Vera, with Cogs's help, sets to work tying up the first bandit by standing on his back and pulling the ropes into loops around his wrists. "Now now, meester...Coro, was eet? Eet is not polite to be so rude to your friends." She leans back on the ropes, pulling them especially tight around his wrists. She quickly pats down the older bandit before turning her attention to the younger one.
As she steps onto his back to begin tying his wrists, she notices his 'accident'. "Poor thing, zee scary fiery lady must've terrified you." She's much more gentle with the younger, less rude, and apparently, more scared bandit. When she's done, she walks around him, careful not to step in his mess, and whispers in his ear. "'ow would you like to take a walk with me to zee ozer side of zee rocks? You could tell me all you know, and eet would look much better on you. Of course, you'd 'ave to betray your friend, and everyone would see your 'accident' when you stood up, but zere is no avoiding zat now. Think eet over and I'll 'ave one of zee stronger types 'elp you up." Unwilling to risk getting her feet wet, and dirty, she hops back onto Dek's back to pat him down and go through his pockets before stepping away to stand near the rocks. "Would anyone else like to search zee young one? I cannot get my feet wet zis late at night; zey'd never dry."
...UM...I guess I can take a look and see if they have any weapons
As Vera and Brandon thoroughly searched the bandits, Grace, Cogs, and Relik stood by ready to act in case the two Brotherhood members suddenly gained some courage.
Besides the two simple revolvers on the ground, between the two bandits you find:
- A deck of marked cards.
- A deck of cards featuring drawings of various unclothed females.
- A pair of superior loaded dice.
- 70 Dollars.
- A compass.
- 2 gunbelts with 20 revolver rounds each.
- A combat folding knife.
- a silver pocketwatch.
- A ragged piece of folded paper (hidden in the younger bandit's boot).
Placing the loot she found in a pile with the two revolvers (and assuming Brandon does the same), Vera sighs. "Decisions, decisions. Too bad zere eez no tobacco. I could use a smoke." All thought of the bandits is forgotten with loot on the table.
"So, friends, I 'ave no idea what any of zis eez worth. I would like to 'ave zee dice and zee cards, eef no-one minds." She moves the dice and the deck of cards with the drawings toward her. "Are we planning on working together for a long time? Eef so, per'aps a group fund eez een order. Whatever we 'ave left over we can sell and put some percentage of zat aside for items zat benefit us all. I am sure zere will be something like zat. Per'aps a stagecoach?" Visions of an armored coach crossing the deserts and wastes fill Vera's head. Slots for weapons, steel plates to stop bullets, armor for the horses...and plenty of room for naps and drinks.
I will read the letter out loud so the group can hear it
Cogs, never having arrested anyone, stands aside while the prisoners are searched. Would have been better if we'd caught them doin' something, he thinks. When Brandon begins to read the letter, he listens intently. Maybe this will tell us what they're up to.
After a minute of studying the map, you realize that the map is of Bleakwood Falls and the surrounding territory.
Hands the map the Vera
here maybe this might be able to tell us there location.
points at the X, then points at the prisoners.
Seeing as how they already told us everything
smiles then winks
Vera looks at the map, then the sky, then back at the map again. "Well, boys, you 'ave been most 'elpful, and eet would be a shame to keep you out 'ere, so eef you 'ave nothing else to say we will be removing zose pretty sashes and 'anding you to zee Marshal. Of course, eef you 'ave any other information...'ow many of your friends are at zee ''idowt', things like zat, maybe we can convince zee Marshal to make a deal with you."
Yawning loudly, Vera shovels the looted items into her bag. "Eef zere are no more comments from zee prisoners, I suggest we get rid of zem and find a nice room or five for zee night. Zat charming orgeth with zee very reasonable weapon might 'ave some rooms available." She rolls her eyes dramatically as she says 'charming' and 'very reasonable', making it clear she's being very sarcastic.
Cogs, who is probably the oldest of the group, tries to act grandfatherly. "You boys seem to be mixed up with a bad crowd. If you really have just joined them, the best thing for you to do is to help us get rid of their kind. I hear the law is pretty forgiving if you can help catch a bigger fish."
A scowl dominates the older bandit's face upon hearing the words "map" and "hideout." Turning as best he can in his condition towards his younger companion, he unleashes a tirade of insults in various colorful words. He ends his insults with the phrase, "James'll kill ya for this if I don't get to you first!"
