"Is there a place we can stay here?" Katria asks. "If you're worried about attackers, maybe it makes sense to just stay here until we go out in the morning."
Gallindra nods. "I have been hiding out here for over a week without anybody finding me. You're welcome to camp out for the night before we depart."
The lady looks upon the others and without waiting begins to unpack and set up for the evening. Shockingly she remains in her armor and seems comfortable sleeping in it. "I can watch tonight. This magic stone should help me avoid the stillness of a full sleep."
Looking toward the others she helps set up a camp and provide some assistance in making their night comfortable.
While working she stops for a moment, "First light then. Time is not on our side here at all." Laying down she crosses her arms behind her head, onto her pack, before feeling something sharp jab at her.
Liam is not a skilled outdoorsman, but he is comfortable sleeping under the stars.
His chain shirt is light enough to sleep in, so he follows Amelia's example.
In the morning, he will pray to Milani and thank her for the group's success so far. And he will say a prayer for Galt, reminded by Seth of that country's sad fate.
Katria, despite it being her suggestion, doesn't sleep well. She's much more used to being indoors, in a comfortable bed. On their way to Tallgrasses, she detours to pick up some chalk, and checks on the status of the scroll of make whole she'd previously ordered, only to find her friends haven't been able to deliver it yet.
While laying back Amelia wonders out loud, "I have never been as proficient with magic as you all have but I wanted to know if there was a way for me to store power for another day. I'm certainly not blessed with the grace of a deity, nor attuned to art or the histories of items..." She lets out a sigh, "But that is not to say my hobnobbed magic is poor. It is enough to get by a royal party or as a parlour trick but with everything going on, some more magical aid would be a great assistance to our cause."
"Oh, you mean like a magic staff? That could be useful, and there are some magi who train to use such staves in combat.
Or, a Runestone of Power could work."
She considers the possibility, "This runestone seems more to my preference. I prefer to keep my hands available to fight. Next time we are in the city I'll need to find one." The sound of a coin flipping echoes in the air, "Thanks for the information Liam." The dandy chuckles a bit and gives a grin.
"I can make one for you when we get a bit of time, Amelia."
When you are ready, Gallindra leads you out of the city and across the plains towards Tallgrasses. Following the trails through the rolling hills, you eventually near the shallow valley in which the caravanserai is located.
Gallindra suddenly raises her hand and calls for a halt. She points to the high grass alongside the road ahead, where you now notice the enemies lying in wait. Five men and women dressed in typical Qadiran clothing crouch with bows drawn, and nearby are two enormous lions with spotted hides. Their ambush foiled, the bandits shout a battle cry and the great cats prepare to pounce!
"Do not throw your lives away, good sirs and madams! Living is a wondrous experience, and I beg that you do not waste yours in this manner!" Seth calls out to them, even as he draws a wand in his left hand and a sword in his right, giving the bandits a chance to reconsider even as he moves in front of his new compatriots, magic flowing around him as it solidifies into something subtle, yet dangerous.
Maya, grateful for the chance to start off the festivities, begins her rondo, enlivening her companions' steps.
Then she casts a spell, hoping to weaken the enemy's opening strike.
Maya's spell proves quite effective, blinding all but one of the bandits in the southern group. As Seth casts his spell and step forward, the bandits open fire on the elf, but none of the arrows find their mark.
The lions rush forward, the blinded one avoiding stumbling, and they pounce on Seth! Maya's rondo gives Seth the bit of speed he needs to narrowly avoid a few lucky claw strikes!
Liam waves the Standard of Conquest and spurs the Heirs of Stachys and Saviors of Yanmass to great feats of prowess.
"For Taldor!"
He draws the Lesser Metamagic Rod of Extend Spell.
Standard of Conquest gives +5' base speed and +2 morale bonus on saves.
Seth shakes his head in disappointment, as he slashes a pair of arrows out of the sky, "Truly, I never understand why so many poor souls choose to rush to the Lady's gates, but it still need not be you!" he calls out, deftly avoiding the lion's claws one by one, moving no more than a hair needed to dodge the strikes.
With a quickly chanted spell, his sword glows with a blue light, and he returns the favor, his sword a flurry of cuts as he strikes at the un-blinded lion first, before moving to the other.
