelyn, and had left a note effectively terminating the relationship. Unfortunately he had also taken all of their cash so here she was. Bergan had been helping her since then, though now he blushed when he spoke as well.
Elsbeth
AS usual, Elsbeth seemed to manage the first bath when she returned to Oleg's. Svetlana was all gushing happiness and soon the two women had their heads together and were discussing all matters women discuss. Trystan joined them for a short while, pressing against Svetlana's skirts and smiling up at his adoptive mother. He seemed to ave recovered from the loss of "wolf" but didn't talk anywhere near as much as he had before Garess took the animals life. Svetlana sent to boy to gather wood for a fire in the guest quarters while Elsbeth undressed and began to bathe. Just before she left, Svetlana leaned in close and whispered to the beautiful sorceress "I'm late in moonsblood Elsbeth." she both smiled and managed to look a little scared at the same time "I believe I may be pregnant!"
Alannah
As usual, the young archer seemed to have time to herself once they arrived back in more "civilised" lands. Whetever had been in the missive, Anya was keeping quiet at first. With some time to herself before the main meal, Alannah moved around the palisade, finding a high spot to contemplate what she had discovered recently about her past. She sat staring out over the rolling planes, watching as another storm began to brew in the hills region to the East. Someone down that way was going to cop a brutal pounding tonight, and while Oleg's would ost likely remain dry, they would certainly be in for a great light show.
A heavy cough behind her broke her revell, causing her to turn abrubtly. The dwarven mercenary that the group had hired to replace Garess and his men stood a few paces away. He had managed to move very quietly despite his heavy boots and the wooden planking on the palisade. The stout warrior stood looking at the storm as well, though it was obvious he wanted to talk to Alannah. Finally, he turnaed flint coloured eyes her way and spoke simply "Ye dinnae remember me do ye lass? Musta been a might royal knock to yer head as did ye in then, for last time we met, ye was swearing fit ter bust at me as I walked out on teh deal you and Mikey was offerin me. Wished ye listened to me own good sense then, now a good man is deed, and you aint got the memories ter know why that is." His accent was thick, and sounded like a rolling brogue that most dwarves seemed to muster when trying to speak the common tongue.
Alandra
The young priestess of Pharasma didn't have much to do around Olegs. Since Father Kavken and his "flock" had left, the number of folk who came to her little shrine had almost halved. While she was tending it, a nervous young man attended her, wringing his cap while he stood waiting. When she finaly looked up to ask him his bsiness he spoke rapidly "Please miss, me wife's waters broke this mornin'. We'd be much apprecative ifn ye could be there ter assist in the birthn'. I cannae pay ye much, but I've gotten a number o' good furs recently and am plannin' to try and get a decent price from Oleg fer them. Once that's sorted, I can pay ye right proper miss. Will ye come?"
Anya
The captain nodded as Anya spoke of the troubles with the kobolds and their run in whith his own corporal. "Yes, I'm sorry about that m'lady. He's a good trooper, and will make a great NCO once we smooth out some of his rough edges, but I'm afraid dealing with folks in a gentle manner may be beyond him. Dinner sounds pleasent, and I will attend to you then. For now though, I need to see to my men and ensure their billets are secure." He bowed low again, then turned and left for his men.
Oleg was more than excited when she returned to ring to him. He almost leapt in the air and caught her up in a great rib crushing hug before he remembered himself and stepped back blushing a little. "M'lady Anya, I cannot thank you enough. This will mean the world to 'Lana. She's been a little distant of late, all strange moods and shy smiles. Hopefully this can bring some life back to her." He kissed the ring and gave it a quick polish before excitedly offering "Best I can offer for your troubles at the moment is credit at my trade post for you and your friends I'm sorry. Most of my money is caught up in stock right now, but I can offer you great deals on what we have."
Everyone
The missive that Anya recieved was actually from Lord Chancellor Devetion, the man who had originally hired you all to explore the region. It read "My congratulations on the work you and your party have done so far. I regret that Arianna will no longer be provided the protection of the Swordlords as her crime has now become very public. I will do what I can for her in the courts here in Restov."
