After the Ambush
Pyotr the Hunter and his tiger Ilya, Reppa the druid and her wolf Wulfgar, Ambiorix the archaeologist, and Stormbolt the taninim trueblood sorceror, defeated the bandits who came to rob Oleg’s Trading Post.
The bandits were defeated and lay bleeding. Piotr calmed the bandit leader’s horse. Reppa could not gain control of the other one, which panicked and ran into the wall. Piotr took two of the calm horses to the stables. Reppa caught up to the stunned horse, got hold of its reins, and calmed it.
Stormbolt kept watch from the parapet. Ambiorix healed the bandit leader to consciousness for interrogation. Oleg emerged from behind the gate, relieved that the bandits had been thrashed. Ambiorix had Oleg get the bandits’ rope and tied the bandit leader up.
Piotr and Reppa took the horses to the stable. Ambiorix examined the other bandits and determined that none of them were near death. He tied them up. They dragged them into the central courtyard and took all their gear. Piotr examined the bandit leader and determined that he was not just asleep. He healed him and the bandit leader awakened.
Interrogation
Stormbolt glided over and sat beside the bandit leader, whose name was Happs Bydon. Ambiorix left them to keep watch. Stormbolt convinced Bydon to cooperate. He demanded to know about the bandit’s surviving cohorts. Bydon told them their camp was a day’s travel south and west of the Trading Post on the Thorn River.
Bydon said that he and Kessle, the twin axe woman, were among a dozen bandits, but their group was just the northern outpost for the Stag Lord, who was the leader of the bandits in the Greenbelt. Kessle was their leader and she alone dealt with the Stag Lord. Bydon said that their camp was just a clearing near the river with some tents.
In the mean time, Oleg dropped the dead body from the parapet on the south wall. Stormbolt asked Bydon if he was ready to repent for his crimes. He said that he was, and Stormbolt believed him. Ambiorix asked him about the silver amulet they had recovered. Bydon said that they were given to anyone in the Stag Lord’s organization in a leadership position.
Bydon told them that the camp was poorly defended. One was always on a watch platform in the trees. Their tactic was to shoot anyone who approached that they did not recognize. They usual activities were to keep watch on the trade route.
Piotr untied Bydon so he could draw a map to the camp for them, while he and Ambiorix watched. Bydon attempted to run. Ilya leapt toward him as he passed. Stormbolt cast an Energy Missile, but missed. Ambiorix, Reppa, and Wulfgar ran after him. Wulfgar got ahead of him to intercept.
Bydon tried to run. Wulfgar And Ilya both mauled him and he went down. Ambiorix and Oleg hanged him from the parapet next to the other. Then they executed the other three.
The party kept the gear that they could use from the bandits and gave the rest to Oleg to recoup his losses. He offered whatever he had on hand, as well as free room and board whenever they wanted.
A Newcomer
While Svetlana was feeding the party breakfast, an armored man entered the trading post. Stormbolt, resting on the rooftop, announced his approach. The man produced a charter and announced himself as Froing the cleric.