Having enjoyed both the meal prepared by Svetlana, and a solid night's sleep, Elenaril arises with the dawn as is often her habit. Going up to the battlements to greet the rising sun, she is shocked to find the dense, clinging, unnatural fog, nothing how it seems unaffected by the breeze.
When the others arise, she joins them, eager to discuss the bizarre weather. "A powerful druid could definitely be behind something like this, so your dreams might hold some truth." she says, clearly a bit unsettled.
"Sounds fortunate to have a fey on our side." Sven said. "And even if the bandits have a druid, so do we. So I'm feeling confident about this. That, and our way forward is clear. It just means that retreating may be somewhat of an issue."
Waking, Stanislaw performed his morning ablutions to Erastil, then gathered his things and stepped out of their accomodations. The unnatural fog drew his immediate attention, and he climbed up to the tower he was on yesterday to get a better look at it. Studying it for a few moments, watching as it was unaffected by the wind and sun.
Descending, he replied to Sven, "Trade would have had to wait for us to deal with the Stag Lord, anyway. One problem at a time."
He listened as Harter spoke of his dream, and frowned in thought. "House Medvyed have dealt with fey creatures before in the Gronzi Forest. They can be tricksome, and their words sometimes have meanings that humans cannot comprehend. The fog is clearly unnatural, but it could just as easily be this nymph behind it as it is the druid. If the Stag Lord has a druid allied with him, it is good information, but let us not assume the nymph is an ally just because she gives us this information."
"Dreaming of rescuing a captive nymph is perfectly normal for a healthy young man."
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After quickly blushing from Ivo's words, Harter says "You have the right of it, Stanislaw. We should be wary. Right now there's little information. However, a cursed fog cannot be good news, so we may need to make haste. We are heading towards the Stag Lord's hiding place in any case, if we do find a druid making this happen, then we should handle it."
Looking eastward, he says "I hope Restov's guardsmen aren't too affected by the fog." He turns to the others and says "Come, let us talk to our prisoners." and goes to the makeshift prison that Oleg set up.
Piret considers the fog, trying to draw some conclusion about it's origin or nature.
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Both Elenaril and Piret are quite certain the fog is not natural. And as the morning progresses, it does not move or disapate at all.
Your session with the captured bandits is much more fruitful. All three fall over themselves trying to please you. They freely give all information they have. About the location and defenses of the Thorn River camp. they have valuable, detailed information. The camp leader is a woman named Kessle. Haps was her 2nd in command, but they did not get along. Of all the bandits based out of that camp, only Kessle and Haps had ever personally met with the Stag Lord.
As for where the Stag Lord is located, they only know he has a fortress somewhere South. One of the bandits says he heard Kessle say something about the shores of the Tuskwater (that's a lake to the South).
They give promises of reform and leaving the Stolen Lands, you can take that for what it's worth.
Everyone involved in the interrogations can make Sense Motive checks.
Piret is inclined to let the prisoners go, but she doesn't say so in front of them.
"If we do let them go though, I think we should wait until we've dealt with the Thorn River camp. Once it is gone, they no longer have a link so the Stag Lord since they don't know where he is. They won't be able to rejoin him if they're tempted."
"We'd need Oleg and Svetlana to agree to keep them here under lock and key until then of course."
Elenaril listens to the interrogation, noting the comment about the Stag Lord’s location for the future. This Kessel would likely be a valuable source of information should they be able to take her alive. One could only hope that her dislike of the bloodthirsty bastard Haps meant she was the more reasonable of the two.
”Agreed. If they truly mean to change their ways, setting them loose after that would make sense.”
Stanislaw glowers at the bandits during the interrogation, hoping it helps to loosen their tongues. He carefully considers their words, searching them for signs of deception.
"I agree, as well. Perhaps Meredith can remain as guard."
Sven was well used to negotiations over contracts and haggling over the prices of wares. But interrogating prisoners? That was a new experience. He was just glad that they did not need to do anything untoward for the information received.
