Putting away the hand that instinctively went on the dagger Elsbeth greeted the man with a smile "I'm glad to see you recovered m'lord,i take Svetlana is your lovely wife's name.She is recovering as well, and wasn't really hurt that much, at least not in the body..." Elsbeth took a pause and stared at Svetlana,her right hand gently fondling the back of the woman's head while smiling reassuringly to her"but she is a strong woman,she will go trough"
Turning back to Oleg she "casually" asked "speaking of women, you don't happen to have a room for a young little girl to have some privacy and a good hot bath ?"
Only the need to present a somewhat unified fascade to their captives kept Anya from whincing at the elf's suggestion. Sure, there was something to be said for intimidation, but this wasn't Galt or Numeria - this was Brevoy.
"Bergan, it was? Here's how I see things. You and your friend are bandits. However, if your story clicks with Oleg - you've not done much harm. Which means you get to live a while longer. Play your hand right, we might even look past this - but only if you're a saint to make Iomedae herself wheep from now on. We own you." She sincerely hoped her companions would go along with this. "But trust me, it's going to be better than where you come from. So, this or the rope. Your choice."
"We're gonna let him live?" Alandra says, indicating Grest. "You didn't see what he done to the main in there. And the woman."
Anya shook her head vehementily. "The old man dances. I just figured he" - she pointed towards Bergan "might eventually pay back what he wrecked instead of just giving cold comfort."
Lev held his tongue and kept his expression smooth but his eyes flickered over to Mawj at her threats. He didn't know her and he'd been speaking of her hatred toward humans in a casual way; he didn't really believe it. Perhaps he was wrong, however. She was very convincing.
As the bandits spoke he felt a little of his tension ease. It seemed that they were going to cooperate. Bergan in particular seemed useful.
To Alandra and Anya, he said, "Lets discuss our final decisions in private, shall we?"
Anya looked between Alandra and Mawj, tried to decide if the insane elf was likely to hurt someone for no reason at all, then stepped towards her half-brother. "We should tie them up. lock them in first. Apart. Then we'll talk."
She had overstepped her bounds a little when making the call, she realized - but apologizing now and backtracking on her words were not going to help much. Better to go with what she had committed to do, and try to pull it off.
Svetlana rushes to the side of her hsband when she sees him standing there, words tumbling from her mouth in Brevian (she's callling him all sorts of lovers names and thanking the gods he survived). Oleg whinces with every kiss but he can't help returning his wifes affection with a strong hug and wry smile.
Eventually, the two of them lead Elsbeth back outside where Svetlana moves into the guest quarters and returns with a large pot. She fills this from a pump handle near the rear of the quarters and places it over the low burning fire pit. The work seems to be helping her to recover her senses and she begins to hum a tune softly to herself as she works, her eyes a little glazed and obviously trapped in her own thoughts. Before long she has filled a claw footed bath inside the barracks with steaming water and tips a small amount of scented oil in for Elsbeth to enjoy.
Elsbeth
Oleg, carefully makes his way over to where the others have the captured prisoners. He suggests they should placed in the deep midden heaps behind his storage shed and heavy crates placed over the wooden meshing. They would find it very difficult to escape from that without being noticed. A slow anger seems to simmer behind his eyes as he talks, and he particularly looks at Grest with something close to hatred. When asked, he confirms Bergan's story about his involvement in the days events and then kicks Grest hard in the face. "This one gave me this" he points at the savage gash on his face. "I would see him swing before I let him near me or my wife again"
Grest's eyes look pleadingly at those around him "Please...we had no choice!"
Once the prisoners had been secured with the heavy crates placed over the grates, Lev joined the others a discrete distance away.
"Right now we're all of equal standing and I don't think we've really formed much of an attachment as a group. Alandra was kind enough to heal me when I was in pretty bad shape and we all fought with equal eagerness. Trust and understanding takes time to develop. But I want to make one thing plain: I have no problem with executing men who have done ill, and Grest certainly seems to be guilty of that. But I cannot abide torture. Threatening it is one thing: Carrying through with that threat is something else entirely."
Lev did not look at any one person as he gave his speech, but addressed them all with equal measure. His voice was firm but he showed no emotion in either his tone or his face. He simply spoke his mind and tried to keep it as plain as possible.
"Everyone has their own ways of doing things and I respect that. I just want to make it clear where I stand. As for the two men...I think Grest should hang. I'd prefer to take advantage of Bergan's knowledge and see if he can make up for the ill he has been a part of. If he proves himself worthy, I'd prefer not to see him dead. Again, that's where I stand, as an equal amongst the rest of you. What say you?"
