Kern takes a quick look around the battlefield then begins moving
Your cowardice is your undoing, bandit
With the bandits dropping like flies, Signy finds herself with little left to do except rush Haps, the bandit leader. She comes at him saying "you lot aren't turning out to be worth much even for sport".
Harrim tries to hit with his flail.
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You are able to drop several of the bandits, but, with their escaped blocked, the remaining bandits redouble their efforts.
The bandit attacking Pyros steps back and gangs up on Kern with the other bandit that moves to flank him.
One of them is able to hit Kern, bringing him perilously close to unconsciousness.
The archer again tries to hit Halden
Halden's luck seems to be changing as he is hit hard with an arrow.
Finally, Haps attempts to end the threat of Signy by stepping back and shooting her.
Fortunately, he only hits her once.
Teryll again fires two arrows at Haps.
Halden collapses to the ground as he is hit by another well-aimed shot.
Considering for a moment, Faerin lobs another ball of flame directly into the region of tar, seeking to ignite the whole area. That done she moves to her right to support those in melee on that side.
Harrim moves over and casts cure light wounds on Halden. He waves his hand in front of his face.
Here this will help!"
Pyros dashes forward to defend Kern. and delivers a brutal slash to his opponent.
Snuffing out the flame in the palm of her hand, Faerin checks on the condition of her companions, and after making sure none of the bandits are mobile, dismisses the entanglement spell.
Halden gasps as the healing spells wake him up. He stands up and looks over the battlefield. "Did any of them escape?"
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Surveying the aftermath of the battle, you find several of the bandits are still alive, but unconscious. Haps is dead though.
Stripping all of them of stuff, you gain eleven sets of studded leather armor, eight small wooden shields, and eleven short swords. In addition, you get three composite shortbows and seven more CLW potions. Haps has a masterwork composite longbow, a masterwork short sword, a mithral chain shirt, one CLW and one CMW potion, and a magic ring. All total you collect 186 gp of various coins.
"No it doesn't look like any of them did. Their escape route was cut off." Faerin says with a hint of a smile as she dismisses the entangling growth beyond the gates.
"Now a matter of what their fate should be."
"Indeed. Their fate is worth discussion."
Kern looks towards one of the unconscious bandits,"As none of them chose to surrender, I am comfortable with giving them a quick, clean death. I don't think anyone could fault us there."
"However, a valid case could be made for mercy, should anyone wish to do so. We should decide quickly in any case. For them to die of their wounds would be the death by indecision, which is the worst option, in my opinion."
Teryll comes down off the tower, to join the others.
" I can keep them from dying of blood loss, and after that we can decide if we hold them for trial, or execute them here and now."
He looks over the defeated men;
"There's merit to both points of the matter, but I won't let them bleed out while we decide. If one of you can follow me and disarm them as I go, it will be faster. "
Cleaning and sheathing his sword as Teryll descends, Pyros nods when he speaks. "That's a good idea. I'll help." Pyros follows the other half-elf, removing weapons as they go.
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Of the eleven bandits that accompanied Haps, eight are still alive. five are seriously wounded, while three of them are just barely unconscious. You easily disarm them and they can be placed in the small stable. The stable has only one entrance that is easily guarded and the back wall is actually the palisade, so it would be very difficult to escape that way.
Oleg and Svetlana bring you dinner and Linzi and Harrin have sufficient healing between them to get everyone at full health. Oleg already has a large common room with two separate smaller rooms attached set aside upstairs for your use while exploring the area (paid for by Jamandi Aldori).
Oleg suggests that a final decision on the fate of the surviving bandits can wait for the morning. They won't be in any condition to cause trouble or escape for this night anyhow.
"That seems a sound idea to me. Better a decision to be made after the heat of battle has passed." Faerin comments over the shared meal.
Kern shrugs, "As you wish. I do think, however, that once we save them from dying of their wounds, we have some responsibility to give them a chance to speak in their defense. Otherwise execution before they wake is the more merciful option."
