Chapter Nine

 A Den of Thieves

Day One

When the the party enters into the village, the Lord and Lady Thomas greet them, but soon begin their terrible lament:

“The bandits have been making small raids and stealing what they could. Then they came to “offer protection from thieves,” but they were the same people stealing from us! They extorted everything from us that we could afford. But just two days ago, the bandits took our daughter Scarlett.” They show the party a portrait of her. 

“The expectation is there will be a ransom request forth coming.”

The Lord can tell you that while the family is rather wealthy, most of their worth is in land and the bounty it can provide. And the bandits have certainly taken their toll. There are 20 families in town and they are all afraid of what can happen to them. The Sheriff, who should provide help, is under the leadership of Lady Stoatris and has done nothing to help, despite their pleas. All of the villagers know the bandits come from the north, but none are confident enough to pursue them.

The party sets out to investigate. 

They come upon a camp on the trail. As both groups see each other before the other could react, there is no surprise nor advantage to be had. (Through a grave error by the DM, the party knows the band is evil and needs to be fought.) The group of rogues appear ready for anything. A good battle was had, the party knowing their rolls well and their advantages and disadvantages of each member. The scout and two bandits fall quickly, before they can land a blow. The brute, thug and mage prove more challenging, but not by much. The mage dies by Diggles’ spear and hand, while Lemonbutter and Lothriel whittle away at the brute. Icky keeps the thug well occupied until the end of the battle when he is bloodied enough that he can be captured alive. 

The party demands to know about Scarlett, and the thug says that he believes that he may have seen her at a nearby village. This information contradicts the news and events as described by the Lord and Lady Thompson. Could Scarlett just be a runaway? The party decides to take the bandit back to the village to see if they can reconcile the story between all parties. 

On the way to the village, a small contingent of well appointed travelers approaches the party. 

The emissary, who happens to be the representative who first hired the party, rides forth and begins:

“Lady Stoatris Wyvernjack the Great enquires of your progress in procurring the Ember Heart. 

“What resources do you need to progress? What aid do you need?  Remember, Our Mistress desires your most expedient procurement and she is willing to met out whatever is needed for success. 

“She is ever eager for news of your progress.  Do you have progress toward her noble designs?” 

Keeping their current knowledge to themselves, they avoid the question. And Diggles enquires: “How did you find us?”

Emissary: “Do you not want to be found? Rest assured, we always take interest in our friends and those we employ. We watch and follow.  It may be wise to return more directly to your task. And take caution with whom you keep company.”

Day Two

The party takes the bandit to the village where all of the residents recognize him as one of the regular raiders. He of course denies everything, and maintains that he saw Scarlett at the Rockaway village (just a stone’s throw (thank you Brenda) to the north. The party continues to ask questions, however and the bandit’s story begins to unravel.

The party leaves the bandit with the villagers and they decide to head north. About a third of the way to Rockaway, Icky and Lothriel both notice a small trail off the main path.  It’s faint, but it clearly leads through a rather open forest.  After some good distance, they come upon a walled and fairly well defended fort. It looks like the start of a village. Most of the dwellings inside are 1-2 person tents, with a few larger tents and one permanent dwelling. There is a corral for horses and the start of a farm plot. This is a growing community. Scarlett is tied to a post in the middle of the fortress. Presumably, they’ve taken Scarlett for ransom, to afford what they cannot steal. 

The fortress is walled by wood and stone with gates to the north and south. The party cannot see how many Rogues there are, but there is a scout on each platform and a few more bandits visible milling around or tending to chores. The archers have short bows and those on the ground have short swords. 

With Hammer Pants and the Misty Step spell, Icky creates a diversion by opening the corral and spooking the horses. Using the Mustache of Disguise, Lemonbutter makes his way toward Scarlett. One of the archers is able to get a shot off at Icky, but narrowly misses. Most of the bandits fall for the distraction and pursue the horses, but the bandit captain turns toward Lemonbutter and the south gate. 

The skirmish ensues.

Day Three

Lothriel and Diggles tag team the two scouts to the south and eliminate them as threats. Lemonbutter reaches Scarlett and deftly chops through her ropes. Without so much as a word, he throws her over his shoulder and dashes out of the compound. Assessing that she will not be able to run back to the village by herself, Lemonbutter stands between her and the fray. Meanwhile, Icky runs to rejoin the rest of the party to the south but gets hit with arrows. She evades, however and drinks a couple of potions to recover. 

By this time, the entire compound is awash in activity with new ruffians coming out of the tents. A few more bandits fall and the enemies are flowing outside their own gates. The horses set loose by Icky, have slowed after their sudden start and a few of the near-by bandits have mounts and are starting to ride. 

The mage who had been standing at the handsome man’s side exchanged fire with the party but when hit has suddenly and frighteningly disappeared. 

Day Four

The party fights strategically and whittles away at the fortress. They pick off one bandit, after another. Then they direct their energy on the Bandit Captain, but when the Mage reappears, Scarlett runs back into the fortress walls. The party clears more defenders in pursuit of Scarlett, while Diggles focuses solely on the mage, killing him with a series of decisive blows. 

Lothriel and Diggles expend whatever they can, and the The Handsome Man falls, lifeless.  Cut off the head and the snake will die. The remaining combatants, when realizing their leader can fight no more, flee the battle. They party, not needing to expend more resources nor effort, let them run. (Except for Scout #2. Lothriel kills him with an arrow from her longbow. He had it coming.)

In looting the fallen bandits and the permanent building, the party recovers coins and gems totaling 4800 gp as well as a number of named items with a few more to be researched further. 

Using their collective arcane knowledge, the party recognizes: 

an Animated Shield

a Bag of Holding

a Robe of Eyes

a Cap of Teleportation 

the Instant Fortress 

as well as 5 throwing stars (+3)

The Bandit Captain carried the Redundant Short Sword of Wounding, and a dagger, the hilt of which is carved in the shape of a raven and the blade is black with an iridescent sheen.