"What the hells?" Thom mutters a second before he marches to stand in the way of the villagers, planting himself resolutely in their path.
"Evenin' folks," he greets them with a nod of his head. "What's all this about?" He shoots the other guys a look that says, 'a little help?'
Hasren steps up behind Thom & casually claps him on the shoulder.
"Well Thom, it looks like these good people were worried about Oleg & Svetlana's safety. They must have heard the fighting & gotten worried when no one came out to tell them everything was fine. Naturally, they came here prepared for the worst. Sorry about that folks. We took care of the bandits & got caught up questioning the survivors to find out where the rest of the hooligans are camped so that we can make sure they cause no further trouble either."
"We hear ye got bandits in there," says the leader, a man in blue dungarees and straw hat, his gaze disturbingly direct. "We mean to hang 'em."
"Ayup," says another, chewing laconically on a straw.
"It frontier law!" shouts a woman from the back, her brown hair in a bun and a rolling pin brandished in a meaty fist like a weapon.
"So bring 'em out, and let Pharasma sort 'em out," says the leader.
"Ayup," agrees the straw-chewer.
"We haven't figured out if we're done.....interrogating them yet. Please, let us finish our business, if it do you properly.."
The mood of the crowd turns ugly.
"They stole from us! They threatened out women folk! It's our business, not yours!"
Seeing the crowd turning ugly - and realizing it was his interposition that probably started it - Thom steps back from the crowd, letting his more socially blessed teammates try to handle the crew.
I asked nicely. this is what I get. walked on. always walked on.
I'm not asking any more I'm telling. Put those farm tools and nooses and such back where they belong, and go home. Because I don't cotton to this sort of thing. We wupped them fair and square. Not you. Us.
If you want I'll turn them loose and you can recapture them.
I'm not scared to do that. I can just wup up on them yet again.
(starts growling like Linda Blair)
I can put them in the ground any time I want to.
(starts growling like Linda Blair)
(starts growling like Linda Blair)
Thom does his best to sound disarming and approachable, "Listen, folks, we understand you're angry. You got reason to be. They been stealin' from you and worse." He shakes his head sympathetically, trying to make eye contact with anyone who will. "You sent fer us 'cause you needed help, and we came. Let us help." He gestures behind him where the captives are held, "We already stopped'em once today. And we'll continue to work for you, but ya gotta let us do it."
He stops for a second, thinking, "Plus, we're here to change things, not help you get revenge. If revenge is all you want, then you got no place in where we're takin' this place. If revenge is all you want, then yer not any better than these fellas."
Taking his cue, Marc steps forward past Thom and Hasren with a charming smile.
"Hello there! What is all the ruckus about then? Hello! Look at this then! Oleg! You never told me that you had such wonderful neighbors!" Marc says jovially as he singles out the apparent leader of the knot of villagers. He promptly closes with this person and shakes his hand enthusiastically.
"Pleasure to meet you sir! MY name is Marcus. Marcus Wyvernspur. Of the trading Wyvernspurs. 'Marc' to my friends. Perhaps you've heard of me? No? Alas, my loss." Marc says, still smiling, as he places a comradely arm around the man's shoulders.
"But never fear! For soon all shall know of Wyvernspur's Warriors! That valiant band which strode bravely into the wilderness, to bring law and order to those who would not live in peace with their neighbors!"
At this point he is now standing next to the man, facing the rest of the group. He gestures broadly to Hasren and Thomdril.
"Allow me to introduce you to Masters Hasren and Thomdril. Two brave warriors who stood toe-to-toe with the very villains who have been causing you so much trouble of late. Indeed, without their martial prowess, I myself would not be standing here now!" Marc declares.
"I fear I have made an unforgivable blunder of etiquette. So intense was the battle with the rogues, and so engrossed did we become in interrogating the prisoners, that we completely neglected to inform you all of our progress, and to let you know that all is well. I do beg your pardon. And now look at you! All charging up here to aid your neighbors Oleg and Svetlana! Very noble! Oleg is lucky indeed to have neighbors such as you."
"So, what happened? Well when the bandits approached this morning to pickup their usual 'donations', they instead found us waiting for them. Instead of surrendering, they chose to attack! They chose, poorly,..." Marc says with a small, wicked, smile.
"After dispatching the majority of the villains, we decided to allow a couple to live, and have been interrogating them as to their base of operations, so that we can take the battle to the source and end their little enterprise once and for all!"
"So, as you can see, we have the matter well in hand. In fact, we were just discussing our plans for our assault on the bandit camp when you arrived! You may rest assured that we shall not stop until we have resolved this issue in it's entirety. And that, as representatives of the crown, we have only your safety and best interests at heart."
;)
Heimoth grimaces as he looks over the mob. All brave now that the bandits are unarmed and tied up, eh? Why the hell didn't you stand up to them before? Putting on his best official policeman face, he steps up to the crowd. "We are Brevoyan officers of the peace. We do not subscribe to the idea of frontier justice. We defeated and captured the bandits, and we will try them fairly and then administer the appropriate punishments. That may very well mean a hanging, but it will be the result of a proper investigative process. You will all have an opportunity to testify and air your grievances then. Until then, we would appreciate it if you all step down and return to your everyday business."
