William tries to help Alfentinius care for and move the men as best he can...
"Let's go get him!"
Aleksara seem a little too eager to catch the missing bandit as she mounts up and follows the group tracking.
Alfentinius and William are able to keep two of the men alive. The two souls that Chett got at didn't stand a chance, leaving the legless man and the man Aleksara struck down. They are unconscious but stable for the time being.
Alfent finds somethings that shed light onto the past couple minutes. Each man has a vial of Nightdrops, one containing two doses and the other only one dose. One also holds a blood smeared letter, reading:
'Head north. No mercy. Avenge your brothers. Bring me their hearts. - Staglord'
It doesn't take long to catch up to the lone man, still he has made it roughly a mile. Running his hardest with open wounds, there isn't much fight in him when you ride up. Gasping, he stops his run and turns to face your approach.
Drawing her sword, Aleksra maintains her horse a short jog from the bandit.
"Surrender NOW and we promise to make your judgement swift and as painless as possible."
Alfentinius Moves the surviving men back to the camp doing his best to keep them stable till the rest of the group comes back.
+2 for Williams Help... 19
+2 for Williams help... 19
To kill time while waiting for the others he gathers and catalogues the belongings of the four dead men.
Now Billy you keep an eye on those two. Let me know if either of them wakes up.
Then the goat takes his role of jailer very seriously walking a little patrol around the two unconscious men stopping to sniff one once in a while.
Arim groans and rolls over before climbing to his knees and finally his feet, leaning heavily on the wagon.
"I'm ok, in case anybody gives a damn..."
He staggers over to where William is guarding the survivors
"So, these ones are the unlucky survivors eh Bill. Don't look at me like that... I'll wait 'till they wake 'afor I kick their skulls out. Just want to take a look."
"These lads are special, elite forces. Seems we earned ourselves some attention. "
The man removes his bow, and then and arrow. He slowly starts to notch it, "I can't go back there with any of you alive, and I'm not going with you either." The man will calmly bring the arrow back and fire if he is not stopped before.
The more time you have to calm down, the more you realize that they had searched the camp and then waited there for you. The guard dogs continue to yelp and cry.
Arim groans and rolls over before climbing to his knees and finally his feet, leaning heavily on the wagon.
"I'm ok, in case anybody gives a damn..."
He staggers over to where William is guarding the survivors
"So, these ones are the unlucky survivors eh Bill. Don't look at me like that... I'll wait 'till they wake 'afor I kick their skulls out. Just want to take
[b]"These lads are special, elite forces. Seems we earned ourselves some attention. "
Alfentinius has stacked the gear and personal belongings of the four bandits and organized it by type. He himself doesn't care about this kind of thing but he knows that his friends do.
Yes sir , there's marching orders from the stag lord.... and if they are elite soldiers... they prolly won't be as open to rehabilitation as Roscoe. But still I am sure they can share some interesting secrets with us. Like how much does the Staglord know about us.
Hearing the dogs barking Alfentinius turns his attention towards them. You boys still riled up. They didn't hurt you did they?
...
...
"Hmgh"
It's more of a grunt than a response
"We'll wait for the others to get back."
Keeping his sword close at hand Arim strips out of his leathers and inspects them for damage. Happy with the condition he efficiently replaces them and sits cross legged near the unconsuious bandits, sharpening the ling steel blade of his sword.
Aleksara's and Wendell's shots rip the failed runaway down for good.
Alfentinius can see that the bandits did mistreat the dogs a little, mostly handled them roughly and struck them when they wouldn't stop barking before they muzzled the dogs. For all he can tell the pups are just scared.
Aleksara scowls at the dead man and dismounts, putting her sword away quickly afterward.
"Fool. Their kind are almost always fools. Come, let's drag his corpse back to the camp and check on Arim.
Wendell...you should go find Chett. He's probably pretty confused right now."
Jerrik climbed back on Jasper with his sword out, the glowing light striking a stark contrast to the landscape around them. He began to follow after Wendell, Chett, and Aleksara but his faith in them as warriors gave him pause as he took in the still-barking dogs. He spun Jasper back around and glanced at Arim and Alfentinius who seemed to have the prisoners under control so again he spun Jasper around and followed after the pursuers.
