DM Jesse's Kingmaker PbP (Inactive)

Game Master Jesse Heinig

During the interrogations, Korinne decides to keep Oleg and Svetlana company. "Don't worry, we'll get all this sorted one way or the other, and soon," she says, giving Svetlana a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "In the meantime, maybe we can look ahead to what's next if you'll humor me a little?"

Motioning them back inside the main building and away from where the bandits are being interrogated, she continues, "Once they're dealt with one way or the other, I think our next goals will be two-fold: deal with the rest of the bandits and this Kressle that the rude one keeps talking about and then begin exploring and mapping the surrounding region." She produces an inkpen and a piece of parchment seemingly from nowhere. "Putting aside the bandit issue for a moment, is there anything much you can tell me about the area - threats, other people living or wandering around out here, landmarks, and such? We'll need all the information we can get if we want to be properly prepared for the days to come."

I have updated the Roll20 map to be the new overland hex map! You will note that you can't see much, just Oleg's trading post and a small strip to the southwest where Cassandra went exploring. See the Discussion thread for more about exploration in Kingmaker.

Oleg helpfully says to Korinne, "I don't get out much -- dangerous to get into the woods, or the land too far southwest. There's a crazy alchemist who lives a little way east-south of here; he comes by every once in a while to sell potions and things. He's paranoid but mostly harmless. Also, trappers and hunters come through here pretty often."

Svetlana says, "I can't say there are too many landmarks as such -- the Narlmarches west and southwest, and hills to the south. Sometimes the hunters tell stories of finding old ruins or the like, but... who can tell the stories from the truth?"

Oleg nods and pats his wife's hand. "Aye, there's sure to be ruins; Taldans tried to settle this land once, in the glory days of the Empire, but it never lasted. No doubt there are old ruins and temples and suchlike, but I wouldn't get too carried away worried about every rock-pile you find out there." He grunts and adds, "I could do with some ale. Especially if we're going to be hanging anyone."

Carinna will tell everyone what she learned with the bandits.

"The first one, Laric, seems to just have been on the wrong place at the wrong time... It is still risky, but I think he can be given another chance."

"The second one, Hatch, has the intelligence of a pair of shoes... if properly guided, he could leave his current life."

She looks bitterly towards the other three.

"But, regarding to Happs, Scramsax, or whatever is his name, and Scratch, they are hopeless and quite dangerous. I say we put an end to their lives now. Oleg will not allow them to stay here waiting for the guards without us, we can't take them with us, or escort them back to Restov..."

Carinna looks at Cassandra, a bit ashamed.

"I'm sorry Cassandra, looks like you was right about those two... any idea what we can do with them?"

"Perhaps we should sentence them to labor?" Valeska forwards. "We'd have to keep watch on them so that they don't escape, but I'm sure Oleg and Svetlana would have plenty to keep them busy around here. "

[ooc]Holy s+%% they have names. Named NPC's are always harder to kill. Amazing work giving them character though.

Cassandra listened to the stories, mindful that they might not be truthful. Even still she couldn't help but feel sorry for Laric and Hatch. Either Hatch was really a fool or a really good actor. But the tears seemed real enough.

"I'm sorry Cassandra, looks like you was right about those two... any idea what we can do with them?"

"Less than I hoped but more than I expected honestly," she admits. "I agree with the judgement. I'd say labor too but I don't think Oleg wants anything to do with them. And we need to deal with Kressle soon, preferably before before she gets wind of this."

"Oleg is indeed furious with them, and has spoken more than once about hanging them... perhaps if we indeed hang Happs, Scramsax and Scratch, we can convince Oleg to keep the other two incarcerated here... at least until we take care of Kressle."

"Or...we could test them," Cassandra starts slowly. "He doesn't want them around. We can't leave them here. So what if we bring them with us? I saw tracks in the Narlmarches to the southwest. Kobolds. Fresh. We can make it there in less than half a day without horses. We take them with us to investigate. They do what we say or we cut them down on the spot. We get extra protection and they get to see what we are here to do. We can be back before the end of tomorrow. And I doubt this Kressle person will act if a day late."

"An...alchemist, you say? Oh! I think Cassandra mentioned that she'd seen some sort of little cottage out there while she was wandering around yesterday evening, maybe it belongs to him. Paranoid...yes, I suppose that'll happen living out here alone..." Korinne chatters as she scribbles away on her parchment, clearly taking notes.

