"A benevolent but inexperienced leader is better than a malevolent one. If nothing else, it seems to me that you have a good heart. That alone is a good step up from many men."
Castor offers a smile, before standing up and stretching, with a yawn.
"I had best return to sleep, the morning will come soon, and I would rather be well rested."
~~~~~~~
The next morning, when Castor wakes up, he sets about doing his usual routine. First, praying to the last stars of the morning for Desna's guidance on the group's travel. Then, alongside Theod, watching for threats as the party sleeps. Next, checking on Capella to ensure she is well fed and watered, and giving her mane and coat a thorough brushing. Finally, checking over his gear and ensuring that everything is in good shape.
By the time most of the party wakes up, he is up and ready to go, perhaps enjoying the first few bites of breakfast.
Brom, eager to get things moving and perhaps forget his earlier mistake, urges folks onto horses and to push ahead into the unexplored territory they cover, "Zhe early fox eats all zhe hens, as zhey say!" he says, as they embark on the new day.
While traveling he sidles up next to Castor, "So, your god and Hadin's god, zhey are different yes?"
Cappi saddles his horse as well, making sure that everything is fastened well before leading it to a nearby felled tree. He clambors his way up the fallen trunk before his is standing about eye-level with the animal, and swings himself into the saddle with a grunt. It's a rather uncomfortable position to be seated in for so long, but the soles of his feet are grateful for the reprieve.
The party saddles up and heads out to complete their initial exploration of the area. The sun is bright in the sky and the day is a hot one, the group finding themselves in the full swing of summer. Exploring the terrain is not as simple as one would think, with the party sometimes spread out with several hundred meters between them in some areas, properly inspecting the area and looking for signs of inhabitants or recent activity.
"That is correct." Castor replies to Brom's question. "That being said, my goddess, Desna, and Hadin's god, Erastil, are both deities on the side of good; I do not believe there is much in the way of conflicts between the two of them."
Brom seems to manage the horse a little better today than yesterday, perhaps humbled or distracted by the previous night. In response to Castor, "Zhat is good. If zhey vere not friends zhen it vould be difficult for you and Hadin to be friends, yes?"
Castor chuckles and replies with a nod. "You could say that, yes."
[dice=ride]1d20+3
The party wanders on that day, making good progress once again and finding nothing noteworthy during their exploration of the area. They come to realize that this area is just starting to border the woods to the south that they trekked through to get to the bandit camp, and from the previous encounters they had also realize that they are not far from the area that was home to the Will-o-wisp one of the groups encountered.
The day rolls on and night soon approaches, the party making camp once more and settling in for the night.
As evening approaches and the party is gathered around the fire eating their final meal of the day Theod and Cappi both hear movement coming from an area of the forest not far from the camp.
Brom sits stiffly and shifts around quite a bit, still not used to the saddle. He and Horsey have seemed to reach some sort of truce, however, as no horses were punched in the head and no barbarians were tossed to the ground. He eating with obvious relish, glad to be on firm ground once more, when he see's Theod and Cappi react to something he cannot sense, "Vhat is it? Is zhe volf back to dance vis Krasa?" and his hand moves to the weapon next to him on the ground.
Theod takes his time while they ride, continuing to scribble on his maps. That night at the camp, eating dinner and catching sounds coming from the woods he says to the others as quietly as he can "Something in the forest over there. Can anyone see anything?"
He slowly reaches for his weapon, to be ready for a fight.
Cappi's ears twitch at the sound of rustling leaves nearby. He purses his eyebrows and perks up, causing Brom to note the change in behavior. "I hear something. Over... there." He whispers, rising to his feet and pointing with a nod of his head in the general direction of the noise.
Two daggers slide into his hands as he steps toward the nearest tree for cover. Despite the baubles and beads hanging from his garish outfit, the halfling moves in eerie silence.
Without a word, Castor reaches for his bow and turns to face the source of the noise.
At the sound of movement Cappi vanishes into the underbrush, finding a spot to lie in wait for the source of the sound to be identified.
As the night has not yet fallen, the party spies a group of thuggish looking humans making their way through the forest not too far away. They appear to be heading directly for the campsite, but are not moving fast enough to lead you to believe they are assaulting it or that they have not detected it yet. They do appear to be moving with some caution and attempting to be silent.
"Everyone get ready for a possible fight" Theod moves to get behind a tree or something so he can strike out at one if it approaches.
"Who goes there!" Castor calls out, bow at the ready "State your name and purpose!"
Hadin seizes his flail and shield, and post himself near the path
*Erastil, let me be an help more than an hindrance for my comrades this time*
He loooks over his shoulder, careful not to be in the way of Castor's upcoming arrows, then looks at the approching group, trying to determine how many they are, their armor and weaponry, who their leader may be
Perception roll (not taking in account the modifiers for distance and feeble light)
Cappi tries to circle around the group, carefully working through the underbrush. He's not working quickly yet, as there's no need for haste at the moment. And really, there's no point in hastening something that can be done leisurely. As he proceeds, he notices a red-maned cat curled up beneath the overhang of a nearby fern and winks as he creeps past the lethargic feline.
The reaction from the men in the woods is immediate, as they quickly drop to the ground and attempt to hide themselves...
One vanishes from sight, while the other do their best to untangle themselves from their equipment and draw bows, leveling arrows on the source of the shout.
Nothing the bows pointed at him, Castor moves behind a nearby tree before invoking the magic of Desna to protect himself. He brandishes the wooden butterfly at his neck and utters a sentence of Celestial.