"AS for the remainder of the mission, we have a new imperative to completely eradicate the menace of the banditry in the Greenbelt. Plans are in place to send you the resouces needed to properly establish a settlement in the region, but in order to do so you must break the back of these thugs. Rumours of this "Staglord" have been confirmed, both by yourselves and through other channels. It is time this man was "removed", as it were. I trust you and your companions are up to the task, for he lies well beyond the reach of any assets I can bring to bear without causing some uncomfortable questions to be asked from our friends near teh Dragon throne."
"I know this falls outside of the original bounds of your charter, and I offer you suitable recompense for your time and whatever risks are taken to ensure this man is no longer a threat."
It is finished with a flourishing signiature and the seal of the Swordlords pressed in crimson wax.
Elsbeth hesitate as she enters the water, her eyes instinctively wander Svetlana abdomen. This is an aspect of life that the sorceress has always regarded as far distant, if not irrelevant.
After all Calistria preaches detachment from emotional ties, and the half-elf has always tried to do her utmost to respect the will of her goddess.
This includes preventing potential lovers to get too close.
But seeing the hint of happiness in the eyes of Svetlana, the girl now finds herself to doubt her beliefs.
In the end she can only utter "'Tlana this is....wonderful.I wish i could be of more help"
Anya looked quite pleased with herself as she read the letter. This was an easy to spot chance. "Friends, this is a once in a lifetime chance. If we finish this mission, and the Chancellor comes through, we will gain beyond what some might consider possible. A barony at least - and considering his turn of phrase regarding the Dragon Throne - one with significant authonomy."
Her day seemed to have brightened to the point that all that was missing was a physical halo descending upon her. "Let us take a couple of days to prepare. We need to find this "Stag Lord"'s hideout as soon as possible, and clean it out.
Anya exchanged some more empty pleasantries the the captain, and watched him go about his duties. He seemed, if nothing else, polite and well-spoken. After the previous disaster she wouldn't leave anything to chance this time. No matter what the letter contained, she would personally make sure they stayed on good terms.
"Oleg, don't overtax yourself. Store Credit will be fine, and we'll take care not to drive you to ruin." She gave the man a good-natured shake of his shoulder, and seemed quite pleased. She liked Oleg, after all - the kind of sometimes gruff, but decent person she had always imagined the common man to be. "Just be sure to make the moment good for Svetlana. She's probably been going through hard times these last weeks - we all were. Take a little time, an night just for the two of you."
Anya arrived at the dinner table cleaned up and had even taken a little bit of care to look presentable. Just a hint of coal to her eyes, her hair combed fresh... the most important concession was wearing a white blouse instead of the more sensible greens, and soft leather pants.
As Brovoy expected, she arrived slightly after she had seen him take his place. "I hope you have not been waiting long, Captain" she opened conversation - at first some smalltalk about his journey and arrival here, in order to get a feeling of the man's mind behind the impeccable manners.
Alannah looked at the dwarf warrior long and hard, searching her mind for any trace of recognition, and yet she found nothing. The desire to learn of her past, to learn more of Mikhail was overwhelming, and the opportunity to talk to one who had know them both was a blessing, ...or a curse.
"Were we mercenaries?" she asked. "The offer you turned down, what was it?"
"Please miss, me wife's waters broke this mornin'. We'd be much apprecative ifn ye could be there ter assist in the birthn'. I cannae pay ye much, but I've gotten a number o' good furs recently and am plannin' to try and get a decent price from Oleg fer them. Once that's sorted, I can pay ye right proper miss. Will ye come?"
"Of course I'll come, and you don't have to pay me. Letting Pharasma bless the child is payment enough."
Alandra hurries off with the woman.
Alannah
The dwarf sighed heavily and leaned against the wooden palisade, staring at the lightning show that Alannah herself had been watching earlier. "Mikey and you showed up about a year ago, flashing gold and silver around Restov and asking after willing swords. I've worked with Mikey afore lass. He was good people and I was ready ter sign up. Then he mentioned working with Akiros Ismort. That man would sell his own ma if it meant profit, and there was rumors he was playing multiple fields when you two were recruiting. Ye never got ter tellin' me what the job was, since I got up and walked out there an then. You were cussin' me blind godly, since I'd taken a good share o' coin in drinkin' with ye that night. I still smile at the memory."
He looked at her face, staring into her eyes before continuing " next I'd heard, the entire lot of ye had been killed down near the border o' Pitax"
Alannah barely heard those last words though. The mention of the mans name brought a memory to her. Smiling eyes that ran deep, and a mouth filled with words of honey. She had kissed those lips, falling in to the poisonous trap the honeyed words wove and betrayed her man in doing so. Akiros........
