Siph takes S'ala's Hand, offering him a warm smile.
"I will follow Tristan's lead in this."
"well at least their not screaming, Burn her!"
Masota walks up beside S'ala and places her hand on his shoulder. "A fine suggestion S'ala." Masota's attention turns to the newcomers. "Allow me to welcome you to the Greenwatch Wardens." She briefly looks away to give Kevros a teasing smile before turning back to Siph and Tristan, her smile still lingering. Masota extends her hand and introduces herself. "Masota Kaedin. Nice to meet both of you."
Siph returns Masota's greeting.
"A pleasure Masota. Based on the number of bandits you have captured and your arms and armor, it seems quite the Greenwatch Wardens are a band of capable warriors. I look forward to seeing you all in action from a safe distance, at least safe for me. I doubt bandits will consider it a safe distance when arrow and lightning pierce their defenses." She says the last bit lightly but the wicked grin leaves no doubt that she means to give the bandits such a welcome.
"Now then, before we so 'rudely' interrupted, I believe you were heatedly discussing those miserable fools fates. Please continue, I must confess I find myself intrigued by your arguments."
Kevros smirks back at Masota, "Yes, welcome indeed to the Greenwatch Wardens!" ... Kevros looks to Quince ... "Quince, please make a notation of both their entrance and the votes of approval for our new members. In addition, please have them sign the Swordlords of Restov Contract. Then, we can proceed with the voluntary and involuntary scourge of this land."
Quince shakes his head at Siph's words, "Arguing serves little purpose. I shared enough reckless words today." He glances uncomfortably toward Masota. " I think it was generally agreed those who have offered information and have shown that they wish to put banditry behind them can work here under guard for restitution. Happ once the curse is lifted can prove himself repentent, if not. He choses death. . . Perhaps we should also ask if any here know of what happened at Tristan's home and see if any further details could be learned. I know I would want leads in my fathers death."
He makes some notes and produces the charter and quill for Siph and Tristan to sign.
"This one you call Happ, he is in charge of this group or something? Yes maybe he would know something of my parents, but you say he is cursed? Do you have a way to break it?"
Tristan speaks with a bit of eagerness and excitment at a potential lead or information regarding his parents death.
Siph takes the quill and then pauses before signing Thank you all for welcoming us. then she quickly signs her name in flowing letters.
Quince adresses Tristan"Angeus has spent the most time with our charges. Happs curse from what we can tell may kill him or harm him depending on the information. We have a wizard looking into breaking the curse. The others tethered outside may know something. Once the curse is lifted. Happ may prove to be good for information."
Changing the subject Quince asks Tristan about the region, "Once you have rested and settled I would like to see if you can help me make a preliminary map of the belt."
He looks to Quince and manages to crack a smile, something he hadn't done in a while.
"Certainly...I'm not much for drawing, but I can help identify any features that I'm aware of. I would also like to thank all of you for your understanding and acceptance. Thank you."
Business concluded for the moment, Siph makes her outside in search of food. Remembering Oleg's words, she heads for the firepit looking for Svetlana. Spying her, Siph approaches "Evening lady Svetlana, I am Siph, a companion of Tristans. Oleg said I might see you about a hot meal if its not too much trouble?"
As Tristan and Siph sign the contract, Kevros shakes their hand. He shakes Tristan with a firm grip. When it is time to shake Siph's hand, he adjusts his hand shake according to hers.
Kevros goes back to his wall in the stable and leans against it, "Thank you Tristan for helping out Quince to map the belt!" ... Kevros turns his business-like gaze to Siph ... "Siph we are not done yet, sorry, you were saying earlier you can mark the bandits without it hurting nor can it be easily removed?"
Siph halts her exit and turns back to Kevros. "Yes, I can place my own personal mark on them as a glowing rune. It lasts about 1 month and can only be removed through magical means. It is painless, but lacks the permanent factor of a traditional branding and those who prove their change of heart would not be permanently maimed giving them a chance to escape their past."
Siph finds a place on the wall and mutters a few quick words, tracing her fingers on the wood. With a soft flash, the blue glowing runes appears on the wall.
Moving up to touch the Siph's mark in the wood, Angeus comment "Neat trick! Should do! " Smiling at Siph, she continues "You can probably spin whatever tale you want, bandits in general aren't the smartest."
Siph returns Angeus's smile "With this mark I can track you down, it can not be removed except by me, that sort of thing?"
S'ala cocks an eyebrow at the enchantress, his ingrained distrust of magic asserting itself.
"Cannot these magicks be removed by others, like this Elk Lord spoken of? His magick also seems strong. If the brand works it is acceptable, but does not supplant hard work and penitence in redeeming evildoers. Work to improve the base camp, to clear arable land for settlement, or to build roads through these untamed lands seems an ideal form of rehabilitation, the mark may come after the sentence ends and the bandit is released into the world.
"True, I can be removed by others magic, but I was thinking as more of a means to help keep them inline. It is amazing how much a persons fears of magic can empower a simple trick such as this one. Fear of me casting magic on them THROUGH the mark, and being able to find them anywhere could help temper thoughts of escape."
Siph sighs heavily"Alas, it is these same fears that account for much of the violence in my life. People often try to destroy what they refuse to understand. Still, a reputation as a 'witch' has allowed me to convince would be cutthroats and thieves to walk away without a single spell being used."