That the wings of the Monarch may shield me from danger.
The ghostly, luminous form of a large butterfly appears to envelop Castor in its wings for a moment before vanishing back into the darkness of the night, leaving only a faint, shimmering field wrapped around the cleric.
Hostiles. Probably more bandits.
Cappi continues to attempt the flank. He's thankful that this group has yet to become hostile, and returns the favor. But should the parlez cease, he wants to be ready. As he slowly creeps through the bush, he tries to get a better look at the men (what's visible at least) trying to ascertain their purpose here.
Brom moves to stand by Hadin, about 10' away, and attempts to give himself a lane to charge one of the visible bandits, not worrying about the hidden one at the moment. "If you do not speak your business I vill be spilling your blood in zhree seconds.... Vun!" he says as he begins his count.
As the men in the woods look to each other and realize that they are up against a group of people rather than one or two travelers one of them speaks up from the cover of the underbrush, "We don want any trouble. We are heading north, away from these lands. Things hae gotten outta hand and we are done with it! Jus let us pass, we will cause no harm." At his words the men with the bows lower their weapons slightly towards the ground, not dropping their guard but taking less of an offensive stance.
Brom purses his lips and narrows his eyes, weighing the truthfulness of the strangers words, but he does cease his countdown to doom. "Vhat has gotten out of hand? Ve are not bandits and not vanting trouble eizher, unless you are bandits, zhen ve vill fight."
Theod stays in his position behind the tree, listening to the conversation before acting.
Likewise, Cappi stops his progress around the individuals. Even he recognizes what a wrench it would be for negotiations should he get caught sneaking around them. Should he need to, he would be happy to negotiate as well; but first wants to look around for some decent cover--in case revealing himself draws some reflexive arrow shots.
Castor lowers his bow as the travelers lower theirs. "What has gotten out of hand?" Castor asks. "Have you been attacked?"
Brom similarly relaxes as he senses the truth in the mans words, and waits for an answer to their questions.
Come on, man...Tell us what happened. We don't need to fight each other. You don't seem to want to fight. Speak truthfully, tell us all we need to know.If you swear to stay peaceful, and to quit this lawless land, we won't stand in your way.
diplomacy
The man who has been speaking continues at Hadin's request, "The Stag Lord, he reaches too far. Too brutal and unforgiving with those he has under his thumb. And he spends his days and nights in a drunken stupor most of the time, abusing all those around him. We've had enough. This was not the life we wanted. Most of us were just trying to get by in these lands, pressured into his service. Let us pass, we only wish to make our way back to our people, to leave this mess behind us."
Brom, truly intrigued now, approaches the speaker cautiously, "I zhink zhat vould make you former bandits. Zhat is good! Vhat can you tell us of zhe Stag Lord and his base, numbers, veaknesses, and ozher zhings?"
Castor listens to the man's words carefully, keeping ear and eye open for any telltale signs of dishonesty.
"I agree with my friend. If you are truly honest about abandoning your life as outlaws, we will let you go, under the condition that you tell us what you can of the Stag Lord and his operations."
"Or perhaps there's still another option..." Cappi says boldly from the woods beside the men. He is careful to remain mostly concealed behind a tree, but waves a small hand to show that he has sheathed his own blades. "You're safe. No need to mill if we're all lookin' to patter."
When he sees that weapons are lowered again, Cappi steps out of the bushes with his hands slightly raised and a wink to accompany the cocky smirk at getting so near them unnoticed. "If you're square with us, and really are bene fellows, we could offer a better life for you in exchange for the information. We have an outpost, and could likely use some bang up archers as yourselves, eh?" He turns to the others to see if he's completely off base with this proposal. "I can't guarantee it. But hey, if we wanted to kill you, you got to admit that I might have had the chance already."
Seeing everyone not taking this other group as a threat Theod steps out from behind the tree, still holding his weapon but not in a threatening manner. He nods to Cappi's words "As he says, there could be some honset work for you if you are interested but we are just as concerned of this Stag Lord and would like to put a stop to his, as you put it, brutal and unforgiving ways. If you can give us more information on him that would be most helpful!"
Brom chips in, trying to look nonthreatening and friendly, "Yes, and ve vill be owing you a favor."
The men look questioningly at each other, a few nodding to the man who has been speaking for the group. Obviously the party's offer sounds reasonable to them, and the speaker continues, "The Stag Lord's fort is about a four day journey from here on foot, maybe a bit longer. Follow the forest till you reach the river, then take that east. You shouldn't be able to miss it." He thinks for a moment, looking again back to his associates before continuing, "If your offer of work be true, and there are no tricks, we are your men. We expect to be paid of course, and we will not debase ourselves mind you! Most of us are good enough with a bow, and know most of these lands fairly well enough."
Theod nods and smiles, with his head he motions for them to come toward the fire. "Come let us have proper introductions. With your mention of your knowledge of the local lands I have an idea, even aside from other work you might find at our little outpost." He begins walking back toward their camp and takes a seat by the fire, sitting his weapon on the ground and looking back to make sure the others are coming.
"Won't debase yourselves?!" Cappi explains with fabricated shock. "That does limit our options." He winks and grins wide to try and put the men at ease.
Brom just grins as follows the others to the fire, but you can see him adopt a look of consternation when the newcomers cannot see his face, his mouth forming the word 'debase' several times as he wraps his brain around the new words and it's possible meanings. When the new fellows come the barbarian is quick to share the warmth of the fire and food.