Seeing Rudo begin to walk away with one of the bandits, Sildar turns to the assembled townsfolk for help with the other one. An older but fit-looking half-elf with silver hair immediately steps forward, giving a brief nod of acknowledgement before getting to work. Together he and Sildar hoist the bandit's body to their shoulders and follow after Rudo. The bandit seems to be just beginning to stir from Steamknuckle's sleep spell as they walk away.

Sildar looks over at Zhaquadan as he passes. "Are you coming, my friend?"

"If you think you can handle this one when he wakes and if you don't mind I would like to stay with Willow.  You were both injured pretty badly but she is not as rugged as yourself.  We will not waste much time getting to you."

Sildar nods. "Very well. Meet us soon at the town hall. And stay alert. Gods know how many more of them may be lurking about."

He and his half-elf assistant turn to move on, carrying the bound bandit between them. Soon they disappear around the corner of the house toward the town hall.

Zhaquadan and Steamknuckle turn to walk toward the open door of the inn. The small crowd standing there, more or less silent until now, erupts into a relieved sigh of murmured conversation as the two adventurers approach.

The onlookers part to allow the heroes to pass, just as they did for Willow. This time, though, eager hands usher the companions into the inn with congratulatory shoulder pats, accompanied by sincere words of praise, thanks, and one or two promises of complimentary drinks later at the bar.

Soon the two are standing alone at the top of the stairs while the patrons below return to their stools to chatter excitedly about what just happened. Willow's room, the one marked with a green square, stands just off to the left. The door stands slightly open so Zhaquadan and Steamknuckle politely let themselves in. They enter to find Willow bent over the chest, rummaging through it.
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:28, Fri 23 June 2017.

"Here they are." Willow closes the chest and turns to hand the two thick brown-colored potions to Steamknuckle. Her hand immediately moves back to her wounded side, and her face is still pinched with pain.

Steamknuckle begins to say something, but the look on Willow's face stops him. Instead he turns to Zhaquadan.

"Those Redbrands...they were waiting for us. Expecting us. How did they know we were here? Do you think Halia Thornton somehow got word to them without Stumpy seeing? Or perhaps someone from the inn?"

He shakes his head. "Something strange is going on here. Who's working for whom? Thornton, Glasstaff, the Black Spider, the goblins, the Redbrands. Are they all working together, or is it just a coincidence? And who has Albrek? Is he dead?"

Steamknuckle puts his palm to his forehead. "I may need to go downstairs and take them up on that drink."

"I don't know but I don't think we can trust anyone.  I'm eager to see what these potions are but we should get back to Sildar and Rudo as soon as we can."

Steamknuckle sighs. "You're right. I'm just so weary."

He drops the small vials into his belt pouch and turns to leave. Zhaquadan and Willow follow.

At the bottom of the stairs Willow says, "Just a moment, if you don't mind. I need to go back to the stable to get my dog. I've had about enough of being apart from him. This town can be damned if they don't like him at my side."

She heads out the door with Zhaquadan and Steamknuckle following. Outside she bends to the left around the corner of the building, down the grassy alley and toward the modest stable on the far side of the yard behind the inn. Despite her wounds, her pace quickens the closer she gets to the stable door.

As the group approaches, Burgess bursts into a desperate rumble of barks and whines behind his stall door. His claws scratch urgently at the wood. Willow walks up and pulls the latch, releasing the dog from his confinement. Burgess leaps out, yelping and licking her frantically, almost knocking her down.

"Good boy," she whispers. "I'm fine. I'm fine. No, no...I won't do that to you again."

In a moment Burgess is saddled and ready to go, with Willow mounted up and leading the way back toward the Lionshield Coster. As the group rounds the corner of the inn once again, they come across rugged townsfolk hard at work carrying rough-hewn logs and timbers toward the town square to begin construction on the gibbet commanded by Sildar. The corpses of the two slain bandits can be seen haphazardly dumped in the dirt in the middle of the square.

As the group passes into the square itself, they see Stumpy driving the now-empty wagon back toward them and the inn. He brings the oxen to a halt as he approaches.

"Heard a commotion up here. There a fight?"

"Indeed there was," Steamknuckle chuckles. "You just missed it."

Stumpy frowns. "Sorry to hear that. I'll be at the inn if you need me." He snaps the reins and rumbles forward, past the party.

The three adventurers continue on to the Lionshield Coster. They enter to find Linene Graywind seated in her chair behind the counter.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:59, Sat 24 June 2017.

"What's happened?" Linene asks excitedly. "I just saw your friends and Daran Edermath carrying some roped Redbrands into the town hall, and now they're dragging bodies into the square. So the fight's begun?"

"Indeed it has. We're off soon to hit them where they live. Hopefully before the day is done, this town will have seen its last Redbrand."

Steamknuckle pulls the potions out of his pouch. "Now, about that pearl..." He smiles.

"Of course, of course. Wait here a moment." Linene turns and leaves the room through the door behind the counter. A minute later she returns, clutching a small velvet pouch. She opens the pouch and sifts through it with her fingers to produce a single small lustrous pearl.

