In a slew of bolts and arrow, the two remaining bandits die, their screams drowned out by the piercing frosty wind!
On the bandits, you detect no magic and find padded armor, buckler, short sword, shortbow with 20 arrows, 8 gp, 5 sp on each.
As the group looks over the dead bandits, Vesna smiles. "Well, that worked out well! Perhaps we should allow Marek to move ahead of us from now on."
As the group looks over the dead bandits, Vesna smiles. "Well, that worked out well! Perhaps we should allow Marek to move ahead of us from now on."
The dwarf looks about not really convinced of what they had just done, "Aye, too easy if you ask me."
He inspects the ground to see if he can discern where to go next.
You pick up the trail and continue your bandit hunt. After climbing at least a hundred feet into the hills, the snowy trail finally levels off. In a clearing among the trees, you see a large wooden lodge. Smoke rises from the lodge’s two snow-covered chimneys, and large woodpile is stacked against the outer wall. A small outbuilding stands east of the lodge, and a stone well nearly blanketed by snow is barely recognizable to the north. Martek recalls that a group of rangers known as the High Sentinels, charged with keeping the forests safe from bandits, were said to live in a lodge in the forest. He applied for membership but was refused for being too young.
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"Well, they were behind the kidnapping, I heard them talking", Marek informs the others now that there's no reason to keep quiet. "They were arguing about who gets the biggest share when ransoming the noblewoman."
Coming out from his hiding place, he looks around the site, and kneels closer to ground to look for tracks. "I'm sure there's more of them."
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"Well...if they intend to ransom the lady, then we at least do not need to worry about them sacrificing her or feeding her to some random beastie... though there is no telling how they may treat her in the interim. We should still try our best to rescue her sooner rather than later. Perhaps the rangers in the lodge can be of some assistance? How well do you know them, Marek?"
The dwarf is somewhat confused, "Do we suspect the rangers are in on this kidnapping?"
He turns to Martek, "What kind of men were they?"
Good work everyone, I'm glad we suffered no injuries this time. Evidently you being ahead has its advantages Marek!
Aurora spends some time looking over the lodge and its surrounds intently, she knows nothing of these rangers, so hopes to keep an eye out and spot anything that might be useful.
Vesna looks at the men. "I'm confused too. Marek, were those bandits members of the High Sentinels? Or should we assume if they're using their lodge that they're behind the kidnapping?"
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"Hmm, this lodge might belong to High Sentinels, a group of rangers I've met many years ago. They are fighting bandits in this forest, so they might help our cause."
Marek thinks for a moment.
"Or, as there are many bandits about, maybe they lost the fight.. In any case we should investigate the lodge, but be on our guard. Follow me, I'm going first."
Keeping low, the ranger sneaks closer to the lodge. Hoping his precaution is unnecessary, he tries to look for traps and alarms that could have been laid on his way. As he closes in, he listens for any signs of activity.
Vesna watches the Ranger as he stalks forward. She whispers to the others. "I'm more skeptical about the High Sentinels. Maybe they've been captured or subverted. Or maybe there's more to this noblewoman then we know about."
Marek sneaks closer to the lodge, while the party watches. To the south, he sees a small shack-like structure, he surmises may be used as an outhouse.
He gets closer to the lodge but unfortunately, he fails to see a tripwire hidden in the snow, that causes a crossbow to shoot at him, embedding the bolt deep in his chest, nearly killing him!
After the shot, the crossbow falls off its perch, dragging a row of pots and pans noisily on the ground. You hear movement and shouts coming from inside the lodge. What do you do?
Thinking quickly, Aurora looks around, but can't see anything that might suit her first suggestion...still...
Can we create the illusion of a stag having tripped the trap and running off? We can't do it magically but can you gents fake any tracks? Do we have the antlers from that stag a way back we killed?! Otherwise all I can think is to create a false trail like someone crawled off, then ambush them from a better position assuming they surround the fake hiding place. What do you think?
The dwarf is already moving, "Good thinking and worth a try."
He helps get Marek to a nearby tree, out of sight, where he again calls on Lord Fire. Martok's hand glows red and he literally plunges a finger where the bolt used to be. The wound cauterizes with some pain but the scar seems clean.
Martok then readies his sling but also keeps his spell pouch handy waiting to see who comes out of the lodge.
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For Marek, it was just a red, hazy blur after the bolt hit him. He managed to get back to the trees aided by Exiel. Once he heard Martok calling for his Lord Fire, Marek gathered enough willpower to not cry out once the healing touch seared his skin.
When the pain resides, the hunter is able to think more clearly. Keeping his bow ready, he awaits for anyone coming out from the lodge.
Aurora grins as her plan is put in to action. She finds a place to hide and readies her crossbow.