"Narlmarches...likely to be old Taldan ruins lying about...perfect!" She looks up with a smile. "I know it doesn't seem like much, but every little bit of information helps. Thank you!" She glances out of the window. "Oh, looks like they're finished with the interrogations. Before you fetch your ale, I'd better go and see what they learned - excuse me!"

Hurrying back outside, she listens intently as Carinna shares what they managed to learn about their prisoners. "Hum...you're right that it sounds like there's little to be done for most of them," she says, sadly. "But maybe Cassandra's idea has some merit. We take Larik and Hatch with us; to get a better idea of them and they of us. Yes..." her eyes light up. "We can learn what we can of them and then, perhaps we'll be able to convince Oleg and Svetlana to put them to work around here - at least until the reinforcements from Brevoy arrive. Then, we plead their case to get them some sort of lighter sentence; more labor would probably be best. It sounds like Hatch would be fine doing an easy job somewhere with some structure and guidance, especially..."

Telmarni nods in agreement. "That sounds like a good idea. Though hanging... Can't we just lop off their heads? It sounds cruel to let someone hang by their neck till they die." She frowns and she rubs the back of her neck. "And if needed, I know of the spell Keep Watch to cast on someone to watch over them during the night."

You give Oleg a rundown of your current thoughts. Holding a tankard of ale, he thinks about this for a bit.

When you mention that you plan to give him some of the bandits' gear to help replenish his stock, he seems genuinely surprised. "You don't have to do that, you know. Why, some of this is probably stolen in the first place. I mean, I won't say no if you insist. It could certainly help me build up trade again. Speakin' of which, if you need anything special, I can always send an order to Restov by courier; should take a week or so. More if you need something extra-special from Riddlemark or Torch. Regardless, my stock room should suit most of your needs for riding around the hinterlands -- I have plenty of preserved foods and gear for woodsmen and hunters."

"About the bandits," he continues, "There's one other issue. I can't execute 'em -- I don't have a charter. I don't have the legal authority to enact high justice. If I killed 'em, legally it would just be murder. Or manslaughter or somethin' -- I'm no barrister. But you folks have to do the deed. I have rope or axe, whichever you prefer."

When you mention the possibility of reforming some of the bandits, his face darkens again and he scowls. "Remember, these are the same folks who took my livelihood and threatened my wife," he says angrily. He takes a few deep breaths and glances over in the direction of Svetlana, who is preparing a large lunch. "But I leave it to your lordships. Er, ladyships. If you want to show clemency to a couple, I suppose that's your choice. But there's no way that Svetlana and I can safely house a whole group of them while you're away, at least until those soldiers show up from Restov. If you wanna take a couple of 'em on the road, that's your business. I reckon I don't want those kinda vagabonds and criminals hangin' about here. Even if they stay on good behavior, it'll be bad for business -- honest traders comin' through will think that we're playing host to banditry and maybe even that this place is turning into a front for one of the bandit groups."

At this point you basically need to decide: * Do you execute the bandits that you think are incorrigible? * Who does it? * By what method? * Do you feel like a terrible person?

Then it's time to get on to exploration! Don't forget that Oleg will happily give you regular supplies in exchange for the bandit gear that you have given him -- so you could trade those bows for more rations, alchemist's fire, sunrods, a masterwork backpack, etc. If it's nonmagical and costs less than 500 gp, assume he can get it for you more or less immediately.

I find it difficult to believe he has much of anything. I mean, alcemist's fire and masterwork backpacks are good money. I wouldn't expect him to have anything for a week or, at most if the Swordlord's are unusually generous and wise, until the guards get here with extra supplies. I mean, what exactly did they steal then?

I find it difficult to believe he has much of anything. I mean, alcemist's fire and masterwork backpacks are good money. I wouldn't expect him to have anything for a week or, at most if the Swordlord's are unusually generous and wise, until the guards get here with extra supplies. I mean, what exactly did they steal then?

Oleg has connections with the local trappers and traders as well, plus it's been a month since the last time the bandits showed up. He still has to try to do some business, which means getting goods from merchants from the north and stockpiling them in case someone wants to buy them -- and then hoping that he can turn that around into cash, or goods that he can resell, before the bandits show up. It's a gamble but a necessary one for him to have trade goods in order to survive. (Also, the AP basically says "Once you have saved Oleg's trading post he becomes your main store with a 500 gp limit that goes up as you sell more stuff there," so I think it's one of those gamey conceits.)