"That would be ideal." Sven agreed. "Mounted as she is, she can ride off to call for aid if needed as well."
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Harter is glad the bandits are reasonable and agrees with the others when they discuss how to handle them.
Back to the bandits, he asks them "What about traps around the Thorn River camp? How do we avoid them? Also, how is the terrain, swamp? Undergrowth? What about wildlife? Anything we should be concerned about?" He looks to the others trying to convey that they should also be getting all information from the camp as they can.
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[dice=Sense Motive]1d20+5
Harter is glad the bandits are reasonable and agrees with the others when they discuss how to handle them.
Back to the bandits, he asks them "What about traps around the Thorn River camp? How do we avoid them? Also, how is the terrain, swamp? Undergrowth? What about wildlife? Anything we should be concerned about?" He looks to the others trying to convey that they should also be getting all information from the camp as they can.
The oldest bandit looks a bit perplexed.
"I dunno, it's a bunch of trees next to the river. There's a ford there we use to cross. The huntin's good too, deer, rabbit, even pigs once in a while.""We don't really use traps around camp, too likely to hurt one of our own."
”I believe we’ve gotten as much as we’re going to, about the camp.” Elenaril, says, assessing the bandit’s response. ”We should head out as soon as possible and take advantage of them not yet expecting their companions to return. The mist may be to our advantage if it lasts.”
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Harter thanks the bandit and says "One more question. Are there hidden lookouts in the camp? In the bushes, in the river, in the trees?"
After he gets his final answer, he turns to Elenaril and says "I agree, we should move out." Once they are outside the makeshift prison, he says "We should also keep our end of the bargain. We promised them conditional freedom if they cooperated, and they have."
He releases the bandits and says to the oldest, wisest one "I am putting you responsible for this lot. If you or any of them are found to be involved in banditry in the future, I will hold you accountable as well as them. I recommend you travel together for safety, and that you live an honest life from now on."
The paladin goes to the stables and looks at the horse he was given to start this expedition and says "Intrepid, my friend, you will have to stay behind now. I still need to train you for combat, and this isn't going to be pretty. I'll bring you a treat." He makes this promise to reassure himself that he'll be back.
"Very well, let's release them."
The bandits had been forthcoming, so letting them go was required. If they did not adhere to their promises, what made them any better than the bandits?
Sven frowned. ”The next people they murder will mean blood on our hands as well as theirs.” He glared at the bandits as they left. ”Foolish of us to give our word to release murderers, but we are bound by it. In the future we need to be more careful about that. I’ll be losing sleep thinking about what’ll happen when they meet someone weaker than them on the road. Their victims won’t be going to Pharasma with good words about us.”
Piret is puzzled by the sudden turnabout.
"I thought we had agreed to keep them confined here until we returned from dealing with the bandit camp?"
”What is done is done.” Sven said. ”Lets push on to the bandit encampment, lest we lose momentum.”
"We didn't promise them immediate freedom, and everyone was in agreement earlier on waiting until we're back. But whatever, I'll do my best to stop thinking ahead about future consequences. It seems there's no room for that sort of thing."
"The good news is, if they go back to banditizing, we'll see them again and get to do this all over again!"
Piret could pull her hair out in frustration.
"That was the whole point of waiting to let them go. We don't want to do this all over again for both our sakes and theirs. If we eliminate the camp first, we deprive them of the easiest way for them to fall back into banditry. They don't know where the Stag Lord's fort is so they can't decide to go there instead."
"We also insure they don't arrive in the camp with a warning before we can get there. They know the way firsthand, we know it secondhand even if we have perfectly correct and understood directions from them, which we can't be positive we have. They can almost certainly get there first if that is their intent."
"For no sensible reason at all, we're just deciding to add potential for this to be riskier and harder."
"She's right. Even with the mist, and setting them loose without weapons, they stand a solid chance of getting to the camp before we do. We've seen firsthand the difference one group being prepared and the other unaware can have." Elenaril adds in support.
