Khargol doesn't have much trouble locating the Bandit tracks once again, still leafing off to the south east.
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ugua grins and sees Angor walk off he looks to Durielle with a tilt back of his head, " That's easy.. It's an animal.. It as either because it as Hungry, Territorial.. or it simply wish to fight! It got it's wish, I'd say! "
"You are entirely too dismissive of anyone's opinion or curiosity if it's not your own, Sugua Bran't," Durielle says quietly with a slight shake of her head.
Then as Angor begins tying up the bear, she locates Whisper, remounts, and awaits the rest of the party to decide their next course of action.
"It's also possible that it has been agitated by the recent passing of other humanoids. The trail leads off this way. We really WILL lose any possible element of surprise if we don't quiet this racket down. We should proceed in as much silence as we can manage." the half-orc states matter-of-factly.
Vladimir cleans the bear's blood from his blade, doing his best to ignore the braggart's continued boasting.
"As long as someone can learn to quiet down a bit, that shouldn't be much trouble. Lead on Khargol."
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As the party ties up the bear and decides on their next course of action, Angor, Thessk, and Tomas notice a man watching the group from the trees.
He's about 50 yards from your current position, to the west.
Angor makes no move to indicate that he sees the man in the trees. Instead he approaches Vladimir and whispers quietly. "We are being watched. West. 50 yards. Don't look. Ride south a bit den west to cut him off. Be prepared to run him down." After saying his peace and watching Vladimir ride off, the Skald appears to go back to work on the bear. Instead he uses it as cover to send an illusion behind the man in the forest and to the north. He then walks to the edge of the forest and looks directly at the interloper and shouts, "You are surrounded. Give up now or your fate shall be de same as dis one," he says pointing at the bear.
Sugua shrugs, if they didnt want to listen it wasnt up to him. The trail they were going was exactly where he knew it would go. It was really a waste of time but he'd let Khargol feel justified and useful. Sugua shrugged, " Those sound like fighten' words but if you want I can. I hope you can kill a bear by yourselves then.. Or hope the next bandit is stupid. "
Sugua folded his arms.. He would have to let them learn someway or another.
Not having seen the man, Vladimir listens to Angor's plan and with a quick nod of acknowledgement, rides off.
The man seems totally unperturbed by Angor's yelling and merely strolls out into the clearing.
He puts one open hand up into the air in greeting and the other is holding onto a Longbow.
Drawing closer he takes his hand down and reaches down around his neck and holds up a silver amulet with a stag's head.
"Eya, what a rag tag bunch Kressle sent up to old Oleg's this time round. You all greenies? Show some respect! You're in the presence of an agent of the Stag Lord!"
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Sugua shrugs, places his hands up dismissively, shakes his head and then gestures to Vlad and the rest on the part of explanation. " Greenhorns "
He didnt reveal much more but his Greatsword laid on his back and his arms folded. He seemed comfortable. His smile widened however at the mention of the Stag Lord and an amused expression played on his face as he looked at the rest.
The man folds his own arms over his bow and spits to the ground. "More and more greenies keep on flocking in to the Greenbelt. Half of them aren't even fit to pick up a blade they just want the Stag Lord's protection. Least some of you seem to be able to find the killing point of a sword."
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Durielle is momentarily shocked by the Angor's sudden bellow and the man's appearance. A hand goes to her lips as her eyes widen.
Suddenly worried the others may be too quick to announce their true purpose, Durielle attempts some cleverness though her nervousness is probably evident. But oddly she was sure this was the very moment she had divined earlier.
"A-are you a-alone? W-we were told m-more agents would m-meet us."
Sugua chuckles at that and grins, " Well obviously I can FIGHT! Our Lord in Iron wouldn't want it any other way. So you enjoy the show?! I think another bear would have been nice, more fur for later and jerky to eat. How many would you say is a good eat? " Sugua seems to make casual conversation.
"You don't say?" Angor says. So this man thinks they are part of the group sent to pilfer Oleg? That was quite a bit of information right there. Seems he never met them and is either stupid or ignorant. Angor decides to see which it is. He dismisses the illusion as it seems like what a comrade would do and waits for the man to get as close as possible. "Caught us at a good time. Just about to rob old Oleg of everything he's got like usual." He appears relaxed but intent on the mans reaction to his lie.
And it was a bad one at that.
The man's eyes immediately look to Durielle with great confusion and then begins to laugh, "Hahaha you aren't even Bandits at all."
"You might want to learn a bit more about the Greenbelt before you try lying sweet thing. Agents of the Stag Lord don't travel in groups and they don't meet up with a bunch of greenie Bandits."
"Lucky for you all I'm not actually an Agent of the Stag Lord."
"Name is Trent, so who are you all really?"
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Sugua joins the man in laughter. " I am what you saw and nothing more, Fighting is most enjoyable. What are you doing out here 'Trent' "
Trent shrugs, "I'm a hunter, been around here longer than most. On my way to old Oleg's, he likes company to drink with after he's done being robbed."
