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On the morning you press on over the open fields until you get to Oleg's. After hearing of your victory the couple is overjoyious with glee and congratulates you profusely.
Svetlana sees the stuff you recovered and thank you as you have recovered the things the bandits had stolen from them. As before, she tells you you are welcome to take one item each from the things (while looking at the bloodied Kressle armor).
Oleg grumbles a little about the missing ring, but doesn't say anything.
As they travel on to Oleg's after the night's events, Salereon asks Garion a question, Why would the man run? Those woods have a fel reputation, and he was without weapons, or even shoes.
Returning to the fort, Goodman, Goodwife. We have slain the brigands who troubled you, save for this one who asked for clemency. Are ye satisfied?
To Svetlana, Woman, we could not find your ring, but fear not. This one, gesturing to their prisoner Believes it stolen by mites. We shall secure its return. Showing her the jewelry and box, Are you familiar with these? Odd possessions for forest bandits.
I have no need of anything here, especially if it was taken from you by force. If any of these lads have need of two items, allow them my pick. He bows out of the conversation and heads to deal with their prisoner.
Son, he says in a tone that's usually reserved for a father lecturing his child. Erastil is going to help me in sorting you out. When I lay a hand upon your shoulder, you'll be incapable of lying for the next few minutes. During that time we're going to sort out if you're truly hoping for redemption or just hoping to avoid the chopping block for a few more days. Are you ready to proceed? Do you want to spare your soul the truthbaring gaze of Old Deadeye?
"I do not need anything else, the bow I got from the last raid was more than enough compensation. Please take what you need to recoup any losses."
Garion then looks at the way in which Garren is talking to the prisoners out of earshot. Leaning over to the rest of the group, he speaks a bit under his breath, "I certainly don't want to be them right now!"
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Svetlana answer Salereon:
"We are very grateful to you, but we fear there are more than those brigands in the Stolen Lands. But you sure had made a very big declaration, and I hope they will fear you, and leave. About the ring, well, it's not important."
And after Oleg gets away, Svetlana continues:
"But I am worried about Oleg. He gives the ring to much value, and I fear what he will try to do himself."
After seeing your response and poise about the recovered items, Svetlana seems ashamed and worried.
"Father, masters, you sure are a great men. I don't wish for you to think we are stealing from you. Oleg and I are humble people, barely making ends meet at this forsaken place. That's why we need to recover as much as we can. But I can tell you that everything you need, and it's on our means to provide you, we will gladly share with you. We own all of you so much, and we want for you to know we are grateful"
Oleg asks you to give him the Armor of Kressle:
"I think that if I hug the armor from the palisade, blood and all, it will make a nice sign that you won't let any more bandits in the Greenbelt. And please, take the other ax, I would only use it to chop wood, or to put it over the mantle of the fireplace. I think you will make a better use of them."
About the prisoner, you have not ask for his name, and he has not give you any. After Garren's words he start to shake, and a tear falls from his eyes.
"Father, I have made bad things. And I am repentant of them. So please, touch me with your grace, and I swear I won't lie to you, even if what I am going to say will show my sins to be as many as my flaws. I just pray there is mercy besides justice with the Knights of the Stolen Lands."
Oleg and Svetlana sees the proceedings with big open eyes, and you hear them murmur: "The Knights of the Stolen Lands".
"The Knights of the Stolen Lands? Who is that?" Garion said to Oleg and Svetlana. He had never heard that title before. "Hey Sal, you being a Knight and all, you ever heard that name?"
Garren closes his eyes and raises his hands to the sky. Erastil, truly, guided by your light any might find the path of good and justice again. Please, guide this soul back to your lodgings and allow him to help us in reclaiming these wild lands. Show us that, by your hand, he might become a faithful servant. As Garren lowers his hands and rests them on the boys shoulders a falcon cries for all to hear.
He looks down at the young man. Son, what is your name?
Quickly after that question he names the boy and asks, <Name>, do you truly wish to walk again in the light of the gods? Do you repent your thieving and murdering ways to seek a good honest life?
Veroca just hung back. She watched them divvy up the loot, and talked to her rat, not too interested in what they do with the mere stuff.
Salereon blushes and nudges Salereon aside. Quietly, I did suggest the name, half in jest, when Johnny was asking what name should be placed in the brigand's camp to declare who meted out justice.
Once Rupert makes his pledge, Very well. Once we are rested you shall guide us to this oak tree where the mites dwell. Is this agreeable Garren?
Very much so. The rest far more than the tree, but we were expecting more hazards than just the bandits.
He claps Rupert on the shoulder, Come now, let us have a drink and toast your future.