[ spoiler=Quick stats]
HP 75/66 (inc. +9 from transmutation focus)
AC 22, touch 15, flat-footed 18, CMD 21
Fort +11, Ref +8, Will +10
Speed: 30 feet
Inspiration (Knowledge/Linguistics/Spellcraft checks): 0/5
Mental Focus: 16; Abjuration [4/4]; Divination [4/4]; Enchantment [4/4]; Transmutation [4/4]
Resonant powers (+1 saves; +2 Perception, low-light vision; +2 Charisma
checks; +2 Con)
Spells/day: 1st [][][][][]; 2nd [][][][][]; 3rd [][][][]
Wands: Scorching ray 0/20; lightning bolt 0/20; magic missile (CL 5) 0/47; magic missile (CL 5) 0/35
Effects:
Katria pulls out Dignity's Barb and sends a bolt flying toward one of the bandit archers.
Seeing the flurry of steel and magic, the lady looks upon the battle. "Well, there's not much left for me I fear."
She gives a feigned sigh and charges into battle with the bandit that wasn't hit by Maya's magic.
Her hands grip the weapon from her pack, she doesn't know when it got there but it was. The letter was enough of a telltale sign that he wasn't to be back for awhile, though she let that information be hers alone.
Let us make it ring true then.
The blade was as sharp as she had hoped when she saw it being used by Doritan. It whistled in the air before the sounds of a gash was heard.
Maya considers charging forward to strike the bandits more directly, but decides against it. Instead she targets the two bandits north of the road with the same spell whilst continuing her rondo.
Seth makes quick work of the lions, cutting them down with magically empowered slashes of his sword. Katria shoots one of the bandits, then Amelia charges in and cuts him with her blade, leaving him badly wounded. Both bandits to the north are blinded by Maya's glitterdust.
Those bandits blindly fumble for their swords and shields, lashing out at Amelia. The others fire on Seth again, guided by one man who has recovered from the glitterdust. None of the enemies land any hits, but another one among the southern trio regains his sight.
Seth steps over the bodies of the lions, and dashes forward at the bowmen, his sword darting out at the one bandit that can see, "Final chance to surrender, friends. Or you shall meet the Lady today"
Liam watches the carnage.
"Stand down and surrender!"
He casts Admonishing Ray on a bandit, if he can get an archer that is not in melee with anybody.
HP 75/66 (inc. +9 from transmutation focus)
AC 22, touch 15, flat-footed 18, CMD 21
Fort +11, Ref +8, Will +10
Speed: 30 feet
Inspiration (Knowledge/Linguistics/Spellcraft checks): 0/5
Mental Focus: 16; Abjuration [4/4]; Divination [4/4]; Enchantment [4/4]; Transmutation [4/4]
Resonant powers (+1 saves; +2 Perception, low-light vision; +2 Charisma
checks; +2 Con)
Spells/day: 1st [][][][][]; 2nd [][][][][]; 3rd [][][][]
Wands: Scorching ray 0/20; lightning bolt 0/20; magic missile (CL 5) 0/47; magic missile (CL 5) 0/35
Effects: Inspired (+2)
"Stop this!" Katria yells as she fires two bolts in quick succession at the bandit who seems to be leading the attack . Both shots slam home, as the young scholar marvels at Dignity's Barb's power and prowess.
Hearing the shouts of her allies, Amelia follows suit with her more measured approach.
"Do not let us ask again. There is no need to continue this farce. What is it you Qadirans want?"
Maya waits till her companions have acted before switching up her performance, not wanting to fatigue her allies. Instead, she switches to a new act she's been working on, hoping to catch the remaining bandits off guard.
Gallindra picks off the wounded archer to the north. Amelia batters the other bandit with the hilt of her blade, knocking him out! Seth rushes in to attack the bandit who can still see, then Katria takes him down with a critical hit from her crossbow! She shifts aim to another foe and scores a second critical hit before Liam drops him with a pair of admonishing rays.
With only one foe still standing, Maya decides to keep her performance in reserve. The blinded bandit howls with fury and swings wildly at Seth, missing by a country mile!
It's a simple matter for the six of you to take down the last foe before he can attack again.
When you search the fallen bandits, you can see that despite their Qadiran garb, they are ethnically Taldan. Gallindra shakes her head sadly. "I recognize these men. They served under Commander Jaliessa Staubel. Traitors to the nation, all of them. Those who yet live should be taken back to Yanmass to face trial and execution for their crimes."
Liam tries to stabilize any of the fallen.
"Gallindra, Taldor is in the midst of a civil war. Both sides consider the other traitors to the nation. That would entail many executions, would it not? I understand that they must face trial, but I plan to advocate for mercy for these soldiers in the name of Princess Eutropia. Reduced sentences.