”Then we should wait until they wake. A man should be able to face his death head on, not be killed in his sleep.”
"I'm ok with killing them and resting I think is a good idea. We had a tough fight"
Teryll thanks Oleg and Svetlana for the meal and the accommodations.
Regarding the bandits:
"Nothing wrong with taking time to decide if we have it. As we are appointed to take control and bring the law to this place. So long as we have good cause, we can justify execution for banditry. But not every one will be a hardened killer, and there may be room for repentance if circumstances allow."
As Halden sits down for a meal after nursing his injuries, the question of what to do with the prisoners is the last thing he wants to think about. "I don't really care what happens to them. Certainly at least some of them deserve to die. What do you suggest we do with them if it's not to be execution? We don't exactly have a jail out here?"
"In many places, theft is punished by the loss of a hand, or with a brand on the face to alert all who see a man of his crimes. Those might suffice. But I worry more about executing men who do not deserve death than I do about how to punish the guilty. Let us not begin our control with unworthy deeds."
" I think their intent is pretty obvious. We didn't raid a bandit camp and manage to catch hangers-on and incidental followers. Each and every one of them came here to kill us, predators seeking what they thought was easy prey." Faerin replies.
"So let's kill 'em"
Kern wakes up early, watching the sun rise from the corner tower and then looking in on the prisoners. Seeing some awake, he returns to the others.
"Since some of the bandits are conscious, I'm going to talk to them, and hear if they have any defense or information to bargain with. Join me if you wish."
Walking to the stable, Kern casts Dancing Lights, forming a humanoid shape of light, and has it follow him.
"It looks like you've survived the night, so this is what is going to happen. I will choose one of you to talk to, all of the others will get back against the wall, and I will bring that one person out, where he can please his case or bargain for his life"
"I don't have any inclination to put up with nonsense, so if any of you refuse to cooperate or mouth off, I'll presume you have no interest in defending yourself...and I'll kill you. Clear?"
Kern has the figure of light point at one of the conscious bandits at random, "You. Step forward. Everyone else step back."
Halden comes with Kern to speak to the captured bandits. He gives the three younger bandits of pity. Reminds me of ... well, me. Maybe they can be convinced to see reason. I doubt many of the others will.
Rising with the dawn, Faerin opens her bedroom window to greet the rising sun, basking in the combined sensation of the sun's first days coupled with the chill air against her skin, a silent resonant meditation as the druidess drinks in the touch of the natural world to greet the day.
Some time later, her communion complete, the half elf pads across the room, getting dressed before going to her satchel, carefully selecting herbs, berries and a host of other collected natural ingredients, S she sits and begins the intricate work of mixing her potent concoctions, her talent as an Herbalist and natural affinity for drawing the magic out of what two others would simply be mundane in ingredients, rendering the ending products laden with powerful effects of natural magic.
Stowing the earthen vials with those she'd already made, the young woman takes the time to loosely rebrand her hair and gather up her staff and sickle before joining the others to decide the fate of the bandits.
Harrim watches with his mace ready as Kern talks to the bandits.
scum
Teryll awakens early as he normally does. After his morning prayers, and exercise, he cleans up; finishing just in time to join Kern and the others with the prisoners.
He stands just off to the side, with his weapons sheathed and bow slung over his back.
Pyros stands to the side, arms crossed, watching the bandit selected for questioning. His sword is sheathed, for now.
[ooc]Alright, where's the camp!"[/b]
"In addition to the location of the camp, we also want to know everything you can tell us about the Stag Lord and his operations. Give us useful information, and you will not be harmed. Lie, and I will execute you myself."
He seems truthful so far, but not really a trustworthy ally for them in these circumstances. No doubt if things were reversed, he be thier best friend in the world.
He catches Kern's eye and nods his head slowly, but hesitantly, and rocks his hand back and forth as if to imply that while honest enough, the man shouldn't be fully trusted.