Neither woman is able to connect with their parting shots as the rider speeds off.
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"I agree, Saldoc. I'll try to help them out." Meredith heads into the forest.
She seems to glide through the undergrowth like the open road. "Are you...alright?" When she realizes no one understands her, she stows her shield away and tries to pantomime safety.
Frightening them even more. It looks more like she's crouching down for the kill!
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Ruth yells at the fleeing bandits. "Cowards!!" Then she swings her sword around a bit testing the balance. ....what has gotten into you girl ... you have never missed a target twice ... She shakes her while looking at her sword. She then sheaths her sword, retrieves her bow from the road and searches the bodies of the bandits for anything.
The two bird bandits escape down the forest road.
Meredith approaches the women and children. They understand none of what she says but look frightened.
Ruth returns to the group and Pub appears to have run off.
Ruth recovers the wakizashi blades on the two bandits. A bit of minor coin and gear as well. Their horses seem to have run off.
The children of the travelers let out a small whimper. The harassed family consists of an old man, his daughter, her husband, and their two children.
Once the tengus are dealt with, the old man steps forward and speaks in broken common.
"You have our thanks. We do not have much to offer as a reward to you heroes. Allow me to introducing myself. I am Xien Wun Lao." He bows to each of you.
"We are simple travelers attacked by these birdmen - Tengu they are called. We are not skilled with weapons to fight them. We are just trying to make it to the village ahead and avoid any more brigands. But now with our wagon destroyed, that seems unlikely."
He looks back at his family.
"If only I could fight like you. But they are too strong. Only recently, this gang of tengu bandits known as the Thundering Eclipse has grown fat on the pickings of simple farming folk like us. The gang is led by the self-proclaimed warlord Kwankhonu, who sees himself as a new ruler of the lands. We cannot stand up to his army. Our village is being threatened constantly by his bird soldiers. Soon they will destroy us I am sure."
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"Standing up to those who are oppressing you isn't a matter of strength," Goldur says as he puts away his hammers. "It's a matter of courage. And sometimes, defeating them is the same way. There's a tale about a young boy who defies his town's corrupt leadership; he isn't strong, or fast, and is defeated easily. But his defiance gave the rest of the townspeople the courage to do the same, and they outnumbered their leaders. You don't always have to be strong to win battles."
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"You will have our protection, at least." Meredith decides to let Goldur do the talking. She walks up to the wagon, looking at it with Saldoc. "What's left in here, anyway? Are the horses still here? Maybe I can calm them down."
If the wagon horses are still around, Meredith will cast Speak with Animals and use her empathy to calm them down.
Meredith's voice sounds more like a horse and less than a human.
Meredith is able to convince one horse to return.
Ruth finds just the gear the 2 tengu were wearing, basically:
leather lamellar, shortbow with 20 arrows, wakizashi
The wagon can be repaired, it is mainly tipped over and the man starts working to right it and untethers the dead mule. The contents look all their belongings and simple rice and food stuffs for making a hastily planned escape.
I cannot fight, but we will return to Nesting Swallow. I am ashamed to have fled and risked my family to these bandits. Our fate is with our village. Are you heading through there? I know there is not much to see for important travelers like yourselves, but we would travel with you if you need a translator or guide.
Wun Lao assures the you that he and his family will be fine on their return trip to the village. But he encourages you to travel with his family and meet with the village council.
Nesting Swallow is 10 miles down the road; the family points the way if the party chooses to go ahead on their own.
From atop one final hill, the object of your quest comes into view. From this height, the village of Nesting Swallow is laid out almost like a map. The small town consists of little more than a few dozen huts encircling an open common area. Rolling hills surround the village to the north and west, while the east is bordered by a light forest. South of the village, the brush has been cleared, and a long string of paddy fields stretches out into the distance, webbed with irrigation ditches branching off from a stream that separates the village from the farmlands.
Accompanying the Xien family back to town, you are met by curious stares and whispers by the locals. You are escorted back to the Xien family hut. The young husband and wife ask you to sit.
"Please, as our guests, relax while Wun Lao arranges a meeting with the council. As honorable guests of our Xien family, we offer you each what food we have, we are sorry it is mostly rice and millet."
