Oghul was glad the road to Oleg's Trading Post had been uneventful. Her keen eyes kept a constant, alert, and vigilant watch over the road as they made their way south.

 Around the firecamp, she proved to be a pleasant conversation companion, if sometimes a bit taciturn and reserved. She enjoyed listening to Saviæ and her extravagant stories, although she had little to contribute herself. Every now and then she would describe an event of her life as a weaver in the nomadic tribe, but both content and delivery lacked excitement— she oft reverted back to listening.

 Her horse was a very light mount, quite short but surprisingly fast. He was a reflexion of his mistress, pleasant but reserved, not too willing to socialise with the other mounts.

Oghul quickly proved to be a skilled hunter, despite not carrying any obvious weapons for the trade. She’d leave the others for less  than an hour when they settle for the night, and came back with a bounty of either partridges, rabbits, eggs, berries, mushrooms, wild radishes, onions or chards... with every such trip she seemed to come back with just the right amount to make a decent meal for the four of them.

As they reached sight of their destination, the Druid doubled her vigilance and looked for the signs of recent troubles. She left the talking to others who may be better at first impressions.

---

Perception 26, Sense Motive 15

Thurak had completed the travel with rigid discipline. Every night he had completed a full circuit of the camp, looking for any signs of something awry, and then set up his simple bedroll, taken off his armor and slept. Every morning, he had awoken early and performed his devotions to the gods of order, before donning his armor and preparing for the day's travels. He was affable enough, chatting with the others, listening to Saviæ's stories, and asking questions of the others, trying to understand who they were and why they had become who they were.

Thank you for the welcome! We are glad to be here, and hope we can be of some assistance


11:18, Today: Thurak rolled 13,25 using 1d20+5,1d20+5.  perception, sense motive.

Svetlana stood watching the group, and motions to the stables (A3) for Aeron.  "You can stable your horse there.  I'm sure Claptrap would love the company.  We don't see many trappers coming around anymore, now that word about the bandits got out."

Svetlana rubs her fingers together, then motions to the main building.  (A6, A7). You can join us inside if you're hungry.  I've just made some fresh stew.  You can spend the night in the guest house, if you'd like." (A2)

She frowns at the mention of bandits, and Oleg grunts.  "Bought time they sent someone down!  I've been pestering them for weeks, and this is the first thing we've heard about help..."

Svetlana blushes.  "Well, yes.  But we're glad to see you.  Come, let's get your horse stabled and we can discuss our bandit problems over a meal."

OOC:
A map of Oleg's has been added as a Main Game Map.

Aeron walked his horse up to the stable and looked around as he went.  He whistled a low, respectful tone as he returned and commented to Oleg.  "A set up like this, and I could hold an army off with a dozen soldiers.  You've survived this long with no support here for how long?  Hat's off to you.  Sorry we're not enough to outright man the fort here for you, the Lord Mayor seemed not to want to actually risk any of his own swords to this and hired out instead.  It's cold, but I hope we can stick together through it and all live to the other side of the problem."  He concluded his commendation with commiseration... he wouldn't be a soldier if he didn't know how to complain properly.

"Master Oleg, Mistress Svetlana, we appreciate the welcome. I imagine you were hoping for a division of troops, not a small group of nobodies. I understand your frustration, but we'll do what we can to help. Could you tell us what the situation is that you've been asking for help? We haven't gotten any details beyond "bandits." Thurak says.


Turning on the charm:
14:44, Today: Thurak rolled 27 using 1d20+8.  diplomacy.

 Oghul had not expected to find such a fortified place. Tall walls, solid gate, even war machines... it looked like Oleg and Svetlana had been busy, or had received lots of help at some point. As they arrived though, it became obvious that the problem would be manpower rather than infrastructure.
 “Hello...” she simply said first to the lady, then to the master of the house.

 The half-elf’s deep brown near black eyes darted all over the place, never stopping on anything for too long. She was one to see everything, and say nothing. When she greeted Svetlana though, he shook her hands with warmth —maybe too much warmth to make it a comfortable social interaction. She rubbed the finger on her left hand with her thumb, and asked:
 “I see your ring is gone — was it precious to you? Did the bandits steal it?”

In her tribe, wedding vows were not exchanged with a pair of rings, but she was familiar with the custom. However she made no assumption on the matter.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:03, Mon 26 Oct 2020.

The elf follows Aeron to the stables, Ferris in tow, but pauses as the battlements catch her eye and she has to ask, wide-eyed, "You have catapults?! What kind of bandits are we dealing with, here?"

With the horse stables, Svetlana ushers you into the main hall, where the promised stew and fresh-baked is waiting.  Once a bowl is set out in front of everyone, Svetlana sits herself and explains.

"The first visit from the bandits was about three months ago.  They threatened to burn down the fort and take me for 'entertainment' if we didn't let them in.  That first visit, there were a dozen of them.  10 thugs who did little more than follow orders and make crude jokes under their breath and two leaders - a dangerous-looking woman who did most of the talking, and another hooded man."

