Dunstan frowns. "Whatever justice you wish to bring is for you. You were the wronged party. However, there is a much larger foe that we will need to contend with. Hanging these men will not dissuade the Stag Lord. More lasting peace will come not from fear, but from forging alliances and going after the true enemy."
”Indeed. Though, I’d say, Happs certainly has been punished a lot already. Justice is one thing, but you’re seeking vengeance at this point. For that matter, hanging them outside the walls is liable to get you killed if they attack again and we aren’t around to protect you. What if this bandit king’s minions come knocking? And I’d say that Happs and these two goons aren’t worth your trouble. Remember, the god are watching everything we do, and there are consequences to everything, if not in this life than the next. Be cautious before you darken your soul for the cheap, fleeting thrill of revenge.” She looks at Oleg directly when she says this, her eyes regarding him thoughtfully.
After the others words Orri chimes in ”It is also important to consider the long term. If we are truly going to make this area better, we will need all the help we can get. The real threat is there leader. While those here may have made some poor decisions, that doesn’t mean they are past redemption. More importantly, they could be useful if they truly are repentant and want a better life. I would suspect many that turn to banditry do so out of desperation, so perhaps we give them opportunity to not be so desperate and everyone can benefit.”
Happs and the bandits all glare at you in a panic, and Kressle scowls at them as if silently saying “Idiots.” But at suggestions of some of you against it, Oleg stops in his tracks and turns, his own sour look on his face. ”Well what would ya have me do with the lot of ‘em? I ain’t got a prison! Or anyone ta guard ‘em!”
He folds his arms and adds ”Looks like it is up to you to decide their fate. It’s up to your Lords an’ Ladies ta decide.”
Oleg taps his finger on his chin as he thinks "Perhaps we get those who wish to work, to help around the fort here? Make some repairs and the like." He turns to Oleg and asks "Where is your wife? She should have some say in this if we are to potentially keep any reformed bandits here."
"Indeed. It would also be a good idea if we impressed upon these, 'reformed' types that this is their only chance. Our reach is long, and vengeance will be painful and swift should you betray us - or Oleg." She says this and watches Happs and the two other bandits carefully, looking at them not unkindly, but with clear truth in her voice.
"Oleg? Are you alone here with your wife? Are you comfortable being left here alone with three of the... 'reformed'?" Chyrsa asks, borrowing Sophiel's word.
”Yeah. It’s just me an’ the misses, an’ no, I’m not comfortable with keepin’ a bunch o’ thugs sayin’ whatever they can to save their necks here without guards or a jail,” he says sternly as he folds his arms in front of him.
He looks back to Orri and adds ”She’s inside. Been sick all mornin’. But she will go along with what I say.”
"Thank you." Chrysa says to the merchant softly and then turns to the others "Unless we want to set up shop right here, becoming jailors instead of what we were tasked with, then keeping them here is not an option. Leaving us with getting out of Oleg's way to do what was meaning to, letting them go, or trek back to the Swordlords with prisoners in tow."
Her stance is already been made but she repeats it anyway. "We should let this man, who has managed to survive in a land that takes much more than it gives, do what he needs to do to keep himself and his wife safe." the horned young woman pauses, looking at each of them. "A vote from each of us, or silence to abstain?" if there are no immeadiate objections, she raises her hand "Oleg." placing her vote.
Dunstan furrows his brow. It's clear to him that they cannot have hangers-on if they are to complete their journey. Happs, do you have anything to say for yourself?"
Happs, painfully clinging to his stump of a hand, growls through clenched teeth, ”It’s clear you bunch of oathbreakers had plans for our necks from the start. So get on with it!” before spitting at Oleg’s feet.
Kressle chuckles. ”Pathetic. You know, you’ll never get at the Stag Lord. Not without what I know. So go ahead. Hang us. See how far you get.”
Chyrsa snaps at the bandit "Did you listen to the oath at all?!? Not once did we promise you'd live, just that we would not be the ones to kill you. Your only hope is to convince these people that you REALLY mean to live a good life from this point on."