Ah, forgot he had a month to stockpile. Fair enough.

Well, since we are the charter bearers, we have been tasked to take care of unrepentant bandits with death. We know 3 out of the 5 are not going to stop, so can we start dealing with them?

For Telmarni, she was ready to take Hopps outside the fort and cut off his head before we talking with them. She is still kinda the same thought, but now there are three. She doesn't want to, but she feels that she should do it for the good of the fort and the rest of the party.

Carinns sighs and turns to Telmarni.

"I'll do it. Mr Oleg, keep your axe, I have a better tool for this." She says, showing her sword. "Better not to do this inside the trading post... Cassandra, could you climb up the walls? Just an assurance to see if more bandits are coming and to put an arrow in any fugitives... just in case..."

She then walks towards each of the bandits and takes them outside. She looks at the back of Happs' head, getting ready to give the final blow.

Cassie was right... it is not easy, even after knowing all be bad stuff this guy caused... but I have to do it.

After a couple of moments the sound of a blade hitting something and of something hitting the ground is heard. When Carinna returns to the post, anyone could see that she was changed.

"Right... let's move on."

Cassandra not only keeps watch over the whole affair but also brings Hatch and Laric with her. They watch the grim scene together in silence. Cassandra also notes the change in air about Carinna. It was never a good thing to kill helpless men. But it was good she felt guilty. She speaks to the bandits without looking away from the grisly scene. "By order of the Swordlords it is our duty to scout this area and stamp out banditry where we find it. The penalty for unrepentant," she says putting emphasis on the word, "banditry is death by sword or rope." She finally turns to them but maintains a stiff tone and posture. "They were unrepentant. They didn't deserve a second chance. We believed you did. Don't waste it." She then leads them back to their makeshift cells to let that sink in. She joins the others to discuss their next move.

"So we going to check out the kobolds and see what how they act or something else?"

"By the information, it sounds like they would leave their main camp, then head to their camp that is nearby, then come here. So it sounds like it took a few days just to do this tribute run. So it may be a while before this Kressle woman would begin to suspect something was... Up?" She looks to the others wondering if she said the right thing.

"Anyway, by how it sounds, if we go to there, it will take a few days by foot, less if we take horses straight to there. Shouldn't be too hard to track them to their... Temperary camp before following tracks to the main camp." She turns to Cassandra. "What do you think?"

Though Korinne does not watch the executions she doesn't retreat indoors either, simply standing in the courtyard with her arms folded as the sounds of metal striking flesh carry from over the walls.

I hope we're doing the right thing...this is harder than I thought it would be.

Once Larik and Hatch are secured once more and the group reconvenes, Korinne shares what she learned of the surrounding area from Oleg and Svetlana. "That little cottage you saw Cass, I bet it belongs to the uh, crazy alchemist. If we find ourselves out in that direction, we should stop by and introduce ourselves; crazy or not, Oleg spoke like this man is good at what he does."

"As for the kobolds...honestly, I think they can wait. Even if it'll take a few days for this Kressle to realize something's amiss, I think we'd be better off to take the fight to them and try to surprise them. We can still take Larik and Hatch with us; maybe asking them to us bring down the other bandits will be as good a measure as any of their sincerity," she suggests. As they converse, her eyes stray over to Cassandra.

"Oh! You're still injured...let me see if I can help with that. Just hold still..." She places a hand on the woman's shoulder and furrows her brow in concentration. The sound of a low hum fills the air, followed by a *pop*.

Cure Light Wounds (Cassandra): 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9

Korinne gasps in pain as Cass's wounds mend and the smell of electricity fills the air. "Son of a b****, I forgot how much that stings!" she exclaims through gritted teeth as she holds her arm.

Used a point from the arcane reservoir to spontaneously cast Cure Light Wounds. There's no actual physical side effect to that, but I thought it would be interesting to have one for flavor/RP; think of it like an electrical charge/shock.

Cassandra hisses at the electrical discharge but marvels at how fast it and the pain in her leg goes away. She removes the bandage and finds it has already scarred over. "Thank you," she says dumbfounded.