She watches Marek closely, and is relieved when Martok is able to draw upon Lord Fire's blessing to heal him.
Vesna hunches down against a bush and loads her crossbow for the impending fight.
The dwarf lifts his hand for everyone to stop and starts sifting fine sand through his fingers. His arcane words as quiet as possible, he hopes to remain hidden while he cast the spell.
Aurora draws a bead on one of the bandits, but notices Martok casting, so holds off firing her shot until his arcane work is complete.
Vesna sees Martok begin his spell and she waits for its effects, ready to fire her crossbow at the first sign of something gone wrong.
In the surprise round, the party all waits for Martek's spell to go off.
Bandits:
Aurora:
Exiel:
Marek:
Martok:
Vesna:
Round 1:
With the party crouching behind trees, the bandits spot them ("In the trees!") at the tree line and fire their shorbows at them, but they all miss, the arrows striking the trees!
Martok's spell goes off and three of the bandits doze off!
Marek's readied shot goes off and then the party!
Vesna ducks down as an arrow flies over head. She pokes her head back out and fires at the bandit.
Martek and Vesna's arrows hit the non-sleeping bandit killing him!
You hear movement from inside the lodge but no one else is coming out. The front door is wide open however.
I don't know how long they will sleep, should we quickly tie and gag them? Or do we worry that they will get free and come after us?
She bites her lip, unused to such moral conundrums and desperate for the input from her companions.
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"There's still sounds of movement inside, and anyone within would have seen all 4 of those guys dropped, one of them with arrows. They already know they're under attack now, so I propose we move in before they get organised. Press the advantage."
With that, he moves towards the door, crossbow at the ready.
Vesna rushes forward and before anyone can stop her, she slams her spear through the throat of one of the sleeping bandits, spraying blood everywhere.
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EDIT: I will roll damage then. 1d8+1
Marek is just about to rush towards the lodge, when he witnesses Vesna about to do her heinous deed. "No!! You cannot... That's not... We're not... the ranger whispers loudly.
He shakes his head. "Let's just clear the house quickly", he continues and moves close to Exiel. He knows it's not wise to leave the bandits free, but killing a sleeping man is just murder.
Aurora stands there, mouth open and stunned for just a moment.
Don't think about it, it's done now, those men were willing to murder us and would have done so again from the moment they woke if they could. You must continue and save this woman from their clutches
With gritted teeth, Aurora runs towards the door, aiming to end up behind Exiel so she can cover him as he moves in.
Marek is just about to rush towards the lodge, when he witnesses Vesna about to do her heinous deed. "No!! You cannot... That's not... We're not... the ranger whispers loudly.
He shakes his head. "Let's just clear the house quickly", he continues and moves close to Exiel. He knows it's not wise to leave the bandits free, but killing a sleeping man is just murder.
With his spear poised to skewer the other sleeping bandit, the dwarf turns to Marek, "Would you have them kill you?"
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Exiel scowls at the sight of the executions by Vesna and Martok, unsettled by the needless death.
"I think the point is that they are in no condition to do us harm. I accept that time will not permit us to deal with them more gently, especially if they will only be unconscious for a few seconds. However, I would prefer that you incapacitate them rather then kill them."
Exiel will move to the third bandit, and will coup de grace for non-lethal damage.
"They were asleep, and I prefer not having them wake up and put an arrow in my back. It's not like they were playing cards before Martok put them to sleep. They were shooting at us." She rolls her eyes at Exiel.
Two rounds later, the sleeping bandits are all dead. As you look inside the lodge, a large table and two benches run the length of this hall, and a twenty-foot-high vaulted ceiling rises into the rafters overhead. To the west, a roaring fireplace provides a welcome heat and light while to the south, a flight of stairs ascends to a wooden balcony overlooking the room. You see a number of closed doors but no other inhabitants.
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Exiel sighs deeply at the killings committed by his party members, though he understands that their fate would be the same if the party had hauled them before the rural courts. Such was the nature of justice in the frontier lands, and whilst completely unsatisfactory to him, now was not the time to make an issue of it. Not if they wanted to succeed in the rescue mission, or even make it out of this alive.
"From the outside, it looked like there was some large room to the south. If there is a sizeable force, that's where they are likely to be, and making a choke-point of that door will prevent them from overwhelming us with numbers," Exiel thinks to himself. "Furthermore, it's close enough to the main entrance that we can beat a retreat if necessary."
With that thought in mind, Exiel motions to the nearest door to the South, loaded crossbow at the ready.
If a creature's nonlethal damage is equal to his total maximum hit points (not his current hit points), all further nonlethal damage is treated as lethal damage.
Aurora moves to the other side of the door from Marek, shaking a little but being brave with thoughts of the poor woman being held against her will, and how close she was to rescue.
Checking her crossbow for the dozenth time, Aurora is ready for action.