When last we left our intrepid interrogating adventurers:
"Is there anything else we need to know, if we're going to save your life?"
Happs looks around furtively. "Just get me back to th' Thorn River camp, an' I'll put in a good word for you with Kressle. She'll need to know there's Restov soldiers here."
Adam looks at the his bodyguard companion, the stalwart paladin and shrugs as though expecting her to say something regarding the situation.
"I'll go out and see if I can negotiate with these soldiers. Maybe I can get them to look in the wrong places."
"While we're waiting, I'll see if I can find their tracks."
Havrin moves over to the bandits' pack horses, inspecting their overall condition and checking their hooves carefully for any distinctive patterns or damage that might make following their tracks easier. Then he steps outside to examine the bandits' tracks leading into the post and follows them for several yards before returning.
Havrin finds that the horses' hooves don't really have any distinctive markings or damage. But upon leaving the trading post, he only needs a few moments to find exactly what he'd hoped for. The bandits' mounts have left numerous tracks in the soft, muddy earth, giving the ranger confidence that he can track them back to their source with little trouble.
"Alright, you wait here. I'll holler if it's safe to come out."
Bea steps outside the door and speaks to Adam in a low tone. "So what do we do now? I don't think it safe to bring him along with us, but we've got more than enough information to find the place, especially with Havrin to help track." She nods her head back towards the door, "What do we do with him then?"
With a shrug, Adam responds.
"Of course, I'm a little less considerate than you are, but I say let him run for it and the others can kill him, or seize him and hang him if they want. A swift death would probably be more merciful, but I'll let you worry about mercy. Just kill the cretin and be done with it."
Adam and Bea, the only people you can see in the trading post right now are Simn and Svetlana. The gates are open, though, and you can hear occasional snatches of conversation from outside the walls.
Bea sighs deeply, pauses a moment before drawing her sword and turns back in through the doors. Fixing her gaze on the man, she declares, "You are hereby arrested on the charges of robbery and banditry. Acting as official delegates from Brevoy to enforce the law and peace in theses lands, we declare your life forfeit. Have you anything to say in your behalf?"
Simn had no problem with the decision. After all, they could hardly let the ringleader go after executing all his men. That would just be a travesty of justice. For now, he stood nearby, ready to intervene if the bandit tried to make a break for it.
A look of terror flashes across his face, quickly followed by betrayal and rage. He staggers to his feet and tries to run past Bea, shouting, "Get out of my way, you cow!"
As he tries to run past, Bea strikes him with the flat of her sword, sending him flying unconscious to the ground.
She then opens the door again. "Adam, come help me with him. We'll drag him out there for the execution like the others."
Adam grabs the curl by the hair and manages to lift some of his upper body that way, Bea carrying the rest.
"Here's another one for the justicar's block."
"Just slit his throat and be done with it", Jacyn says, barely looking up from digging graves to indicate the other dead thieves lying on the ground, " or would you prefer I did it?"
Finding the spot where the other executions took place by the large pool of blood, Bea props up the unconscious man, draws her dagger, and unceremoniously but efficiently slits his throat.
Wiping the blood from the dagger before sheathing it, she then picks up a shovel and joins the rest outside digging graves.
Adam grabs the curl by the hair and manages to lift some of his upper body that way, Bea carrying the rest.
"Here's another one for the justicar's block."
This should obviusly be cur, not curl, unless he just happened to have really curly hair.
Retsiji looks up from sorting clothing. He's still a little green. "Him, too? Can't say as I'm surprised; he didn't seem like the repentant sort. When you have a minute, sign the death warrants on the table there."
The digging passes without incident. (Not that it matters, but I figured that you were putting them into a single grave.)
Oleg helped out with a lot of the digging, and when you finish he gathers up the shovels. "I haven't been this pleased with a bit of work in quite some time. Let's clean up and get some lunch."
As you're washing up, Svetlana sidles over to Oleg and whispers in his ear. He humphs and replies, "I was getting to that! Go fetch them out, woman!"
Svetlana says, "We have something for you. I'll be right back!" She bustles off into the house.
While she's gone, Oleg addresses you. "You can stay in the guest house as long as you want, free of charge. We'll feed you, too. Those bastards were bleeding us dry--if you hadn't stopped them, they would've found some excuse to kill us both soon enough.
"Ah, here's Sveta."
Svetlana comes out with a small pouch and three flasks. "Here you are. These two are cure light wounds potions, and this one is a shield of faith +2 potion. You'll probably need these more than we will." The pouch contains 60 gp.
Not wanting to bother with the graves, Adam looks over the death certificates to make certain they are up to the current standards.
"I'll take any extra gold that no one wants, if you're still giving it away."
The death certificates are satisfactory, if a little stilted.
Svetlana heads into the house to finish cooking. After she's gone, Oleg motions you closer to him and speaks quietly: "I'm still worried the rest of 'em will come back, hot for revenge." He snorts derisively. "Or with luck the soldiery we were promised will get here first. Ha! Least we have a couple of days."