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If Oleg knows him that should be proof enough of his claims. Angor whistles loudly to call back Vlad in case he hadn't seen what was going on. "Den we will join I tink. We should have much to discuss," he says cryptically.
Trent laughs, "Lead on oh intrepid explorers!"
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" Too bad he wasn't robbed then.. Well SOMEONE got robbed.. it just wasn't him.. but I guess it doesnt count if you no longer need it "
"What do you know of the banditss friend Trent do you know where they operate from?
Morgrym watchs the man, being cautious in these lands will pay off as there may be some that will try to take advantage of travelers pretending to be a friend. "if youve lived in this area for some time then could you perhaps inform us of our surroundings? any camps nearby we should know of? particularly dangerous areas or wildlife that we best avoid?"
talking now to the rest of the party "perhaps we should return this bear corpse to Olegs camp and make dinner, discuss with him proper what can be told of this region and its inhabitants"
"I know quite a bit scaly one. What are you doing away from your Fort by the way?"
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Turning to Morgrym, "Hah! What isn't dangerous here in the Greenbelt?
"I'll tell you everything I know about the Greenbelt, but first, let's get out of here and back to Oleg's, never stay in once place too long out here, you'll learn that quickly."
Seeing that things have taken a turn for the civilized, Vladimir rides back.
"If you were heading toward Oleg's, I don't see any reason not to accompany you."
Turning to the others, "Perhaps we should see about build a skid of some sort for getting the bear carcass back to Oleg's? Unless of course Sugua feels he can just heft it on his shoulders for the trip back." Vladimir says, his last comment dripping with sarcasm.
Sugua laughs, " Oh? but your horse there seems like it's used to carrying alot of s+*& on it, so maybe it should instead. I'll chop down a tree to help the poor creature and start on a skid AHAHA! "
Sugua doesnt give much time before he begin cutting down wildlife and making a pretty ramshackle sled/skid to get the ear home easier.
It takes Sugua a few minutes but he manages to assemble a ramshackle looking skid.
Khargol, for the moment, stays silent, clearly untrusting of the friendly stranger to this point. As he himself just pointed out...what isn't dangerous in the Greenbelt?
Sugua goes and hefts the bear over his shoulder an upon the Skid with a heavy sigh. He then pushes it by the Horses and looks around. " Alright! Just need to some rope to tie to the Horse and we can be on our way. So Trent.. While we are waiting to travel back, tell me about this Kressle.. I'm curious! How good is she.... at FIGHTING. "
Vladimir digs around in one of his saddle bags, pulling a roll of rope. "Here you go, Sugua. Are we hitching this to one horse or two?"
Sugua places his fingers up in a 'V' " Two, no point slowing down longer than we have to, I'll push with them so we should make the same speed as the Dwarf! That way your animals don't break and then you'd have to walk with even MORE dead weight around or the body would attract wolves. " Sugua ties the ropes securely to the Skid and the back end of the saddles.
" There.. Now C'mon I'll lead us back, so the next bear has something to chew on for a little longer. "
Trent looks to Sugua, "Luckily I've only ever had the misfortune of meeting her once." Trent shows everyone the necklace again. "This really is the necklace of an Agent of the Stag Lord. Came across it one day on the body of a man surrounded by a bunch of dead wolves."
"Not all Bandits follow Kressle's leadership here in the north. Some Bandits are given free sway to do as they please. These Bandits are given these amulets by the Stag Lord himself to signify this."
"Anyways, point being it's saved my life more than once when I accidentally stumbled into a bunch of Bandits. You flash this thing around and it usually cows them pretty quickly."
"Well one time it about got me killed. Came across a pack of Bandits wondering around about a day South of here. Did my usual spiel, I'm an agent of the Stag Lord blah blah blah."
"Well I didn't know her at the time, but Kressle was among them."
"She invites me back to camp, says we should have a fight, she'd never actually met an Agent of the Stag Lord, wanted to see what they looked like when they bleed."
"It wasn't till I got back there that I understood how much danger I was in."
"Kressle isn't just dangerous in her own right, and I'll get to that in a second. But she has a pet. Or as much as you could call it that. Damn thing is a demon."
"Calls it Longfang, it's a damn Wolf bigger than your horses here. I know now later even more about it than I did then, but the short of it is, it's a vicious killer of a beast, and it's fiercely loyal to Kressle for whatever reason. Damn thing is smart too. Whenever Kressle leaves to visit the Stag Lord she leaves Longfang in charge."
"Anyways, aside from the abomination, I get back to camp and they toss me in a pit. Kressle hops in, and I think I'm about to die."
"Well Desna herself must have been looking out for me, because just then a few Bandits decide to try to mutiny. Must have thought them plus an Agent of the Stat Lord could bring her down."
"Well Kressle just kills two of them outright, Longfang devours another whole. And two more die in a heart beat before the rest start to run."
"I took the opportunity to get the hell out of there as fast as I could. The woman is a monster, same as her dog. Stay away from her."