"So what is your plan of attack for the region. If we are to use Olegs here as a base, maybe we should secure the area around here first. Or are we to march against the bandits?"
Kevros responds to Tristan, "The perimeter is as secure as we are going to get it at this time. I do have a scout checking out the closest camp which will be our first strike. However, before going on, let's quickly finish prisoner handling. Ok, so far, we have the mark Siph can make. Do we have any artists to quickly draw composite drawings? Perhaps, we need to ask Oleg this question and others? Saren! Please get Oleg! Thanks!
Quince looks up and around. "I could scetch something, my first thought is a heraldric charge. Our juisdictilon is from Brevoy whith has the red two-headed dragon. So perhaps a red field for the shield, in an elvish fashion," he nods toward Kevros. "Split the shield with a diagonal green stripe for the green belt. Masota worships the goddess Sarenrae, a sun or blazing angel high on the shield to the left. My first thought would be an elk for Erastil, but it seems or quarry has chosen the stag. My own house is the bear. Perhaps a bear rampant with lotus over his shoulder as banner," He nods again this time toward S'ala. He looks to Siph, Tristan and Angeus. "Is there any theme you add or object."
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Yup Tristan assists Quince that makes sense to me. With those checks you are able to get a rough draft of plains, forests, rivers, and almost all major landmarks. There really is not many. You know of an old monastery in the south, it is in ruins. There are 3 main bridges/ways to get over the Shrike river.
When I get home I will Edit the map and get you what you actually have.
There are koblolds, bandits and bogards in the region.
More info may come with the map.
S'ala smiles at the use of the Lotus on the banner and nods his assent. He agrees with the use of the mark on the prisoners, and thinks they should work in hard labor to repent and would be loath to execute any but the most recividistic.
He will say little else on the subject.
Smiling at Siph's description, "That's just what we need, I think, Siph."
To Quince she says "I don't know much about heraldry and such, but you paint a pretty picture, Quince. It sounds like it would do the job quite well !"
Quince smiles, "Masota, do you prefer the sun or the angel I have seen both used in symbolism of Sarenrae?"
Quince waits to hear more on either the matter of the prisoners of the substace of the crest/mark for the warden council.
to Quince Siph says, "This is a wild land by its nature, since we are avoiding anything close to the stag lord's symbol, perhaps the Symbol of Gozreh, would be appropriate. I would help to show our intention for peace with the natural that surrounds us."
Quince listens, and chuckels, "Flowers, bears and suns are not natural enough? Perhaps the leaf of Gozreh can be on the stem of the lotus."
Masota looks over the mark Siph placed on the wall, her hand resting on her chin as she studies it. "I suppose this is a fair compromise between the two extremes."
When Quince begins speaking about heraldry, she shrugs as she responds to him. "A sun is fine."
"So a bandit camp? Yes lets strike at them. What is the plan here? Do we know how many there are? I would suggest hitting them at night or at first light. If we hit at night we can subdue the sleeping ones and take out the rest, unless they surender. If we wait till morning maybe we can grab a couple as they leave camp to take care of morning buisness and thin them out that way. We can also try disguising ourselves. I have some of their gear from when I rescued Siph and you have the prisoners here. What do you think?"
Siph places her hand on the mark on the wall and concentrates, willing the mark to vanish.
"Then if it is agreed, I will begin marking the prisoners."
Kevros is impressed by Quince's suggestion, "I really don't mind what the "mark" looks like. Although, you probably don't want to have it too feminine. The mark should be neutral and doable by Siph. It is just a way for us to track recidivism or lack of true repentance. The composite portrait drawn by an artist is another way to track the prisoner's after Siph's mark ends. ... Kevros turns his attention to Oleg ... "I apologize for the many questions, only a couple more I hope my friend. My first question, are you or Svetlana an artist? We want to track the prisoners who supposedly repented. Lastly, for those bandits that repent or supposedly repent, do you want them to work around here fixing and building new things for the outpost to show their repentance?
...Kevros turns his attention to Tristan...
"We do not have the information we need to attack the camp. Once our scout returns, we can start drawing up battle plans."
In response to Tristan's ideas, Siph says "I favor a night time attack, with some asleep, perhaps I can put those on guard into a magical slumber, thus getting into the camp undetected. If the gods favor us, we could take the camp with little bloodshed"
"Alas, the spell is restricted to letters and runes. Additionally, it is my personal Symbol and can not be changed."
"Our Scout stated he will be out for 4 to 8 hours and it has only been around 2 to 3 hours. If we choose to attack tonight, we need to meet him at Bokken's Hut south by southeast from here."
Kevros shifts his weight on his wall, "Thank you Siph!"
Quince looks up embarrassed realizing he has taken the group off course. "Sorry Kevros when you said a scetch were also talking marks my mind went to, heraldric marks . . . ANYWAY."
"Ah, good, so you have a scout our already. I guess I will take this time to rest then incase he gets back and we decide on a night attack... Master Oleg, where may I lay down to rest a bit?"
He pauses a moment waiting on Oleg to show him out.
Please come and wake me when the scout returns. Unless there is further business that needs discussing now."
He waits again, if there is nothing further Tristan leaves with Oleg in preperation for a night assault.