To Kressle's chuckled proclamation, she'll listen...
Sophie puts her fingers on her temple briefly as the tempers flare, and then looks up.
Sophie looks unsettled as Oleg seems to become encouraged to kill the bandits, ”Happs, it’s by Oleg’s grace that you still live. We managed to make a case for him to stay his hand - but you don’t help yourself by spitting at people. Calm down, take a breath, and be silent.” She watches Happs, her eyes pleading for him to be quiet.
She turns to Oleg, “Oleg, other than execution, what punishment would be fair to Happs? He’s frightened, and angry, and he’s in a good amount of pain, so his judgement is impaired. Are you willing to execute them all for pissing you off? I think Kressle’s life is forfeit, but is there anything Happs can do to make up for his crime? Could we show him and these two others mercy?” She watches for a response. ”I don’t especially like the idea of letting them go, but I like the idea of you killing three people by acting as judge, jury, and executioner, even less.”
Oleg seems to grow even more mad. ”This ain’t no hoity toity high court! This is my home! And this lot repeatedly came and robbed it! Made threats on me an’ my wife! If they had the balls ta even TRY ta do it alone, I’d have shown ‘em a blade long ago! But they came in packs and made a fool o’ me!” he rants before pointing a finger at Happs and shaking it ”And this one was there fer all of it! And made most of the threats and gave me more than one black eye and busted rib! And she threatened ta do ta me what she did ta him, so I’m glad he got a bit of pain before he meets the end of a rope!”
Svetlana makes her way out and puts a calming hand on Oleg’s shoulder. He looks at her and closes his eyes as he steadies his breathing. ”No, My Lords and Ladies, this lot won’t have mercy if it is up to me. My apologies for my outburst...but that’s where I stand in the matter, if it pleases all of ye...” he adds with a bow, remembering his place as he cools.
Sophie blinks, "Oleg, you are entitled to your opinion, and can speak freely, you do not have to hold back because of whatever station you think we hold. We are in the wild and must make decisions for the circumstances. If you ever have a problem with what we say or do, you tell us. We are here to help you, don't forget that."
She sighs, then responds, "but you are making a mistake. I will give my life to protect you, Oleg, but I will not be a party to an execution." She pauses and says quietly, "We should keep our word." She breaks away from looking at Oleg and waits for other responses.
Chyrsa watches Sophiel as she speaks, arms crossed and thinking. Even though they are on opposite sides of this argument, annoyance only sparks in her dark eyes when the half elf mentions their word. "We Are! " she snaps, and then reigns in her irritation softening her tone with a sigh. "I'm sorry, Sophie. Rough day." a small smile " This part needs to be clear though, as the river freedoms states without a doubt what should happen to oath breakers. The oath was specific in that we would not defend them against their victims. Oleg is a victim. Not getting in the way of him hanging them does not break our oath."
"Intentions behind oaths are a different thing all together. Thankfully they are not subject to the same stigma if the other party misunderstands, as Happs clearly did." Looking to the others, she'll say "Our votes are clear. Anyone else?"
Orri takes a deep breath and just shakes his head at the whole thing. His hope was reform these bandits, while also getting Oleg some, from what he could tell, much needed help. It didn't seem Oleg was going to have any part of it though.
"We need to get whatever information we can from Kressle. Aside from that what Chrysa says is true, but if that is the route we go, then I feel Oleg needs to deal with them himself, without our aid."
Sophie raises her eyebrow at Chrysa, and then nods, "Indeed Orri, as I said, we should keep our word. That means that Oleg gets the rope, builds the gallows, and strangles them, one by one. Or slits their throats if he wants to expedite the process. Svetlana, maybe you can help hold them down." She smiles thinly, a look of disgust evident, and turns away from the discussion to inspect the palisade.
Chyrsa shakes her head, wondering what other outcome the half elf had truly expected. 'Great start.' she tells herself 'One already hates you. By the end of the week, they'll be accidentally missing the bandits to whack your head off.'
