Caelus sheaths his blade and checks himself over for any damage. He walks over to the captives and looks around at his associates.
"Would any of you fine individuals be able to interrogate our prisoners before we sentence them to punishment for their crimes? I may be good with the blade, but I lack the fine touch of diplomacy"
'Just watch them for now and help with this fire, unless you think you smell better when crispy.'
Shalia would look around for some water and throw it onto the fire, fighting the flames.
Arial helps with the bucket brigade, grinning cheerfully despite his wound, and only becoming a little distracted by thoughts of penning his first first-hand account of an actual battle.
Oleg calls out to the guards "Looks like Kaylee has this under control but get some water just in case." He looks at the two captives "And some rope."
You are handed buckets of water and quickly the fire is controlled and then doused. Oleg claps his hands and smiles, "Make sure they are tied good and tight. Svetlana stay in the house you don't need to see this." He looks at you all "You can work your diplomacy if you like but I get them after." He rips the hood down from Happs' head revealing a grotesquely disfigured face, scars mark every inch of it. His lips were peeled back to form a strangely grinning visage and a missing nose and eyelids finish the look of horror. Oleg steps back in terror sick spraying involuntarily. "Please...Please just deal with this."
One look at Happs' face and Arial turns a little green. Only a moment passes before he recovers, and begins to quickly sketch the injuries.
"Starfall, it's a miracle you survived injuries like that," he says, as his pen captures the details of the man's scars. "How on earth did you manage to survive such an ordeal? Oh. And, er, where is your camp located?" he adds, remembering that this is the information that they are after.
Caelus grabs the several nooses of rope that he had been working the previous day, he turns to the two guards and then back to the captives.
"As the representatives of Restov, we are bound by their laws. As bandits you are hear by sentenced to death by hanging. Do you have any last works?"
Her face a bit smudged with smoke and ash from the fire, Kaylee walks back over towards the bandits. At the sight of the ones disfigured face, she turns away briefly and takes a deep breath and then turns back around. After Caelus speak, she adds: "As a cleric of Erastil I will hear any last words or prayers you care to offer before your sentence is carried out."
Staying behind the bandits, she'd walk up to the first one who surrendered and tap him on the boots with her rapier.
'I get these though, they look good for terrain like this.'
Avizzi's ready for an arrow his way, but not for the battle to so suddenly end. As the leader of the bandits surrenders, the tengu turns to see who called out for it, wondering. The man atop the wall has a nocked bow and a wolf-fur cloak. Hunter, Avizzi thinks. Probably hired to defend the post.
Avizzi looks back just in time to see Happs' face. The tengu's own face is emotionless as he looks on the disfigurement the man has endured. He'll have more than that once I'm through...
But these thoughts are silenced when another man calls out for the bandits' hanging. Avizz spins and jogs over to him and the others.
"You're not really dumb enough to kill them, are you?" he asks gruffly. "We need to know where their camp is. Interrogate them. Make them talk."
Avizzi looks at each of these men and women's faces. Some look like they can handle themselves, some like city-dwellers come to make their fortune; although, they all handled this fight, except for the magician...
Finally, he raises his hands and says, "And could somebody get these ropes off?"
Caelus doesn't even respond to the Tengu's insult, he just cuts the ropes on his bounds and just simple says, "Your welcome." He tosses the nooses down before the captive men and bends down in front of them.
"Are either of you going to betray your master and tell me where your hideout is, or am I just going to hang you for dead?"
|
Tam climbs down the ladder and joins the group. He briefly motions to the others, his eyes asking them to stay their hand... for now.
"This is a bad situation for you, neighbors. My new friends are less than happy with you. Neither am I. However, I am not unreasonable. I might be able to do something for you. But, I need something to work with.
You are working for someone. My friends and I would like to meet her. Tell us what you know of her and where to find her. At the very least I could convince my friends to allow you a warm meal, or a painless death. I might even be able to do more. It all depends on how cooperative you are. Will you work with me?
diplomacy check:
Arial looks up from his sketch to stare at Tam's back in surprise. His argument is purely academic, not invested with any emotion at all. "After everything they've stolen from this place, should we seriously consider wasting food on these thieves? They won't starve for at least a week or two on just water, which will be plenty of time to make sure they haven't lied to us. Then we can talk about feeding them."
He stands up carefully, holding the wound in his belly and wanders to Kaylee. He frowns at the burned wagon for a moment and then clears his throat and makes an awkward bow. "Erm. Thank you for your ... aid, my lady. I am in your debt."
Happs smiles in a lipless grin "How I survived? This punishment was inflicted...slowly. As you can see I do not fear death I would only welcome it, so your threats of hanging and starvation are useless!!!" He spits his final words hatred gleaming from his bloodshot eyes "What I do want is a promise of vengeance. Vengeance to the men who did this to me."
He simply glances at his companion captive, who whimpers in fear. "He will not speak. So give me your word and I will tell all you need to know. You can even mete out your punishment after."
"It is no problem at all. At least it is something useful I can do. I shot very poorly today. I suppose I am just not used to shooting at other people, my targets are typically animals for the dinner table." Kaylee's poor shooting obviously bothers her. I hope I fare better when we face the rest of the bandits.
