The Bandit Camp
Pyotr the Hunter and his tiger Ilya, Reppa the druid and her wolf Wulfgar, Ambiorix the archaeologist, Stormbolt the taninim trueblood sorceror, and Froing the cleric evaded the archers (mostly) and cleared the bandit camp, including their axe-wielding leader.
All but one bandit were dead. Froing stabilized the living ones as well as Reppa, and the others bound the bandits to a tree. Searching the camp, Stormbolt discovered a tarp covering a pile of loot. They also looted the bandits. But they did not find the wedding ring. Stormbolt detected magic on the potion the leader had had and it was determined to be Cure Light Wounds.
Froing channelled energy to heal the party and the prisoners. The axe woman regained consciousness. Froing engaged her in conversation. Stormbolt sniffed the back of her head to intimidate her. She chose to cooperate and said that she only reported to the Stag Lord infrequently.
Pyotr asked where the Stag Lord could be found. She said that he was probably at his fortress where the Thorin meets the Tuskwater Lake. He asked where the ring she took from Svetlana was. She said that it was stolen by the mites. Reppa knew that the mites were small fey that required cold iron to injure. They had stolen two bags of loot the previous day and probably took it back to their lair under the sycamore tree.
Froing asked what she did before becoming a bandit. She said that she had always been a bandit (aka unrepentant). Her parents had been killed by bandits. She took to it herself, was recruited by the Stag Lord, and rose to lead that small band.
She said that the green bottles contained booze for the Stag Lord, who apparently was in decline. However, he was still a dead shot and very strong. But he was too powerful for her to consider overthrowing. There probably 6-10 in his fortress, as well as other creatures and defenses.
Froing isolated the other bandits and healed them to consciousness. Reppa and Wulfgar intimidated them. Froing interrogated them and determined that they knew nothing consequential. Reppa got the password to the Stag Lord’s fortress and learned that there were zombies and an owlbear there. That was more than the party was capable of handling at this time.
Having learned what they could, and based on Froing’s assessment of their natures, the three were hung from the platforms as bandits.
Having learned that the mites were in possession of the ring, they sought out The Old Sycamore Tree. The searched the near area for a prominent tree, but Reppa determined that the nearby ones were pines and oaks.
Ambiorix remembered Svetlana mentioning that Bokken the Hermit knew where The Old Sycamore Tree that the mites were found was. By that time, it was getting dark, so they buried the bandits and made use of the campsite.
Midnight Intruder
During the second watch, Pyotr noted movement in the distance that was larger than a woodland creature. Ilya awakened Wulfgar. Pyotr lost track of it, but Ambiorix saw it beyond the edge of the clearing.