Ooc - more later when I can use the computer again.
"My place should be amongst magnificent halls and palaces of luxury, not mud and trees. If going back in that setting means getting rid of this Stag Lord so be it"
Anya
Dinner with the good captain proved entertaining and stress free. The man was a study in good manners, though occasional rough edges crept in as his time leading men in war and border patrols had rubbed off somewhat.
As Anya probed his social defences with her initial questions about his work, she found he was quite the professional. He had taken care to see his men billeted and horses properly coralled before tending his own needs. He had no adjutant, though his role most likely afforded him one. Eiher he couldn't afford one, which meant his family wasn't sending large money his way, or he preffered to take care of his gear himself. He didn't comment either way.
He did mention the Lord Chancellor as a person of mutual contact however. "The Lord Chancellor saw to my posting in this area some two years ago. I met him once as a patrol sergent guarding his enterage as they travelled to pay obeisance to the Dragon Throne when the Lord Regent came to power. They were ....troublesome times. We ran in to some folk as decided removing Devetion from the political arena might serve everyone better. I managed to stop that, though it cost me a few men to do so. This posting was both a promotion and a show of trust from the Lord Chancellor.". The Captain leaned in a little closer and whispered slightly "He has plans for the region down here, ones that may bring a stable southern border for Restov. I'm here to assist those that are working to hlep bring about that stability. Unfortunately, I've been held up dealing with some Centaur traouble to the East, otherwise we may have made it here before the trouble with Garess and his men."
The fact he knew about the troubles despite being on long term patrol spoke volumes of how much contact he had with Restov.
Overall, Anya found him forthright and honest. It may just be that this man was a true ally afterall.
Anya more and more liked what she saw, heard and sensed from this man. He was smart enough not to give too much away, but not so crass as to give nothing. She responded in kind, all the while silently contemplating how he played into her ideas of the future, and if maybe, he was going to be one of the keys to success.
"I met the Lord Chanellor briefly, too. In fact, we only were there on our initial comission. But I agree with your views - the southern border needs to be protected - or else Restov can never take its eyes off the bandits." She intimated, with a roguish grin. She understood what he meant, and made sure he could glimpse at an even larger picture she had begun to piece together.
Lev nods at Anya's words. "We'll be sure to locate the man soon enough and with luck, that final stroke will put paid to the banditry in the area. We should see if we can learn more of this miscreant as well."
A brief smile touches Lev's lips as he observes the situation. "It seems that things have been going...well...here. If things continue to go well for Anya and myself, perhaps we can make arrangements to hire the young lady as well. In the meantime, keep up the good work and if you need anything, let me know. It is clear we made a good choice in bringing you to our employ, Bergan."
He claps the young man on the shoulder.
"I do have a question for you as well. Have you heard any news of the so-called Stag Lord? Before you joined our company, or even after?"
Almost no one at Oleg's could provide more detail about teh whereabouts of teh Staglord. However, given that the group had scouted nearly all the lands nearby with no real sign of him, it made sense that he must lie somewhere south of the lands they'd searched to date.
Bergan's only input was to say that the leaders of teh bandits he had run with originally had all been quite afraid of the Stag lord. They had also made a great deal out of protecting the alcohol they had stored in their camp, claiming it was for the Staglord himself. He had only been with the band for a week or less when the explorers had come swooping in and rescued Oleg and Svetlana.
With their equipment purchased, and with renewed purpose, the party set out to find the staglord and put an end to his reign of terror in this region once and for all.
Lev rubs his recently shaven jaw thoughfully.
"Bergan shared something with me that I caught my interest. It seems that the original band of bandits he was with had stressed the importance of setting aside alcohol for the Staglord. No one else was allowed to touch it. Perhaps that's something we can use...If we bring alcohol along with us and are in a position to offer it to the Staglord in his men, that might give us an advantage."
"We should buy a bunch of good wine and disguise ourselves as merchants. maybe he will attack us and we can take him by surprise."
"If we had sufficient stocks of alcohol and we are properly disguised i could really help in deceiving some bandit making him think we are merchants. Obviously it would still be very risky and remember that I'm not going to end up in the hands of those people."