Looking over to Happs as he speaks, Kaylee answers: "All bandits that we find will meet the same fate. Death. Your offer of help doesn't change that."
Avizzi gives a sarcastic thanks to Caelus, then stares down grimly at the bandits as the others gather. "I agree with the elf," he states emotionlessly. "They'll live, and why feed 'em if you just wanna kill 'em anyway?"
Happs's little speech causes the tengu to almost grin. "I dunno about that promise. Guessing at what you looked like before, I'd say he did a purty job." Suddenly Avizzi lunges forward, grabs the other bandit by the collar of his shirt, and yanks him to his feet.
"What makes you so sure he won't talk? I can be pretty persuasive when I set my mind to it." Avizzi stares into the eyes of the bandit in his grip, judging him, trying to make him break.
Intimidate:
Happs starts laughing at Avizzi's attempts of intimidation "That is why he won't talk." He sobers up when Tam starts talking "You are probably right you will find it anyway. We are holed up in a small camp in a forest near Thorn Ford." He looks up sighing "It's about a day or two ride South East of here." He pauses a second "I hope you can see it in your hearts to forgive me for my sins. I know that I deserve to die." He hangs his head "I think I would like to take up your offer of prayer now please."
'Anyone got a map of the area? We should get him to mark it down.'
Avizzi glares down, tossing the bandit roughly back to the ground. "Why should we trust you? For such a repentant criminal, you were sure eager to cut my throat a moment ago." Avizzi turns to the others, muttering "Pray to Pharasma, you'll be seeing her soon enough..."
The tengu looks at Shalia. "Finally, someone who makes sense. Yes, a map would be good."
"I will go ask Oleg if he has a map of the area that we can use."
If she manages to procure a map, Kaylee will show it to Happs and mark the area he indicates as the bandit camp. Once that is done, she is ready to hear his confession.
Arial shrugs. "Together, we were victorious, and with your help, we are virtually unharmed. I would not underestimate the importance of that." He chuckles and looks back towards the prisoners.
"Of course, I was the one who benefited most directly from your contributions. The others may well be wondering why you didn't just let the elf die."
He walks towards Happs and looks down at the scars he wears. "If you wish vengeance, tell us of your Mistress. What are we going to face? What power has she that makes you willing to endure such torment?"
"So the world is black and white in your eyes Tengu. You view every Bandit as scum. Do you not wonder why we turn to Banditry?" He sighs "I have done things that I am not proud of, things that I deserve to pay for. But I swear that you can trust me."
Oleg comes running over with a map, it is mostly blank but has the road on that you travelled along.
Happs nods down to a part of the map that shows a small forest with a river running through. "It's in that area. Near Thorn river."
"She is well, demented to say the least. She takes immense pleasure in the sufferings of others. She fights with two axes normally."
When Happs gets the chance he will confess his crimes to Kaylee.
Caelus listens to all this in silence, once finished he nods. "You have paid a great debt to us. But one good action can not silence years of banditry."
He grabs two of the nooses and wraps them around their necks. He looks over to the two guards. "String them up"
'Would you object if we borrowed the map, Oleg? It would aid us greatly in dealing with the rest of the bandits.' Shalia would also find something to mark down the part of the map Happs pointed to, if given the map.
Then, finding the whole prospect of hanging slightly distasteful and smelling too much of 'justice' and other concepts for her, Shalia would head outside the trading post to check on the horses and cart the bandits brought with them, searching any saddlebags to find anything of worth.
Feeling a bit of sympathy for the bandit, Kaylee assures him that the bandits won't be able to ruin anyone else's lives when they are done with them. She also thinks to ask. "Do they bandits currently have any captives with them?"
When done with Happs, Kaylee addresses the group. "I suggest that we go ahead and hang them this evening. Better to get it over with quickly, plus this place doesn't appear equipped for holding captives. We'll also have to give all the bodies a burial. I'm guessing Oleg will have some shovels around here somewhere."
Oleg replies to Shalia "Of course, of course take what you need. Oh and after this messy business I believe your reward is needed."
He looks at Kaylee. "Most likely. Kressle enjoys having them around."
Happs smiles grimly at Caelus "No it cannot."
The two guards grab the ends of the rope and tie it to the top of the wall before slowly dragging the Bandits till they hang. After struggling for what seems an eternity they finally fall still. A grave is dug as the Bandits hang and eventually they are cut down and buried.
Shalia, looking through the belongings you don't find much but the weapons the Bandits carried and of course the horses they were using.
6 Horses and a Cart.
5 Shortswords
4 Longbows
2 Composite Longbows
1 Dagger
2 Alchemists Fire
60 Arrows
1 strange silver amulet. Shaped in as a Stag. (LINK to image)
120 GP
Talking to new comrades again, Kaylee thinks over what Happs said. "It sounds like we will have to think carefully about any plans we make to assault the remaining bandits in their camp. If they do have any captives there we don't want them injured in out attack. I also would like to suggest giving Oleg any of the bandits equipment that we can't use. Perhaps he can sell them to recoup some of the money and goods that the bandits stole from him."