He stepped back, as though yielding the floor and stood with his arms crossed, patiently waiting for a response.
Mawj raises an eyebrow, "My aim is the greatest good for the greatest number, dear Lev. Causing momentary discomfort to this man will save a large number of people a great deal of anguish and suffering for years to come. How many victims would he and his compatriots have had without our intervention? How many lives would be saved by his pain?" Mawj points her dagger toward Grest's face, "You have led a predatory existence without remorse or sympathy for those you victimized. You have violated the common social compact and have therefore abrogated your claim to the mercies it provides. You have completely and irredeemably divorced yourself from the protections of civilization. There is no recourse for you but death." She leans in close and whispers in his ear, "Your end will be swift, little human. Be thankful for that."
Mawj turns to Bergan, "I care not for your claims of coercion, young one. You were not forced to do anything. There is always a choice. If your life is spared, it will only be because my companions outvote me. That is all I have to say."
Mawj will help secure the prisoners and assist in taking care of Svetlana and Oleg.
Elsbeth passes by walking toward their wagon to take her clean clothes,somewhat lighter than the cold climate ones she is wearing,but they'll have to do until the first are cleaned and dry again. On the way back to the barracks she stops by the rest of the group to participate in the "what to do with the bandits" matter.
"Sorry i've been busy, but Oleg told me what has been going on here.
Well, the easiest way should be to hang them, and i .....have ...personal issues with men assaulting helpless women but it really doesn't care to me, i just don't want to see those pigs any longer. I just say that if death is what you are planning it should be a quick and painless death, no torture"
After this her face changes to a satisfied expression while she again walks away, saying in an almost singing tone " I'll be busy again for the next 1-2 hours or so, before the water cools down,DO NOT WATCH "
Anya looked upon Mawj in thinly veiled disgust. The elf was rapidly losing any esteem she harbored for her, and not due to lack of goodwill. "I am on Lev's side, and not just because of kinship. This is not Galt or Numeria or any other hell-hole. We have laws, true, but we also have hearts. Lives are not something to barter against each other."
She waited until Mawj returned to the group after her latest bit of kicking the already-defeated. "Grest is slime, who'd just as soon turn on any hand offered as he turned on his companions. I've got a bit of hope for Bergan, so let's see what he offers. If it falls short - no skin off my back. If he does well, he deserves a chance to make up for his - peripherial - role in this"
Also, i'll ask of Oleg if he has new female clothes suited for these climates, of course i'm gonna pay for them....OH! and of course shoes :)
Entering the humble abode of the trader and his wife, Mawj examines Oleg's injuries. Turning to Svetlana, she watches the young human female. They are such creatures of the moment. But is that myopic? Or simple pragmatism in the face of a distressingly brief time upon Golarion? She watches the care and tenderness the human female shows to her mate. These are not predators, Talandaleth. These are innocents.
The elven woman clears her throat and speaks, "I may be able to find herbs to fashion a poultice for his wounds. I will return."
Mawj will search the local woods for plants that may assist a Heal check.
Survival check
During Lev's tirade, Alandra looks down at the mention of torture.
"Grest is slime, who'd just as soon turn on any hand offered as he turned on his companions. I've got a bit of hope for Bergan, so let's see what he offers. If it falls short - no skin off my back. If he does well, he deserves a chance to make up for his - peripherial - role in this"
Alandra nods in agreement. "Grest is a bad man, he deserves to die. Bergan seems better, and he said he will lead us to their camp. I don't think we should kill him."
After a pause she adds. "Torture is bad, I'm glad we didn't cut off his fingers."
Mawj
Elsbeth's requests for new clothes are met with a quick shake of the head from Oleg and Svetlana. "Only what I own, m'lady" Svetlana states simply. Oleg goes a little further and states "I can sell you a winter cloak miss, but I'll doubt you'll be needing it at the moment. The weather has turned now and apart from a small morning chill here and there we should be in for a fine spring."
Mawj slips out through the main gates, mentioning to Arianna she is going to look for medicinal herbs near the outpost. She returns some thirty minutes later but hasn’t found anything of use for helping with Oleg’s recovery.
Oleg in the meantime collapses exhausted into one of the chairs of the main building. He asks the others to sit and fills them in on some of the details of the bandit raid.