She messages her ring finger.  "It was that woman who took my ring, after threatening Oleg with her hatchet.  She's got deadly aim with them, too.  Almost lopped off Oleg's hand..."

Svetlana trails off as Oleg stomps into the room, sweating from his work on the porch.

"I heard where you were coming in.  Can't even protect my wife, that's the kind of man I am."

Svetlana looks over to her husband and carefully ushers him to a seat, providing him with his own bowl of soup and moving back, rummaging through the cabinets until she finds a bottle of dark burgundy wine, pouring any who want it a glass.  Oleg begins mechanically eating his food, eyes down.

Svetlana continues.  "They've been back two more times.  That wretched woman didn't come back, and there's been less of them each time.  I think they've gotten comfortable, think that we've been cowed.  The second time, it was the hooded man and six others.  Last time, it was the hooded man and four others.  If their timing holds, they should arrive tomorrow, the first day of the month, within an hour or so of sunrise."

Oleg, most of his stew eaten, speaks up, looking to Aeron and Saviae.  "You're right that this is a well-built fort.  That's what it used to be, but the swordlords lost interest in it, which is why I managed to get it.  There are catapults, but I ain't a military man.  Even if I had the knowledge to maintain 'em, I've been too busy runnin' this fort...when I haven't been getting bled dry by these bandits."

The man's mood seems to be lightening by the word, once the subject of how the bandits had treated Svetlana was over.  "But you lot, you look like you know your way around a sword and bow.  Do you think you can manage it?  Stoppin' those bandits?  I've dreamed of getting revenge, of stringin' their bodies up on the walls, but I haven't dared try after the first time.  No, the look that women with the hatchets gave us...well, I ain't scared of much after living out here in the middle of nowhere.  But that woman - she scares me.  And I'm afraid if we did manage to kill the bandits tomorrow, she'd come a knockin' sooner rather than later."

Thurak eats heartily, thanking the woman for the kindly hospitality and delicious food. He listens carefully as she relates her woes, thinking through what she had said.

When Oleg interrupts, Thurak knows he needs to offer comfort. "Do not feel bad, It's hardly your fault to not be able to stand against 12 with just yourself and your wife. As for stopping them, I reckon we can. I know these types. Thugs and bastards living off the fat of better men, but cowards at heart. We bloody their noses, and they'll think about trying again, especially if we find that woman. It sounds like they've gotten complacent too, which gives us an advantage."

Thurak looks over at his companions. "I recommend we plan an ambush. Tomorrow morning, most our group hides around the outpost. I'm not good at being sneaky, but I imagine a single visitor without any obvious weapons wouldn't be too worrying. The bandits come in and demand their usual tribute. Oleg takes them in, but leads them into our ambush. We kill most, capture one or two and see if we can't convince them to tell us where they're living in return for their miserable lives. Then we go chase down the rest and that woman, and keep them from coming back here to bother these good people."

Aeron nodded in agreement with Thurak's assessment.  "Indeed.  No one would expect one to hold against a dozen.  Even the eight of us will likely need to use some careful tactics to match a dozen... though I expect we all anticipate success, or we wouldn't have come out here to stake our lives on it." Ever the planner, Aeron included the animals in the count of their force.

He considered the fort's defenses.  "I expect that if we fail, though, any remaining will come back at you with vengeance in their herats.  Before we head out, we might be able to load the rear catapults with shot and callibrate them to aim just inside the gate.  That way, if they do come here to make their anger known, you can make a show of letting them in only to take the first - and hopefully last - few just inside."

 Oghul thanked Svetlana for the food. Before sitting down to eat, she opened her bag and offered the bounty of wild herbs, mushrooms and root vegetables she had foraged the day before.

 She ate in silence, listening to the retelling of events, reading between the lines for truths that went unsaid. A smile crossed her face when Aeron mentioned there were eight of them. She was not surprised he would have noticed that her foal Temudjin would hold his own in a fight against most men, when other mounts would cower or flee.

 "Thurak is right, an ambush is very fitting. We should let none flee back to their master though, and entertain the mystery as to what happened."

"If they've any brains," the elf considers, "the Swordlords taking an interest should be all it takes to keep them away. Once we give them their ... bloody noses ... they'd have to be damned fools to risk escalating things against Restov." She considers for a moment before asking, almost excitedly, "How quickly do you think we could open and close that gate? Maybe open it only partway and block it with a cart when we spring the ambush? The option to divide their numbers could be very beneficial."

Svetlana went quiet as the discussion turned to tactics and fighting.  Oleg takes over the conversation.

"An amnbush'd best.  I won't have Svetlana exposed to that, though.  Those vermin might try to hurt her if things go south for them.  I want her hidden away.  If you need bait, I'll have to be enough."

Svetlana looks about to argue with Oleg, but shakes her head instead.  Oleg continues.

"Those swine won't be expectin' that.  I don't think they'd care about what the Swordlords might think neither...not that those bastards in Restov give much of a care to what happens here."

Oleg considers the ideas.  "I ain't much of a fighter, so I'll be trustin' your call on that.  Separatin' them might work.  The gate takes some muscle to work, but a strong enough man could prolly jam it shut quick."