After a short while, the old man returns and you are escorted
across the village common and into another
building. Your group is led to Je Tsun’s home.
This hut differs from every other one in
the village only in size, easily twice as large
as most of the other dwellings. Otherwise,
it is identical, being another slightly
elevated circle of bamboo and wicker walls
surrounding a packed earthen floor. The interior has some
rooms partitioned off the main one, and the collection of
furniture and possessions indicates that this is another family
home when not in use for official purposes.
Against one wall stands a simple shrine with a collection of clay tiles hung from
it, each bearing a different name. The lowest hanging tiles look
quite new, a few months old, maybe. The highest and oldest
tile on the shrine, however, bears the name “Li Yao.”
The center of the room is cleared, and an assortment of
cushions has been laid out in a semicircle. A dozen or so old
men and women sit on the cushions, Xien Wun Lao among
them. A woman standing in front of the shrine finishes a prayer
and turns to join the seated elders; she is clearly the youngest
among them, not even middle-aged, in spite of a face beset by
worry and a hard life. Her youth is attested by the fact that she
is greatly pregnant; six or more months along. After settling
down into an empty place among the council, she motions to
several empty seats opposite her.
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Meredith thanks them. "This rice and millet is more than enough- thank you for your hospitality."
Instincts? Reflex? My old days as a slave were barely better.
Later that day, Meredith sits on one of the offered seats and waits her turn. She was never sure of what to say in front of leaders and the council.
Once the party has settled in, the young, pregnant woman bows to each of you and speaks for the council,
"Welcome to Nesting Swallow as our guests. According to Xien Wun Lao, we are greatly honored that you should arrive when you did. We do not often receive visitors beyond simple farmers of surrounding countryside. Which, raises the question in our minds, if I may dare ask, what manner of business brings you to these parts of Shokuro?"
She waits patiently for your reply before continuing.
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"Yes. Well then. First, we must thank you for your hospitality. My apologies for not following your customs."
"We have travelled long and far, carrying an artifact known as the Braid of a Hundred Masters. We have been tasked by our superiors to understand its secrets. We have found the item in question, but its powers have laid dormant." Meredith produces the braids and lays it before the council.
"When we secured the item, we were greeted by the spirit of Jiang Dan. He told us the story of the master and the last disciple, and said we should seek the descendant of the final master, Li Yao. Her name is Je Tsuin, and we were told she lives here."
"We would be honored if we could speak to her. Perhaps she can help us complete our objective." Meredith bows as a show of goodwill.
Upon Meredith's mentioning the last living descendant of Li Yao, the woman quietly smiles. She stands and says.
“That name Je Tsun name belongs to me. Permit me to formally introduce myself. I am Je Tsun, and the last of Li Yao’s descendants.”
She rubs a hand across her swollen belly as she says this and smiles slightly.
“At least for now. So, perhaps you look upon me and see the end of a quest. I look upon you, and I see hope. Hope for my village, my family, and our future. You have become familiar with the troubles facing us?”
She quietly looks to each of you with a concerned smile, awaiting any questions or response.
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"Yeah, we came across the Xian family on route to your village. They were under assault by hooded bandits. We defeated some and drove off the others. The Xian family told us about Kwankhonu and his bandits, thinking they could drive people out of this village and claim the land as theirs. Preposterous, we all own it." Meredith grunts at the silliness of the idea.
"It sounds like we could offer to weaken or defeat these bandits. You would have the peace and quiet needed to analyze the Braid?"
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"Bandits present quite a problem for an unarmed village like yours-- at least, a village that seems unarmed to an incoming traveler. But from what I've seen, I think we can handle that particular threat... However, I would guess they aren't your only problem, and we're willing to help in any way that we can. At any rate, more hands to help with the work that always seems to need doing can make everyone's life a little easier."
Je Tsun smiles and nods with your response to her question.
“Whether you are here in answer to the prayers of our people
or simply here at this time by happenstance is beside the point; you are here. And it is within your power to help us. I tell you now, we have little to offer as incentive. This is a poor village even when not beset by misfortunes, and this year has been less fortunate than most.”