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After dinner, and knowing you are going to look for the mites, Oleg waits for his wife to be out of hearing range to tell you that he will accompany you, "to make sure the ring is recovered". No argument from you will be able to convince him to stay.
You all sleep well that night, after a nice day of celebration and relaxation.
Just before you are to leave, in the early morning, you find an old, crazy looking man, arriving at Oleg's. His name is Bokken (or that's how everyone calls him) and his manner is that of a nervous bird or a jittery child, and his speech is swift and clipped as if he’s eager to finish every conversation he starts. He came to sell potions, as he does at Oleg's "every moon tongue" (whatever that is). He seems mostly senile, but Oleg's tells you he buys potions from him "when he makes sense".
He offers you his wares, 1 potion of cure light wounds (60 gp), and 5 potions you have never heard of: Potion of Delayed Reaction (30 gp), Cultivated Blend (5 gp), Potion of Random Health (75 gp), Elixir of Intelligence (750 gp), and his most valuable one (or so he says) Elixir of the Fates (300 gp). If asked what each potion does, he answers with responses that go from incredible to nonsensical. Oleg tells you he don't normally buys from him, except when he brings "normal" potions (which he doesn't this time around except or the cure light wounds one). Bokken seems to have good days and bad days. And today is not a good one.
When he understand you want to leave he asks you to bring him Fangberries. He tells you a large thicket of fangberries grows about 55 miles southwest of Oleg’s. And if you do, he promises you a discount on his potions and "a whiff of great mountain air". Go figures.
After you have talked with Bokken, but before you can leave Oleg's, you see a group of 3 armed men moving towards Oleg's form the Restov road. You choose to wait and see who are they. They are the "reinforcements" that Oleg was expecting, even if Oleg is really disappointed that "only three" soldiers arrived.
The Sargent of them is Kesten Garess, a grim veteran that confirms that they came to help defend Oleg's, after the problem he has faced recently. When you tell him he has arrived late, he only lets you know that the Swordlords will be very pleased to know what you have done, as to combat banditry is one of the priorities, allowing trade to resume in over the Greenbelt. He will report your actions and "a sizable reward should be granted to you". He and his soldiers are to put tents inside of Oleg's to camp, and are to be stationed in the fort to help defend it.
He also tell you that the eradication of aggressive humanoids and monsters are priorities too, as they impede the development of the lands. The eradication of "those pests" should carry rewards as well. And, on a side note, lets you know that if you find a varisian bandit called Falgrim Sneeg he will reward you himself, as they have "previous history together", without going into more detail.
Kesten also tells you that the primary trade route from the River Kingdoms to Brevoy is the East Sellen River, a major waterway that runs through a swampy region to the west called the Hooktongue Slough. The trade route’s been closed for several months, though, due to an increased amount of violence from the boggard tribes that dwell there—hopefully the frog folk keep to the swamp and don’t turn their bulging eyes east toward the Narlmarches! The next day a big group will pass here, in route to the Hooktongue Slough. They were commissioned, like you, by the Swordlords to clear the area from dangers and make to law rule over there. The group of "high ranking diplomats and soldiers" was to left Restov the day after Kesten and his team, so "they should get here soon, on their way to their mission".
At around noon a retired hunter arrives. He walks with a crouch to support himself as he is missing one leg. His name is Vekkel Benzen and he has fallen into very hard times as he is unable to hunt anymore. Later in the evening we will tell you that a huge boar that the locals call "Tuskgutter" got his leg. And that he was lucky, as Tuskgutter has killed twice already. He dreams with the day he will make "an excellent head cheese" from the beast, in vengance. Now he mostly tries to survive doing small jobs, including the fabrication of head cheese and cured hams. He lives really near Oleg's as "waking is very hard now" and trades with Oleg's when he has something to trade.
But that is not why he came!
He tells you that the rumor has reached him that the "Knights of the Stolen Lands" killed Kressle (and he tells you he didn't believed until he saw the armor at arriving at the fort). That law and order will be restored in the Greenbelt, and that bandits are starting to move to other areas, after the "massacre" at the Thorn Ford bandit camp. And that the voice of the forest says the Stag Lord himself will come to look for the new arrivals. He congratulates you, and tells you you should be very careful in the forest as it is "brimming with the Stag Lord men, and all of them are worshipers of a Demon Queen". And that many people will come by Oleg's to see the "Knights" for themselves.
After all the visits and chat, it is pass noon... what do you want to do?
Garren will take the second axe. It's possible something might manage to close with him and using a bow as a club is just bad manners.
To Bokken, I am sorry goodman, but we've yet to find anything in these wilds that might be worth bartering for your goods. Perhaps when the next moon tongue arrives we will be able to purchase something.