The younger bandit's face goes white at the mention of James and he tries to avert his eyes from his angry companion.
Grace's tone is cold, you can feel the palpable anger within her... As she coldly pronounces her judgment of the older bandit's fate you can tell that their is no mercy within her.
"No you won't... You are quite clearly guilty and that means you will be executed".
Grace turns to the younger bandit, "you are given a simple choice either give me the information I require or join your companion at the pyre. Choose, Now."
showing a concerned look.
"Now, Mees Grace, if I may 'ave a word with you?" Her eyes shifting from the terrified younger bandit to the angry older one to Grace, Vera stands well-back. "Far be eet from me to tell you 'ow to do your job, but eet seems to me zat your plan was, um, 'eef zey will not bow zey shall be purged een fire, and zey certainly seem to be bowing. Actually, zee young one, Dek, 'e eez laying een 'is own piss, but I think zat eez close enough. Eef you wish to incinerate zem, I will lift not a finger, but think eet over first."
Having said her piece, Vera steps a few steps further back, in case Grace is angry with her for intervening. Instead, she fishes the explicit card deck out of her bag and begins shuffling compulsively. Well, it's no cigarette, but it's something...
Grace replies in the same tone she used with the bandits although you can feel that this cold anger isn't specifically directed at Vera...
"The younger one bows and that is the reason he is being given a chance to live. The elder has shown disrespect and will be a problem, a problem that requires execution. The sheriff made it explicitly clear that he couldn't jail them and he is not worth the time nor effort to be hauled of to the Hollows..."
What certainty the young sometimes have, Cogs thinks. He steps in to side with Vera. "We were hired as agents of the law, and we haven't seen 'em actually break the law, certainly not enough to be executed. I say we take 'em to the sheriff and let him deal with 'em."
Grace calmly delivers a simple ultimatum, it's not a particularly kind one by any measure but she is giving the more "squeamish" party members a chance...
"A compromise then, Vera shall take a trip to the sheriff's. IF he says that he will throw them in shackles and put them in a prison cell then the older one gets to live... If he will not jail them however execution remains the only option for the elder one, the younger one represents no flight risk..."
Eyes flicking back and forth in annoyance, Vera shoves the cards back into her bag. "Very well, Mees Grace. I believe I could convince zat Marshal Clayt not to allow a member of zee Templars to do justice when 'e should be 'olding zee law 'ere. After all, 'e seemed to not believe your, what eez eet, your 'Compact' allowed you to punish unless zey broke zose rules. Eef I do not return een an 'our, bring zem down. I will be renting a room at zee nearest inn. Au revoir, partners. Goodbye, bandits, eet eez too bad I did not get to show you zee wagons." She sets off in the direction of Bleakwood Falls, Marshal Clayt, and most importantly, a bed.
Grace responds to Relik's question concerning the fate of the younger prisoner...
"The younger one will be given a chance at redemption, he shall be put through Templar training. If he becomes a Templar he shall live, if he fails training then it will be hard labor for life."
The two bandits stood there quietly listening to the conversation about their fate. The younger one was clearly terrified, yet the older one had a cold scowl on his face. He watched everyone and waited.
Then he saw his chance. It was only a brief moment, but it was long enough for him to act.
Quicker than most would think a drunkard could move, the older bandit shoved past everyone when their attention was distracted and bolted for the closest edge of the clearing, leading into the woods.
The bullet clips the bandit on the shoulder causing him to stumble slightly, but not nearly enough to make him falter in his running. He continues to run, exiting the clearing and moving deeper into the woods.
Grace charges after the bandit and draws her shotgun and fires it into the woods knowing that the pellets might well hit him...
attack
damage
"Stay put or I weel shoot!" Vera moves back toward the commotion, her revolver back in hand, and trains it on the younger bandit, ready to pull the trigger.
Cogs looks up at the fleeing bandit. His legs are two short to catch the bandit, but he has a trick or two up his sleeve. In this case, literally. He points his arm and fires a bolt from his wrist-mounted grappleshot, targeting as far into the forest as he can see.
Cogs' aim, however, is astoundingly bad, and he cannot hit a tree for the forest. He winds up the cable as fast as he can.
Thunderscape p. 74
The steamwright can fire a grappling hook from a pressurized
cylinder on her wrist – and then winch herself to its location with
incredible speed.