"Sorry, Oleg." she says softly to the man. "We're here to help, truthfully, not just to judge you and make your life more difficult." she manages a slight smile to go along with the apology. "I'll aid you in any way I can that doesn't break my oath."
Looking to his wife, Svetlana "While we about it, maybe you could look through the stuff we brought back from their camp. To see if any of it is what they took from you, or if you know where any might belong, so we can get all that sorted proper."
”It’s settled, then!” Oleg says as he begins gathering up lengths of rope. One by one, he hangs them off the side of the fort, leaving them to dangle by their necks until they stop thrashing, hanging limply against the wall like a somber set of chimes.
The work done, he makes his way back to you all. ”I know that’s a grisly business, but life out here is rough, and maybe they’ll think twice about f~$$in’ with us again! But I’m a man o’ me word! The guest house is yers as long as ya need it!”
”No no no! It’s not here!” Svetlana exclaims as she rummages through the bandits lucre. ”My wedding ring! They had taken it but it’s not here!” she says as tears begin welling up in her eyes.
Chyrsa watches the hangings dispassionately. Growing up, she always knew the same could have happened to her at anytime, but that worry had been a pale shadow to the danger of living day to day as a budding young woman among thieves and murderers. Still better than going back home.
"Thank y-" her words cut off with Svetlana's anguish. "Is there any of their crew missing, anyone that would come around with them that isn't up there now?" Chrysa thinks about other possibilities "How long ago did they take it?"
She thinks it is silly to get this worked up over a small piece of jewelry, but knows genuine anguish enough to know that trying to explain its silliness will just lose them points in the end. So she asks questions instead.
Sophie looks at the innkeeper and their wife, silently watching as the bandits are killed, one by one, not being able to stop the carnage. She will add, quietly, to the party "the Stag Lord is going to kill them both, the next time his minions come by and we are not here. They've signed their own execution orders." She shakes her head, sadly.
When Svetlana begins crying about her ring, Sophie's mouth opens in amazement briefly before she recovers, and she returns to a blank, pleasant expression. Sophie will not, however, offer additional assistance. She watches, dispassionately, as Chrysa begins the questioning.
Justice out here is harsh, and Dunstan got his first glimpse of it. Things are easier nearer to courts and jails. Svetlana, I am sorry that your ring appears to be missing. Perhaps they sold it, or gave it to the Stag Lord. We will be dealing with bandits as we see them, and will remember your ring if we see any. Could you give us a description, so that we might know what to look for? Dunstan would like to help her, but does not feel an obligation to go out of his way for the ring.
Isabella had said her piece initially and then taken a step back let the other lords and ladies with more feelings on the matter have their say. She had made her mind up already and if they wished to try and persuade to save the life of these heathens, that's their business.
To Sophiel she adds out of earshot of Oleg and Svetlana "It's likely. The smart thing to do would be to take them down and bury them now so that none is the wiser. Leaving them hanging will only provoke additional violence. Honestly though, I'm not sure they can recognize that."
Once the hanging business is done, Bella agrees with Dunstan and moves back towards the avenged couple. "If we come across something on our travels we will make sure to set it aside."
Orri doesn't really have anything to add. He just shakes his head at the waste of life. Everyone else seems to have things handled with Svetlana so Orri turns to the others "Well with that dealt with, we have some work to do to find the Stag Lord. Anyone have any preferences on where we head first since we don't have any specific leads?" He briefly turns to Oleg and asks "Are there any dangers out there we should be aware of?"
Svetlana describes the ring as a simple copper band, not worth much in value but it was her wedding band and held a lot of emotional significance to her.
Oleg says there are always plenty of dangers in the wilds, with rumors of kobold tribes, lizardmen, trolls, and even dragons. However, Oleg clarified that most of the dragon talk is likely tatzylwyrms, not a true dragon, but very draconian nonetheless. He is offering a handsome reward for the head of one in good condition for him to hang in the outpost, 600 gold. He also directs you to a posting board where he and others have posted bounties and requests for any brace enough to take them on:
Kobolds: Something has riled up the Sootscale Kobolds in the south, and if they can be dealt with either with sword or words, Restov is offering a reward of 800 gold.