"My only concern with leaving them captive here while we head to the camp, is that it puts the onus of holding them, and the danger of doing so, on Oleg and Svetlana. Which is a lot to ask."
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Harter sighs as he realizes the size of the mess. He says "Your wisdom is sound, noble cartographer. However, if they do return to the camp, there's an upside. It will mean they didn't make a victim of an innocent family somewhere, and we'll be able to take care of them."
He adjusts his belt and says "This is all the more reason to set out immediately."
Elenaril shares a look with both Piret and Sven. Despite his flowery compliments, it was clear that Harter’s interpretation of his word, and his decisions were what mattered to the paladin. Time would tell if the decision was worthwhile, or folly, and prove who was a suitable leader among them.
For now, waiting any longer would only decrease their chances of success. ”We might as well get on with this then. The sooner this is deal;t with, the better for everyone.” she says, checking her gear and gathering up her staff.
Piret isn't satisfied.
"First Harter, your upside only occurs if they do go back to the bandit camp. That's what we are supposedly expecting them not to do, the basis of our agreement with them regarding their freedom. It's strange you would twist the rational for their freedom in the first place to be the actual danger we want to avoid. In short you're rooting for them to cheat."
"I think it's unlikely they will cheat unless they have an easy way to rearm themselves at the bandit camp, find leadership at the bandit camp, and increase their numbers at the bandit camp."
"Second, this is testable. We can ask the Levetons whether there are actually any innocent families anywhere in the area aside from themselves or not. If there are not, the only innocent family in danger has them chained up until we come back. Much safer for them I would think."
"Third, keeping them here until we're back is safer for the Levetons than releasing them now if we really believe they pose some immediate threat to everyone in the vicinity on their own. They don't even have to hike anywhere to menace the only innocent family we know of in the region. What better solution could there be than to keep them restrained here until we are back."
"But as I said before, we have apparently moved past the point where making sense matters at all. We have set ourselves on a certain course and we will follow it, wisdom be damned, because it somehow slows us down not to, which isn't true. How does not doing a thing like freeing them cost us more time than freeing them?"
"Also, why is everyone now moaning to me about losing time getting started? I was the very first person to bring up needing to hurry yesterday, which everyone grumbled back at me about."
"So let's get them unlocked and hurry on our way because thinking about the pros and cons of alternatives is hard. As I said I will remember not to suggest any in the future to save everyone from suffering."
By now Piret's face is red and she's about as animated as anyone has ever seen her. She snatches up her gear and immediately turns to walk out of the fort, only stopping when when she's a good 50 yards or a bit more outside. There she stops and waits impatiently for the rest of the party to free the prisoners and catch up.
Piret seems to be a master of passive-aggressive exits. For her part, Piret is really beginning to wish she had been sorted into the other group. She liked Pyros; she could talk to him. She wonders if he's started reading the book she gave him yet. She kind of misses him actually.
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Harter squints his eyes at the investigator and his posture clearly shifts. His positive attitude can only go so far. He replies to her "There's no need to be on the defensive here. Everyone here has agreed with you that haste is needed. We only waited for a new day so we could interrogate the former bandits, which has already proven to have been a good decision."
He takes a small step towards her, not aggressively, but certainly showing that he is present for the discussion. He says "I've already deferred that your insight on what we should have done is wise. I'm not rooting for them to cheat, forgive me if I try to see a positive in any outcome. Our actions were already taken, now the only way is forwards."
Feeling that his every action and thought is scrutinized, he relaxes and says "Now, unless you are able to provide any good reason for why we should stay here and discuss actions already taken, I suggest you... we... set out to the road. We're not trying to defeat the Stag Lord in a bickering contest." He verifies that all are ready for the road and sets out, not checking if anyone is following.
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Piret doesn't hang around to engage further with Harter, grabbing her stuff and walking out of the fort while he's still talking.
"We've left Meredith behind to guard the rear. We could always ask her to patrol the road that they left on as well. If she comes across anything, she can follow up." Sven said, as he prepared to leave. "But aye. What is done is done, and there isn't any use crying over spilled blood. Or however the saying goes. Whatever. This is a learning experience, so let's treat it as one."
