"Anyone know where the Thorn river is?"
Signy screws up her face as if she's thinking deeply.
"I think I've heard of the Thorn River!" She says brightly.
"Potentially useful information...we'll see how it matches in quality and quantity with what the others offer. We'll discuss your fate along with the others when we are done. What is your name?"
[oos]assuming no one else has other questions, Kern will lead him back and pick one of the young ones to go next[/ooc]
"Oleg, can you watch these others as we question them? I don't want them to compare notes and come up with a story"
Kern turns towards the bandits, "If Oleg here sees you trying to concoct a group tale, the value of anything you tell us becomes very low, and any mercy it buys you is equally reduced. Understood?"
Signy, who approves of the way the questioning is being conducted, waits to hear the second prisoner's response.
|
The 16 year old is skittish and answers your questions. He essentially gives the same info about the location of the Thorn River camp as before. You get the sense that he is very afraid and not a hardened criminal.
The other younger one is still unconscious. The older bandits are very similar to the first one questioned, they each seem eager to sell out the rest and apparently have little to no loyalty to the Stag Lord. However, you each feel that you wouldn't turn your back to them for a second.
After questioning the conscious bandits you get the same information from each with little variation. There is a camp at the Thorn River Ford (as indicated on the map) and they have only encountered the Stag Lord once when they initially joined and a couple of them have met him one or two times since then, but not at his fort. They all seem to indicate that the Stag Lord has not been out and about for at least a couple of months now.
"lets check out the camp by the river"
"Seems like their information is legitmate. We should go take out the camp before they have a chance to mount another attack and rescue their friends. That Kressle woman from before may have gone to warn the Stag Lord about us."
During the course of your interrogations, while taking a break, Svetlana approaches you.
"I realize you have been tasked with getting rid of the bandits, but I have a favor to ask. The one called Kressle, the woman with the two axes, I would ask that you show her mercy. She is caught up with bad people, but she has always kept them from getting out of hand with us and others."
Speaking to Svetlana;
"We will do what we can Madame Leveton. Most of what happens will be decided by her own choices. Like the ones we've fought so far, if they choose to fight until death; there may be little we can do to prevent it."
"I'll keep that in mind when we find her. If she's willing to cooperate, we won't kill her. "
To the rest of the group, Halden says "Shall we set out for the Thorn River camp today? The faster we move, the less time they will have to prepare for our arrival"
"The question of what exactly to do with them comes to mind. We can't expect Oleg and Svetlana to watch them, and leaving them here is a danger to them. They cooperated, and we agreed to release them but they leave without consequence, we will have to deal with them again. Only the youngest two seem likely to learn anything from this." Faerin says thoughtfully.
"There are consequences besides death. Take off one of their hands." Pyros says, with a nonchalant shrug. But he ponders. After a moment, he shakes his head at his own earlier pronouncement. "Then again, perhaps we should offer leniency once, in the hopes that others might learn from their example. Release any who swear a solemn oath to turn from banditry. But swear solemn oaths before them that if we ever catch them at banditry again, they will be executed without mercy. They will either turn from their ways, or they will serve as an example to others, both of our willingness to grant clemency and our willingness to punish the unrepentant and the oathbreaker. 'Oathbreakers Die' is, after, a creed well-respected in the River Kingdoms."
Signy, who has taken a liking to Svetlana, promises to deal with Kressle has gently as possible.
She is torn on the question of how to handle the prisoners. On the one hand she finds killing them a repulsive solution, on the other she doesn't want the prisoners making their way back to the Stag King, or posing a threat to Oleg and Svetlana.
Pyros seems to have the best solution to Signy given her qualms.
"I think Pyros has it figured best. But I think they should not be let go immediately. Oleg, could you keep them penned for a couple of days until we return? half of them are in no shape to go anywhere anyway. Maybe you could separate the two boys for the rest? The younger one needs treatment, and the older would be away from the influences of the others."
"When we are back, we can swear them their oaths. There would be some real teeth to the threat of execution if they break their oaths then. It would also keep them from running on ahead of us to alert the Stag King since the know the way and we don't."
"We shouldn't hurt the kid!"
Teryll nods at Signy
"Agreed. Master Leveton are you able to keep them until we return?"
Halden remains silent for the discussion about what to do with the prisoners. It feels wrong to just let them go, but he can't bring himself to recommend a harsher punishment either. Not a situation he ever thought he'd find himself in, given his history.
