Stepping out of the boat, Henric does his best to seem unphased by Roadkeepers and their 'request'. Leaning on his staff, he watches them from under the brim of his hat. He didn't like bullies, and wasn't about to let these ones threaten him, regardless of how sweet their speech. [b]"Only a measly 10gp? It's a wonder that any decent folk don't travel beyond the borders of the town more often."{/b] The scholar's tone is level, but the sarcasm is fairly obvious. He doesn't make any threatening moves, but he doesn't reach for his money purse, either.
"Thank you, Madam Hellen!" the lanky elf yelled out to the elderly woman already halfway back to the other bank. He waved whilst wearing a goofy grin, and was really just utterly ignoring the highway bandits so courteously extorting the group. Actually, Hal's smile was wider than what was normal for the cheerful cleric, thin body spasming in barely contained giggling. "I think - eh he he he - I think we just found our first corpses! Ah ha ha ha ha!"
The gangly beanstalk that was the elf doubled down further in laughter as he finally turned to the Roadkeepers. He wiped a tear out of the massive black orbs he called eyes.
"Whew. 'Found our first corpses...' Eh he he he! No, no, that's morbid. I apologize. Private joke, I'm sorry. Very impolite of me. So! Um..." He looked to the others. "What are we doing? Extortionists, right?"
Hal was not a violent person. But on the other hand, there was nothing more important to his clerical ethos than the pursuit of happiness. Highway robbers, blocking paths and preying on the everyman, were near-literal road blocks to said pursuit. The elf would not lose any sleep should this come to violence.
Then again, a peaceful solution was always preferable. And these three Roadkeepers had to be quite confident in their own prowess, daring to extort a group of five.
Kiley lowers her head and covers her eyes with her hand. Hal's sense of humor is going to get him killed one day, but she still had to help the man avoid it if she could. Unfortunately, Henric isn't helping matters with his sarcasm. Regaining her composure, she steps between Hal and the Roadkeepers.
"Ms. Vancaskerkin, just the lady I'm looking for," Kiley begins, hoping to speak quickly enough that she can de-escalate the situation and perhaps get out of paying the fifty gold.
"Forgive Hal, he's a bit addled in the head and doesn't really know the meaning of tact, and Henric here has been having a rough day. I pray that you'll show mercy and forgive them their momentary idiocy. I heard you say that you're keeping the roads in the Churlwood clear? My that must be quiet the task. What would you say to a little exchange of services. Allow us entry and we'll help take care of a headache or two I'm sure you've been having, what with goblins kidnapping dwarves right from their caravans and all. Now that I say it out loud, it does rather sound like you aren't doing a very good job of keeping the roads safe at all. How unfortunate."
To say that it took effort for Renae not to give Lullaby and her Roadkeeper cronies an absolutely withering glare would have been an understatement. Renae knew that their "toll" was highway robbery, plan and simple. It was the kind of extortion that was made all the more contemptible by just how brazenly inflated it was.
They are grasping peasants with more pride that sense," a silky-smooth voice whispered in Renae's mind. Pride is the lowest sin of all. Show these fools the consequences of their folly. Dominate them. Break them. Destroy them.
For a moment Renae's hands seemed to have a mind of her own as they started to twist in the way they always did when she was about to cast a spell. Powerful Thassilonian words for enhancement were on the tip of her tongue, ready to be unleashed...
Fortunately, Renae regained her senses and broke her trace before things went to far. She forced her hands to be glued to her quarterstaff while her mouth turned into a hardline for a moment.
No, she thought. She would not be the first to draw blood here. That wasn't her. Not yet anyway.
With her quarterstaff held firmly, Renae joined the others as they stared down the Roadkeepers. "Now, Lullaby," she starts, her ripe with false amiability. "Both of us know that the Roadkeepers aren't so foolhardy as to demand such exuberant tolls. Perhaps you think us so weak as to be unable to defend ourselves against banditry," she asks the robber causally before her voice takes a much serious tone. "That is very much not true, I'm afraid. I suggest you leave us be, or better yet, find another occupation that doesn't demand you act like a schoolyard bully. It's beneath even you, and more besides, the Cove deserves better. This doesn't have to end in blood unless you make it so."
So much for subtlety and tact.
Kiley feels her hands tingle as Renae lays out the facts and tries ot talk them out of it. She knew this was a shakedown, but she was hoping that she could bluff their way past this. Fate, it seems, has other ideas.
As soon as the ferry woman made not of the band ahead Stryn knew what was coming. As they all disembarked he did his best to stay hidden behind the others so the group didn't notice him.