”First time they came was near on three months ago now. There was near a dozen or more of them that time, led by as vicious a woman as one could ever meet.” He shifts uncomfortably and hugs his ribs in pain where he’d obviously been kicked. ”She was nasty, and nigh on took my hand off with on of her axes when I started objecting to their taking our stock. She hasn’t been back since, but she always sends some on the morning after the full moon. The man the Elf lady killed in the hall was the group leader for those ones, aye and that bastard Grest was with them always too. The others would change each time.” He sighs then, and rests his head in his hands for a moment. When he looks up there is a look of wry humour in his eyes. ”I guess I was asking for trouble when I put that wanted sign up two days before they were due to arrive. Svetlana told me I shouldn’t but I was feeling pretty put out about losing another months earnings. Nearly lost me life if it weren’t for you fine ladies and the gentleman as rides with you”
At the return of Mawj, and with Svetlana finished her bath, the group gathers in the main yard again to enforce the first act of law that their charter has dictated of them. Grest is dragged struggling and screaming from the deep pit of compost. His ragged face is awash with tears as Lev physically hauls him to the main gate and forces him to climb the ladder at sword point. At the top, Arianna slips the noose she had fastened for him earlier around his neck and pulls the cord tight with a grim look upon her face. As the noose slips over his head, a change comes over the man, and he quiets from his almost hysterical pleading. With red rimmed eyes he looks at each of his executioners in turn before speaking loudly enough for all of them to hear. “Ye’ll rue the day ye killed me an’ Happs, ye mark me words. Kressle will send word ter the Stag Lord hisself about what ye’s done here. He and his men’ll come ridin’ in like fiends from the pits o’ hell themselves and burn this place ter the ground. But not afore he makes all o’ you lot suffer. Oh yes, ye’ll suffer alright.”
“Ye’ll rue the day ye killed me an’ Happs, ye mark me words. Kressle will send word ter the Stag Lord hisself about what ye’s done here. He and his men’ll come ridin’ in like fiends from the pits o’ hell themselves and burn this place ter the ground. But not afore he makes all o’ you lot suffer. Oh yes, ye’ll suffer alright.”
Lev stopped at the threat and reached for the amulet the group had taken off the leader.
"Stag Lord? Is this his emblem?"
Lev nodded grimly. "Preying on those weaker than yourself is what has brought you here, not the actions of myself or my companions. Mayhap the Gods will grant you greater mercy."
Mawj has no words for the condemned bandit.
After the body has been buried , Mawj joins everyone in the Leveton's home. "We now know that the bandits have a definite command structure in place; much more organized than I originally thought. This Happs served under Kressle, the human female who wields handaxes. She in turn serves under the Stag Lord. Since the silver amulet we took from Happs is in the shape of a stag's head, I can only surmise that it is a way of distinguishing officers. Perhaps it is a communication device of some sort?"
She picks up the amulet and examines it, "Has anyone cast detect magic on this amulet?"
Arianna drags Bergen from the compost pit as well. Handing the boy to Mawj, she says, "Watch closely, boy. This could be your fate."
Then waiting for Lev to frogmarch the struggling Brest up the stairs she lowers the homemade noose over his neck.
Then after Brest finishes speaking she leans in close and whispers "Maybe then we'll dance together in Hell. Till then you'll dance," and with that she kicks the old mans legs out from underneath him causing him to fall until the rope snaps tight.
Before Grest hangs, Alandra steps up to him and gazes at him sternly.
"You are an evil man, and now you are going to pay for your evil deeds. All men and women must die, and by Pharasma's your time has come. May your spirit fare better in the afterlife than your mortal soul has here."
Then in Infernal she says:
Anya watched the execution with grim determination. She felt a bit more responsible this time - but the law was the law, and the man clearly had no intention on reforming, unlike the young fellow.
"You waste your last breath on empty threats. I can't say I'm impressed" With that she turned, not dignifying his final moments with her presence.
She did not like Mawj being right, but the elven huntress had a point of sorts. "It probably is some kind of badge of office. This means the bandits are organized. I doubt it is magical, though - we'd have heard a lot more of these brigands if they routinely used magical items."
Since Elsbeth doesn't find the death, even that of someone like Grest, funny she isn't going to participate.She had just finished to put away in the wagon the now cleaned,cold-climate clothes after changing in a lighter wool skirt and shirt, and shorter boots. As Oleg said she didn't felt so much more cold to put heavier clothes.
She just watched the body the moment it fell, hanging from the rope, while she still was changing clothes in her room,staring outside the window, and though " I should be happy on the death of a rapist, if it wasn't for the fact that i'll probably meet him in hell myself".
She then walks out and joins the others in time for listening to Mawj request , so she concentrates on the amulet she just saw, as Lev took it right away when he found it.
This entire matter has anyway awakened old fears in her.