She looks to each of you...almost pleading with her eyes.
"If you can save us from these tengus, we can offer you food, shelter, and whatever other aid we may give you. But as for a reward, the only thing I can offer is that which you came here for in the first place. Defeat our enemies, and I will bring this relic of my ancestor’s to life for you. I am sorry we do not have more to offer than hospitality, but our need remains: will you help us?”
"Excellent, thank you from all of the villagers and our council. All able-bodied villagers will aid in the defense of the village. However, we are not warriors, and will need you to tell them what to do. I am in no condition to fight."
She turns to Meredith and the others in your group.
"The bandits will come soon. However, every hand, mine included, is needed to finish the harvest and our defenses. Activating the braid will take time; time I do not have until after this crisis is past. If it were something that would aid in our defense, then yes, but all the stories passed down through my family that speak of the braid describe it as a relic of great wisdom and contemplation. Not something that would help us in battle. So it will have to wait until we have dealt with the harvest and then the tengu forces.”
She starts to draw up a small map of the village on a large scroll. She counts in her head and figures there are about 50 adults able to work or fight.
Here are some of the options you have. The harvest needs to be done first and quickly.
*Bringing In the Harvest = 20 villagers for 6 days
Every day thereafter, all 50 hands are available for defensive work....in small teams of 5 or 10 as you see fit. Defenses can include tasks such as:
*Archery Training = 10 villagers for 1 to 4 days
*Combat Training = 10-40 villagers for 1 to 2 days per unit
*Constructing the Barricades = 30 villagers for 6 days
*Flooding the Fields = 20 villagers for 2 days
*Posting Scouts = 5-25 villagers per day
*etc
The different activities will aid in the overall defense of the village from the legion of tengu raiders expected to strike around the time of the harvest.
"Our few people and resources are at your disposal. The family you saved have offered their house to you for the duration. They are staying with their relatives to give you privacy for preparatory work."
Je tsun looks at Meredith anticipating a question...
"How long until the bandits attack you may ask? In past seasons, they always arrive soon after a harvest. After all, there is no point in milking a cow before she calves. The barley crop is ripe; we need to bring it in this week or lose it. Soon after, the crows will descend upon us. "
An older councilman turns to Saldoc...
"We have 10 old crossbows available from some soldiers that fell here years ago in a battle. Nobody knows how to use them but 10 of the younger adults are willing to try, master An."
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Day 1 passes (assuming the plan, let me know otherwise).
20 Farmers bring in about 20% of the crops. At this rate, you figure maybe 4-5 more days.
30 others work on the barricades. They make a small dent in the construction. You figure 5 more days at this rate. Engineering, woodcutter or trap setting might help speed things along.
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Day 2 passes
20 Farmers have brought in about 35% of the crops. At this rate, you figure maybe 4 more days.
30 others continue work on the barricades. You figure 4 more days at this rate.
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Day 3 passes
20 Farmers have brought in about 50% of the crops. At this rate, you figure 3 more days.
30 others continue work on the barricades. You figure 3 more days at this rate.
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Day 4 passes
20 Farmers have brought in about 66% of the crops. At this rate, you figure 2 more days.
30 others continue work on the barricades. You figure 2 more days at this rate.
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You overhear various villagers as they rush nervously to bring in the barley and rice crops. Constantly they stop to look over their shoulders and into the surrounding woods and mountains.
“Perhaps some aid would be sent our way" asks one young farmer only to be replied to by an elderly gaffer.
"No, the provincial magistrate resides several weeks from here. By the time we could get word to him and receive a response, we would already be destroyed.”
"How long until the bandits attack, mommy? asks a small boy.
“In past seasons, they always arrive soon after a harvest. After all, there is no point in milking a cow before she calves. The barley crop is ripe; we need to bring it in this week or lose it. Soon after, the crows will descend upon us.”
Constructing barricades from wood and bamboo aids in this endeavor. Incorporating the landscape and the existing structures of the village into this barricade allows the defenders to contain attackers to several choke points. Construction was already underway before the party arrived in Nesting Swallow