We shall, however, keep an eye out for these fangberries. If we can be of any further help and aren't around for you to tell us, feel free to pass it along to Oleg.
Garren greets the guards with a smile and hand shakes all around. Greetings gentlemen. Sergeant. He listens to their tale and their news and makes but one suggestion, he's just elated to have some more protection for Oleg and Svetlana. Sergeant, if you and your men find yourselves lacking for tasks, perhaps you can build yourselves a permanent shelter here? Working with your hands in such a way strengthens both the body and the soul. If you find yourselves needing to leave, I'm sure someone else might find use for the building.
Vekkel is greeted as warmly as anyone else, Demon Queen you say? It just shows more clearly that he has to be brought low. If he comes we will meet him and bring him justice.
Garren will gather the others and address them. It seems the Stag Lord is coming for us. I don't know that we can in good conscience leave these folk alone and undefended. I know we have other responsibilities including mapping the area and retrieving the ring, but can we pursue these knowing what fate we may leave these folk to?
Salereon is intrigued by the strange Bokken. In the stories, mad hermits are often sources of hidden wisdom, or villains in disguise!
When Vekkel mentions a demon queen, Salereon is outraged. Garren, is that not a name for Lamashtu, Mother of Perversions? There can be no mercy for those who give their souls to such!
To Garren's question, Then let us ride out to meet him! Here, the enemy will be gathered in strength, and choose the hour that best suits him. If the woods are full of his men, then there will be other camps. He will be hard pressed to assault this place if we are destroying his forces piecemeal. To their new guide, Do you know of any other camps, or where they would likely be found?
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About Bokken, he seems cross that you don't buy anything, so he gives you, for free, the Cultivated Blend Potion, for you to try his wares. He thanks you for your offer of help, and for saying you will look for the fangberries.
Yes, mad hermits are often sources of hidden wisdom, or villains in disguise, or even both!
Kesten tells you that his orders are to defend the trading post, and not to build anything, so they won't, unless ordered to do so by their superiors.
Salereon looks at him and thinks he recognizes the make of the prople of house Garess, but the demeanor don't match so pride a house. He seems despondent and morose. An then he recalls some scandal about a minor scion of the house of Garess that got dishonored for relating with a low-born woman. Could it be this Kesten, so far from Brevoy?
Vekkel tells you to be careful, as the Stag Lord's evil and cruelty is legendary, as much as his fancy for alcohol.
Rupert tells you of half a dozen places where bandits camp frequently, but Kressle's was the only camp that was manned all the time in the northern part of the Greenbelt.
"Of course, not counting the Stag Lord's own fort, on the coast of Tuskwater lake, almost at the mouth of the Shrike river."
Salereon looks to his companions, his eagerness and uncertainty obvious on his face. Standing, he begins to pace. It would to glorious to assault this fort and do battle with the brigand within his own walls, but his strength is not to be discounted. By striking at the other camps, we bloody him, and could tempt the Lord from his lair. This would be my stratagem, but what say you all? As Garren says, it would not do to leave this place undefended. Perhaps it could be fortified before our departure? Then there is the matter of these berries, some fortifying magic would not be amiss if we face one who has bargained with fiendish powers.
When Bokken appears cross due to a lack of trade, Garren hands him his last gold piece and moves on.
At Kesten's response, Garren replies curtly, Ah, and now I see the type of man that would be sent to the Greenbelt... Perhaps we'll win you over in time.
A direct assault may not end as well for us as we might hope. Whittling down his forces seems like it would be the most sure way to even the odds. Perhaps we can remain near whatever trail might lead from this fort to our new home?
To their new guide, What campsite lie along the most likely path for the Stag Lord to take?
Once the former bandit gives his best guess, Let us make haste to this location.
For that matter, Goodman Bokken has asked us to retrieve some Fangberries from a patch somewhere to the south and west. Where does that stand compared to the Staglord's possible routes?
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Bokken thanks you for the gold Piece, and goes to buy food from Oleg.
Kesten shrugs, and goes to his men. You think you can win him over, but it will take time.
Rupert tells you he has never gone to the Stags Lord camp himself. Only his trusted men, carrying the Stag Head silver amulets, know the place, and only them are welcome there. He has never seen the Stag Lord in person too, but he has never heard of him to get so far north.
"But his men always passed by Kressle's Thorn Ford camp. And all the items and alcohol that he asked for passed by the camp, too. I don't know what he will do without the spirits to take from there. He surely will get really mad."
About the direction of the fort, is way south, on the coast of Tuskwater lake.