As for the point of order. "I wouldn't test their loyalty so soon but I don't see a way around it. They know Kressle's strength. They don't know ours. They might just turn on us. That's why I mentioned the kobolds. But hitting Kressle before she realizes what's up is also a too good an opportunity to pass up." Being sympathetic was starting be a pain in her butt. But she'd rather have this pain than Carrina's. "Guess we don't have a choice. We'll find out one way or another."

"I'm with Korinne... better to put an end to this Kressle as soon as possible and with the two to guide us, it will be easier to find their camp."

Carinna then walks to the two remaining bandits.

"You two were given a second chance and I truly believe that you are smart enough to do not throw it away. Oleg, the owner of this trading post does not trust you, so we'll take you with us. We are heading towards your old camp and we need you to guide us... You need not to fight them, just guide us. Please, do not make anything stupid, for third chances are non existent."

She looks at Laric and continues.

"Our intentions here is to make these lands productive and if we succeed, you'll have a chance to go back to your old and honest business, I'll help you."

Diplomacy (Influence Attitude)@Laric: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21

Diplomacy (Make Request)@Laric: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11

She looks at Hatch and continues.

"There will be plenty of work here, honest work, for everyone, including you, Hatch. Just help us."

Diplomacy (Influence Attitude)@Hatch: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9

Diplomacy (Make Request)@Hatch: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18

I guess they are at least Indifferent towards us, since they were spared from the execution. If it is the case, Laric is probably Helpful now, and Hatch might be willing to help...

Both Larik and Hatch are, individually, a bit dubious about the offer, but given the alternative they are quick to take it.

When Carinna makes the offer to Larik, he says, "I sure can't go back to my old life; I lost my business! I have nothing but my old tools. I'd, uh, have to start entirely over. Not that I'm complaining!"

Hatch is a little slower on the uptake, but as soon as he realizes what you're offering, he nods eagerly and says, "Just tell me what you want me to do! I'll be a big help! You'll see, I can do it!"

There is one problem with taking horses to the old temporary camp (which Larik can lead you to) -- Cassie can't ride along, as you discover when corralling the bandit horses and checking their health. Every time she gets too close to the horses, they spook and become extremely frightened, with eyes rolling back, neighing and whinnying, kicking up their hooves and generally becoming very difficult to handle. Any overland travel will involve her being either ahead or behind of the group some distance, and moving no faster than she can go.

Larik tells you that the night before they camped in a small dell shielded by hills south of Oleg's place, and he can easily lead you there. "Not much to see, though," he adds. "Happs was always careful to cover tracks, bury the campfire, and make sure that nothing was left behind. You could, ehhh, go straight to Kressle's camp -- but she has lookouts, you'd need to be really sneaky if you wanna ambush her. More men there, would be a stiff fight for ya. Not that I'm saying you couldn't do it, but... yeah. It's not like you're gonna put a sword in my hand and trust me at your back," he finishes with a crooked smile as he runs a hand nervously across his balding pate.

You can go straight to either location, or you could take a day to explore the terrain around Oleg's hex and then methodically work your way out -- of course, taking too long means no chance to surprise Kressle's band, as they will know that something went wrong when Happs and his cohort don't return.

When trying to corral the horses, Telmarni sees how animals, namely horses, react to Cassandra. Why do they seem absolutely terrified of her? She's a woodsman, they should welcome her... Huh?

But when they discuss wither they should go to their temporary camp, or to Kressle, Larik comes up with a bit more info. "Well, with what I seen today, we should head to Kressle as soon as possible. Cassandra seems to have trouble with horses. So I feel the sooner we can go straight to Kressle's, the better." She dusts off her pants before looking to Larik. "And in all honesty Larik, when we get there, you will most likely will be tied up, along with Hatch."

Carinna thinks for a while before suggesting a plan.

"Well... five bandits came to Oleg's and five bandits could go back to their camp!" She looks around to make sure everyone is paying atention. "What about we take their cloaks and pretend everything is allright? If Cassandra can not ride, we go ahead with Laric as the fifth bandit and she goes behind us... hopefully they'll see us approaching and think everything went smoothly... until it is too late for them."

FYI, Cassandra knows of this trait. Most of her family and extended family are bad with animals. She would try to maintain distance from them to avoid suspicion.

As the others happily mount up on the horses, Cassandra stays clear so as not to spook them. It always happened to her and most of her family. No animal would willingly approach them. "Not a fan of horses," she says feigning nervousness.