Level Requirement: none
Type: 1-handed
Action: Standard (ranged attack) - to fire; move - to winch
Uses Per Day: 3 + Intelligence modifier
Duration: instantaneous
Weight: 2 lbs.
Description: The steamwright can fire her grappleshot as
a ranged attack, as per the normal rules for using a grappling
hook (usually an attack roll vs. AC 5 if there are ample places
for the hook to find purchase). She can target any square up to
60 feet away. The grappleshot can be winched as a move action,
rewinding the rope and reloading the hook. If the grappleshot is
winched while set into an object, the steamwright immediately
moves into the original targeted square. The grappleshot must be
winched before it can be used again.
If the grappleshot’s hook is lost or its rope is cut, the invention
cannot be used again that day unless the steamwright can provide
a replacement rope or grappling hook and spends one minute
repairing the invention.
will use a move action to draw my hand crossbow then use my standard to loadit
Grace's shotgun blast peppered the fleeing bandit, who was just barely inside it's effective range. While not life-threatening, the pellets did distract him enough so that he did no see the upraised root. His foot found out the hard way that the tree's root would not move, and the bandit crashed into the ground, his face burying itself into the blanket of leaves on the forest floor.
Momentarily stunned, he struggles to get up and looks behind him. Seeing Relik hot on his heels, he again tries to escape by running away, albeit at a much slower pace due to his injuries.
Meanwhile, the younger bandit silently alternated between watching his former companion tried to escape and towards Vera with her revolver in hand. "I ain't goin' nowhere. I know when I'm beat," he says in a sullen tone.
While Relik and Grace (and presumably Cogs and Brandon as well) chase after the fleeing bandit, Vera gestures with her gun at the young one. "'ave a seat, meester Dek. I would like to keep you alive and out of Mees Grace's hard-labor, or 'er cult, but to do zat I need information. Besides, she weel be angry when she comes back, especially eef 'e escapes. She might kill you before I can stop 'er." She takes a seat as well, perhaps five feet from where she pointed him to.
"First, bout 'ow many are in zee Brother'ood? I well likely be zee scout, and I do not wish to be killed by someone I was not ready for. Second, 'ave you remembered any, what is zee word? Passwords! 'ave you remembered any passwords?"
Seeing the bandit trip, Cogs reckons hauling himself at high speed by rope might not be the best idea here. He runs after the fleeing bandit as fast as his legs can carry him.
Hearing him surrender I'll unload and put away my hand crossbow
Charging forward like lightning Grace calmly raises the shotgun over the prostrate form of the escapee and finishes the job...
attack
damage
With Grace's final shot, the fleeing bandit falls to the ground ungracefully into the underbrush. By the time anyone reaches him he is dead.
------------------
Back in the clearing, the younger bandit sits there as he is interrogated by Vera and Brandon. In response to Vera's line of questioning, he sullenly looks up and begins to speak. "How many? I dunno. I think at least fifty. Never could count very well though. We ain't got no passwerds that I know of. I always followed Coro t' the hideout. It's why I drew the map. I ain't ever been able t' get there myself. I only been there once, an' that was when they uhnishiated me inta the Brotherhood. I've only been a member fer a month or so."
He lowered his head for a moment and slumped his shoulders. Without raising his head, he spoke more softly this time. "I only joined 'cause I thought they were m' friends. They treated me nice an' all, but I din't ever feel comfterble doin' what they did. I din't like what Coro did t' that girl. We was talkin' an' I liked her a lot, an' she seemed t' like me too. But then Coro went an' took her upstairs an' he hurt her... I wanted t' help her, but I was scared that Coro'd kill me if I tried stoppin' him. Afters, he told me that was how ya treated a whore an' not t' git attached." As he finished, his shoulders started heaving as he began to cry.
After a few moments he stopped. Looking up, he pleaded with his teary eyes. "Take the sash offa me please? I ain't got no dealings wit them anymore. I's done some bad things wit them, an' I'm ready fer my judgement. Jus' tell the girl I'm sorry." With that being said, he closes his eyes and mumbles to himself a prayer of forgiveness.
"O' dear. Ooooo' dear." Vera slipps her revolver into the holster underneath her jacket and wrings her hands, trying to think over his sobs. I could do-no, that wouldn't work, and that choice will probably get him killed too. Leaving things be, the best thing that'd happen to him is Grace's cult, but maybe...maybe there's a way."