He rode upon the scene just as Wendell loosed his arrow and Aleksara her coin. His limited vision meant he couldn't see the man topple over but he heard him tumble to the ground. "He made his own choice then. Gather what you can."
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Wendell shoulders his bow, dismounts, and approaches the bandit. In the darkness he draws his dagger and sneaks it between the ribs under the bandit's left arm. Just to be sure.
Once he's sure the bandit is dead, he rifles through pockets searching for anything of importance or value. Then he drags the bandit over to his horse and hoists him up and drapes him across the saddle.
"Jerrik, lead my horse back t' camp? I ought'a go find that hair brained psycho 'fore some bandits 'r poachers do... I bet the ol' boy's pissed at his Wendell."
Wendell snorts and horks. "Mllehm... Damn hanger in my throat all day. GWWAAAAARRRFFFFF... HMMMPLLLEGGGH." He spits into the grass, then turns towards the darkness.
Alfentinius goes to the wagon and grabs a snack for the fogs and brings it to them...
It's okay boys those big nasty bandits are gone now.
As Aleksara and Jerrik return to the camp it is officially night. Alfentinius is able to calm the dogs down to an occasional whimper, they are very loving for the food and clutter around the gnome for awhile unknowingly batting him over with their tails.
With the last bandit laid beside his other fallen associates, you are finally able to fix camp and prepare whatever evening meals your require. The rest of the night is calm and the two unconscious men remain out cold.
In the morning a hawk screeches over head, waking one of the bandit men as you are preparing breakfast. He groans, "Ugh, wha... you, you sick bastards. What did you do to Pete's legs?" He eyes whomever is cooking with contempt and worry as his gaze shifts to what's being prepared several times.
Alfentinius casts charm person on the awake bandit... (DC 17) as he approaches with a water skin and some trail rations in hand. If the spell doesn't appear to take he will cast it a decond time.
Sorry about that. I did my best to treat his wounds... but I'm not much of a healer. My name is Alfentinius what's your name. Alfentinius holds out the water and food.
Sitting on a nearby rock, Aleksara watches the prisoners (as she has the entire night) and does NOT look away, her sword drawn and ready.
"You are in no place to complain right now ronin. In my humble opinion you should be dead already. So SIT there and wait for smarter people to speak to you first, or I'll just slice off your toes just to hear you scream. It would make my day."
"Oh hell no, I'm not that naive to fall for the good guy routine."
Then Aleksara scares the color out of the man's cheeks.
When Alfentinius casts Charm Person again the man looks at the ground and shakes his head. "No. No! I know this magic. You're better off killing me!"
Alfentinus looks at the man obviously shocked that he has not fallen to the gnomes charms.
Well... um... uh....
The gnome stops and takes a deep breath and lets out a little sigh.
I guess that's too bad. I usually like to question people without really causing them any discomfort. I guess you won't be needing this food or water then.
Alfentinius turns too Aleksara. He's all yours. I'll just have to see if Pete is more talkative.
The gnome backs away to see how his friends choose to handle this situation.
Looking to Jerrik, Arim, and Al each: Aleksara raises a questioning eyebrow in surprise.
"I've been wanting this for a while. You know this. I'm pretty sure I can get ONE to talk. You won't like it. HE really won't like it,
but their lives are already forfeit. And...probably better to do it before Wendell gets back."
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Alone in the darkness, Wendell talks to himself as he seeks his tiger friend.
"...Shouldn't've done that. Chett's gonna be right pissed at me. F%*%.... But I just can't handle him chewin' up some poor ol' sod, even if it's a bandit. Nobody deserves to go like that. Dyin that way's bad enough, but gettin' mauled up like that after yer dead, it ain't right..."
He does not yell out for fear of drawing unwanted attention from other beasts or bandits in the area. He carries no torch and relies on his Dwarven eyes and hunter instincts.
Hours pass and Wendell begins to think Chett has left him for good. Without any tracks to follow or trails nearby, he begins to lose hope. "Chett, I'm sorry...." His head hung low, the Dwarf decides to start from the beginning. Making his walk back to camp, he stops in the darkness where Chett's second bandit victim fell. The body is no longer there.
Grass is folded in a line leading away from the camp. A trail of blood makes the grass look black. Then it all becomes clear. Wendell follows the trail, already knowing what waits for him. He hunches low and watches his step, not wanting to spook Chett before getting close.