Tuskgutter: A vicious boar claimed the life of Svetlana’s brother Vekkel, and the family is offering bow and magical arrows as a reward for the beasts head.
Oleg takes your group aside and informs you that if you can recover his wife’s ring, he’d be eternally grateful, and would offer you each 200 gold in credit at his outpost as a reward.
Svetlana also has a request for moon radishes, offering 250 gold if someone can bring back enough for her to create a stable garden of them here at the outpost.
Oleg also says that just a ways east of the outpost is an loopy old hermit named Bokken. He is good at brewing potions, should you need any.
Chrysa manages to keep her eyes from going wide at the offers of rewards, the amounts do not suggest a struggling venture out in the boonies. Trade must be going well.
"It would be interesting to go meet this hermit. He might have more information on the area. Bokken, was it?" she's cock an eyebrow at the others to see what they think.
Sophie sighs, and files the events into her mental inventory for future analysis. Later, she nods and smiles sadly at Isabella's words. When they are alone, she volunteers "Bokken sounds good, buuut I think we should just do all of these, eventually, right? The rewards are good, and it will give us a chance to see more of the environment. That said, could we please do what we can to avoid executing more sapient creatures?"
She points at the notice about the kobolds "it says swords and words, here. I know that the underlings are hard to talk to, but kobold leaders can be reasoned with, as far as I remember." She looks like she's desperate to avoid more executions.
Orri nods "Seeing Bokken sounds like a good plan. As Cyrsa said maybe he can give us more info on the lay of the land as well. Afterwards, I agree we might as well start pursuing some of these other tasks while we look for a more solid lead on the stag lord."
Isabella doesn't feel strongly one way or the other about their options, so she sides with the popular vote. "I'm all in favor of Bokken as well."
She remarks "I'll say I'm quite pleasantly surprised by the number of requests and rewards that are circulating. I had no idea that there were such a variety of options ahead of us here. I had figured that this was going to be less open to us making decisions on our path and more directed effort. "
The group sets out to the east, interested in meeting this alchemist hermit...
Bokken proves to be an eccentric old man. 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. Yet Bokken is no hater of gold, and his eagerness to sell the potions he makes is well known to many of the travelers in the area—he usually sells directly to Oleg, but he’s willing to sell to you if you ask.
Bokken also has a favor to ask as well—he needs fangberries to continue his trade. He offers to give anyone who can bring him a sizable amount 25% off his wares for a whole month. Further, he mentions his younger brother—Bokken spits as he does so, bitterly holding up his right hand and indicating his missing pinky finger: “Bastard cut that offa me the last time he hit my mother, Desna rest her soul. But he took off right after to live in a hollow tree down south rather than face the guards, so I guess it all worked out well enough.”
Bokken decided to become a hermit a few years after his brother (whose name, like many other details of his childhood, he can’t quite recall due to senility) left home and their parents passed away. Originally, Bokken had toyed with the idea of tracking his bully
of a brother down and getting revenge, but the wildlife in the Greenbelt was too frightening and dangerous, so instead he settled down not far from the edge of Rostland to live the rest of his life in nature.
___________
This area is the den of a giant trapdoor spider, a black and red brute the size of a pony. The area surrounding the spider’s den is strewn to a radius of nearly 200 feet with the skeletons of boars, deer, bears, and a few humans, but the spider hiding in the center just under the ajar lid to its lair is hard to see. A fact the group learns when the resident arachnid leaps from its home and assails the group! Fortunately they are able to overcome the beast and bring its threat to an end.
