The bandit on top of the platform throws down his weapons and puts up his hands, though he stays ensconced in his tree, terrified of the snarling, kicking horse below.

Meanwhile, the two bandits who escaped last from the entangle have not thrown down their weapons, and the one at the recieving end of Saviae's thrust snarls and hits back while his companion (the target of Oghul's sling) moves to assist.

Both attacks land against the elf.

OOC:
The bandit on the platform surrenders.
The two bandits to the north concentrate on Saviae, one hitting AC 19 for 3 damage, and one hitting AC 14 for 6 damage.
Updated Battle Map

10:09, Today: DM, for the NPC bandit 1, rolled 6 using 1d6+1.  shortsword damage.
10:09, Today: DM, for the NPC bandit 1, rolled 14 using 1d20+2.  shortsword attack.
10:08, Today: DM, for the NPC bandit 2, rolled 3 using 1d6+1.  shortsword damage.
10:08, Today: DM, for the NPC Bandit 2, rolled 19 using 1d20+2.  Shortsword attack.

Still over-extended by her reckless thrust, Saviǣ is nearly helpless as the two bandits return with their own blades and each land telling blows. She shrinks back from the fight, releasing her grip on her rapier as she grasps at the wounds, and soon falls unconscious to the ground.

 Just a note, I had Oghul spend a move action to follow Saviæ in the previous round, in anticipation of my next action:

---

 Oghul sees Saviæ dropping under the attacks of the brigands.

 She rushes forwards to catch up with her, quickly casting a spell as she kneels down. She restore some health in the wounded elf.

 She shouts behind: "Little help here!"

---

move + cast cure light wounds

 Oghul Qaimish rolled 9 using 1d8+1.  cure light wounds (reroll 1?)
 Oghul Qaimish rolled 2 using 1d8+1.  cure light wounds.

"On it!" Aeron called as he rode north to engage the still-hostile bandits before they hurt his allies any further.  He struck out with his lance, as Mick bit with far greater skill and ferocity.


22:22, Today: Aeron rolled 15,6 using 1d20+7,1d8+4.  Aeron's attack.
22:22, Today: Aeron rolled 24,8 using 1d20+6,1d4+5.  Mick's attack.

Thurak dashes over to Saviæ's side, cursing his armor and it's slowness. As he approaches, he shouts a word of magic command to another of the bandits. "Get down and stay that way. Now Fall! He says, lacing the last word with magical intent.


Move Action: Move 20 feet closer to Saviae and bandits
Standard Action: Cast command: Fall on one of the bandits (if they're still alive after Aeron + Mick) Will save (DC 15) or fall prone and stay that way for one round
Bless Duration: 7 rounds
Spells Used:
1st level: 3/4

Aeron and Mick's combined attacks kills the two remaining hostile bandits, leaving only the one who has surrendered on the forest platform.

With the enemy fallen, Thurak, instead of wasting his magic on the foe instead hurries over to Saviæ, bending down to infuse her with the healing power of positive energy.

Instead of casting command, instead cast cure light wounds on Saviae.
16:12, Today: Thurak rolled 4 using 1d8+1.  CLW.
Spells Used:
1st level: 3/4

Saviǣ takes a sudden, deep breath as the healing spell pulls her back into consciousness. She instinctively looks down at her wounds as they are still stitching themselves closed and takes a moment deal with the shock of it all. She blinks and sighs in relief as she looks to Thurak to thank and ask him, "Glad you're here! Did we win?"
HP: 3/9
This message was last edited by the player at 19:41, Sat 06 Mar 2021.

Oghul gets back up and considers the situation. The enemies have fallen, save for the one still perched on the platform. Temudjin is circling nervously around the tree, thumping the ground with his hooves regularly.
 “Yes, we won,” she replies to Saviæ. “We have one prisoner to take.”
She points to the platform.

The druidess slowly walks over to the centre of the encampment, eyes on the ground as well as in the air, paying attention to anything and everything, special or mundane.

---

Take 20 on a perception check for 34

Aeron dismounted from Mick and began going over the bodies of the fallen and whatever other resources they located.  He divided the goods into four groups and asked the others if they agreed with his assessment:

1) Anything that could identifiably be returned to its original owner once the current situation was fully dealt with.
2) Any other currency to divvy up between those risking their lives here and now to end the bandit threat.
3) Supplies that could be used by the group.
4) Trade goods to sell on the cheap to Oleg improve his situation without it looking like charity, including any supplies deemed unhelpful to the group.