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Sugua listens to the story and instead of being afraid or surprised he become elated. A resounding laugh echoes from his chest. " AHAHAHA! You see? And you all want to go up against that when Trent here could probably deal with a few of us on his own. Kressle sounds INTERESTING and this Longfang is a beast after my own heart. These two must have been terrifying to watch! My knowledge on this land holds true, It'd be a slaughter with just her let alone her lackey bandits. But this tale of mutiny is a good sign. Would be a shame to lose that kind of talent.. as the Stag Lord is as real as I remember! So the lack of care for him might be too .. I look forward to when we can actually fight them. " Sugua saying as they travel to Olegs
"Where iss Kresssless hideout even with Sugua'ss unussual ressisstance to finding a good fight, we would sstill be better off knowing where it iss." Thessk asks Trent
Trent looks to the south, "Mmm maybe a days travel south-southeast on horseback, two days on foot."
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Arriving back at Oleg's with the bear, you can see him once again tending to the roof.
Spotting the party he makes his way down the ladder.
Seeing Trent accompanying them he smiles and spreads his arms and wraps Trent in a hug.
"Ah! My favorite Bandit! Good to see you old man!"
Trent shakes his head, "Bah! You're the old man here, look at you, coming down from the roof looking like you've fought a man."
Oleg punches Trent in the arm, "I see you met my saviours in your way to free booze. These adventurers solved my little Bandit problem, atleast for the time being. Come on inside and we'll drink, Svetlana will be happy to see that bear too!"
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" So exactly where I said it would be AHAHAHA! Well, We know where they are and they know where Oleg's is. This shall make for fun times! "
"Fun might be a bit of an over-statement, but at least we have confirmation of your considerable tracking skills, Sugua." Vladimir says, leading Shadow back to stables after detatching the skid.
Returning to the group, he asks "So how exactly do we wish to set up our defenses? As I assume we will be making our stand here as opposed to going to meet Kressle and her minions. Fortunately, there are not many places to hide immediatly around the fort, so we could go the archery route and soften them up a bit before turning Sugua loose on them. In order to do that though we will need to set up constant watches so that we are aware when the next wave is arriving."
The scene with Trent had played off exactly as Durielle had divined. Odd that her pretending to lie had prevented the unnecessary bloodshed the other futures had shown.
As Trent imparted his knowledge of the area, the righteous desire to pursue the bandits right then seemed to have faded. After the savagery of the bear attack, Durielle found herself wondering why her future had been drawn to this place. She certainly was weaker than many of the others.
She would certainly have to try harder to become tough enough for this wilderness. She must be capable or else her life would most likely end quickly in this frontier.
Approaching Tomas, Durielle asks, "Tomas von Achiel, you are knowledgeable regarding magic, correct? I have a question for you as you have studied these matters, if I may impose upon your time." She coughs slightly, but it passes quickly.
"From where does the power to do such things come? I still do not understand why I came into these abilities." She says with a sigh.
Sugua sighed as it seems his words and the dwarves from earlier didn't sink in. " There won't BE a next wave, truthfully they most likely had thought Oleg a side job, something they cowwed. Whatever he has isnt worth more men of note. Hell That bow the one archer had was more than four of us has. And even then, if they have half as many good shoots as the men, fire will rain down with arrows and the fort would burn down, remember? "
"Yes, but these folks with the firey arrows, they are going to have to get close enough to use them...say within the range of our bows."
" And how many of you are good with a bow in contrast to how many of them are? Hitting a non-moving target is child's play, hitting something breathing is different, and a hell of alot more FUN! They have to hit the building you have to hit them, and it only gets worse if they have better bows ofcourse! Though I hate to admit it, Range is king! "
Sugua shrugs his grin ever-present but clearly relaxed in this talk. His stomach groans as it hungers for bear.
"Enough talk of bandit attacks, let's drink!" calls out Trent.
" I can drink to that! Alright then Trent, it's time to drink you under the table! I hope your ready for a rough time,' Mr. Stag Lord Agent' " Sugua immediately jumps on the idea.
" As long as we don't end up a slave to drink like the Stag Lord himself is rumored to be that is.. "
"well we shall certainly take some time to secure this area but i think the idea of a drink sounds wonderful after a day of travel and bloodshed, what stuff do you got oleg?" Morgrym let the stresses of the day fall off him, removing his helmet and his gloves he gets a mug of whatever Oleg is offering for drink
This is the first day in a new journey is it? if today is a tell blood is a thing he will be seeing lots of
Morgrym decided to take this time to learn more of his companion and turns to Thomas saying "so lad, its clear why people like Sugua are here, but your a scholarly sort, why did you choose this road?"
Khargol sits silently after they return to the fort, clearly deep in thought over the information they have just obtained. They had learned a great deal of their enemy from the newcomer and it souls have an impact on future events he was certain. Even so... taking back the Greenbelt would eventually force a confrontation with not only Kressle, but this "Stag Lord"himself, too. It was only a matter of who came for whom first. Knowing the danger of keeping his thoughts in his own head, he voices them to the group.
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