The spider’s lair is a 5-foot-diameter, 25-foot-deep shaft. The thick webbing along the walls makes it relatively easy to clamber up and down the shaft where a few bodies still remain at the bottom, including the body of a dead bandit, still dressed in leather armor and carrying a short sword and 10 gp. He also wears about his neck a silver Stag Lord amulet worth 20 gp. Of perhaps more interest is a scrap of paper tucked in the bandit’s left boot that bears a simple drawing of a claw-shaped dead tree atop an otherwise barren hill, with an “X” in blood scrawled by the tree’s roots.
__________
The remaining region beyond these locations consist of gentle plains filled with tall prairie grasses. A few roaming herds of deer and other game can be seen moving about. All in all, it is quite peaceful this close to the Brevish border.
Sophie chats amicably to the hermit, but gives him his space, knowing that those who have chosen to live a life of solitude often do so for a reason. A conversation will not mend the wounds of their heart.
-------------------------
Sophie sweats a bit as she completes her oratory during the fight, and they defeat the spider. Taking off her bandana, she wrings it out, and wipes her brow, wiping a way some of the webbing.
When they find the note, Sophie peers at it over Orri's shoulder. "Interesting. Does this dead tree on a hill remind anyone of anything?"
Orri is happy they have found someone capable of making potions and one that will offer them a discount no less. He knows it will be extremely useful in the coming days as they traipse around the wilderness. When the man mentions asks them about the fangberries he asks if the hermit knows any good spots they could check.
--------------------
Orri is pleased that the group seems to be coming together so well and are able to deal with not only bandits but other threats in the wild. When they find all they can that is of use he takes not of the note. As Sophiel comments on the note he replies "Indeed, but it doesn't really help us to know where it is..." He shrugs as he continues "Bokken said it was further south, I suppose we can head that direction and see what we find and if it is somehow related to the bandits?"
Kan always said crazy wasn't bad, just meant you had seen the awful and found away around it. So Bokken was warmly welcomed by Chrysa. She'll chat with him along with Sophie, doing her best not to agitate the other woman too badly, nearly as much as the old hermit.
Unfortunately she knows nothing about the things, and hopes Orri gleans more information from the hermit than her own brain does.
---
Looking at the note, Chrysa shrugs "Not me." thinking it looks much like most of the lands around here, but still eager to see what it might brings. "Another of the stag lord's captains has met their end." she points out as the lifts the amulet up into the light.
As to the tree on the map, the rolling hills to the south sporadically have trees on them in either scattered small glades or the lone tree here or there. Identifying this particular tree likely would require comparing it visually to the sketch on the parchment.
Sophie will communicate the information about the Fangberries to everyone.
"The fangberries are quite delicious, but they are not easy to get. Their bushes are very thorny. They tend to grow in the open." Sophie appears to be very sagacious about the plants.
-----------------------------------------------
"I... think I could spot this tree if we come across it, but there's a lot of them growing over the hills. Maybe there's some of the stag lord's treasure buried underneath? Anything to disempower him, I say."
"So we keep an eye out for thorny berry bushes, and a lonely dead tree." Chrysa laughed almost unwillingly, then smiled warmly. After pulling the last of her kit on to her mule, she ask no one in particular "Off to... where now?"
When Chrysa asks about their next direction Orri chimes in "I say we go looking for these berries and the tree. It seems Sophiel has a general idea on where to look so let's head that way."
A particularly rocky crag rises from the hills here. At the crag’s base is an overgrown 5-foot-wide crack that leads down 20 feet to a 30-foot-diameter cave. The cave wall directly across from the entrance sparkles slightly—Dunstan and Orri both recognize this well enough to know this as a vein of gold. Indeed, this cave can be transformed into a healthy gold mine with the proper time and equipment!
An old lightning-struck oak tree stands atop a low hill at this spot—the only tree in a 2-mile radius, in fact. Approached from the north, the tree looks eerily like a claw reaching for the clouds, just like the sketched map they found a couple days prior. In a hollow amid the tree’s roots on the north side, the group finds that a section of earth there has been disturbed. Digging up the cache takes 10 minutes—the cache itself is wrapped in a heavy leather cloak and consists of a masterwork dagger, a wand of burning hands , a silver ring worth 75 gp, and a spellbook. Unfortunately, rain seeping down into the cache has damaged much of the spellbook, but five of the spells remain intact.
