We need intel and they can't be allowed to get reinforcements. After them!
Zaraleva loads and fires at the farthest one if there's no miss chance (or the nearest if there's a miss chance on the far but not the near.)
Byron, how about a couple shots before you go? Shalelu and Ameiko are back there defending the others.
Letting out a triumphant howl as the raiders flee, Lyraesel dashes after the fleeing enemies, catching up to one of the stragglers with a vicious slash at his hamstrings.
Aiko pivots but, lacking darkvision, has no expectation of being able to hit the fleeting foes with a ranged attack under cover of darkness.
Byron will move back and pick up his bow.
Adrian switches over to the crossbow and loads a shot. "I think that's enough for now. But we can't stay here."
We can't easily move an entire caravan. We have to stop the raiders from getting back to their reinforcements or many lives could be lost. At least try to take them alive, please. She pleads with Adrian.
Zaraleva's shot connects with her target, but the wound isn't enough to slow her quarry down, let alone drop them. Lyraesel, however, is able to kill another raider outright with her charge.
The raiders continue to flee, making it towards the shore, where they've docked their boat.
The blood pounding in her ears, Lyraesel hurdles the fallen Ulfen warrior, racing after the survivors to viciously take down another of the enemy.
Since she can outrun the brigands, Aiko decides she might as well hit them while Lyraesel is also in pursuit, and she races after them with her pole arm.
Zaraleva shoots at the wounded one.
Surrender! You can't hope to escape and we will spare you if you parlay. Hasn't enough blood been shed this night?
Adrian shrugs and takes a shot at one of the remaining invaders.
But his luck with crossbows continue as he barely misses his shot.
Byron will chase after the others once he has his bow.
Lyraesel takes down another raider, while Aiko wounds one with her strike. They raise their hands in surrender, giving up their attempt at escape.
"What are your terms?" One of them asks.
Drop your weapons and pick up the boat. Turn it upside-down and rest it on your shoulders. We will lead you to our most merciful queen who will likely feed you and give you shelter. Follow him (indicating Adrian) and he will guide you safely. He (Byron) will walk alongside with his weapons ready. She will follow behind, fully ready and able to run down anyone. (Lyraesel)
Zaraleva looks at the others guiltily at taking charge, but hopes they are OK with the plan. She starts scooping up the weapons and laments that there's no time to bury the bodies right now. She tries to hand off a half dozen swords to Aiko.
Aiko puts her naginata on her shoulder and looks at Zaraleva with a curious expression. She seems unsure of how she is supposed to carry a half-dozen swords while also carrying a pole arm that can't be sheathed. Finally she spins the naginata around on its axis, shoves it into the dirt, winces at the damage that she's doing to the blade, and collects the armload of swords (carefully).
Aiko puts her naginata on her shoulder and looks at Zaraleva with a curious expression.
(Assuming the prisoners follow instructions) Zaraleva whispers ever so softly to Aiko, "I have no idea what I'm doing. I just opened my mouth and that's what came out."
"We should get back to camp quickly. Move." Byron says and motions for the remaining men to head back the way they came.
"That seems reasonable to me," Adrian nods at Zaraleva's demands.
"Let there be no more bloodshed tonight."
Lyraesel follows along? We report to the Empress and she says...
Lyreasel follows keeping a close eye on the prisoners.
The remaining raiders drop their weapons and pick up their boat. They follow you, albeit slowly, because there's three of them and the boat was made for 12.
Nevertheless, they follow you and you meet back up with the main caravan, which is surrounded by the corpses of even more raiders. Ameiko and the others appear to have been fighting. "You too, eh?" She says when she notices the raiders you brought.
"Yes, was anyone here hurt?" Byron asks as he looks around for his brother.
"Yeah'" The monk replied with a shrug. "Did any of they say why they ambushed you?"
"We took a few hits, but nothing that can't be fixed with a good night's rest and some magic from Koya if we need it." Ameiko says.
"We certainly turned out better than them. As for why they attacked us, can't really say. These raiders weren't the type of people that enjoy telling you their motivations mid-fight."
"these two get a chance to make leaving them alive worth it." Lyraesel replies, nodding at the two Ulfen prisoners.
"No doubt these three are getting very tired holding that boat on their shoulders. They might collapse at any moment... But before they do, perhaps we could offer them a chance to explain if they are more than aggressive pirates and raiders."
"Are you part of a bigger band?" Byron asks.
"Were you trying to kill everyone or just steal what you could and get away? What do you know of the Frozen Shadows?"