Listening to what the villagers have to say, Hasren cocks his head.
"Wait! What!?!" Hasren blinks.
"You're NOT here to help Oleg & Svetlana?" Hasren looks incredulous.
"You only came out because you heard WE had fought, defeated, and captured the bandits!?!" Hasren gapes.
"We were attacked by the bandits. We fought them. ALL ON OUR OWN!!! Thom getting a nasty wound from the archer & Marc taking grievous wounds from axe & swords in the process... We did all this to protect Oleg & Svetlana (and apparently you too...) We're working on a way to end YOUR bandit problems for good..."
"And. You. Have the GALL!!! To say it's YOUR business. Not OURS!?!"
"UNBELIEVEABLE!!!" Hasren throws his arms in the air!
Looking down, shaking his head in disgust, Hasren suddenly stops. He looks up, takes a breath, and with a determined look begins speaking.
"Look. I'm sure you all suffered from the bandit raids. But the fact remains you didn't stop them. We did. That right there gives us the right to determine their fate. Not you."
"Oleg told us what the penalty for banditry is out here. We'll keep that in mind when WE decide their fates."
"As Heimoth said, we'll listen to your grievances against the bandits & use that information when we decide what to do with them. But understand this. Should we decide to put them to death, WE will carry out the executions in the interest of administering Justice. WE earned that right by defeating them. YOU will not mob these men in the name of vengeance because YOU did not earn that right."
"Now if you would be so kind as to go back to your homes, and allow us to finish figuring out how to end your bandit problem once & for all?"
Quinn shakes his head sadly at all of the goings on. Both for the party's self-inflicted dilemma, and for the confrontation with the townsfolk.
They don't understand, he thinks to himself. Oleg's little trading hamlet is a long way from anywhere, and if anything is the frontier, this is. Only the strong survive. And one does not buck the Freedoms...ever.
Quinn sighs. They will learn, he says to himself, they will learn.
Quinn shakes his head sadly at all of the goings on. Both for the party's self-inflicted dilemma, and for the confrontation with the townsfolk.
They don't understand, he thinks to himself. Oleg's little trading hamlet is a long way from anywhere, and if anything is the frontier, this is. Only the strong survive. And one does not buck the Freedoms...ever.
Quinn sighs. They will learn, he says to himself, they will learn.
Quinn shakes his head sadly at all of the goings on. Both for the party's self-inflicted dilemma, and for the confrontation with the townsfolk.
They don't understand, he thinks to himself. Oleg's little trading hamlet is a long way from anywhere, and if anything is the frontier, this is. Only the strong survive. And one does not buck the Freedoms...ever.
Quinn sighs. They will learn, he says to himself, they will learn.
Quinn shakes his head sadly at all of the goings on. Both for the party's self-inflicted dilemma, and for the confrontation with the townsfolk.
They don't understand, he thinks to himself. Oleg's little trading hamlet is a long way from anywhere, and if anything is the frontier, this is. Only the strong survive. And one does not buck the Freedoms...ever.
Quinn sighs. They will learn, he says to himself, they will learn.
Quinn shakes his head sadly at all of the goings on. Both for the party's self-inflicted dilemma, and for the confrontation with the townsfolk.
They don't understand, he thinks to himself. Oleg's little trading hamlet is a long way from anywhere, and if anything is the frontier, this is. Only the strong survive. And one does not buck the Freedoms...ever.
Quinn sighs. They will learn, he says to himself, they will learn.
Heimoth steps right up into the leader's face. "If you're suddenly so keen on hanging bandits, you can go capture some of your own", he hisses. "Now get the hell out of here before I get annoyed."
"Well, we'll be keeping an eye on things here," says the man uncertainly.
"Ayup," says his laconic sidekick.
The group disperses, though dark looks are cast back at the party.
maybe we should just give them one bandit...
"Well, we'll be keeping an eye on things here," says the man uncertainly.
"Ayup," says his laconic sidekick.
"Excellent." Heimoth is all smiles again. "Responsible exercise of power requires popular accountability. And if there's anything any of us can help any of you with, don't hesitate to come talk to us. We're here to make your lives safer and better, after all."
"Nice People. Lovely neighbors" MArc says, smiling and waving at the departing crowd. He turns to look at the others.
"Hm. It is entirely possible that I, might, have underestimated the difficulty of this party. Fighting bandits and monsters is one thing. I confess I had not contemplated the possibility of having to placate the populace." Marc muses.
"How fortunate that they were so reasonable!" Marc says with a smirk.
"We are going to have to proceed, carefully." He adds, in complete seriousness.
Hasren agrees in general with Thom's plan. He thinks Quinn & Marc's suggestion, that the two bandit underlings work for their freedom, is a better idea than letting them go free. In addition to making sure they don't go back to banditry, Hasren also thinks that would sit better with the locals than letting them go free.
Aubrey:
1vote b/r
Aubrey:
** spoiler omitted **1vote b/r
Aubrey:
Perception