A thick, sagging
rope still hangs across the river, all that remains of the bridge that once spanned it. A signpost at either end of the ruined bridge reads “Nettles’ Crossing—5 coppers—ring bell for service.” A rusty bell hangs by each sign. On the south bank of the river, the crumbled remains of a burnt-down wooden building are slowly being overgrown by encroaching vegetation.
Looming over all the hills in the northern Kamelands, a graying hulk of a sycamore tree clings precariously to its last years of life. The 100-foot-tall tree is a well-known landmark and is visible for miles around. As you approach, Sophiel spots some small tracks of some sort of bipedal creatures that leads to a small hole beneath the tree...as well as some blood...
Sophiel bends down to examine the tracks, dipping her gloved fingers briefly in the blood and sniffing it.
”Tracks, humanoid. And someone was injured. Shall we follow?” She wipes the blood off onto the grass and stands, tightening her belt strap.
Orri nods "Could be someone that needs help, or it could be more leads to help us learn more of the bandits in the area."
"If we're lucky, it will be another of the Stag's captains. They seem to be running into a lot of unfortunate trouble of late." Chrysa adds in agreement.
The group heads down into the narrow passages, following Dunstan’s lead, given his dwarven heritage and comfort fighting underground. He doesn’t advance far into this network to realize this isn’t the work of civilized hands. As they move through the network of tunnels and caverns, they come across a small band of blue skinned fey creatures with big eyes that the group recognizes as Mites! They are small, weak, and dim witted, but have a natural affinity for training vermin, which the group soon learns when they are faced with some of their tamed insects to combat. Eventually, they press further in and are faced with a massive centipede as well, but manage to bring the thing down with solid effort.
Finally, you reach the final chamber, where you are faced with what seems to be the leader of these things, a mite astride a tick the size of a man! You are able to use actual strategy to bring them down, and are soon able to explore the warrens in peace. Within the leaders chamber is a small table with a map on it, showing a path to a nearby kobold warren and marking several battlegrounds. The map is held down by a large black statue of what seems to be a demon.
Tied to the wall of this chamber is also a black skinned kobold. He is wounded and weak, nearly dead from torture, but currently still breathing.
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Isabella is taken with these creatures known as mites. After the battle with them is complete, she searches their belongings and finds a strange book of tales. The most intriguing one that really catches her eye is the one where a dwarf wearing a bracer descends from the heaves to lord over them in what looks like a manner of a queen.
"Strange creatures these mites!" she remarks as she shows the book around. She shows the book to her companions, trying to make out what anything says but not understanding any of the context.
Later with the battle with the tick riding mite, she briefly considers keeping him alive so she could try to question him and get answers to her new favorite story. Luckily her instinct and training kicks in however, and she tosses the book to focus on the battle and helps flank the foe and bring him down.
Looking to the kobold, she holds her blade out to the prisoner cautiously. "Do you speak the common tongue?"
The kobold lifts its head wearily, one of its eyes swollen shut, the other close to it. It eyes you all, seeming to try to figure out if this is a hallucination or real.
”M-Mikmek...Mikmek speak Longshank.”
Chrysa, never the most elegant or honorable of fighters, turns particularly nasty when slicing through the blue skinned ones, only to mutter later about them being "truly nasty little bits" and for some reason manages to dose the book of tales in oil and set it on fire, 'accidently' of course.
As Isabella starts to speak with the wounded kobold, the horned thief keeps her knowledge of their language a secret in case the creature lets anything slip at a later date in his own tongue, thinking it safe from longshank ears.
She does ask, innocently enough, "Are you a Sootscale?" obviously not thinking of the 800 gold bounty to deal with them.
The kobold doesn’t give a verbal reply, just weakly nods his head and chirps.
"What happened? These Mites, they are evil little critters, did they attack your tribe?" she pushes him with questions to get him to tell them his story.