He shakes his head at the talk of the catapaults.  "That's another thing I don't know about.  I ain't done nothing since I took over this fort - they've been sittin' out in the rain the entire time.  You might be able to rig 'em up, but I don't know."

OOC:
Let me know if you have any more questions for Oleg.  You can have as much time as you need to discuss, and let me know when you're ready to move on to the ambush.  Before we start, let me know where all the PCs (and their animals) are, and where you want Oleg.

"When they do come in, where have you met them in the past, and do you take them somewhere to give them their tribute? What's the usual routine? We wouldn't want to change anything and make them suspicious, so the more we know what you usually do, the better we can plan.

Saviǣ considers for a time before asking everyone gathered, "I think the first question is whether we want to keep any from running. It's better, strategically, to leave your enemy a way to escape--people fight harder when cornered--but the bounty was on their lives..."

"It may make this fight easier if we let them run, but it will make the next fight harder, because the rest will know who we are and that we're coming for them. I say we offer them a chance to surrender, but do not let them flee. Captives will provide us information on how many of them there are and where they are hiding. Escapees will simply give the rest of their miserable group a chance to prepare an ambush on us, or take revenge on Oleg and Svetlana." Thurak's voice is hard and deadly.

Oghul listened to the planning of the ambush, contributing little in way of details.

She said however when it came to the question of surrender or fleeing opportunities, she weighed in:
 “We should offer them a chance to give up their wicked ways and work for their redemption. Some in their midst may not have chosen that life, or only reluctantly so for lack of a better option.”

 “I will not allow any to flee back to their master though. The danger is too great. If simply they go missing, one can always think they were attacked by a wild creature in the night, ambushed by trolls, or fallen to any other danger in these lands...”

“We should not give them opportunity to flee, but if one does, I will chase them down with Temudjin.”

She seemed very confident in her ability to catch fugitives if need be.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:14, Sat 31 Oct 2020.

Aeron had a few comments.  "I don't know about locking ourselves in and them out to start the fight - a called warning and those outside could have a minutes-long lead on escaping us into the wood, even before we consider reopening the gate.  Besides, as their numbers dwindle we need less to divide them and more to focus on making sure they do not escape.  If there are five or less as anticipated, I would be very ashamed if we could not meet them directly.

  "I can ride up behind them from outside and make the offer to any when Oleg lets them in.  We can consider re-offering it to the survivors afterward, but I will not mourn those who choose the path of evil and only repent when bested.  I will also check on the catapults and see what we can do with them, if anything.  Mick and I can also help ride down any that flee, but hopefully that will not be necessary."

He asked Oleg, "Did all of them come inside the gates each time?  If they did we could try to find a way to shut it behind them and have them trapped with us, resolving any flight risks.  Otherwise I and someone else could focus on fighting those outside while everyone else concentrates on those within, and I could physically block the gate once we finish with those outside."

 Oghul agreed with Aeron.
 "We should not trap ourselves inside. Master Oleg, everything should be as it was last time, at least in appearance. We attack them inside the fort, and either lock the doors to let no one out, or chase down any fugitive."

 She considered Aeron and added:
 "I have seen how you ride... it should be no problem for the two of us to ensure no one leaves."

Aeron nodded to Oghul and then set out to attempt to prepare a catapult as a back-up aimed just inside the gates for Oleg and Svetlana to use if there were more bandits than anticipated, or in case the party ended up dying in the attempt to cleanse the area.

When the time came to prepare for the fight, Aeron saddled and mounted Mick and readied his lance and shield for a charge down the alley.


09:37, Today: Aeron rolled 26 using 1d20+9.  Profession: Soldier (seeing if I can make a catapult work and aim it by tomorrow).

Starting south of A3 near the corner and ready to charge.  If anyone tries to position between himself and the gate, Aeron will ask them to move and clear charge-lane.

Oleg responds to Aeron: "Yes, they all come inside the trading post.  They seem eager to load up and get back on the road as quickly possible."

Svetlana nods: "I think they must be about a day's ride away, and want to get back before nightfall.  Nothing they've said confirms that, but they come about an hour after dawn.  I think they ride most of the ride here the day before, camp somewhere close by, then get here early in the morning and spend the day riding home."

OOC:
Updated Main Game Map of Oleg's with Aeron's position.  Tell me where everyone else wants to be, and if there's no more questions, we can skip to the morning and the bandits' arrival.  Oleg will be in the middle of the courtyard to greet them, and Svetlana will be inside the house.

Saviǣ nods along with everyone's thoughts and suggests, "If we split up and lay low, then, we can spring our trap on Oleg's signal and flank them." She then looks to Aeron and adds in jest, "Just make sure you don't let them see you mounted, armored, and ready for battle before then!"

OOC: I'll hide inside the door of an unoccupied buildings. Can't see them on the new map. XD
This message was last edited by the player at 19:18, Tue 03 Nov 2020.

OOC:
Okay, Map updated again.  Placed Saviae inside building A2 and I have Aeron hiding from sight at the corner of A3.

Thurak heads North, intent on being close to Oleg.

I will hide in A4