"I'll take point. How many are there exactly?" she asks Laric.

Like so. Then again, bad bluff so everyone will likely find out anyway.

Unless given a reason to do otherwise, I think Korinne is going to take what the others in the party tell her at face value regarding their moods and such. If the Overprotective drawback hadn't worked so well given her backstory I'm thinking that the Naive drawback would've been dead on.

Noticing Cassandra's nervousness around the horses, Korinne gives the woman a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "I understand. Even though most of the girls in my neighborhood wanted horses when we were little girls, including me, I did know one that was terrified of them. Something about watching her older brother get thrown from one? Anyway, he lived thankfully, but the whole thing put her off of horses for good." She shakes her head, but then her expression brightens. "Maybe we can work on helping you get over that fear, when we've got some free time."

As Carinna suggest a plan to bluff their way into Kressle's camp in order to get the drop on them, she nods enthusiastically. "That's certainly a viable idea! It sounds like we'll need to get a move on pretty soon if we want to get there before Kressle realizes that something is amiss, but hopefully we'll get there quick enough to be able to scout around the area a bit first. Proper reconnaissance is key to planning any sort of strike, after all."

Beginning to pace, she continues. "Depending on what we find when we get there, we can either try to bluff our way in or simply position ourselves and launch a surprise assault. If we were to try bluffing our way in though, we'd need to leave Hatch secured somewhere so we'd have the right number of people returning."

Noticing Cassandra's nervousness around the horses, Korinne gives the woman a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "I understand. Even though most of the girls in my neighborhood wanted horses when we were little girls, including me, I did know one that was terrified of them. Something about watching her older brother get thrown from one? Anyway, he lived thankfully, but the whole thing put her off of horses for good." She shakes her head, but then her expression brightens. "Maybe we can work on helping you get over that fear, when we've got some free time."

Cassandra is appreciative of Korinne's, either naivete, or trustfulness. "Nothing so bad. Just lived in a forest for most of my life. Horses were slower through dense sections. Never even saw one till I met the Medvyed. Living in the wild makes you weary of anything bigger than you"

"Well... five bandits came to Oleg's and five bandits could go back to their camp!" She looks around to make sure everyone is paying atention. "What about we take their cloaks and pretend everything is allright? If Cassandra can not ride, we go ahead with Laric as the fifth bandit and she goes behind us... hopefully they'll see us approaching and think everything went smoothly... until it is too late for them."

"As Korinne said. Let's scout first and make a plan then. Personally, I would rather not walk into enemy territory. Then again, if we get close enough, we might be able to surround Kressle and get them to surrender. Depends on numbers."

"Um..." Telmarni stretches her wings before folding them back against her back. "While secretly getting close to them by dressing up as them is a great idea, but there is a flaw... Me and my wings, they are not exactly discreet limbs." She turns to Cassandra. "I agree scouting is best, and a stealthy approach is best. If I can fly above those... Lookouts, I can get a drop on them. But... I think I would only be able to do it once. My wings are not quiet either." She looks away at the ground.

Larik says, "You'd best come up with some kinda disguise if you want to try to sneak back into the camp. You're all a bit more... ehhh... 'curvy' than the bandits what went out."

"Good point!" Korinne chirps, looking impressed. "If we decide that disguises are the best way to go, maybe we can uh...tape things down, for lack of a better description."

Carinna thinks as Cassandra and Telmarni points out other options.

"If we are going to take them by surprise, we need to know more about their camp." She turns her attention to Larik. "I need to know how the camp works in the day and in the night... How many lookouts? How many stay in the camp during the day and during the night? How the shifts work?"

Carinna looks at Cassandra.

"If I understood it correctly, their camp is in the woods, probably in a clearing. If we take down the lookouts, we should take Kressle down as soon as possible... If they notice us, I think our best shot is to retreat to the woods, so their arrows will hit some trees, and we can put them to sleep like we did here..."

Cassandra looks down at her less then average bosom and thinks if only in regards to being curvy. If it weren't for the hair and lips she could pass for a man easily. Odd. She didn't normally compare her looks to that of other women.

"Depending on when we get there and how dense the forest is, Telmarni can scout during the day or I at night. She kind of looks like a bird when flying high. Though tonight I need sleep." Without missing a beat an involuntary yawn springs forth. "Alright, back in the barn. Just because you're being spared doesn't mean we trust you yet," she says to the prisoners. "Can someone take the first watch?"