Lev frowns. "I'm not sure about posing as merchants. Why would a merchant go out into the wild like that? But we could try to pose as bandits who seek to join him. Only," Lev adds as he looks at Elsbeth, "I don't know how we would explain you, Elsbeth. You wouldn't fit the role very well, either as merchant or bandit."
"I said properly disguised just for that but i see your point.As merchants one of us girls could pose as your wife but what about the others? As bandits i could pose for a prisoner of yours, but that would mean entering thieir stronghold in chains.Not my stuff really"
For two days the party rode south, traveling through lands they had explored only a few short weeks ago. The Lands were greener, with the recent rains bringing about the full growth of the wild lands. As beautiful as the land was becoming, there were many reminders of the dangers here.
On the morning of the second day, they came across the savaged remnants of a large elk, it's flesh stripped from bones that were shattered for their marrow. Lev tried to work out whast it was that had killed the best, but it was not something he had come across before. It was large, with tracks seemingly like that of the water lizards they sometimes got further north, though it seemed to have too many feet.
By late evening they had come to a large and fast flowing river. They travelled the banks for close to an hour, trying to find a place to cross when a burnt out building came in to view. The edifice had been built from logs and river stone, with a shed or kennel beside it. Next to the building, the remnants of a ferry line ran across the river, the wreck of the ferry itself resting further downstream in a tangle rocks and smashed timbers.
Whatever had happened here, the lig had faded so much at traveling further would be dangerous. At least here the shell of the building offered some shelter and the kennel offered a place for the horses to be picketed.
Alannah dismounted, scanning the area with sharp eyes.
Perception
"Whatever did this probably has very little reason to come back here." she gives voice to her thoughts.
Lev nods in agreement. "They did a pretty thorough job. It should be a safe place to rest for the night and be fairly defensible."
He checks the ground to see if there are any recent tracks.
Alannah and Lev scouted the small building site but came up without much information. This event happened months ago it would seem. If any tracks had been left here, the recent rains had washed them away.
During their little scout around, they did find a sign and small rusted bell hanging near the soggy rope that spanned the river. The sign read "Nettles crossing - 5 coppers - ring bell for service"
The place seemed deserted enough.
The small fire they had built for cooking food spread a comfortable warmth through the group. Elsbeth stood watch while Alannah took her turn at the camp fire this time. The young sorceress gazed over the fast flowing river, watching as swallows and finches darted over the waters and through the trees in the last light of the day.
She followed the flight of three swallows, envious of their speed and flight. Her eyes tracked their path but they scattered suddenly, swooping up and outwards as something disturbed their flight.
Standing on the surface of the river itself, near the wreckage of the old ferry, stood the soggy and rotting corpse of a man. The thing held a large ranseur in its hands, and its burning gaze pierced the very soul of the girl as she stood there looking at it.
The thing took a tremulous step forwards, it legs moving through sheer force of will as the muscles and flesh seemed too corrupted by rot and swolen with water to truly work. As the foot came down, it pressed against the waters surface as if it were solid ground. Inexorably the thing came forward, pressing towards the small party camped in the ruins of the old building. Its mouth opened and it seemed to speak, but Elsbeth couldn't hear waht was being said over the sound of the river.
Elsbeth takes a few steps backwards and quickly reaches the camp fire, keeping her eyes on the weird man approaching, then she tries to awake the rest of the party.In the meantime she readied her rod of magic missile
"Everyone, someone weird closing by, wake up and do it quick"
Lev reaches for his sword and stands, looking for Elsbeth. "Where is it," he asks softly.
"From the river, near the wreckage of the ferry"
Alandra see's the thing and clutches her holy symbol.
"It should be dead."
AS they gathered hastily together, all of the group could clearly see the dead thing as it moved across the water. Anya drew her swords, stepping forwards though with some trepidation.
As the creature got closer, it raised a hand, pointing a quavering digit to the party and uttering words in a doom laden tone.
"You are not the ones I seek. I task you now, bring to me the corspe of the lord of stags and cast it forth into the water so that I may look upon his visage in death. Kill him, and cast vengence upon those he runs with for what they did here."
The creature stopped at the edge of the water, moving its pointing fingure to fix each member of the exploration team one by one. As if satisfied it knew their faces, the dead thing seemed to come apart, falling in a dripping mass of water and vanishing into the river below its feet.