Looking through the bandits' belongings finds a plethora of gear.

Their leader, Kressle, had a Potion of Cure Light wounds, studded leather armor, 2 masterwork handaxes, 4 daggers and 85 gp.

Each bandit had leather armor, a longbow, short sword, trail rations, 10gp, and a quiver with  15 arrows.

In addition to mundane supplies like food, firewood and tents in the center of the camp, the bandits' spoils include 321 sp, 90 gp, a pair of silver earrings worth 150gp, a wooden music box worth 90gp, three crates of furs and hides marked with Oleg's symbol, and a polished wooden case of potent herbal liquor, there are still 8 bottles with liquor left inside.

Saviǣ gingerly picks herself up from the ground and surveys the two bandits so easily dispatched by their knight, muttering to herself, "How embarrassing..." as she retrieves and cleans her dropped rapier. As the looting commences she does her wizardly duty of ferreting out any magic items with a Detect Magic, and asks the others, "What do we do about the man in the tree? And the fallen ... do we make sure they're finished? Try to save who we can? Leave them to the wilderness and fate?"

 “The survivor can dig graves for his fallen companions. It would not be right to leave them to rot out here,” Oghul said, answering two questions with one answer.

“I agree with your view on spoils. If personal items are found, we should leave them with Oleg until a rightful owner can be identified. Coin should go towards our expenses as representatives of the Law here.”

“I can load a good amount of gear on Temudjin, once he calms down.”

She set out to do just that, before the young foal tried to uproot the platform. Once she had regained control over her horse companion, the sentinel could come down and start working on those graves. She hoped he had a shovel somewhere, otherwise it would be a pain of a job.

"First, he will tell us what he knows. You! Are there any other bandits who weren't here in this camp? Do you have any other bases or haunts. Speak honestly, for lies will be held against you when you face the law, while honesty may earn you some measure of mercy." Thurak calls out.

Turning to the others, he speaks more quietly, so that the bandit would not hear the details. As far as I'm concerned, we should treat him the same as we treated the bandits we captured at Oleg's. A quick death is mercy enough for scum like these.

Looking over the loot, he considers. "I agree with the others. The earrings and music box are distinguishable enough that perhaps someone can recognize them. The goods marked for Oleg are obviously his, and the healing potion and liquor we should show to Bokken to make sure they are not his. I for one would prefer not to drink either until I am convinced they do not include the "surprisingly effective laxatives" the man mentioned." Thurak said, a rare grin surfacing on his usually dour countenance.

"Speak up if you want to live!" Saviǣ calls up to the cowering bandit.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:34, Mon 22 Mar 2021.

The surrounded bandit raises his head.

"Uh, no, that's not all of us here.  But this is this is our camp.  There's gorups that come and go, but we all meet up here and store the captured loot before we take it down to the Stag Lord.  There's maybe a half-dozen more.  Look, I just got into this because I didn't have any better options, but I'm not loyal to the Stag Lord or anyone else."

Once the bandit starts talking, it seems like he can't stop.
"Tell the truth, he's a bloody drunk.  A lot of this loot is just liquor that he demands.  Always more of that.  But drunk or not, he's a deadeye with a bow, and strong as an ox.  I saw him crush a prisoner's head to mush with one hand!  And never takes that creepy stag helmet off either.  When they've had a little too much, some of the other men claim he's got no face at all under that thing.  But I think they're wrong.  I think that is his face!"

The man shudders again.  "Look, you've got no reason to trust me, and I know I'm a dirty bandit.  But the Stag Lord doesn't care about us.  He just cares about his liquor.  Kressle, too.  Something wrong with that woman, and she just cared about getting fun by inflicting pain, and the Stag Lord let her do that.  But there's too many to keep track of, truth be told.  None of them will care squat about what happens to me, so why should I care about them?  We've got a passphrase we use when we report in - it changes every couple months, but the most recent one is 'By the bloody bones of St. Gilmorg, who wants to know?'  Just head down to the fort on the northeast shores of the Tuskwater, and when they challenge you, shout that out.  But don't head down there unless you've got a death wish, because the Stag Lord won't let you leave alive."

The bandit looks down hopefully from his perch.

« This is all interesting information you are volunteering... what is your name, brigand? And what would you have us do with you? Think before you speak, and remember we come bearing the authority of the sword lords... »

Evidently there was no promise there, but Oghul wanted to believe that there was an other path possible beyond extermination of any who had ever walked with the bandits... redemption was not the easy route, but perhaps a more rewarding one for those who have been tasked with bringing justice to these lands.