As his friends tried to talk the bandits down, if the bandits hadn't noticed him, he looks for an opening to try and sneak past them and get behind them in case things turned to hostilities, possibly using a tree or bush for cover. If they had noticed him he will stand their, his hand on his weapon ready to draw it if needed.
Lullaby shrugs and says, "Well, if the four of you want to do it the hard way, we'll just have to take your donations by force. Get 'em, boys."
The two Roadkeepers advance menacingly.
Not seeing a safe way to get behind the bandits he waits behind the group instead. As the bandits move to attack he pulls out his weapon, but doesn't move yet to give away his position, waiting to see what the bandits do.
Not seeing a safe way to get behind the bandits, Stryn waits behind the group instead. As the bandits move to attack he pulls out his weapon, but doesn't move yet to give away his position, waiting to see what the bandits do.
The two Roadkeepers move up and swing saps at Hal and Henric.
The one attacking Hal reaches up and smacks the elf across the face with his sap, snapping the Groetan's head to the side and leaving his jaw sore. The one attacking Henric slips on a wet leaf and his sap goes wide.
Hal - 7 nonlethal
Told you so, the disembodied voice mockingly whispers in Renae's ear.
Renae only had time to mutter back an agitated "Shut up," before her mind concentrated back to the situation at hand.
Though no small part of her wanted to immolate the bandits with fire, there was still a chance they could incapacitated with no loss of life, which in turn would make it a whole lot easier to interrogate them later.
Focusing her ire on the approaching Roadkeepers, Renae spun a slumber enhancement aimed to catch both of them and their mistress in its radius.
The cleric was nearly knocked flat on his bony bum as he was rushed by the one thug. Well, he thought, jaw singing in blunted pain, at least they're not aiming to murder us. That's nice.
Seemingly more disoriented by the sucker-punch earlier than anticipated, however, the elf's attack hit nothing but air.
Though no small part of her wanted to immolate the bandits with fire, there was still a chance they could incapacitated with no loss of life, which in turn would make it a whole lot easier to interrogate them later. Focusing her ire on the approaching Roadkeepers, Renae spun a slumber enhancement aimed to catch both of them and their mistress in its radius.
As Renae's spell washes over Lullaby and her bandits, both of the ones attacking Henric and Hal fall to the ground, softly snoring. Lullaby appears to be completely unaffected, as though the spell was too weak to bother her.
Kiley drops her bags and takes up her sword as she bolts at Lullaby. Just as she reaches arm's length, she rolls under the other woman's reach and comes up behind her. She's sets her feet almost as soon as she comes back on them and her blade is scything in the barest of moments later.
The bandit sees the attack coming and manages to get out of the way of the blade, but that was fine by Kiley's estimation. After all, it gave Stryn a chance to flank her and she'd already seen how deadly the little goblin could be.
Leaving the advantageous position open for Stryn, Henric points his staff at Lullaby to cover his goblin-friend. "Forzare!"
Standard Action: Energy Ray vs. Lullaby
With the two thugs down Stryn advances with Kiley to flank the 'leader'. Not having any concerns about trying to salvage the situation he goes in and doe shis best to stab the woman.
The cleric was nearly knocked flat on his bony bum as he was rushed by the one thug. [/i]Well[/i], he thought, jaw singing in blunted pain, at least they're not aiming to murder us. That's nice. Dodging backwards like a gangly reed in the wind, Hal stepped out of reach from the bandits. There he twirled his fingers in a strange gesture, though not at the ruffians, but instead their well-spoken leader. Sighing deeply, the elf tried to share some of the madness plaguing him.
Lullaby's eyes go kind of glassy as Hal's spell takes effect.
Kiley drops her bags and takes up her sword as she bolts at Lullaby. Just as she reaches arm's length, she rolls under the other woman's reach and comes up behind her. She's sets her feet almost as soon as she comes back on them and her blade is scything in the barest of moments later.
Kiley's blade slices into Lullaby's back, drawing the first blood.
Leaving the advantageous position open for Stryn, Henric points his staff at Lullaby to cover his goblin-friend. "Forzare!" The gout of flame burns Lullaby's front.
With the two thugs down Stryn advances with Kiley to flank the 'leader'. Not having any concerns about trying to salvage the situation he goes in and does his best to stab the woman. He successfully puts his rapier into her calf.
Lullaby hits herself in the face with the hilt of her rapier.
The thugs snore on the ground.