Lev lowers his sword and looks about at the others. "Interesting. It seems that our task is a popular one. It's a shame whatever it was didn't hang around to answer questions."
He returns his sword to its baldric. "We should get some rest and be ready for tomorrow's work. I think it's fair to say that we will be relatively safe in this place."
Glad for not having had to fight, Elsbeth contemplates the river wondering what was going on in this place.
"I agree, i'll finish my turn on watch, then off to sleep"
"I don't like that thing, but I suppose you're right. I'll take the last watch so I can say my prayers."
As Lev predicted, the evening was quiet and nothing dsturbed their rest. It was another half days ride along the river bank before the group came to an ancient stone bridge that spanned the river. It had overtones of Taldan arcitecture, but the stone foundations and support struts were older than that nations settlements in the area. Age and weather had eroded whatever designs had been carved into these intitial structures, but they seemed to be built on grander scale than most humanoids built to in modern times.
Crossing the bridge, they found another ominous sign. A man had been stretcehd into a star formation across the the ground, staked out next to a large ants nest. The creatures had been feasting on him for a few days it would seem, for much of the flesh was gone, though the rancid smell of rot was still strong in the air. A crude sign was spiked into the ground next to the corspe, words painted in what seemed to be dried blood on the timber. [i]"So end all who refuse tythe to the Stag Lord"[/b]
Nothing of value remained of the man, and no tracks were near to tell who had done this, but the body was most likely only a few days old. Both Lev and Alandra agreed that the ants would have stripped the body completely in a few more days.
As the sun began its descent below the horizon, the lights of a fortress came into sight. The wooden edifice sat high upon a rocky hill, overlooking a large lake that gleamed red and purple in the afternoon light. With little to no other signs of habitation in this zone, this looked to be the likely whereabouts of the Staglords fortress.
Lev looks at the group. "I think our best shot is to pose as one of the Staglord's men.
He pulls out the badge of the Stag Lord's men that they'd found in the beginning and puts it on.
"Anyone who has one of these can put it on," he says softly. "The barrels of ale we brought can be used as our tithe. I'd prefer to scout out the fortress before going in but I don't think that'll be possible; they've likely got skilled guards keeping watch on the walls and the approach is going to be pretty exposed."
He looks the others over in the dim light. "We don't know what we're going to find there so I think it best if we try to focus on gathering information first. There's no way to know how many men this Staglord has."
He looks to Elsbeth. "You're very persuasive with the right audience and I'd like to take advantage of that. But you'd have to swallow your fear and not let them see any hint of uncertainty. For this to work, we'd need to seem like outlaws and bandits that fit in with them. If you don't think you can do that, we need to find someone else to speak for us."
"Does this sound like a workable plan? There's certainly still things to be decided on, but we should decide right now if this is how we want to approach things. Any better ideas are welcome."
"She doesn't look like much of a bandit," Alandra says about Elsbeth, "Maybe we should tie her up so she looks like a prisoner. You know, with loose knots so she can escape when the fighting starts"
Elsbeth quickly thinks at the chances she has,sure that her party trusts her.
"I can swallow my fear, but i should have to wear a badge to have good chances of fool them.If i'm not wrong we don't have enough for everyone of us.Of course we can say i lost mine in a fight, but we don't look like we had one recently.And for the matter of making me look like a prisoner, you would have to be really persuasive in saying that i cannot be touched by anyone except Lev, since if i have to play the prisoner you would have to act like i'm not allowed to talk at all.I can stand letting Lev touch me if it for deception, but i surely won't allow them"
"Has it ocurred to anyone else that the only agents of the Stag Lord we've seen have been men? We don't know if they're any women in his fortress other than for entertainment. If we go in there wearing badges we'd be killed instantly, if we're lucky."
"Good point Alannah,we only met one.That double axe wielding leader in the first bandit camp we smashed"
Anya pursed her lips. "I remember her, but I'm not sure she was affiliated with the stag lord. Did she have one of these medallions, or was she without one?" Sending in Elsbeth up front felt a little light on the consideration to her - if something went wrong, they would have real trouble springing her out. Elsbeth did not know how to pick a lock, did not have the skill to hold off attackers very long, and her magic... might not be enough.
- The names of the three leaders they've killed so far (Twin axe girl, the man at Olegs and the dwarf. I'll dig them up later and post them in my profile so you reference them).