Aside from the ongoing conversation, the druidess will go around the camp and collect supplies, weapons, and valuables for sorting.

Saviǣ considers what the man has said for a few moments before calling back up, "And when are these other half dozen due back?" She looks to the others of the party and suggests, more quietly, "We could wait in ambush to finish off this camp ... but it sounds like eliminating them all may not be a task we're up to yet. And staying here too long would make us vulnerable."

"You didn't have better options? There are always better options than murder and mayhem. I've seen plenty like you. To a one, they've rejected honest hard work in favor of seeking a life of ease on the backs of their moral betters. Fah." Thurak says, his lip curling in disgust.

"We were hired to rid the area of scum, and I can't imagine the other groups from this camp are any tougher than the ones we've already taken out. I say we stay here, lay an ambush as they return and take them out. I'm more concerned about this stag lord. If he's as a tough as that one said, we'll need a more careful plan. But first things first. Let's finish eliminating this camp, then return to collect the bounty we've had so far. The gold will let us be better equipped for taking on bigger game."

Thurak joins Oghul in looking around for anything useful the group can scavenge from the camp.

The bandit nods.  "Rulf.  As to what to do with me, well, I would prefer that I live, of course.  Won't make any trouble here.  I know I've done bad in the past, but you're obviously going to change things around here.  Maybe you could use some guards to help with that?  Some of my soon-to-be former comrades might thing about attacking Oleg's as revenge, and having a few swords at the fort might give them pause."

The bandit mulls what the group has say, offering his insight into the character of his comrades.  "There's no set schedule.  They're off doing what they will, which is part of what attracted many of them to the bandit lifestyle in the first place.  Less onerous than getting up at dawn to muck the pigs or what-not.  I think if they come back here and find the place deserted, they'll think twice about they have to do.  Maybe they'll go report to the Stag Lord, but most of 'em are more afraid of him than anything else.  A few of them might chance revenge against Oleg, but I think most of them will just sorta drift away, find easier pickings elsewhere."

Saviǣ leaves it to the others to decide what to do with this bandit and whether they would wait around for strays, instead busying herself with rounding up horses and loading them with the recovered goods.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:51, Tue 27 Apr 2021.

Oghul listened to the bandits, trying to read his soul through the words. She was not a very gifted judge of character, as far as she could remember, but she had a higher than average degree of optimism or faith in human nature.

 “Let’s assume for a moment that we do let you live, instead of hanging you for banditry. How would you guarantee your good behaviour at the trading post, and why should we trust you to wield weapons? Particularly when your former fellow bandits attack? What keeps you from turning on us in the heat of battle, when we have our backs to you?”

The druidess tried to empathise with the man, hopefully enticing him to do the same with them.
“You do understand our conundrum? It just would seem so much safer to kill you now.”

"You're information is valuable, and earns some measure of mercy. As for your generous offer, you will not be allowed weapons. You are a criminal and a thug. Perhaps you can be given a chance at restitution, but it will be by working with the sweat of your brow at the lowest of tasks. If we offered you the opportunity to work at the fort as a laborer, hauling goods and cleaning out muck, would you consider that beneath you?"
Thurak asks, his voice mocking. Meanwhile, he watches the man's eyes carefully, looking for signs of resentment, anger, or lies.

20:48, Today: Thurak rolled 16 using 1d20+5.  sense motive.

Rulf shrugs.  "Uh...you could give me one more chance, perhaps?  I'm not sure what I could say to convince you that I won't betray you.  You have a very low opinion of me to start with.  Hopefully throwing myself on your mercy proves the point."

Growing annoyed by the hand-wringing over the bandits they were contracted to rightfully punish, Saviǣ stands with a small huff and plants her hands on her hips as she lays out the options, as she sees them, "We can't just let him go to hurt more people. We could throw him on a gibbet, like we were sent here to do, and no one would question it. Corporal punishment is cheaper than imprisonment and is popular in the River Kingdoms--flog him until he's really repentant, take his thumbs or toes so he can't wield a weapon or march, or brand him to warn civilized society against him. Or there's weregild or indentured service--though we'd have to trust him not to escape or betray us." She looks up to the man's perch, adjusting her cavalier hat to shield her eyes from the sun, before shrugging and adding, "Or we just leave him up there and if he helps us ambush the ones we expect to return we leave it at that."