We could plan all day and never actually get there. How much light is left today after the fight, interrogations and discussions? Maybe we can cover some ground today.

The battle was quite literally over in less than fifteen seconds -- you guys wrecked house on them -- so it's actually still pretty early in the day. You spent a few minutes debating the fate of the bandits, Carinna took about ten minutes to manhandle the criminals out back and Old Yeller them, and now you're discussing your plan of attack. It's not even 7 AM yet -- you haven't even had breakfast!

Cassandra could probably get by on a short nap, do some overland travel, then get back into a regular sleep cycle. Kressle's main encampment is, as best you gather from the descriptions of the captives, about thirty miles away, so it would take you a couple days overland to get there anyway, even if you decide not to stop and explore as you go. Basically don't worry about the sleep deficit for now except for RP purposes -- by the time you get to bed in the evening Cassie will be tired but you'll get caught up for the next day. Adventurers are young and they bounce back. :)

With the Bandits secured, the words of Larik begin to sink in. Telmarni's face begins to turn a bit red and she wraps her wings around herself. She mutters to herself. "....Curvy...? I.. Don't know."

Telmarni looks down at herself before shaking her head. "Erm... I can see during the night as well. While I am not... Dark skinned like others of my kind, I should be able to move around a bit easily at night too." She glances a look towards the stables before continuing. "I think a stealthy approach is best, but I don't think we can disguise ourselves to do so.... *Grumble*" Hearing her stomach, her face turns a deeper shade of red out of embarrassment. "Um... Maybe we should have some breakfast? I think we should have some breakfast." Telmarni then moves over to the table and sits down on a bench.

"Another good idea!" Korinne agrees, giving Tel a friendly pat on the back. "I can't speak for anyone else, but I always think better on a full stomach. Let's get the other two secure and have a bite to eat while we plan, okay?"

Telmarni flinches when she gets patted on the back. What!? Oh!... Oh... It's... It's Korinne. She relaxes slightly after realizing who patted her.

Nothing wrong, just that just so happens where she has her mark of slavery. It is between the shoulder blades. She is a bit... uncomfortable about it. In fact, you might have caught a glimpse of the very top of it when you patted her. >.>

A Tattoo? (1-50% notices/51-100% doesn't): 1d100 ⇒ 38

Was that a tattoo?

"I'm sorry, didn't mean to startle you! Jumpy huh? Don't worry, I think we all are, at least a little bit," Korinne smiles, her tone sympathetic. "Oh and I didn't know that you had a tattoo. Does it mean anything? I've read that certain peoples, like the Shoanti, are given a tattoo when they complete their rite of passage to adulthood. Do the strix do something similar?"

Open mouth, unintentionally insert foot...

Svetlana busies herself with providing bowls of warm oatmeal, brown bread, cottage cheese and soft goat cheese. As she places bowls and plates about the large wooden table she smiles and happily says, "At least now we can look forward to tomorrow, instead of dreading it!"

As she passes Carinna she leans in and whispers something quick.

Following the yawn came a rather...primal growl from Cassandra's stomach. She looked at the vulnerable neck of the man in front of her and her mind wandered to very gory thoughts. Warm, sweet blood flying everywhere and filling her mouth. For a moment her eyes change to something more savage. She shakes her head and the moment is gone. Lack of sleep and food were hampering her will and making even her thin, primal blood roar with hunger. "That...also sounds like a good idea. Food, a little rest, and then we can head out. Cover some ground today." At breakfast, Cassandra scarfs down breakfast like an animal. She finishes quickly and takes some left overs to Laric and Hatch. "It'll be trail rations or hunted meat after this. Enjoy while you can. Do well and you'll get more." Afterwards she takes a short nap and prepares for the journey south.

Carinna hears what Svetlana whispers.

Will (DC 10 to resist laughing): 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

With her mouth full of oatmeal, Carinna could not contain herself and laughs hardly, making a rain of oatmeal fly towards Valeska. She quickly cleans her mouth and tries to talk while her wild laugh still makes some oatmeal to fly around.

"I'm SO SORRY! Sorry Valeska, and Svetlana, please forgive me! I did not meant to be rude... you have nothing to worry, and some eggs would be great! Sorry again..." Carinna looks at Telmarni and she quickly put a huge piece of bread into her mouth to stop her from laughing again.