From somewhere in the darkness a low growl pierces the silence, and for a moment Wendell is afraid.
"Chett? It's me, Wendell. I'm sorry, buddy. I'm really f*%+in' sorry." He kneels down, leaving himself at the mercy of the angry predator.
Chett rises from the grass and appears out of the darkness. Dark red blood soaks the tiger's face and paws. He prowls closer, inches from Wendell, sniffing... Then relaxes and brushes his cheek along Wendell's chest. A bloody smear remains. Wendell lifts a hand slowly, lets Chett sniff it, then rubs the big cat behind his ears. "Hey, bud."
Their friendship restored, Wendell stands and moves over to the spot where Chett emerged. Lying in the grass is all that remains of the bandit. Leather armor, metal sword and dagger, and bloody bones.
"F~*$ me, Chett."
That night they sleep a short distance from the bandit. In the morning they wake up late, both covered in dried blood.
Later that morning, Wendell staggers back to camp with Chett on his heels.
At first he mistakes their looks of concern, until he looks down and realizes they think the blood he wears is his own. "What in the hells are you lookin' at me like that for?... Oh, right. Don't worry, it's bandit blood."
Only then does he notice the two bandits staring at him, Aleksara standing over them with a blade. "What the f*$@'s goin' on here? Why aren't they dead?"
Arim slowly rises and gently cups Aleksara's dagger hand in his own.
"We're not savages Aleksara. If we're here to civilize this expanse we need to behave oursleves. You're the closest we come to a lawman out here... you need to judge."
Aleksara will pull away from Arim angrily and point her free hand at Arim.
"It is NOT savagery to gain information needed from enemy troops...AND believe me...we are at WAR now. This 'Stag' has surely started this!
We are the duly appointed law in this land, and the bandits are our enemies. How is that not clear to a SOLDIER!"
The fury on Aleksara's face drains quickly when she realizes what she was doing. Silently and suddenly she turns away from the entire group,
puts away her sword, Saddles her horse and rides away at run in the direction of the fort without another word.
The bandit keeps his eyes down as you all talk about his fate. Though when Aleksara gets frustrated and rides off he does look up at her back with a sneer.
Arim curses under his breath as he sees he has pissed Aleksara off. As he stands watching her ride off he catches sight of the smirking bandit...
The blow comes out of nowhere and floors the bound man
"I may not be your executioner. I may not support cutting information out of you. But disrespect her again and I'll make you beg for your mummy. You understand?!"
Arim's punch lands squarely on the bandit's jaw. The man folds over and is out for a half hour before waking, unless otherwise revived. His cohort, whom he refered to as "Pete" remains unconscious. Pete is a bit pale and his body is still in shock dealing with the recent trauma.
Everyone can take 10 and see that if he was to be fully rehabilitated, Pete's is a long road.
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Wendell shakes his head. There is no full recovery in the legless bandit's future. Even if his wounds are healed, he will be immobilized in a cruel world and rugged land.
The dagger is still bloody from the final stab between the previous bandit's ribs when Wendell draws it for a second time. "We ain't wakin' this one up, not like this."
He moves to do the same to the unconscious bandit. Kneeling down, Wendell looks to the others. He is not looking for them to change his mind, but might be seeking approval.
"When an animal's dyin' you put 'em down. This ain't no f+#%in' animal, neither, it's a man with a name. I get pressing for info, but we ain't f~&%in' savages."
With his left hand on the bandit's chest, he passes the dagger under the left armor. Pete's prior blood loss is evident when only a small trickle spills from the heart wound. A moment later and his chest is still.
"Arim, go after her. There may be more bandits in the area. We will follow as soon as we can." Jerrik watched her ride off for a moment before turning his attention back to the prisoners.
With a simple nod, Jerrik had condemned the man to death. He had seen his father do it on more than one occasion, but this was different. Wendell was right. The man would not survive in the wild like this. It was a mercy killing.
The simple gesture took Jerrik back to when he was a boy. He stood at his father's side, the cold wind blowing his own golden locks like a flag in a storm. The sun was high in the sky, but it was deep into winter and even fires barely provided enough warmth. The executioner raised his blade and brought it down swiftly, ending the transgressor's life. In that moment, Jerrik swore to himself that he would not have anyone else do something he was not willing to do himself.