"We should try and find the camp before they get a chance to notice they're missing, and catch them off guard. Unfortunately, that doesn't leave us much time - We'll need to leave almost immediately." She looks at the bandits' horses and starts counting. "There enough for everyone to have a mount? We'll make good time if we can go by horseback."
I should point out that all of the horses are sized for humans, as are the saddles and such.
"I can't ride those beasts. They're too big; you'd have to tie me on."
"We can ride pillion easily enough," Simn suggested, "It'd be undignified, but the speed's important. Let's just remember that they might have sentries out, so let's not be too open in our approach."
"We should try and find the camp before they get a chance to notice they're missing, and catch them off guard. Unfortunately, that doesn't leave us much time - We'll need to leave almost immediately."
"I agree. Their tracks are pretty easy to follow now, but if we wait too long we may lose them," Havrin warns. "Like Bea said, if we can strike them by surprise before they become suspicious, we'll hopefully have an easier time dealing with them."
"Come, Adam, you can ride with me. I'll be sure not to let you fall off."
Assuming you ride out: As noted before, the trail left by that many horses on wet ground is hard to lose. You follow it roughly SSW towards the forest.
The late morning sun is warm, and after the previous day's rain the bugs are out in force. They're more an annoyance than anything else--but they are really annoying. There isn't a whole lot of other wildlife around. Some birds, and at one point the trail detours around something like a prairie dog town (a lot of rodents living in the same area with shared burrows; very dangerous to ride a horse through at any speed).
After a couple of hours you approach the northern edge of the forest. Havrin, please roll a Survival check.
"See the way the ground's been disturbed here? The bandits must have camped here at the edge of the forest last night," Havrin points out the signs for his companions to see.
"Their trail continues back into the forest, but it's a bit harder to follow. Bea, do you think you could help me track them?"
Yes.
Bea hops down off her horse at bends down to closely examine the tracks.
"Sorry, I'm at a loss - I see them here, and then...nothing." She looks back up and shrugs, with almost a look of embarrassment on her face.
Adam looks down at Bea and Havrin from the horse.
"Hmmph. How can you tell anything from muddy imprints? I'll never figure out you wilderness types. First you give away a weeks worth of delights in gold, and then you scour away on the ground searching for the Gods know what."
"Not much of a surprise," Simn said, "It makes sense they'd camp nearby rather than riding all night to get here by dawn. Do you think you can follow the tracks all the way to the main camp, or are we better off going by the directions?"
"No, I believe I can still follow their tracks even though some of the trail's been blurred by other things crossing it, but knowing the directions certainly helps. However, I don't think we'll get there until after dusk," Havrin informs his companions.
Retsiji dismounts while Havrin and Bea look for tracks, walking around and stretching. "If we camp here I can rest and prepare spells tomorrow morning, before we attack the rest of the bandits."
"Let's rest then, and then tomorrow (or whenever) we can rue their day." Adam says, smugly.
Jacyn nods and gives a small smirk at Adam's suggestion before dismounting. "Any idea if there is a stream or anything nearby? I'd like to get some water for Smoke."
A little looking around quickly reveals the place where the bandits watered their horses. It's convenient to their campsite.
Jacyn moves Smoke over to let him get something to drink, refilling his own waterskin as well, then moves back to the campsite to help the others in whatever matters they are attending.
You reached there mid-afternoon; it took you around three hours (Jacyn figures he could've managed it in less than two if he knew where he was going).
Bea helps Adam off her horse, then leads it to drink before locating a suitable branch to secure him to. She then sets down on a stump, pulls out the same piece of wood that previously occupied her attention, and puts her dagger to it again. As chips of wood start piling up at her feet, she glances up at the rest of the party "We should set a watch since we're camping out here in the wild. I'll take the first." Without pausing to wait for an answer, she is again absorbed in her task.
Adam sets to retuning his lute, as the ride had likely jarred some of the strings loose.
"Some noble heroes ventured forth,
A-tracking through the mud,
To put more thieves at Justice' Sword,
And drench it in their blood."
Adam pauses and looks up with a look of distaste on his face.
"I hate soft rhymes."
"I thought it was quite good, Adam." Jacyn offers as he stops for a breather from his task. When Adam stops, Jacyn continues to hum the short poem to himself as he sets back to his business.
"I agree, Adam. You have quite a gift for words," Havrin comments as he tends to the group's horses.
Retsiji lets Jacyn and Havrin tend to his horse, since he doesn't know much about handling them. He stretches, obviously in some discomfort. "I don't ride much, obviously. Have to work on that.... Bea, I'll sit first watch with you--let the folks who see better at night have the later watches.
"Speaking of seeing better at night, I have a suggestion. It would mean some night riding, but what if we did the same thing the bandits did? Get a very early start tomorrow morning, make our way to near the bandit camp, and attack them while they're still abed? Jacyn and Simn can watch for trouble while we're on the move."
"That sounds like a good plan, Retsiji. I like the thought of taking them by surprise if at all possible."
"I'll take second watch," Havrin offers.