Oh Tel... you are so screwed...

Telmarni startles as she sees Carinna burst out laughing. Huh? She can't help but to giggle at the sight of her spewing oatmeal all over. When Carinna looks towards Telmarni, she gets a gut feeling it's about her when she mentions eggs.
Sense Motive: 1d20 ⇒ 19
With that high of a roll, I think she might got the gist of it.

Returning her face to a deeper red, she looks down at the table before muttering something. "Cari... You know I don't do... That." She looks back up at Cari and covers her red face with a hand.

As Carinna suddenly begins to laugh, spewing oatmeal all over the place and Valeska, Korinne starts to laugh too. "I'm glad I'm not the only one who does that from time to time," she giggles as she passes Valeska something to wipe her face with. Telmarni's strange tattoo temporarily forgotten, she takes a bite of her own oatmeal. "Not really sure what's so funny about eggs though...unless it's the word itself. It just looks silly when it's written out, you know? And the sound. Eh-ggz." She giggles again. "Did anyone else ever do the thing where you rearranged the eggs and bacon on your plate to make a smiling face? Come on, I know I'm not the only one!"

Just having a bit of RP fun here :)

A few short minutes later, Svetlana returns with an iron skillet full of scrambled eggs with some dill, mushrooms, and green onion mixed in.

"Sorry this took a bit, but it should help keep you strong for your upcoming trip!" she says cheerfully.

Oleg slides onto one of the benches and also tucks into the breakfast. "I'll see to the disposition of the bodies. Good luck out there."

Svetlana mentions as an aside, "There's a great radish soup that I love to make, but the moon radishes are somewhat hard to come by. They don't grow well under cultivation. If you spot any -- you can tell them because the bulbs have a distinctive round shape with a silvery-white sheen -- do bring some back and I'll cook up a real treat for you!"

Ooo. Side quest.

Having been absolutely engrossed in food, Cassandra missed why people were laughing. Was it her? They didn't seem to be looking at her. She decides to slow down a little and pay attention from now on. "My brother," Cassandra starts with a full mouth. She swallows quickly so as not to repeat Carinna's mistake. "My brother did that. But we rarely had eggs." As soon as the words leave though, Cassandra becomes more nervous. She shouldn't be talking of home so casually. Or the others in the other charters. That could lead to questions she wasn't ready to answer.

We cool to leave at lunch or something?

Svetlana stacks the cleared plates and heads back inside to get the wash bucket, and Oleg clears his throat and says, "If'n it's not too much trouble, could you keep an eye out for my wife's wedding ring? She says it don't mean nuthin' but her eyes say different. That bandit lady with the axes took it -- maybe she pawned it or lost it, I dunno, or maybe she still has it. But if you can find it, I'll make it worth your while." He puts a small pouch on the table and says, "Here's fifty gold for dealing with those bandits. I have a few enchanted potions that I'll give ya as well before you head out -- may save yer skin while you're hunting bandits."

Svetlana comes back with the wash basin and starts filling it from a water barrel. She says cheerfully, "Don't forget to pack plenty of food! There's no telling how long you'll be out there in the wild!"

Remember to have rations in your inventory! Oleg additionally gifts you with two potions of cure light wounds and one of shield of faith (+2 bonus). If you need to adjust your cash to purchase extra food, do it now... don't forget that you got six horses from the bandits, and Cassie isn't riding one, so one of them can be a pack animal if you like.

"That's a shame," Korinne chirps as she digs in to the freshly-cooked eggs. "We usually had eggs most mornings, which was fine because I like them. My little sister Tabitha isn't a fan though...she used to throw the biggest tantrums because we all had to clean our plates before we'd be allowed to leave the table."

As breakfast continues, she nods enthusiastically when Svetlana mentions radishes. For lack of anything else to write on, she pulls out her inkpen and begins scribbling on her arm. "Moon radishes...round, silvery sheen...we'll certainly keep a watch for any while we're out!" A bit later when Svetlana heads inside for the wash bucket, Korinne nods sympathetically when Oleg tells them of his wife's lost wedding band. "If this Kressle or any of the other bandits have it, we'll be sure to bring it back. Things like that...I've always been told that you can't put a price on them."

Once breakfast is finished, Korinne looks to the rest of her teammates. "Like Svetlana said, we'd better plan to be out there for awhile. Do we need anything else besides extra rations?" She glances over to where Hatch and Larik are currently being kept. "They'll have to eat too if we're going to take them with us, after all."