Arim mounts up at Jerrik's word and is soon galloping after Aleksara, hoping to catch up fast enough to not get lost in the wilderness.
20 minutes from camp Arim will come upon Aleksara sitting on her horse, watching the moon rise from a small hill in the plains. Hearing his approach, Aleksara slowly turns her horse.
"So they sent you. Great. Wow, those guys really know how to stick it in and break it off don't they? Or did you follow me on your own?"
Siging heavily, Aleksara leans on her saddle horn and continues before Arim can speak.
"There's something...I need to ask you to forgive...GODS this is hard."
She turns her horse back to the moonrise then let's the animal continue its lazy grazing as she sits there.
"The moon looks so different here, than from the swamp where I grew up. So bright and so clear. Look, I'm not...who you think I am Arim. Wait! YES my name is Aleksara...I grew up in the riverlands many miles south of here...but, I need to tell you the rest. ALL of you. Let's go back to the others first. Then you guys can decide from there if you still want me around."
Me?! What problem does she have with me?! Fetchling hatred? Didn't think she was the type... it can't be.
"We are none of us who we say we are Aleksara, you say what you like to the others, get it off your chest. But we're staying together. I'll stand beside you when you talk if you'd like."
Walking his horse over he stop beside but slightly behind the half elf.
"We don't have to get back just yet, enjoy your moon. We'll move when you're ready."
With that he sits in silence for what seems like a long time.
The previously interrogated bandit comes to again and sees that Pete was put out of his misery. "Probably the right thing to do, Stag would of if no one else had.. damn, that boy has a good right." He moves his tongue around checking on his teeth as he notices Arim is away from camp.
The developments of Wendell killing the sleeping Bandit, Aleksara running off, Arim knocking out the remaining captive makes Alfentinius realize this may be his last chance at information about the Stag king for a while. He approaches the man trying to lull him
Look... We don't want to actually kill anyone. It's unfortunate what happened to your friends. Here let me see your wounds I might be able to help.
Making like he's going to cast a healing spell Alfentinius instead casts charm person on the Bandit.
Now no one needs to get hurt. I just wanted to talk for awhile.
The man sighs and trusts Alfentinius, and in letting his guard down he unknowingly lets the gnome into his head. Turning his so Alfentinius can inspect the gash he starts to talk as he faces away, "Look, alright. We both know I'm not walking away from here, you'd be dumb to let a man like me go. This is what I do, first in Galt and now in the River Kingdoms. I'm more than a mercenary or a bandit, I pick the side that wins and I believe in the Stag Lord's vision for this place."
Already having done everything for the mans wound that he knows of Alfentinius just touches the skin to either side of the mans wounds and makes little clicking sounds as if he were actually thinking about the wound.
I thought the Stag Lord was just another bandit, What is his vision for this land and the local inhabitants? You did a good job of finding us, how did you know where to look. What does the Staglord know about us? Does he have someone feeding him information about us?
Quietly returning, Aleksara and Arim re-enter the camp, and silently listen to the now-yammering bandit. Aleksara sighs at the sight, knowing the man is charmed out of his wits. Getting down from her horse, she and Arim remove their saddles and brush out the horses before sitting on a nearby tool-crate to see the end of this before she talks to the others.
Al looks up at Aleksara with a raised eyebrow as she sits, but she casually waves him back to his 'interrogation.
"Later."
Nodding, Alfentinius will quickly go back to his final ministrations, hoping to gain one or tow last bits of information from the criminal.
"Heh, who told you he was a bandit? The Staglord is supernatural, half stag half man. His mother is a powerful Fey and he has rights to this land that supersede any mortal claim. He's going to make a nation here where the powerful are treated as they should be, feared and worshiped. I aimed to be one of those men by rising up with him from the beginning..." the man hangs his head sadly for a moment. Then looks at you all with confused eyes. He seems almost unsure if he is even speaking these thoughts out loud. "Finding things is what we're good at. You weren't too hard. All we knew was to head up from the mess you left of Kressel at the river ford. Been looking for about a week now. He doesn't know much detail, just that a new opposing entity exists, challenging his birthright, not like you could stand up to the power of the First World. Others have tried, none ever survive. There are people who act as spies of sort, but I'm not privileged with all of that information for obvious reasons." He sways a bit, and swears under his breath.