While examining the amulet she asks " I take that you all agreed to not to kill the other...how's name ? Bergsomething ; i hope you aren't planning to take him along with us "
Mawj
Grest’s response to Lev and Alandra (for those who listened)
Alandra’s words spooked him more though. The priestess of the lady of death spoke to the fears now burning deep inside his heart. He stammered a brief prayer to Gozreh, asking for protection in the afterlife just as he had sought protection in the wilds.
Then he was swinging fee of the platform
Alandra only
It took some time to bury the bodies, as the ground near the trading post was still half frozen from the newly ended winter. The top soil was rich and fertile for the first three feet, but then frozen rock and old roots slowed down the digging. Two hours later all five bodies had been interred and covered in loose earth.
When the group had finished this difficult task, they returned to find clean wash water prepared for them and the smell of cooked bread and stew heating over the fire pit. Elsbeth sat looking at the amulet of the silver stag that they had recovered earlier, her eyes slightly glazed and the faintest flicker of eldritch light coming from them. She spoke clearly to the party as they sat around her, being carefully served by Svetlana who now wore a small smile of satisfaction while doing the work she was familiar with.
Elsbeth
Bergan's tale
During the course of the afternoon, Bergn realtes his tale those who would listen. Apparently he had drifted further and further south out of Brevoy during the troubles that land was having since the fall of the Dragon Crown. In Restov he had fallen foul of the lore, trying to steal some food for himslef and his companion on the road, Osgred. The fruiterer he had marked had seen him take the melon and had chased him with abaton. Bergan had hit, little harder than he intended and the man had fallen heavily to the ground.
Both Osgred and Bergan had fled the city and run into the wildlands of the greenblet at the tail end of winter. They had nearly frozen to death at that point, resorting to stealing the canvas and furs from teh back of a travelling merchant caravan they had stumbled on during the night. It was only luck that had them found by Happs and Grest as they wnadered near teh woods a week or so ago. The two bandits were leading their little band back from raiding a small caravan of halflings and were in a generous mood, so that invited the two to join them at the main camp.
"That's when I met Kressle and the rest of them. She had eighteen men with her at that time. Everyone had been called back in to the camp so she could organise their next few raids since the roads were opening up again. She took us in right enough, and we though we may have been real lucky. We was wrong though. Kressle killed a man the second night we were there, for trying to drink some of the grog they seemed ter be storing up at the camp site. She said it were meant for some bloke she called the Stag Lord and any as would touch it would answer to her.". He shook his head at the memory, not relishing the thought at all. "The man was not much older'n me. He said that seeing as he had risked his own neck to steal the stuff, he should be allowed ter drink some. The woman hadn't even blinked when she threw her dagger at him. It took him in the groin, and he screamed ft ter bring all teh bears in teh woods down on our camp. Calm as anythign she drew one of her axes then, dwarf crafted if ever I saw one. She walked over to him then and cut his throat with it, then poured the alchol into the new hole as he choked to death. Told him to his face that if that's what he wanted, he could drink it in hell. The woman watched him the whle time, staring into his eyes till they went cold in death."
He shivered momentarily before coming back to the present. "She could have as many as ten men with her when you arrive. She never keeps less than six folk with her at camp, and always has two of those stationed in little towers they have built in the trees. All of em is armed with bows, and some of em are damned good with them too. When they sent me and Osgred on this trip, I heard Happs tell her he'd see her in a day or two. The two of 'em used to tumble with each other I'd be guessing for he kissed her right proper before he left. She slpped him for it, but there was no malice in it. I wouldn't be tryin' to bed that one though, her soul's not right"
He takes Mawj's mostly blank map and marks on it where the camp would be. "This map 'aint got nearly enough detail to it. There's a river as comes out of the woods down here. We travelled by skirting the woods, rather than going through them. Something about those woods spooked Happs and Grest. When you get to the river, you follow it into the woods then take teh second creek that feeds into it. A half hours walk up the creek leads to a small ford where the camp is. It's a nce safe place, and plenty of game nearbye so I reckon they've been there a while." He looks around at the group "As I said earlier, it would be easier if I showed you the place rather than let you take chance getting lost. Your call though. You've treated me right since I surrendered and I'll not cross you or the folk here again"
Spellcraft check
Elsbeth
After examining the silver stag amulet Elsbeth says "This isn't magical...but something else "
"The pendants the ulfen gave us when we left Restov"
As the bandit lad spoke, Lev listened quietly, occasionally fingering the place he'd been wounded earlier.
As the story came to an end, he looked the lad in the eye and asked, "How long were you part of this band, all told?"