I'd suggest giving the Cure potions to our frontliners for sure, possibly the Shield of Faith potion too. Korinne will probably buy some extra rations, but that's about all I can think of that she'd personally need.

"Some tents. Maybe a few extra waterskins." As Telmarni suggests. "But I would not know of what else. I am not a woodsman." She accepts some eggs after noting the spewing of food earlier and eats.

Since it's been a little slow I'll move things along!

Oleg helps you laden your pack horse with tents, extra waterskins, and even a pouch of dried apricots that Svetlana insists that you take. With some discussion you settle on a means to keep your bandit "helpers" in view at all times -- and since they won't be mounted, they can't exactly outrun you. Cassie takes point, up ahead of the group away from the horses, using her tracking skills and knowledge of the land to keep an eye out for hazards, and secure in the knowledge that if something does go amiss, you can reach her quickly just by spurring your mounts.

Since you aren't slowing to explore but rather making a straight run for the bandit encampment, you set out west-southwest as directed by Larik and make good time across the rocky flats. You avoid hilly terrain that could conceal problems and hug the edge of the forest when you reach it.

After a day of traveling you arrive at a shaded area at the edge of the forest and decide to make camp as the light gives out and weariness starts to set in. Hatch helpfully collects firewood (under supervision, of course) while Larik sits at your shrouded campsite and works on digging stones out of boot-soles.

"We're not too far now," says Larik as he works on a particularly stubborn stone with a small hand tool that looks like a leather shaver (and probably is). "Keep following the treeline west-southwest and it'll come to a branch of the Thorn river. Follow the river up into the woods and we should get to the camp tomorrow."

DM stuff: 1d100 ⇒ 51

Unless you wanna change things up, you'll get 24 miles in the day, and place your camp at the grid intersection of C9, C11, and D10. I've marked the likely spot on the Roll20 map.

Telmarni helps set up the camp when they find their shrouded campsite. Once everything is set up, she pulls out her spellbook to look over her spells and sighs. "I wish I could memorized an extra spell. But I am still not used to this magic of this... Level? Anyway, if I had been able to, I would have prepared the spell Keep Watch to... Well, keep watch so everyone could have a good nights rest." She closes her spellbook and looks around the campsite and spies Korinne. She tilts her head and then remembers that she had a similar book as well. "Korinne? I think I remember seeing you have a spellbook. May I see its contents? I am curious if you have any spells I might be able to learn."

I expect this entire week will be slow with it being Thanksgiving week for we US folks; several of my other games already have people who are traveling and/or otherwise occupied this week :)

Korinne enjoys herself tremendously during the ride, despite the grim nature of their current journey, taking in the scenery and chatting quietly with the others as they go. Delighted at the prospect of having a horse, whether permanently or just for a short while, she christens the pretty little bay that she rides upon, 'Aggie'. "Just seems like a nice, fitting name for her," she smiles.

Once evening comes and they stop to make camp, Korinne settles in a cross-legged position next to the fire, spellbook open and papers being held down with small rocks scattered about her. "Oh...?" she looks up as Telmarni addresses her, a dreamy expression in her eyes. "Oh! Of course! I know that some might frown on it, but the exchanging of ideas is an important one and I think the same holds true for magic."

As Korinne passes her spellbook to Telmarni, it's clear that it's seen better days. The pages are dog-eared and some of them bear occasional stains, though whether they're beverage stains or liquids from past experiments is unclear. Despite the raggedy nature of the book, the handwriting within is quite neat and legible and even the additional notes scribbled here and there in the margins have a sense of order to them.

^I'll be here until Thursday. Then things get hectic and once a day is probably the best I an do.

Cassandra pushes hard to keep ahead of the horses but she was used to quick pace. It was a lot easier to do out in these open plains. When they have to stop for the night, she hunts around for firewood with Hatch while the horses are tethered far enough away that she doesn't spook them further. She figured they didn't need to hide their presence because the bandits were expecting someone to return.

And not to be left out at the camp fire, she too pulls out a small book and continues to update her knowledge of the land. "The five of us can keep watch. Few hours a piece. Shouldn't be too hard. In the morning though I think I and Telmarni should go further ahead. See what we're up against. We can decide something then. But I think a night attack benefits us best."