"Meester Doctor, do you believe een 'law' or een 'justice'? Zees eez important, zees man's life eez een zee balance. Eef you believe een justice, come with me. Eef eet eez law, stay 'ere." She turns to the crying bandit. "Meester Dek, you are lucky eet eez me 'ere, and zat you seem to regret your decisions. Now, stand up and walk with me to zee town. I 'ave an idea." Vera waits for him to stand and start walking and leads him toward the town, and the Dusty Silver Saloon.
Takes a few seconds to understand what Vera was saying, and looks like he’s thinking of his words.
*Shakes head
Sorry I was having trouble understand what you’re saying. Your accent is a little rich for me so it takes me a little to understand. But with "law" and "justice" they can mean different things to different people and they change even more to society as a whole. I was in the military so allot of my thinking is for the whole. But I tend to keep my ego out of the equation because I don't see what grace did was justice just a needless death that only satisfied her and no one else. Cause no matter what, we all want to live in a world with a stable government and if we don’t inherent to the rules of them then why even bother with things like laws if every person is just going to take it to their own hands.
"So, you are coming with, zen? Good; we weel need you to bring zee saloon-girl you worked on with zee ozer doctor to zee Dusty Silver Saloon. I weel explain when you 'ave 'er zere." Vera blushes a little at the mention of her accent, but doesn't take any actions to make it more manageable.
Seeing her blush…panics
Oh! Don’t get me wrong it’s a wonderful accent. In fact when were free I would love to chat about where your from and where you’ve been. Seems like it would be a great story. But sorry I will go with you saving lives is my calling after all.
will follow Vera
Grace walks back and hears what Vera is planning and speaks, her voice is stern and uncompromising. "He shall be given his chance at redemption in the Templar Order. If his desire for redemption is so great then he should have no trouble becoming a Templar, if his desire for redemption is an act he will find himself in the mines for life.
Keep him bound, I will have to arrange for his transport to the Hallows."
"Mees Grace, I agree with you killing zee ozer one when 'e ran, so I will speak your language 'ere. I do not accept zat your Templar's regulations allow you to conduct your brands of 'law' in zis place, and I see no evidence zat zis man 'as done anything to 'urt you OR zee members of your creepy cult. Brainwashing eez worse zan death, and I weel not stand by and let you subject 'im to eet. 'owever, neither weel I untie 'im."
Vera turns to look Grace in the eye and speaks in as stern a voice as she can muster. "In ozerwords, Mees Grace, no. Not unless you can point to zee spots in your Pact zat say you can do zis. And not unless Relik can agree with you. 'e eez zee only one ere 'o's law I will respect."
"As the sheriff himself pointed out the law does not hold sway beyond his jurisdiction. Effectively we are in no man's land when it comes to legality, if a duel is not illegal outside the limits of the town then I doubt the conscription of a bandit is either."
Grace calmly pursues this line of reasoning, reckoning that if Vera thought the alternative was worse she would choose Grace's option.
"Besides we both know that what the boy would get if he were tried under the law... The noose. What I offer is merciful compared to the former option. Would you prefer that he be tried under the auspices of a judge and jury who are no doubt unsympathetic to bandits?"
"No, I do not agree zat 'e would get zee noose. Zee crimes I could see 'im being charged with include zee following: bad fashion-sense, knowing zee location of zee Brother'ood camp, visiting a 'ore, and conspiring to cheat at cards and dice. A clever defense could get 'im off with very minimal punishment.
"Besides, I do not suggest giving 'im to zee marshal. I would rather 'e be given to zee owner of zee Dusty Silver and zee girl 'e claims to 'ave become attached to. Let zee people 'e wronged choose 'is fate, I say! Zee people of zis town. and when zees eez all over, I want to 'ave a chat about your Pact, and what eet says, just for my future benefit."
I agree with Vera his crimes were ageist the people of Bleakwood Falls. So they should have their right to pass judgment. Now if there judgment is to hang or let you recruit it should be there right to choose how to administer it.
Takes a deep breath
Besides won’t it show the town that were here to administer peace and Order, and not just more bloodshed. I don’t like the thought of being in the same category and muggers and murderers.
"As it stands he may have other uses... We need to thin the numbers of this bandit gang, fifty is too many to take on at once. As such he can be used to plant rumors with the bandit gang, rumors which could play right into our hands..."