This isn't just soft-headed thinking. It is pragmatic. If the agents of Princess Eutropia have a reputation for executing defeated foes, nobody will ever surrender; they will all fight to the death. But if we have a reputation for mercy, foes may be more inclined to surrender to us (and to others of her forces). Maybe even join our side.
We need to be wary enough to not be fooled by fake surrenders or fake defections, that is true.
But I wonder if there is a way to put this theory into practice right here and now. To send one of these men ahead, back to his fellows at Tallgrasses. He'll know the passwords and so on. He can tell them that agents of Princess Eutropia are on the way, defeated his entire band with overwhelming force in the blink of an eye, and showed mercy.
Our messenger will convey that we now expect their immediate surrender. Those who surrender or defect will have our advocacy for mercy. Those who fight us take their chances in battle, and even if they survive will face a trial without our advocacy."
"I think it matters what they're doing," Katria observes. "If they've been truly acting as bandits and killing innocents, they should be punished as the law says. It's one thing to try to kill us as agents of the opposing side (though I'd rather they didn't do that either, but I think that would probably be more forgiveable), but attacking merchants to try to disrupt a city? I think I agree with Gallindra. They had no way of knowing why we were coming out this way, after all."
Even cleaning the blade was easy. It almost flowed right off. She eyed the magic but decided it was still better to be safe than sorry and did it with almost an automatic purpose.
Moving toward those who had surrendered she eyed the others. "They need to face justice, but we do not wish to end up like Galt with their zeal for executions."
She lifted two hands up, feigning weights on them. "However... There is something to be said not of mercy, but of reason. I would normally be in agreement Katria but I think in this case, it would be most intriguing to see what happens here should we let one go forward." She smiles and taps Katria on the chest, "The pen is mightier is it not?"
She surveils the location of the short battle, "Besides, what injury can they really bring to us with an ambush?"
Maya considers the words of her companions before commenting herself, "Justice, mercy, reason... all useful in their proper place. It probably would be useful to see what comes of one of the bandits if we let them go, but I also worry that we would lose any hope of surprise. These men were ready to kill us if they could have. They even had lions who could have erased all evidence of us.
"Personally, I think we should see that they get back to Yanmass for justice to be carried out. Or if we think time is of the essence, we should take care of things now.
"Mercy is important when possible, but I think these people are poor candidates for mercy. They've had plenty of chances to forsake their commander and turn themselves in, but have continued their banditry instead. Honestly, given what we've encountered here, I think we need to neutralize their threat and see that the rest of those preying on passing merchants are also dealt with as quickly as possible. Less prepared travelers would fare much worse than we did."
"Well, you certainly can achieve longer-lasting effects with a pen, but ... it's a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation oftentimes. Like we're seeing now, where the sword is proving to be more important," she answers Amelia.
"I don't think we have time to bring them back right now, though," Katria says. "We could maybe bind them, but that could be just the same as leaving them to die, depending on what the blood and whatnot attract. It may be difficult to bring them with us too and keep them from becoming a problem."
She thinks for a moment.
"Perhaps we offer them an exchange? If they prove their willingness to change -- telling us about the camp and everything they know -- we'll let them go? Without their weapons and gear, of course. They likely will have no choice but to return to Yanmass."
Seth stands to the side, still getting used to his new role in the group, "I am always in favor of granting life when I can. I would much prefer that these men are not killed, yet at the same time they cannot continue as they are now. What price we take from them, or assurances we require, I do not know. All I care about is that there is not needles bloodshed today." the elf adds.
"Disrupting commerce in the course of a war is a military tactic. Like privateering. So I don't agree that they are doing anything outside the norms of warfare. And given that they are enemy combatants, a degree of mercy will help get Taldor back on its feet when this is done. As well as incentivize others to surrender and not fight to the death.
I had not heard that they were slaughtering their victims. That would be unusually brutal for bandits, when the normal practice is to take the trade goods. Maybe take slaves, if they are posing as Qadirans, or just let the merchants leave penniless.
Yes, they prepared an ambush for us, but it's quite possible they had agents going back and forth to Yanmass and knew who we were. We also looked like a heavily armed group come to roust them from their lair.
If any of you want to question them, you may find some useful information. I don't count on us having the advantage of surprise approaching Tallgrasses in any event.
Katria's plan sounds fine to me."
Liam doesn't really have any more to contribute. He doesn't think there is good cause to execute all of these men and doesn't fear sending one or two back to Tallgrasses as a messenger, but can tell the others feel differently.
Note that Liam is not saying "let them all go." He is fine with trial in Yanmass, but plans to advocate for leniency in the name of ending the civil war sooner.