Hal - 7 nonlethal
Roadkeeper 1 - asleep 19/20
Roadkeeper 2 - asleep 19/20
Lullaby - 10/41
Seeing that a Lullaby stupefied was steady being worn down by her compatriots, Renae cast another spell that would hopefully keep sluggish. With a wordless cry, she hit Lullaby with a terrible scream that only she could hear.
Not wanting the woman's blood on her hands, Kiley decides to go for the knockout rather than the kill. Stryn's help makes it much easier to hit the woman in the back of her head with the pommel or her sword.
Wincing slightly at seeing the bandit's leader smack herself in the face, Hal wondered at what to do next; with her compatriots fast asleep and Lullaby looking severely wounded, not to mention surrounded by both Kiley and Stryn, the battle seemed effectively won.
Caution being the eldest child of wisdom, he decided upon taking away the sleeping ruffians' weapons. There was no telling when these might wake up, after all.
Stryn works with Kiley to stab at the woman once again.
Seeing that a Lullaby stupefied was steadily being worn down by her compatriots, Renae cast another spell that would hopefully keep her sluggish. With a wordless cry, she hit Lullaby with a terrible scream that only she could hear. Lullaby seems to shake that off very easily, hardly noticing the effects.
Wincing slightly at seeing the bandit's leader smack herself in the face, Hal wondered at what to do next; with her compatriots fast asleep and Lullaby looking severely wounded, not to mention surrounded by both Kiley and Stryn, the battle seemed effectively won. Caution being the eldest child of wisdom, he decided upon taking away the sleeping ruffians' weapons. There was no telling when these might wake up, after all. He picks up two saps. He also notes they have several darts on them.
Not wanting the woman's blood on her hands, Kiley decides to go for the knockout rather than the kill. Stryn's help makes it much easier to hit the woman in the back of her head with the pommel of her sword. There's a crack as the pommel hits the woman, and Lullaby falls to the ground like a sack of bricks. She does not move.
"Oof," the elf cringed once again as Lullaby crumpled to the ground under Kiley's mighty blow. "Good hit. I think I felt that one. Actually..."
Tossing the saps into a deep pocket of his ill-fitting robes, Hal gingerly stepped over the sleeping ruffians, a task made relatively easy by the gaunt man's long limbs - although he couldn't quite escape the unfortunate resemblance to a giant spider. From there he jogged over to the bandit leader.
"Miss? Hello? Are you breathing?"
While he had come to the forest fully expecting some death and death-dealing, even describing the Roadkeepers as corpses in the waiting, that had been before the thugs had shown the intent to merely rob, not kill, the party. The cleric thought this a small courtesy, but a courtesy nonetheless, and that it would be rather impolite not to return the gesture. He looked the bruised woman over.
Stryn pulls out some rope, he strips the two men of any weapons or objects they could use to escape and binds them together while the others tend to the leader.
Renae let out a sigh of relief as Lullaby fell to Kiley's attack. The fight seemed to be over, and to her satisfaction, it had been finished without the loss of life.
"Hal, she asked, having stepped over the still sleeping Roadkeepers and moved near the unconscious Lullaby. "can rouse her? Or do you think she needs more time before we can question her?"
While she'll probably have a nasty bump on her head from where Kiley hit her, and the pin prick from Stryn's rapier and gash from Kiley's first attack look pretty bad, she is neither dead nor dying, and appears to be completely unconscious.
For an answer to Renae's question, it's a DC 20 Heal check to rouse her, or she'll wake up on her own in about 2 hours.
2 saps
8 darts
2 bags of caltrops
2 sets of padded armor
2 sets of thieves' tools
very nice black leather armor
4 daggers
rapier (Medium-sized)
a blue hat with a red feather
a belt pouch containing:
--5 pearls (Appraise DC 20)
--32 gp, 1 cp
Kiley breathes a sigh of relief and helps the others tie up and search the bandits.
After making sure they couldn't cause any mischief, she finds herself eyeing the hat. It clashes with her clothing, but it was still a nice looking hat. She looks over to Renae and tries to remember if she has a mirror before deciding to use the polished blade of her sword instead. When no one is looking, she deftly sntaches it from the pile and hides behind a tree to try it on.
Once he has finished tying up the bandits he goes through and takes a look at what they looted from the thugs. He gives Kiley an odd look as he spots her going to hide behind a tree for a moment which distracts him from getting a good appraisal of the items.
"Hal, she asked, having stepped over the still sleeping Roadkeepers and moved near the unconscious Lullaby. "can rouse her? Or do you think she needs more time before we can question her?"
"Do you know, I haven't the faintest idea," the elf smiled. "Let's find out."