Caelus watches at the bandits are hung, his face solid in determination. He turns around, resuming his cheerful mask. "I believe we have several days before the bandits are missed. I believe that it presents us with amble opportunity to reinforce the fort and see if Restov can send us some guards. Once that is done, I say we do what we came here for. Explore."
And see where my brother ended up...
Kaylee gives a little laugh at Caelus's suggestion. "Oleg has been waiting for guards for some time. I highly doubt they are going to get here any quicker for our asking. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised at all if the lords of Restov have no interest at all in trying to protect this trading post. It's just not that important a place and I doubt they see any money from it. I also don't want to wait too long in going after the bandits in case they do have captives."
Avizzi watches the back and forth. "I also say we strike quickly. The less time they have to defend, the better."
With that, the tengu moves to the cart and recovers his own belongings . He turns back to the group.
"Name's Avizzi, by the way. If anybody cares."
Shalia would gather all the gear found together and place it in the bandits cart, bringing it into the trading post with the assistance of one of the bandits horses before hitching it and the other horses up.
'Does anyone desire any of this equipment? I don't think their former owners have any need for it in the afterlife.'
"Let me take a closer look at it Tam." Kaylee takes the amulet and inspects it.
Avizzi nods to Tam. "Like I said, Avizzi. People call me Strange, capital S. Those bandits jumped me when I tried tracking 'em down myself. Guess groups work better for this kinda thing, eh?" Avizzi shakes his head. "I'm eager to get back at them."
The tengu goes over to one of the horses, petting it and whispering softly to calm it.
The only thing you can tell is that this is not an amulet of Erastil.
After the burial Oleg slowly walks over to the group. "Thankyou. For all your help. Anything you don't want from the Bandits I would be happy to pay for." He smiles warmly "Oh and I guess I owe you a debt. 60 gold and free room and board whenever you desire. You are exploring so I guess you can count this as maybe a base of operations." Suddenly he pauses "Are you hunting down the rest of the Bandits? I think there is a bounty on their heads if you are."
"No, definitely not an amulet of Erastil and completely non-magical. Beyond that I don't know. It is rather pretty though. About the rest of the bandit, I'd like to take the other composite longbow. Nothing else is of much use to me."
After the burial, Kaylee responds to Oleg's offer. "Thank you Oleg, your offer of room and board will be much appreciated. And yes, we are planning to deal with the rest of the bandits. Is there anything of interest that you can tell us about the area that the bandits are camping in?"
"Well haven't travelled that far south but as far as I'm aware its a fair sized forested region. My guess is the Bandits have set up camp on or near the river." He pauses a minute "Actually I think that there's a bounty on that camp." He runs back into the house and is gone for several moments before returning with a stained piece of parchment. "Here you go few soldiers came through several months ago and left this behind."
The parchment reads:
Bandits at Thorn Ford have become to much of a problem and needs to be dealt with. Clear out that camp to send a message. The leader named Kressle is priority.
Reward is 400 gp. Proof may be required.
Caelus looks through the pile of equipment. "If no one minds, I would like to replace my shortbow with one of the longbows."
Caelus looks at Kaylee with the parchment, "I would like to register my objection to attacking the bandits. If my esteemed compatriots feel that they must be dealt with, I will of course concede. I feel we should first get barrings on our surroundings and possibly reinforce our base of operations here."
"I say we see what can be done here, then kill those whoresons and their leader as soon as we can. A bounty on their heads just makes the deal all the sweeter."
Avizzi pauses for a moment, looking at everyone. "Of course, with the numbers we have, it'd be possible for those who are... lacking in fighting spirit to stay behind," Avizzi says, remembering Caelus's gruff treatment toward him.
'Well Tam, though I've no problem with dealing with a banditry problem, especially with such a reward on offer, I do think we should consider scouting out the location first, before charging head first into the camp.'
Shalia would stick near the cart, taking out a solid looking travelling book and start writing in it, recording what loot was taken from the bandits and what was taken by the party.
'Now then my darling Oleg, I think a fair price for these weapons should be agreed. Given my calculations..'
Caelus chuckles slightly, thinking of the number of bandits he fell versus the rest of his party. He turns to the Tengu, "I do not lack spirit, I just have something called a brain in addition to the strength of my arm. And I concur, a scouting missing to see what we are dealing with is the best course of action."
"Shall we take a day to rest and plan out the scouting mission before we head out then?"
"I could use a night's sleep," the elf says. [/b]"But I think that the bandits will be expecting their compatriot's return before long. I would suggest that we try to hit them before they send a stronger party here to see what has happened."[/b]
He looks at the prisoners and then at Oleg. "If I recall, you said they came with a much stronger party at first. I am not entirely confident that we would be able to face them if we split our numbers. If they return here, they will at the least be prepared for battle, but if we strike at their camp, we may catch them unawares."
"In that case," Avizzi says, having listened to everyone else's input, "I think we should sleep, then try scouting. Strike as soon as we can, and we know where they are."