He listened to the boy's answer and then turned to the others. "Well, the details seem pretty concrete. Six to ten outlaws isn't all bad but I'm a little concerned about those watch towers. It looks like it'll be difficult to catch them by surprise. The one thing we have in our favor is that we have their horses and if we do not delay, we may be able to get there before this Kressle woman is aware something has happened to her men."
He looked up into the sky to mark the time.
Then Lev turned back to Bergan. "Do you have a sign or a call-word you use when you're returning to their camp?"
---
At Elsbeth's explanation of the sigils the Ulfen gave the party, Lev's lips quirked into a thin smile. "All things considered, that's quite a lot more than I expected. Next time I see that man I'll have to think him. It's a fine gift."
Anya nodded at Lev's comment. "And one we should be able to make good use of, too. The situation doesn't sound easy - they outnumber us, its their home terrain, and unless we move fast will expect trouble. Lev is right, we should go either immediately or tomorrow at the latest."
She pondered the whole situation for a moment. Things did not look too badly to her - these bandits had been ill-equipt and trained, not too big a threat. Even Happs, who probably had been some kind of leader among them had gone down without trouble. "We should talk to Oleg before we leave, have him prepare. The last thing we want is to come from one of our mapping trips and find this place a smoldering ruin."
Bergan is unaware of any password. "If ever we left camp, for hunting say, we'd just make lots of noise on the way back in. As I say, I was only with them at the camp for about a week. They sent me on this as a trial I reckon, since it was meant to be easy pickings."
"I could require to have the time to recover the power used this morning, this sounds like a very difficult task"
Thinking the situation over, Lev spoke softly. "I think we have three options. Either we leave today and make a camp somewhere along the way so that we can arrive early tomorrow or we leave tomorrow and not get there until late afternoon or early evening. The third option is to stay here and prepare an ambush in case any of them are sent to look for those we've killed today."
"I'd prefer to leave now: We could make a lot of progress before the day is done, get some rest and then try to get there as early as possible tomorrow. There'd still be a chance that they'd not grown cautious over the disappearance of Happs and his men, and maybe we could even arrive early enough to catch them while they're waking."
Mawj puts a finger to the side of her nose as she thinks aloud. "But if we attack their camp, we will have to face the remainder of their forces all at once. If the patrol led by Happs doesn't return, this Kressle will undoubtedly send another party to investigate. We can take them in an ambush. Then we attack their base camp when they have been winnowed down the most by our efforts. Thoughts?"
"If we leave now we will catch them by surprise. The won't have figured out they aren't coming back yet. We could use their clothes and dress up like bandits, ha ha."
Alandra's brow furrows a bit. "Too bad we buried them in their clothes."
Then, "I can't heal 'till I say my prayers tomorrow morning."
"My only concern is running into such a bunch of uneducated pigs with a group of girls, hope you can understand my fears"
"Anyway as the old saying goes...offense is the best defense. We don't know much about them, but they know nothing about us, and as long as me and Alandra will be able to replenish our powers i'm at ease.Plus i still have some very useful trick up my sleeve. It may not sound very feminine, but i say "
With this closing, Elsbeth smiles to Lev.
Lev shook his head. "We'll be strong enough to overcome them. I still prefer that we face them straight on rather than wait here. There are too many uncertainties with such a tactic. Again, I say we leave now and plan to take them early tomorrow."
Mawj stares into space for a moment, lost in thought, then nods her head, "Very well, let us leave for their camp at once. Bergus can lead us to the perimeter, then we can tie him up to secure him until we are finished with the bandit camp. I don't trust him yet."
"Perhaps after setting up a camp those skilled in scouting can do a reconoiter of the bandit camp just to firm up Bergan's description and to see how many people we will be dealing with"
Anya stepped beside Lev, her agreement to his position obvious. "We should strike quickly. If they dig in and wait for us, we probably have much more trouble smoking them out - even if they may lose another fighter or two. Heck, they might even reinforce themselves. So the sooner we get going, the better."
Towards Mawj, she addeds "We need to take him around. He knows best how to go there. Also, this is the best way to find him out. Better to have an additional enemy than someone feeding our every move to other bandits."
"Let's leave now!"
Alandra seems eager to get moving
"It seems we are in agreement then." A small smile surfaced on Lev's face for a moment before fading away again. "We should inform Oleg and his wife, prepare the horses we have taken and take steps to ensure that Bergan can guide us while still being restrained. Are there any other preparations to be made?"
When all other preparations were made, Lev went to the wagon and grabbed some of his supplies, gathering his pack and loading up one of the horses. He was quickly ready to depart.