While Hal was fairly learned as far as physicians went, his practical experience was limited. With this in mind, he busied himself helping the unconscious Lullaby by every means he knew. He ensured that the woman's airway was unobstructed and that she could freely breath. His backpack was placed beneath her legs so that vital blood flowed to her head. A quick trip to the river left a cold compress on the bandit leader's forehead to reduce swelling of the brain. In short, the cleric did what he could.
Eventually Lullaby's eyelids began fluttering open, and this was very fortunate for her because Hal had been considering more drastic methods, such as shocking her system via, say, twisting of the nipples.
Kiley puts on the hat behind the tree. The blue definitely doesn't go with her outfit - in fact, it's rather jarring how it stands out.
Hal's ministrations successfully rouse Lullaby, who groans and complains, "Oh, my head. What happened?" Looking up, she sees Hal and, finding herself tied up, says, "Oh, right. You. Listen, how about you guys give me my stuff, let me go, and I'll leave the Churlwood and the area forever. Deal?"
Henric stands back as his companions deal the bandits and their equipment. He completely misses Kiley absconding with the hat, busy with his own thoughts. which are disrupted by Lullaby coming to.
"You should just be grateful that you're still alive. Why should we let you go scott-free after the trouble that you've caused?"
Renae didn't notice Kiley duck behind a tree, let alone her grab Lullaby's hat. She was far to distracted by the suddenly awake Lullaby.
The enchanter nodded to Henric's words. "He's right, you know, she said almost causally, but with a subtle threat hidden underneath. "You are lucky to be alive. So much so, that I believe it only prudent that you return our kindness with some answers before we decided what we're going to do with you."
"Oh, right. You. Listen, how about you guys give me my stuff, let me go, and I'll leave the Churlwood and the area forever. Deal?"
"You seem to be laboring under the delusion that who you are and where you go is of any concern to us," the ethereal elf replied. "Which, as delusion go, is quite a severe one. Trust me. I should know."
Hal's huge black eyes were not currently on the woman. He was instead staring into a puddle on the muddy river bank, inspecting the bruise currently blooming across his jawline. The long face didn't reveal anything beyond casual interest.
"You don't mean anything to us. You attacked us. We defended ourselves. You are still alive as a matter of courtesy. That's all."
Then the cleric dunked his head into the water. For no other reason than that the inclination had struck him.
"You are lucky to be alive. So much so, that I believe it only prudent that you return our kindness with some answers before we decided what we're going to do with you."
Brushing back the stringy hair, even lanker than usual now that it was wet, away from his face, Hal nodded to the wizard's words. Although, he reasoned, he supposed the group couldn't reasonably expect any answers when they were yet to ask any questions. This should probably be remedied.
"So! Are there more Roadkeepers in the forest we should know about? Or other dangers you may have come across, for that matter?"
Peculiar as he was, the elf was nevertheless quite good at readingd others' emotional state and body language. The ability to empathize was a skill that did any priest well, and in this at least Hal could be said to be a fine cleric.
After examining the hat in her reflection, Kiley begins to wonder if there might be a way to dye the hat or enchant it to change color.
"Maybe I should wish I looked like Renae while I'm at it," she whispers to herself with a soft chuckle. Her eyes drift back over to the pile and wonders what she'd look like in the armor they'd taken from Lullaby.
Looking between each of you, Lullaby seems to realize her predicament and says, "Okay, how about this? If you promise to let me go, I'll tell you everything I know about the Churlwood and the Roadkeepers. I won't go back to the Roadkeepers and warn them you're coming or anything like that. If you don't let me go, then I won't tell you anything."
Lullaby is telling the truth. She really will tell you everything if given a promise that she will be let go.
Hal gave a speculative nod to the others, indicating that he for one thought Lullaby either desperate or craven enough to hold up her end of the proposed bargain. He did not, however, say anything further. Allowing this Roadkeeper bully to leave scot-free might not be the most just of decisions; the Roderic Cove guard would probably jail her in a second. But then the elf really didn't care. His only concern was whether Lullaby would go on to torment people.
Stryn looks to his companions and in his broken common asks "Why need her tell us anything? Know where go, no need help."
"Better to know just how many more brigands we might encounter," she says to Stryn, assuming he's just playing bad cop to intimidate Lullaby.
"So how many are you, than? A few dozen? More? Whose you're leader and were is you base? Tell us that, and everything else you know about the Churlwood, and we'll let you go. I promise."
Not really liking the red feather the more she studies her reflection, Kiley decides to put the hat back and take a look at the armor while the others talk. She tries to slip back to the pile unnoticed, but...