"Their actions while we're gone might well determine any penalty they suffer before being released. Loosing a predator can be dangerous." Faerin adds.
"I can easily keep them locked up a couple of days." Oleg responds.
That evening, as you are eating, you are approached by Bokken.
"Since you are going to be exploring South, I was wondering if you could help me with something. As you know, I supplement Oleg's business with my own apothecary. I'm in need of two things for the post. First, my source for fangberries has become infested with spiders. At my age, I cannot dispose of them. If you could clear out the infestation and bring back a batch of fangberries, that would help a lot. Fangberries go bad quickly, so be sure to return here quickly after you pick them.
The second thing I need is a bucket of moon radishes. I'm not sure where to find them but I do know that kobolds value them highly. If you can get these things for me, I can reward you well. Also, if you are going to the spider cave. here are some alchemist fires to help against them."
"Having a source of alchemical supplies would be useful. I think we should clear out this spider den on our way back from the bandit camp."
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”I agree. A friendly chymist is never a bad thing.”
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"I'm sure we can come up with some for you Master Bokken."
"Ok lets get some radishes!"
"Sure Bokken, we'll find those things for you" says Signy, who has no idea what either of them are or where they could be.
After she's eaten, Signy goes to Svetlana to make one more desperate try. "For mercy's sake Svetlana, is there any way I can get a bath?"
Kern listens to the bandits with growing concern.
"With the exception of the young one, none of those we spoke to struck me as remotely repentant, it does seem they all told the truth."
"My inclination is banishment. Tell them they can take the road northwest, and if they are seen in this area again it will be a death sentence.
I can place an Arcane mark on their foreheads, and let them know it will fade if they stay on the straight and narrow...that's a lie, it will fade in a month either way, but I doubt they know that."
"I wouldn't be inclined to remove a hand, but it wouldn't distress me either. When we get back, we can decide whether their behavior warrants it"
"We should try to hit the bandit camp quickly, before they learn what became of these. we can deal with the spiders afterwards, on our way back. That way we don't have to worry about the fangberries spoiling."
"Yeah, the camp first for sure. Bokken said the berries won't keep for long so that should be last on the way back."
"That makes sense, take care of the bandits, seek out a kobold warren, then deal with the spiders and collect the fangberries." Faerin says summing up their plan of action.
Teryll nods in agreement.
"Sounds like a fine plan to me"
Harrim doesn't bathe and gets up early and gathers his gear.
"Everyone ready?"
Pyros seems distracted and sluggish in the morning. When the party gathers, he says "Did...did anyone else have trouble sleeping last night? I had bizarre...dreams? Visions? It's hard to say. But anyway, I did not sleep well last night."
Teryll looks over at Pyros.
"No. I slept just fine. What kind of visions were they?"
Halden gets up early and gathers his gear. The odds aren't in our favor here. There are a lot more of them then there are us, so we'll need to be cautious. I wonder if letting our captives go will come back to bite us. Certainly not all of them deserve the mercy.
"Strange visions? I didn't see anything. Is something wrong Pyros?"
Signy wakes up in a more sullen mood than usual. All she wants is a simple bath and he can't even get an answer from Oleg or Svetlana on the question. She figures there must surely be a way, the proprietors are hardly animals after all.
Do they hate me or something? Svetlana at least seems nice to me otherwise. Are they just messing with me for some reason?
She's ready to go when everyone else is.
"No strange dreams, but I would have slept better after a bath for sure."
"So we're here." Signy points at the ground as if her statement places them at a known, fixed point. "The camp is west of here on the Thorn River. So we go west. Anyone know which way is west?"
Rising at dawn, Faerin begins her day with her normal ritual, communing with the natural world and contemplating the challenges of the day. Gathering her kit, she settles down to brewing a few concoctions that might be of use throughout their time in the wilds.
Gathering with the others for breakfast after getting dressed and collecting her gear, she listens to others with interest.
"So we're here." Signy points at the ground as if her statement places them at a known, fixed point. "The camp is west of here on the Thorn River. So we go west. Anyone know which way is west?"
Gathering with the others for breakfast after getting dressed and collecting her gear, she listens to others with interest. At Signy's question, the druidess closes her eyes for a brief moment, tracing a circular pattern on her forehead with a finger as she whispers a word in the ancient druidic language. Opening her eyes she looks off in the distance. " North is that way, so that's West." she says, pointing.