Alfentinius can see the man questioning his loose lips from time to time and speaks to him in rhythmic tones to continues to keep the man calm and unsuspecting.
Strength comes in many shapes and forms, the tooth and claw of the tiger, the sheer size of the elephant, the brotherhood of a wolf pack, the eyes of the eagle, the speed of the falcon, the beauty of the swan, the intelligence of man, and yes the magic of the fae. Yes it seems the Stag lord has many of those qualities and I cannot question your wisdom in being so loyal to him. Perhaps we should join him. You have come along way in convincing us to do so. Wouldn't that make you look strong to him, if you brought us not as trophies, but as new servants to him. We only need a little more of the truth to be convinced I think.
When he feels like the man is sufficiently calm he begins to ask a few more questions...
Were you the only squad of hunters sent to find us? How many men does the stag lord have under his command? Have you met him and what kind of powers does he seem to have. Does he have allies that are not men?
He mouths the words "thirty minutes left" towards his friends so yhat the bandit can not see... indicating his best guess as to how long he has left on the spell.
Thank you, I think you have done much to convince us. But I would know more about you. Do you seek anything in life other than power? Given the chance would you ever want to abandon this life style of preying upon the weak?
With this last battery of questions Alfentinius looks at his friends and nods indicating that he is done with the man.
The man thinks deeply on what you've said, "Indeed, you would make our army stronger. I'd say there are 50, 60 men? We were his elite ranging group, I doubt others will intentionally seek you, but," he gets a nasty grin, " you never know. A lot of lads who want a bigger piece in that camp... I have met him indeed, several times. Spent nights drinking with him. He's truly the master of the land like none other I've known. His intuition, keens senses, physical dominance. Unfathomable. Unmatched with bow and sword and cup of ale. Outright terrifying if it pleases him. And as I said, his mother is a fey queen, he is the king of all creatures in this land. Hell, he's an inhuman beast himself! All I want is the power, I'll never become weak and docile. I would love to make you believe it though so I could betray your generosity. But I've never been much more convincing than a blade."
"So where do we find this Stag Lord?" Jerrik asked. He almost knew the answer before he asked the question. It didn't really matter anyway. Knowing where something was didn't make you its conquerer. You still had to wage the war, and that's what this was turning into with the Stag Lord. A war, but that's not what bothered Jerrik.
Jerrik was more bothered by Alfentinius's silver tongue and Aleksara's recent out burst. The little gnome made Jerrik nervous. His gift of gab was remarkably strong. What if he decided to use his powers on one of their own? His father always warned about those who could manipulate the mind and none did it better than the fey. Still, Alfentinius had never given the Ulfen man reason to doubt him. No sense in looking for trouble before it came. Still, it mad him nervous.
And what was bothering Aleksara? She could be impulsive, but to ride off in a tantrum like that, that he was not expecting. He was glad for Arim and Wendell. He knew where he stood with them and they could be counted on. Simple men with anything but simple pasts. A soldier and a hunter. You'd be hard pressed to find two more direct individuals in any life time. His own rock and a hard place, to help shelter him against what would come next.
Speaking up finally, Aleksara asks a question as well, obviously the thought crossing her mind suddenly.
"Who is the 'Old Man' behind the Stag? Supposedly there is a powerful man who supports his reign? Who is he? What is HIS agenda?"
The man points Southwest, "Until the lake."
He looks surprised at Aleksara. "Old..? There isn't no old man. I don't, maybe a fey? I don't know. I never saw an old man at the fortress. It's just full of villainous short-sighted youth." As he says the last part some revelation seems to wash over his face, almost as if he had been lying to himself and finally had heard the truth from his own lips.
Aleksara shakes her head in disgust.
"Not good enough. I heard it from one of your fellow criminals recently: The Stag Lord keeps a strange old man locked up in his basement. He suspected that the old guy might actually be running the show, using the Stag Lord as a puppet. One look of the old guy and it terrified him. Have you seen such a man or not? And...a Fey king? All we've heard of this Stag lord so far is that he's a ferocious fighter...and a horrible drunkard. So which is it? Mad drunkard, or Fey godling?"