It seemed they were at an impasse, but she was happy they weren't at each other's throats about it. "The happy medium then? Force them back to town with no gear."
She kneels over one of the bandits and taps him on the cheek. "Wake up." She gives a smile, almost like a cat playing with their food, "I am a patient woman, but I have to say, having to deal with these logistics here such as what to do with your lives and belongings is very tiresome. So the faster you tell us what we need to know the less tired I will end up being, which in turn means I'll be more than happy to deal with those logistics in a beneficial manner."
She flutters her eyes, "Understand? I have no desire to hurt fellow Taldans, hence the use of my hilt... But I need to know a few things."
"For what purpose did you commit banditry? What was your end?"
Maya shrugs. While she didn't think executing all their foes made sense, some needed to be sent to Pharasma for their crimes. If the others wanted official justice to be carried out, Maya could live with that. Perhaps there were other factors to consider that weren't apparent in the moment.
"I agree with Amelia. If we want to be extra safe, I could try blinding one or two and agree to remove their blindness when we return should they actually turn themselves in to authorities."
The surviving bandits are tight-lipped, but with enough persuasion, they reveal that they abandoned the Taldan Horse to follow their commander, Jaliessa Staubel. They don't know why she decided to turn traitor, but they do know that she is paying them handsomely, and apparently their loyalty to coin is greater than their loyalty to the crown. It was Jaliessa's idea to disguise themselves as Qadirans to try to shift the blame to raiders from that nation.
They tell you that there are a dozen more former soldiers at Tallgrasses, along with Commander Jaliessa Staubel and her brother, Jondus. There's also a surly elephant named Grimtusk, a desert drake, and Jaliessa's animal companion, a ram named Anua. Jondus's wife, Fathrie, is usually out leading a patrol of the plains on the back of her own desert drake mount.
Katria blinks at the drakes.
"If Fathrie is out scouting, they may already be aware of us," she says to the others, out of the bandits' hearing. "Desert drakes are dangerous, and they have two of them.[/ooc]
[b]"It sounds like they were willing to betray their country for coin, and should be tried, but I don't know if we're going to be able to bring them back to Yanmass, unless we want to spare one of us for that task. I still think our best course is to let them go and ... if they become bandits for real, they can be hunted down. If they return to Yanmass, perhaps they can be found there once we report what they've done."
"Amelia, this protection should last for an hour and a half - more than enough time to get to Tallgrasses."
Liam casts Barkskin on Amelia for +4 AC, then uses his Pearl of Power to recall the spell and cast it on himself.
Maya bites her lower lip as the former soldiers describe what awaits them. She hopes they don't have to fight them all at once.
"Perhaps we should try seeking out this Fathrie and deal with her in whatever way proves necessary before pressing on to the Tallgrasses. I don't think we want to have to fight all of them at once. And if we're going to let these go we should make sure they head toward Yanmass. Regardless of whether any chance of surprise is gone, we don't want them to bolster Jaliessa's other forces."
"Thanks. I'm sorry it has to be this way but it seems that is the flow of it all." She looks almost a little sad at the prospect of what they need to do, but quickly gets back to business. "These drakes, how dangerous are we talking? I can deal with them should they be flying... Seth what plan do you have?"
"To deal with the drakes? Should I have the benefit of a few minutes to prepare, I am capable of enchanting myself with flight. Else, I would trust my skills with the blade matched against any brigand or five that wish to challenge me, including their lieutenants, for I do not believe that they could touch me." Seth replies, discharging some excess magic into the ground as he cleans his blade, "I know not the capabilities of you all yet, so I shall defer, for now, where I might be most tactically suited to you."
"We could maybe try to draw Fathrie to us somehow," Katria suggests. "Maybe a smoke signal, though that might also alert the camp something is going on. But perhaps we try to set up our own ambush, to return their favor. Hopefully it would go better for us."
"If Fathrie is patrolling about, maybe we should do a little patrolling ourselves. Maybe do a circuit around the area a couple times, see if we can find her. A smoke signal could draw them out, but if we end up not being able to fight before reaching the Tallgrasses, we probably stand a better chance of fighting them in small groups there than if we make a signal they can all see, especially since they have drakes."
Looking down at the trail, the gears in her head start turning. "This isn't that much more different than a city, paths always work the same way."
"Patrolling shouldn't be a problem Maya, I agree that it is the best course of action. Guerrilla fights will be in our favour, there's no telling how we can be routed on plains when they have drakes and steeds."
Katria nods, happy to go with the idea of patrolling around for a little before heading directly for Tallgrasses.