"Look, we don't have a gaol here. We could dig a hole, throw them in it, and feed them gruel, but leaving a bunch of bandits here while it's just Oleg and his wife is rife with problems. Maybe they get out. Maybe other bandits show up and help them out. This is not an easy problem," suggests Ivo.
"If you want, I can stay here and keep an eye on them while you all hit the bandit camp. It's not like my tiny arrows are going to turn the tide of battle."
"We don't know the hearts of these people. Are they bandits because of desperation, or because of malice? Are they just in need of a chance to turn things around and have a productive trade, or are they going to fall back into patterns of making bad decisions? I dunno about the rest of you, but I can't read their minds or see their futures. And we lack the resources that even a town would have to try to enforce some kind of order on them."
"To me the biggest worry is, are they going to hurt someone else? I don't want to be responsible if they run off and kill someone. But the only way to keep an eye on them is to literally staff someone to stand watch over them the whole time, and right now, that means one of us."
"Pragmatically, this is a difficult problem with a challenging moral dimension. Nobody wants to let them just say 'yeah sure I promise to turn over a new leaf' and then immediately go back to banditry. Nobody wants to execute people who were just driven to this because of desperation. There is not a simple answer with the resources we have."
"Go deal with the bandit camp. You shouldn't be gone more than a couple days. I'll stay here and play jailer. When you get back we can revisit the problem. We don't have to make a long-term, permanent solution for it right now. And these people surrendered while they were in combat as bandits—they have no complaints coming if we change our minds. Doesn't matter if you told them we are going to release them. Maybe we changed our mind. Too bad. They were stopped while committing criminal violence, so they don't get a lot of leeway to complain. If they are committed to turning over a new leaf, they need to be ready to go along with the consequences. Maybe things get better later. Or maybe they face blade or rope, as the Charter says for bandits. We don't have to decide immediately."
"I think Meredith has keeping an eye on them well in hand." Elenaril says to Ivo as she moves to join the others out of the gate. "Though your every point is valid, much for everyone to consider while on the road."
"When we promise freedom in exchange for information, we must honor that promise, Ivo. You cannot build a house on a foundation of sand, and you cannot build a system of justice out of broken promises. If we are to build a barony or a kingdom or such here in this land, letting people know that justice will be fair and that promises will be upheld will provide greater stability and make those who settle here feel more welcomed. These men have cooperated and given us the information we asked. We will give them their freedom, and if we again find they have turned to banditry, they shall be executed for doing so. However, Piret is right - our original plan was to hold them until after we dealt with the Thorn River camp. Let Meredith stay here to guard them, and once we return, we shall grant them their freedom. If we do not return...then Meredith may make whatever decision she wishes."
"Correction: You can do what you want, and I can do what I want," says Ivo.
"Get goin'."
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Harter spends the first half of the way thinking about the exchange and its implications. However he eventually says "Hey, how are we going to approach this? We could approach to parlay and offer any of them the chance to give up their ways and help us in our fight. Because if not, we have to go in waving our weapons and attacking anyone in sight." His lack of imagination shows.
"Ambush." Sven offered. "Roll up to them, I can pose as a merchant. Should be easy enough. Get them to come out. When they pursue, we hit them from hiding. Could likely thin out their numbers that way."
"Let's find out how many we're dealing with, first, and their positions. If we hear them complaining about working for the Stag Lord, maybe we can try the parlay. I'm not particularly good at stalking through the woods, but could one or two people who are quietly move a little closer? I can maybe find a position to cover you from further away, if needed."
"Yeah, a stealth approach is possible. They are probably going to have sentries and maybe a couple of snares or alarms along the main approach."
As they consider the best manner of approach, Elenaril casts a spell in preparation, once again awakening primal might in a trio of sling stones before chiming in to the conversation.
"Scouting would definitely be the best first step. As Ivo points out, a single set snare pretty easily take away any advantage we have."