The monk had no questions to ask himself. He was content with letting the other more colorful personalities do the talking.
One of the raiders begins to respond to your question. However, as they do, they appear to be overtaken by a great pain and suddenly begin coughing violently. Blood begins to spew from their mouth, then from the other orifices on their face, before they fall down dead.
The remaining two raiders stare in shock and horror, as does Shalelu, Sandru, Koya, and Ameiko
Aiko lets out an epithet in Minkaian.
"They must be under some kind of death-curse. Shinobi... like my father and my grandfather before him."
She crouches and looks over one of the bodies.
"Not a poison. Someone, or some thing, was watching them, and considered them expendable."
"Can anyone detect if we are being watched? That will be a problem moving forward if our enemies know exactly where our caravan is." Byron says as he looks up at the empty air above them.
Lyreasel begins intensely scanning the area for anything that might indicate an enemy spying on them.
"So how can we stop whoever from watching us?" Adrian replied to Aiko in annoyance. It was bad enough to be hunted down. Now they may have already been located? Thos trip is already looking compromised.
Zaraleva looks at the body and attempts to do a Heal check to figure out what happened.
Lyraesel: You spot no signs of being watched (being a foggy night, it would be hard for anyone to spy on the party), but as you look around, you suddenly recall how a few days ago, you had an encounter with a raven tailing you that warned you of a group called the Frozen Shadows. Could this somehow be connected?
Zaraleva: You take a look at the deceased individual, trying to figure out what could cause someone to die like that so suddenly. As Aiko said, they don't appear poisoned or to be suffering from any disease, they just suddenly began to profusely spew blood from the mouth and from their orifices, as if something inside them had burst.
"Dark Magic. Probably Frozen Shadows." Lyraesel mutters, looking at the remaining raiders for a reaction.
"Too dark and foggy for anyone watching from a distance."
Zaraleva glances around, somewhat nervously.
"Do you others know what that was? Is it something inside you?"
She motions to them to put down the boat if they haven't already so that she can study them.
"Ameiko will decide your fate."
"I'm as clueless as you are," Adrian replied with a shrug. He then turned towards Lyraesel. "Could you clue us in on that group?"
"The warning from the bloodfeather raven earlier this evening. It mentioned the same ‘Frozen Shadows’ that the tengu man said granted him the castle." Lyraesel elaborates. "Looks like they're behind all of it."
"We need to be cautious, then," Aiko says. "Keep a low profile. People are looking for us, if we show up into a town and stand out and ask lots of questions and talk about Minkaian heritage we're going to be noticed immediately."
Nothing subtle about a caravan rolling into town, of course. But I guess I can choose not to shout out the arrival of the new Emperor. Is there even a town near here? Geography wasn't my best class. Too much memorization.
Ameiko opts to show some mercy to these raiders, allowing them to run back to their boat and sail away.
There isn't a town nearby, but after putting some more distance between yourselves and the river, you rest again, with a bit more unease. After a few more days of travel, you begin to see other caravans.
"We'll see more and more of these as we get closer to Kalsgard. This is the biggest city in the Land of the Linnorm Kings, so no one will notice one more caravan with goods to trade coming into the city." Sandru says.
And his words prove true, as little if any notice goes to your caravan as it rides through the city gates and into the city's Bone Quarter, a name that you quickly discover is quite apt, as many of the locals are malnourished and the homes appear to be cheaply made out of mud and straw.
"I would strongly suggest finding a better place to stay if we're gonna be here for a while." Sandru says, sheepishly.
"I have to agree with you, although if we could help these poor people, Sarenrae compels me to do so. Kelda, is there an inn? A temple to Sarenrae? Where should we look for the merchant?"
"I doubt they will be here. But perhaps if we ask around we can get some help. We should be careful though. People this desparate will take whatever they can to survive." Byron asks as he looks around at the terrible conditions.
"Let's be careful and stay together. Kelda? Lead the way?"
"Yeah, it would be best for us to sleep in an inn instead of freezing to death in the cold." He turns to Zaraleva with sympathy in his face. "We can see what's going on with the town and go from there," he suggests.
Sandru, still troubled by the Ulfen attack, suggests you get your own quarters and start doing some digging on the multiple needs of the caravan:
1. A guide to Minkai
2. The lost sword
3. Who is trying to kill us
4. Who sent the Ulfen and what killed the prisoner
Kelda seems more alive now that she is finally home and opens up a little about reuniting with her family. She is also torn about leaving the caravan, but she has no income currently and will have to look for work in the city if no other offers are made.