Henric crouches down in front of the bandit leader, using his staff to help keep his balance, as he looks her in the eyes. "How dumb do you think we are?" he asks her flat out. "You are creature of deceit by nature, and you have no power of leverage here. If you want your freedom, you have to earn it."
Lullaby's face hardens as Renae makes her 'promise,' and Henric his threat. "Apparently not as dumb as you think I am. You think you can lie to me that you're agreeing? Yeah, I see through your attempt to trick me, lady. You call me a creature of deceit? I never lied to you, and I even offered to tell you everything you wanted to know. All you had to do was let me go. Instead, you're trying to trick me and threaten me. No deal. Now, my original terms stand, except you also have to untie me before I answer questions. I promise not to run - since I'm apparently better at keeping promises than you are."
At that point, she sees Kylie fail at sneaking back to the pile to put the hat back, and grab her armor. "What in the Nine Hells! Your friend over there is stealing my stuff out of the pile! She took my lucky hat, and now she's running off with my armor! I don't believe this! You're bigger thieves than I am!"
Henric turns his head to frown at Kylie, having been oblivious to her actions until now, but he doesn't chastise her. Instead, he stands up again and steps back away from Lullaby to talk with Renae and Stryn a little more privately.
"What do we plan to do with her? I don't exactly feel comfortable with her walking around, but I'm not exactly going to lie to her face, either."
Out of earshot of the woman Stryns shrugs "Kill her, turn her in, or let her go. Don't think we should let her go though." He looks at her a moment and then asks "How bad do you want information from her? Guess you could torture her to get what you want if you didn't want to let her go."
Kiley freezes as all eyes turn on her and she gives a sheepish grin.
"Well, she's not wrong about me," she says before putting the armor back and joins the others in their discussion.
"No, that'd make us no better than she is," Kiley says when Stryn brings up torture as an option. "I could give it a go. Not really my forte, but I could give it a try," she tells the others, looking back to where the bandit now sits.
Henric's face goes pale at the mention of torture. "I'd.. uh.... I don't think that's a good idea. Not if we're trying to be better than them. Besides, I don't think that would look very good if we handed her over to the authorities looking like she'd been worked over."
Stryn nods "Yeah, was just giving you options. So it sounds like we either turn her in and not worry about whatever information she has or let her talk and let her go..."
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"So. How are we feeling?"
Much like the clouds he was so fond of watching, Hal had an unfortunate habit of drifting about. Especially when one wasn't watching. And with the others huddled up into their prayer circle, the cleric's inclinations, natural and unnatural, had seen him wandering over to Lullaby's two subordinates, both of whom had woken up from Renae's now expired spell.
"Not overly thrilled with coming to all tied up? Yes yes, I know the feeling," said the obscenely thin elf, nodding sagely as he folded his limbs together in an entirely unwholesome manner, sitting down for a chat and crossing his legs in front of the ruffians. "Actually, no, I don't know that feeling. Well, I do - I can recall waking up in a straitjacket many a morning, but I don't share the sentiment. I always found the clinging sensation very comforting and reassuring. Eh. Takes all kinds, right?"
Hal gave the bandits his softest, most unsettling smile.
"But of course, you should be very happy to wake up at all, no? What with you attacking us, we would have been well within our right to defend ourselves. Yes, our wizard is a very clever one. It was good of her to put you to sleep. That's her over there, the pretty one. No, the tall one. Go on, give her a wave. Oh right, you can't. Never mind. Ooh, I wish I had had her to put me out at the asylum - the doctors were very unkind with their needles when they wanted me to stop screaming. I'm sorry, what were we talking about? Yes, gratitude, thank you. We should really be more appreciative of our lives. Don't be disappointed you're in ropes; be glad you survived this. Every day is a gift, you know, especially with it all coming to an end soon enough. Your lives are precious."
The gangly elf nodded again, absurdity and kindness competing for space within the dark pools that were his eyes.
"Well, not to her, obviously." A long finger pointed to Lullaby.
"You did hear the 'deal' she has offered us? Twice now? Letting her go in exchange for betraying the Roadkeepers? I'm sure you couldn't fail to notice that she never mentioned you two. That she seems happy to barter for her freedom while you are to... well, I dunno. Get killed by us? Turned over to the Cove's authorities? Left here to be eaten by bears? Are bears out and about this time of year? I wouldn't know. Still... Not very nice of her, your fearless leader." Hal shook his head, pale eyebrows arched in gloom.
"I don't suppose you have a better deal to offer us?"