She hands it to Steamknuckle. "Now, normally I wouldn't part with a fine pearl like this for anything less than a hundred gold. But I'll tell you what. Not only can you borrow it now to work your magic, but if you manage to clear out those Redbrands, then come back here and it's yours. A gift, from me to you."

Steamknuckles gapes in surprise. "Really...excuse me. I'm at a loss." He accepts the pearl with a smile, caressing it gingerly. "Hopefully we can live long enough to avail ourselves of your generosity."

He turns to his companions. "Please bear with me. I know time is of the essence, but in order to conserve my magical energies, it will take me several minutes to cast this spell."

As the others look on, Steamknuckle settles to his knees in a quiet corner of the storefront room. He sets the potions on the floor in front of him, then pulls the small pewter rod from his belt and begins to weave its tip through the air in mysterious patterns, his other hand cradling the pearl with the tips of his fingers. Gradually his voice rises from a whisper to a soft murmur as he speaks the strange words of an incantation. Peas the owl chirps softly on his shoulder, then settles into silence along with the rest of the room.

After about ten minutes, Steamknuckle suddenly falls silent. He stares at the potions on the floor as the charged mystical atmosphere of the room fades. "They're healing potions. Goblin brewed. Enchanted with wolf's blood, and other things I wouldn't care to know about." He looks up at Willow and Zhaquadan. "They'll certainly be useful to take into that cave."

Steamknuckle stands and hands the pearl back to Linene.

OOC: Both potions are standard potions of healing, as described on PHB p.153. Each potion, when drank, will heal the drinker for a total of 2d4 + 2 hit points of damage.

"Excellent.  Now to recoup with the others before the next sortie."

"Agreed. Let's get going."

The party thanks Linene and exits. Moments later they walk through the unlocked front door of the town hall. The building's entrance corridor appears empty and silent, but the door opposite the entrance, marked "Hall of Justice," stands slightly open. From the room beyond comes the muffled sound of voices, punctuated by occasional grunts and whimpers.

The three companions cross over and enter the hall. Light streams in from tall windows, illuminating rows of benches arranged before a short dais with a high-backed chair and table. A closed door stands behind the dais, with a log railing flanking a flight of stairs descending to the right. The room is otherwise empty. Motes of dust float peacefully in the streams of late morning sunlight.

A choked sob comes drifting up the stairs from the cellar below. Willow hurries toward the sound, followed closely by Burgess and the others. They descend to a cool cellar with torches burning in sconces on the stone walls. Three thick timber columns run down the center of the room, with two wide iron-barred jail cells set dankly into the wall opposite the stairs. A desk and chair sit against the near wall, with the brass clasps of a sturdy wooden chest gleaming out from beneath the desk in the torchlight.

The door to the cell nearest the party stands wide open. Slumped in the far corner of the cell is the unconscious body of the bandit knocked out by Sildar's mace. The other bandit, now fully awake, kneels on the floor near the open door, still bound hand and foot by the rope. Blood dribbles from his mouth as he coughs. Rudo stands above him, smiling barbarically as he massages blood from his knuckles.

The party rounds the first timber column to find both Sildar and the half-elf just outside the cell door, watching with arms folded and grim looks on their faces. They turn to acknowledge the remaining party members as they approach.

Sildar nods at the group. "Welcome back. Were you able to gather the information you needed about those potions?"

"Yes. They're standard healing potions. Goblin brewed. Probably taste like piss, but they'll close up your wounds the same as any city-brewed sweet liquor potion."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:53, Mon 26 June 2017.

Sildar nods before turning back toward the jail cell. His face is stern and stoic. "With some persuasion, this one has agreed to share some of the details of his group's operation under Tresendar Manor.

"Let's see. What did you tell us? Yes. The wizard, Glasstaff, is their leader. They call him that because he wields a magic staff made of glass. Nobody knows his true name, but you can't expect a common bandit to care about things like that. He's a wizard, so he rules their superstitious rabble by fear.

"Most importantly, this one politely confided in us that Glasstaff's private quarters are on the western end of their hideout in the cellars beneath the manor. I, for one, sincerely hope he's telling the truth about that. Things won't go well for him if we find that to be a lie."

Sildar glares at the bandit, who kneels in cowed silence, staring at the pool of blood beneath him. "What else? Yes, the bandits have some strange help. The kenku mentioned by our friends, to be sure, but also what he calls a strange 'eye monster' guarding the lower part of the cellar. Not sure what he means by that, but be very careful. Might be best to just steer clear of that one.

"Then they've got a goblin and some bugbears helping them. Sounds like those might have been the 'big hairy bandits' young Carp mentioned seeing. But this is where things get interesting." Sildar looks at the bandit again. "Go on. Tell them who sent the bugbears to you."

The bandit ignores Sildar, remaining perfectly motionless. A drop of blood falls from his battered mouth to splash into the red puddle at his knees. Then Rudo leans down, grasping the captive's hair to jerk his head roughly backward. He looks up at the party with wild eyes. "Okay, okay!" he shouts. Rudo releases his hair.

"It was...it was the Black Spider." The bandit looks utterly terrified to be speaking such things aloud.

The party gapes in surprise.

"We don't know him. Only Glasstaff even knows what he looks like. All we know is his name. The...Black Spider." The bandit hangs his head once more.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:54, Mon 26 June 2017.