The commerce just confused Veroca. She wasn't interested in stuff or money, and so she hung by the gate and waited for her companions while they handled that. She keeps her peace on the redemption of Rupert as well, though she did keep her oddly colored eyes focused on him for the duration of his speeches.
And then, she and her rat trucked out with the rest of the party on their journey. "The stag lord is powerful in these parts," The quiet woman notes from the back of the party as they've pause to figure out their way.
"It would be best to fulfill our other obligations before we wandered so willingly to his lair. It is possible we would not come back."
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As Veroca waits by the gate she hears a deep warm voice greet her:
"Miss Veroca, I am really glad to make your acquaintance"
Behind the voice there is a young hunter wearing an eyepatch.
"My name is Adam Janus, at your service"
After some chat Veroca has the impression of something different about this hunter.
After a minute more she realizes it. He is not afraid of her. He is not treating her differently. He talks and sees and smiles to her as if she is a normal woman.
Adam tells her he is a hunter on the Greenbelt, and that he makes rounds over Oleg's now and then. He heard rumors of the "Knights of the Stolen Lands", and he wanted to see for himself.
As the... woman breaks her silence, Salereon looks at her puzzled. That is why we will harry his men first.
Indeed. Garren nods, thinking he understands Veroca's concern. We will certainly do what we can to aid these people. But our first priority must be protecting them from this so-called Stag Lord and his men.
Garren looks to the others as they prepare for the tasks ahead of them and smiles. I do not know how all of you fare, but I can feel Erastil smiling upon me. His blessings ring through me. I am sure that we are on the correct path.
Veroca is as puzzled by Adam as she seemed to be by the haggling over coin. She peers at him and then shrugs, mostly quiet while he talks to her, but not unfriendly. Mention of the 'knights' just causes her to point at Salereon - he is the most knight-like after all, and shrug absently.
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At Veroca cold shoulder, Adam smiles, bows, and go to talk to the others.
He seems friendly, and interested in all of you.
He tells you he can guide you, if you ever need it.
I also repost the part about the "other team":
Kesten also tells you that the primary trade route from the River Kingdoms to Brevoy is the East Sellen River, a major waterway that runs through a swampy region to the west called the Hooktongue Slough. The trade route’s been closed for several months, though, due to an increased amount of violence from the boggard tribes that dwell there—hopefully the frog folk keep to the swamp and don’t turn their bulging eyes east toward the Narlmarches! The next day a big group will pass here, in route to the Hooktongue Slough. They were commissioned, like you, by the Swordlords to clear the area from dangers and make to law rule over there. The group of "high ranking diplomats and soldiers" was to left Restov the day after Kesten and his team, so "they should get here soon, on their way to their mission".
Garren gathers everyone and prepares for a trip to the southern camps. He consults Rupert about their location once more and asks if Rupert is coming with them or staying with Oleg and their new guard.
He's also curious about this tree full of mites. Mostly, where is it located in regards to everywhere else they're going.
Garion wakes up and walks out to spend a little time taking it all in. Thus far the adventure had been quite... well, adventurous! And they hadn't even truly gotten on with their main reason for being there. He was still a little uneasy having to take back seat as the guide, which is his main occupation, but admittedly he did not know these parts as well and being able to learn from someone, even a bandit, would be a good experience.
Garion makes his way back to the group, seeing Rupert and hoping to not treat him any differently now that he's been "redeemed". Slapping him on the back, Garion smiles. "It'll be a nice change of pace not having to do all the guiding. Besides, I plan on spending a lot of time down here so learning my way around from a local seems to be the best thing to do." He looks to see what the rest of the group is doing, hoping that he wasn't creating an awkward situation that he couldn't get out of.
We'll need to confirm all of this. The map looks a bit old and the Riverlands are known to change over time. He looks over thr group one last time. Everyone ready to ride?
Possibly relevant die rolls:
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Relevant checks: and
You ride again west, and after a couple hours arrive to the Narlmarches forest again. Now, without the haste to follow the bandits tracks, you take a minute to examine the forest.
The forest is characterized by much old-growth tree cover with Oak, Ash, Poplar, and Sycamore trees being the most numerous. It looks dark an ominous, with even an air of supernatural hanging over it.
You kick your mounts and get in the forest, starting the systematic exploration of the Northern Greenbelt.
You find the ruins of a hut in this section of the Northern Narlmarches. Closer investigation reveals that this was probably once a trapper’s hut. The smell of old hides and faint rotten meat still permeates the dilapidated structure, though a family of raccoons seems to have moved in lately. Other than the hut, though, there is nothing of note there.
Almost at sundown you see a small clearing in a section of the forest. In an arrowhead-shape clearing there are a group of Kobolts, seemingly resting.