- The fact that only one person in each group they've fought so far wore a silver medallion.
- The bandits don't seem to discriminate between men and women nor race. You suspect that whoever leads a group most likely had to prove themselves through combat.
- Let's assuume you have bought the alcohol you dsussed earlier, plus some clothes etc to make yourselves look more bandit like.
gotta go, dinners up.
Cheers
Lev shakes his head. "We encoutered a female leader before we met you, Alannah. That shouldn't be a problem. I don't think binding any of our members and presenting them as a prisoner is the best way to go. We don't even know yet that they take prisoners. Besides, that's an extra amount of subterfuge that we can probably do without. Elsbeth, it may be best to make you as nondescript as possible."
He touches the amulet he is now wearing. "I think we need to do our best to blend in. We just deliver the kegs of ale as tribute and then complete our reconnaisance. As soon as we know what we are dealing with, we can make plans for taking the leader out. It may be best, Anya, that we let you do all the talking."
"Ok, i'll talk only if questioned"
A suggestion from me, spoilered for space.
Normally I'd let you guys plan away and take it from there, but I think we'll get stuck in limbo if we keep going like that.
Some key points about certain characters that I've noticed - Elsbeth and Alandra are both built for just this situation. They have charisma skills, feats and traits that mean interracting with the bandits (and male bandits in particular) is something they will be very good at. I'd highly recommend allowing them to do so.
This is for two reasons - 1st is better chance of success (a bit metagame I know)
- 2nd it gives both of them a chance to shine and show what can be done outside of combat. Neither of their characters have had much chance to do so in the game to date, so this might be very nice for them.
Some in game reasons how you can justify it. Alandra is a criminal come good in the church. She could've just as easily turned bandit so has a good chance of really getting into this role.
Elsbeth has had experience as a courtesan, so to speak. She could use seduction to convince any hotblooded male that what she says was true, just on the off chance she might give them a bit of that Hawtness! Never underestimate the power of showing a bit of leg and cleavage to uncivilised men. Lev may need to run interference to stop any immediate response though :)
Anya is a solid combatant and very strong personality, but consider that these bandits fled the nobility and all that they stood for in Brevoy. Anya is a noble, and she would have the tone of one to these folk. If you've heard how highborn folk talk you'll understand what I mean (Rounded vowels, plum in the mouth and all of that). I know I'm making an assumption on Anya's part here, and I don't want to put a spin on TerraNova's character, but that's how I see it. Anya taking a leading roll in this may just lead to more trouble than it's worth.
I would recommend allowing Alandra to take lead, and let Elsbeth work damage control on the side with her naturally seductive nature. Let Lev and Anya be muscle and Alannah as the quiet killer type. I'm going to run this as a skill challenge type situation that I like so much from my 4th edition games. It will be multple rolls, and everyone's going to contribute somehow.
Please note, this is a suggestion only. If I'm stepping over the mark as a DM please feel free to whack my nose with rolled up paper and I'll slink quietly out of your planning session.
Also, I applaud your approach to this. So much different to my bash in the door and kill or be killed aproach that my Face to Face gamers have.
Cheers
"Maybe I should do the talking, I know how to talk to the likes of them, you high-born types don't"
Alandra pushes her holy symbol around to hang behind her head and pills her black cloak tightly around her to cover it, and puts the hood over her head.
"Let's get moving."
"Whatever, just take a decision.In any case i can always lure men's eyes and minds wherever i want to"
"Alright then. Lev and me pose as the grunts, then? Do little talking, act all impressed around Alandra and Elsbeth?" She didn't feel to comfortable in that role, but decided to stick close to home. "If I have to talk, I'm a runaway bastard from Restov, who's still getting her dose of reality. Feel free to walk all over me."
She made sure her weapons where visible and not too threatening at the same time. Infiltration was a first to her - finding out how the bandits "ticked" and picking off some of them at a time sounded much more promising than the full frontal assault.
Lev frowns as his first inclination is to hand things over to Anya, and he's never been particularly impressed with Elsbeth's tendency toward playing the victim, but he shrugs as he realizes that Alandra's suggestion may well be a good one.
Nodding, he says, "I'll play the role of the thug well enough but don't expect me to fawn over you all. I don't think I have the requisite skill in acting to go along with that."